Turkish club Trabzonspor are set to confirm the capture of Egypt star Mohamed Salah.
The 34-year-old is signing for the Super Lig club on a free transfer, having left Liverpool at the end of last season.
Salah, who will wear the number 10 shirt, will be unveiled at a signing ceremony at Papara Park on Thursday (830pm UAE time).
"Trabzon, are you ready? I can hear you, see you very soon," Salah said in a video released by the club on Wednesday.
"Everywhere is Trabzon to us," he added, referring to the club's motto.
The move gathered pace after Trabzonspor chairman Ertugrul Dogan announced his club was in talks to sign the Egyptian legend on Tuesday night.
Salah flew into Istanbul the following morning. While he was in the air, the club began posting to their social media channels.
First came an image of Salah in a Trabzonspor jersey. Then came the video with his welcome greeting to fans of his new club.
A further post invited supporters to greet Salah at Istanbul's Ataturk Airport. Despite the short notice, the forward was mobbed by hundreds of fans on his arrival. Salah waved and bowed to the crowd as he was ushered away by security and club officials.
Dogan revealed that the plan was for him to spend the day undergoing medical tests and finalising paperwork in Istanbul before taking a flight east to Trabzon and completing his free transfer. Plans were being put together for a grand unveiling in the Black Sea city on Thursday.
Trabzonspor - generally considered to be the fourth-biggest club in Turkey after Istanbul sides Fenerbahce, Galatasaray, and Besiktas - finished third in the Super Lig last season and will enter the Europa League play-off round. They also lifted the 2026 Turkish Cup. Their last league championship came in the 2021/22 season.
In recent years they have welcomed a few big names in European football, including the former Napoli midfielder and Slovakia international Marek Hamsik and Salah's former Liverpool teammate Daniel Sturridge, who scored seven goals in 16 games during the 2019/20 campaign.
That said, Salah is by far and away the biggest signing in the club's history.
The forward had been close to joining their Super Lig rivals Besiktas, but negotiations broke down last week over financial and image rights demands, according to local media reports.
Besiktas board member Onder Ozen said the gap between the two parties had proved insurmountable.
Details of Salah's Trabzonspor contract have yet to be divulged. However, reports suggest a two-year contract with an annual salary of €17 million, a €5-million signing bonus and 20 per cent of the revenue from shirt sales bearing his name.
Salah arrives in Turkey - in pictures
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Mohamed Salah arrives in Turkey ahead of his move to Trabzonspor. Reuters -
Trabzonspor fans wait for the arrival of Mohamed Salah outside the airport. Reuters -
Trabzonspor fans at the airport. Reuters -
Mohamed Salah waves at fans as he arrives in Turkey to sign with Trabzonspor. Reuters -
Mohamed Salah arrives in Turkey ahead of move to Trabzonspor. Reuters -
Trabzonspor fans wait for the arrival of Mohamed Salah outside the airport. Reuters -
Egyptian forward Mohamed Salah arrives at Istanbul Ataturk Airport. AFP -
A Trabzonspor supporter kisses a tifo of Egyptian forward Mohamed Salah. AFP -
Egyptian forward Mohamed Salah gestures as he arrives at Istanbul Ataturk Airport. AFP
The veteran forward makes the move following a successful summer with his national team, having helped Egypt reach the last 16 in a record-breaking run at the 2026 World Cup in North America.
Salah captained the Pharaohs in a history-making performance that saw them win a World Cup game, qualify from the group stage and win a knockout stage match, all for the first time.
Salah left Liverpool in June after nine years, having scored 257 goals in 442 appearances and won the Premier League twice and the Champions League once. He sits in third place on the Merseyside club's all-time list of goalscorers behind only Roger Hunt and Ian Rush.
In the 2024-25 season, Salah scored 29 Premier League goals and provided 18 assists, equalling the league record for most goal involvements in a single season and setting the record for a 38-game campaign.
He was named Premier League player of the season and won the golden boot and the playmaker award, becoming the first player to take all three in a single campaign.
His output waned significantly last season, though, with just seven goals and seven assists in 27 league matches. He was left on the bench in Champions League games, leading to a very public spat with manager Arne Slot. The Dutchman was sacked after the team limped home in fifth place and was replaced by the Spanish coach Andoni Iraola.
Salah started his career in Europe at Swiss side Basel in 2012 and later joined Chelsea. He also had brief stints at Fiorentina and AS Roma between 2015 and 2017 before joining Liverpool.
