Besiktas Halts Salah Negotiations, Eyes Leao as Ambitious Alternative

Besiktas’ pursuit of Mohamed Salah has lurched from dream signing to deadlock, with the Turkish giants pulling back from negotiations after a dramatic shift in the financial landscape of the deal.

The Egyptian star, a free agent since his Liverpool contract expired on June 30, had been heavily tipped for a blockbuster move to Istanbul. Besiktas were prepared to put a staggering €12.5 million per year on the table to make Salah the new face of the club.

Then the numbers behind the numbers arrived.

Commercial Demands Push Deal to the Brink

What looked like a straightforward free-agent coup quickly turned into a legal and financial minefield. The sticking points are no longer the salary, but the commercial rights and agent commissions wrapped around the transfer.

• Revenue shares from shirt sales.
• Commission demands from Salah’s camp.

Those have become the decisive obstacles.

Sporting director Onder Ozen laid bare the situation, explaining that Besiktas had gone beyond mere interest and into structured planning.

“We made contact with Salah. That also included a model for financing the deal,” he said, outlining how advanced the talks had become.

The tone changed sharply as the season’s registration deadlines crept closer. According to Ozen, the once-fluid dialogue began to slow on July 21, when the financial side of the discussions took center stage.

“Requests began to arrive that would drive the flow of information and the financial side into a dead end,” he noted.

The message from Besiktas is clear: the club will not cross its own legal and financial red lines, even for a player of Salah’s global stature.

Ozen underlined that point, stressing that commission payments in player management must remain within legal limits and that breaching those thresholds could drag the club into an “illegal situation.” He added that Besiktas’ president had taken an “unpopular decision” by stepping away from the table, at least for now.

So the Salah saga, once painted as a near-formality, now hangs by a thread.

From Free Agent Gamble to €60m Statement?

Besiktas have not waited around to lick their wounds. As talks with Salah stall, the club has pivoted sharply toward a new, equally audacious target: Rafael Leao.

According to reports in Italy, the Istanbul side have opened official lines of communication with AC Milan over the Portuguese winger, who offers a very different kind of project.

Leao is not a fading star looking for one last big contract. He is a younger, explosive wide forward, a player built for transition, chaos, and highlight reels. For any coach, including a tactician like Italiano, he offers a completely different dimension on the flanks.

But while Salah is a free agent, Leao is anything but. That changes everything.

Milan’s stance is uncompromising. They are not entertaining loan proposals, not even those with options or obligations to buy. Any club wanting Leao must come with cash, and plenty of it.

The price range being circulated sits between €50 million and €60 million for the former Serie A Player of the Year. That is a leap from paying only wages for Salah to funding a full-scale marquee transfer.

Leao’s Demands Raise the Bar Again

Meeting Milan’s asking price is only half the battle. Leao himself will drive the second half.

The winger expects a package that reflects his status and the level of interest he commands from Europe’s elite. Reports indicate that he will only consider a move to the Turkish Super Lig if his salary demands are met in full.

Those demands are steep: at least €8 million per season, plus performance-related bonuses.

For any Turkish club, that represents a major long-term commitment. Besiktas, though, do not seem intimidated by the numbers as they search for a new talisman to carry the badge and the brand.

They are not alone in this race. Galatasaray and Fenerbahce have also been linked with the 27-year-old, setting up a potential three-way domestic battle for one of Europe’s most coveted wide forwards.

Besiktas, however, have made the first formal move toward Milan. In a market where timing and intent often dictate outcomes, that early step could yet prove decisive.

From Salah’s stalled free-agent courtship to the high-stakes pursuit of Leao, Besiktas now stand at a crossroads: do they double down on ambition and break new financial ground, or walk away again and risk watching a potential game-changer light up Istanbul in someone else’s colours?