Mohamed Salah: Trabzonspor project can add a new chapter to my career

Mohamed Salah says he joined Trabzonspor in search of a fresh challenge after an exceptional nine-year spell with Liverpool, with winning trophies – particularly a European title – his main ambition at the Turkish club.

The Egypt captain discussed his move, his emotional welcome from supporters and his continued relationship with Liverpool players in his first extended interview with Trabzonspor’s official YouTube channel.

Salah, 34, said motivation and ambition had been the foundations of his career and that he had learned from an early age that success required a constant desire to improve.

“I have achieved a lot over the past few years, but I was looking for a new challenge,” he said. “I found that in the Trabzonspor project.”

He added that he hoped to help the club compete for trophies, with European success his biggest target, while also challenging for the Turkish league title.

Salah revealed that his first reaction to hearing of Trabzonspor’s interest was to research the city and find out about its best places to visit.

He has previously played in football-focused cities including Liverpool and Fiorentina, and believes clubs based in places where football is central to daily life benefit from a distinct atmosphere compared with those in capital cities. He said that made him excited about Trabzonspor from the outset – and that he even searched for the city’s best restaurants.

The Egypt international also credited the club president with helping to complete the transfer. He said he had been struck by the president’s ambition and by the scale of the project being developed for the coming years.

The president’s comments about the affection and support of Trabzonspor fans stayed with Salah, although he admitted he had not expected to experience it on such a scale. He was greeted by large crowds at the airport and then received another remarkable reception at the stadium.

Salah said the club’s determination to compete for honours and achieve major successes was the factor that persuaded him to move.

He described the welcome in Trabzon as one of the most affecting moments of his career, despite not considering himself an emotional person. Seeing supporters waiting at the airport made him feel that something missing had been completed, he said.

The 34-year-old had not expected such scenes either at the airport or inside the stadium. He added that it was extremely unusual for supporters to celebrate a player so intensely before he had even appeared for the club.

Videos of the reception spread widely online, reaching viewers around the world. Salah said former Liverpool team-mates and many of his friends contacted him after watching them.

He remains in touch with several Liverpool players, including Dominik Szoboszlai. Salah said they told him they had never previously seen a player receive such a welcome before playing his first match for a new club.

A future meeting with Liverpool in a competitive fixture would be difficult for Salah, who spent nine years at the English club and formed a special bond with the city and its supporters. He said his emotions would be mixed if he faced his former side in a Trabzonspor shirt.

From four buses to the top

Salah also looked back on the early stages of his career, recalling daily journeys to training that sometimes required him to take four buses.

He said the child who made those trips was still part of him and that his ambition had not changed. In his view, nobody can reach the top without a clear goal that encourages them to work every day.

That ambition, he explained, was the real reason behind his move to Trabzonspor: he wants to add another significant achievement to his career.

Salah spoke about the role played by his family. His mother initially did not want him to pursue football professionally because she was worried about his safety. She was upset that he would leave home in the morning and return late at night, and believed that his future was uncertain.

His father supported him from the beginning. His mother also backed him, but her support was accompanied by concern for his wellbeing. Salah said he did not feel he was making sacrifices at the time because he enjoyed every moment on the pitch.

He also said he never tries to avoid problems. Instead, he prefers to confront them and look for solutions, having learned that understanding a crisis is the first step towards resolving it.

Salah believes the effort he made to develop his personality and remove some negative traits helped him adapt to different cultures during spells in Egypt, Switzerland, Italy and England, and now Turkey.

One of his biggest dreams when he left Egypt was to achieve something unprecedented for an Egyptian footballer. He said he feels proud when children in Egypt and across Africa draw hope from his journey, describing that inspiration as more rewarding than any individual trophy.

What he misses most about Egypt is not its food but the country’s atmosphere. He enjoys the Egyptians’ sense of humour and likes sitting on his balcony or in a car, watching people and the way they interact. Simply breathing Egyptian air, he said, gives him a unique feeling.

If he could meet himself at the beginning of his career, Salah would say that every difficulty had been worthwhile because it led to an extraordinary journey and major achievements. He said he was proud of every stage of his life.

His one pre-match routine has remained unchanged for almost 20 years: calling his mother before every game.

Salah ended by asking Trabzonspor supporters to stay behind the team throughout the season, particularly during difficult periods. He said every player would give everything to win trophies and that he dreamed of making the fans happy by securing a European title while also competing strongly for the league championship.

The backing of the supporters, he stressed, will be essential to achieving those ambitions.