We told you Salah’s move to Trabzonspor was closing in fast. Now the numbers are official, and they tell a more interesting story than the transfer itself.
What Happened
Trabzonspor confirmed via Turkey’s Public Disclosure Platform that Salah will earn a guaranteed €17 million a season — €10 million in salary plus a €7 million signing bonus — across a two-year deal running through 2028. That works out to roughly £280,000 a week. He’ll also receive 20% of merchandise revenue bearing his name, plus performance bonuses, while the club pays a 5% agent commission on his gross salary.
Here’s the Debate
Here’s the number that should stop you: £280,000 a week is less than Salah was reportedly earning at Liverpool, where his deal was worth up to £480,000 a week including bonuses. So was this move ever really about money? If a player widely assumed to be chasing one final big payday actually took a pay cut to leave, doesn’t that undercut the entire “cash grab” narrative that’s followed Egyptian and Saudi-adjacent transfers for years?
There’s a sharper question buried in here too. Talks with Besiktas — a bigger, more historically dominant Turkish club — reportedly collapsed specifically over financial and commercial terms, including Salah’s camp wanting a cut of merchandise sales that Besiktas balked at. Trabzonspor gave him exactly that clause. So which side should readers actually be skeptical of: a superstar player asking for what he’s worth, or a club unwilling to structure a deal that reflects the commercial value he clearly brings? Merchandise clauses like this are becoming more common for global stars — is that fair value-sharing, or a sign a club is essentially betting its whole marketing budget on one player staying fit and in form for two years?
Why Trabzonspor, Specifically
Salah’s salary is now the highest in Turkish football history, ahead of Victor Osimhen’s €15 million at Galatasaray. That’s a genuinely bold financial swing from a club that hasn’t won the Süper Lig since 2022 and finished third last season, meaning they’ll open this campaign in Europa League playoffs rather than the Champions League. Salah walked away from a Liverpool side sitting in the world’s biggest competition to join a club not even guaranteed group-stage European football. Was that Salah choosing a bigger role over a bigger stage, or is there more to why the bigger European clubs stayed away?
What to Watch For
Whether the commercial numbers justify themselves quickly — ticket sales, shirt sales, and Trabzonspor’s Europa League playoff result will be the first real test of whether this was smart business or an emotional overpay. Given how public the financial terms already are, expect plenty of scrutiny either way.