Mohamed Salah's Bold Move to Trabzonspor After Liverpool Exit

Mohamed Salah has drawn a definitive line under his Liverpool era, signing a two-year deal with Trabzonspor on a free transfer and turning his back on both Saudi riches and Europe’s traditional elite.

The move ends a glittering nine-year spell at Anfield, cut short by mutual agreement a year before his contract was due to expire in April 2025. A difficult final season, marked by a high-profile fallout with then head coach Arne Slot and a spell out of the starting XI, accelerated a separation that once felt unthinkable.

He leaves Liverpool not just as a fan favourite but as a cornerstone of the club’s modern history: seven major trophies, 257 goals in 442 games, and a place as the third-highest scorer the club has ever had. That legacy is fixed. What comes next is far more intriguing.

From Saudi suitors to the Black Sea

For a long time, the script seemed written. Saudi Arabia wanted Salah and had the money to prove it. Less than three years ago, Liverpool rejected a £150m bid from Al Ittihad, a statement of both his value and his centrality to their ambitions at the time.

When he delivered a bombshell interview after being dropped for a game at Leeds last season, the expectation was clear: the next chapter would be in the Saudi Pro League, on a contract to dwarf even the biggest European offers.

Instead, he has chosen Trabzonspor.

On the face of it, the decision is bold. At 34, Salah still has the numbers, the physique and the aura to command interest from Europe’s major leagues. Yet the package from Turkey, on and off the pitch, has proved persuasive.

The pull of Trabzon

Sky Sports News reporter Kaveh Solhekol outlined why the move adds up for Salah. The financials are strong: reports in Turkey suggest he will earn around £15m a year, with a tax environment that heavily favours professional footballers. For a player on what is likely to be his last major contract in Europe, that matters.

The football matters too. Trabzonspor operate in a league steeped in intensity, rivalry and noise. The Süper Lig offers big nights, hostile atmospheres and a fan culture that worships its stars. Salah will walk into that world as its headline act.

There is also Europe. Trabzonspor have a strong chance of playing in the Europa League next season, handing Salah the platform of continental competition and the kind of Thursday nights that still carry weight for a player obsessed with goals, records and legacy.

In Solhekol’s words, the move “ticks a lot of boxes” for the Egyptian. Crucially, he had other options. This is not a case of last resort. It is a calculated choice.

Carragher: “He’s better than that”

Not everyone is convinced.

Jamie Carragher, speaking on Sky Sports, questioned the level Salah has chosen. He never believed the forward would go to Saudi Arabia, not because of the money, but because of the stage.

“Number one, he’s too good for that,” Carragher said, arguing that Salah still belongs in one of Europe’s top leagues. For him, Turkey “feels a level too low”.

Carragher had expected to see Salah in Serie A, at a club like AC Milan or Juventus, playing under the lights of San Siro and chasing titles and deep European runs. In his view, Salah’s drive, his obsession with numbers and his Ronaldo-like mentality pointed towards a more prestigious destination.

He suggested that wage demands may have scared off some of those clubs, and wondered whether Salah might have been better served trimming those demands to secure what Carragher sees as a “better club”.

The verdict was blunt: Turkey “just feels like… I just think he’s better than that.”

A legacy secured, a reputation on the line

Salah’s decision slices opinion. On one side, a financially astute move to a fervent football culture, with European football still on the table and a starring role guaranteed. On the other, the sense that one of the Premier League’s greatest forwards has stepped away from the very highest level while he still had more to give there.

What is beyond debate is the scale of the gamble on his competitive reputation. At Liverpool, every goal carried global weight. At Trabzonspor, the spotlight narrows, even if the noise inside the stadium does not.

For Salah, that may be the point. A fresh league, a new city, a chance to be the undisputed centre of a project again, without the suffocating scrutiny of the Premier League. The money is elite, the adulation will be intense, and European nights remain within reach.

He has already secured his place in Liverpool’s history. The question now is simpler, and sharper: how will this move shape the way the world talks about Mohamed Salah when the goals finally stop?