Erdogan ‘personally involved’ in talks to bring Mohamed Salah to Besiktas

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has personally stepped into negotiations to bring Egypt star Mohamed Salah to Besiktas, according to reports in the country.

Turkish newspaper Zaman says the proposed move is no longer being handled solely as a sporting matter by the Istanbul club’s hierarchy, but is now being closely monitored by senior figures in the state, including the president himself.

If completed, the transfer would be the biggest in the history of the Turkish Super Lig in terms of market value and public impact, the report adds.

President ‘asks for detailed briefing’ on Salah deal

Zaman reports that Mr Erdogan has requested a comprehensive briefing from Besiktas president Serdal Adalı on the progress of talks to sign the Liverpool forward.

The paper says the president “personally intervened” and asked for a detailed report on the state of negotiations, and that he is following “all the details” of the proposed deal that would take Salah to Istanbul.

Club officials are said to believe that this form of indirect government backing could help them overcome the significant financial hurdles involved in completing a transfer of such scale.

Besiktas, one of Turkey’s most prominent clubs, is understood to be aiming not only to strengthen its domestic title ambitions but also to build a squad capable of challenging for continental dominance.

Salah ‘to arrive in Istanbul on Wednesday’

In the same report, Zaman cites Turkish journalist and TV presenter Erdogan Aktas, who says the 32-year-old Egypt international is expected in Istanbul imminently to finalise terms.

According to the newspaper, Erdogan Aktas stated that the Egyptian striker would fly to Istanbul on Wednesday to put the finishing touches on his contract with Besiktas.

No financial details of the proposed agreement were reported, and there has been no official confirmation from Besiktas, Liverpool or Salah’s representatives regarding the negotiations.

Biggest transfer in Turkish league history?

Zaman says that, should the deal go through, it would represent the most significant transfer ever completed by a Turkish club, both in terms of Salah’s estimated market value and the global attention the signing would attract.

The move would place Salah – widely regarded as one of the best forwards of his generation and a modern Liverpool great – at the centre of one of the most high-profile transfers involving the Turkish Super Lig.

The involvement of President Erdogan underscores how football in Turkey can intersect with politics and national prestige, especially when it comes to signing a player of Salah’s stature.

While many details remain unclear and unconfirmed, the reports of direct presidential engagement and an imminent arrival in Istanbul will only add to the intense speculation over Salah’s future and the possibility of a landmark move to Besiktas.