Salah’s Trabzonspor move raises questions over his changing European status

Mohamed Salah’s move to Trabzonspor represents a very different career path from the high-profile projects that took Cristiano Ronaldo to Saudi Arabia and Lionel Messi to Inter Miami, according to an analysis by The Athletic.

The Egypt international’s switch to the Turkish club was not the expected next step for one of the outstanding players of his generation. Only eight months ago, his departure from Liverpool appeared almost certain after he spoke about feeling that there were people at the club who did not want him to stay.

Salah and his agent, Ramy Abbas, were given plenty of time to negotiate with interested clubs after his departure was announced early, in March. However, his eventual destination remained unclear until the final days, James Horncastle wrote for The Athletic.

The uncertainty came despite Salah having been among the leading contenders for the Ballon d’Or only a year earlier. He had contributed to 61 goals during the season in which Liverpool won the Premier League title, underlining his importance to the club’s success.

His final campaign at Liverpool, however, brought a sharp and unexpected decline in attacking output. His goal contributions fell by 45%, while he also lost the support he had previously received from Trent Alexander-Arnold and Luis Diaz.

That combination made Salah appear less influential, particularly in relation to the exceptional salary he commanded. The contrast between his recent status and his move to Trabzonspor is therefore striking: a player who had been in the Ballon d’Or conversation a year earlier is now joining a club outside Europe’s leading competitions.

Horncastle stressed that the transfer should not be viewed as a criticism of the Turkish league or Trabzonspor. If Salah, now 34, remains the player who performed at his best in 2025, then Trabzonspor’s success in securing his signature is a major achievement for the club.

The move also reflects the changing landscape of European football. Real Madrid, who might have considered Salah a “Galactico” several years ago, now have different priorities. Barcelona are building their future around Lamine Yamal, Bayern Munich are relying on Michael Olise, and Paris St-Germain have a group of emerging talents including Desire Doue and Bradley Barcola.

AC Milan, meanwhile, have Christian Pulisic among their leading attacking options.

Those developments help explain why Salah’s transfer is different from the moves made by Ronaldo and Messi. Ronaldo joined Saudi Arabia as one of the leading sporting faces of the country’s Vision 2030 project.

Messi moved to Miami as part of an effort to expand football’s presence in south Florida, ahead of the United States hosting the 2026 World Cup, according to the article.

Salah’s arrival at Trabzonspor carries no comparable international or commercial project in the analysis. Instead, it raises a more direct sporting question: has his level begun to move closer to that of the Turkish league, ranked ninth in Europe, rather than the continent’s strongest domestic competitions?