Mohamed Salah's summer in limbo may be close to a resolution — if a Thursday-evening claim from France proves accurate. Foot Mercato journalist Santi Aouna reported that the 34-year-old, a free agent since his departure from Liverpool at the end of last season, has reached a verbal agreement to join Beşiktaş.
According to Aouna's report, the Egyptian would move to Istanbul on a free transfer, signing a one-year contract with an option for a second. The package is said to be worth around €10m a season plus roughly €2m in bonuses. Crucially, even the reporting itself describes the arrangement as verbal only: nothing has been signed, and no medical or announcement has been scheduled.
Turkish media paint a slightly more cautious picture. A Spor's Yağız Sabuncuoğlu described the two parties as very close rather than agreed, while Kartal Record, a website with close ties to Beşiktaş, reported an official offer worth up to €12m a year with an automatic extension triggered by appearances. Those accounts also claim Salah trimmed his salary demand from €15m and that a percentage of shirt sales has been discussed.
The reported rationale is that Salah prefers to remain in Europe and to live in a Muslim-majority country, with Turkish outlets adding that his family is keen on settling in Istanbul — considerations said to have moved Beşiktaş ahead of richer suitors in Saudi Arabia and Major League Soccer.
There are, however, substantial reasons for caution. Neither Beşiktaş nor Salah's agent, Ramy Abbas Issa, has confirmed an agreement, and Abbas posted on X that "we still don't know where Mohamed will play next season, but we may know very soon". Fabrizio Romano, the transfer market's most-followed chronicler, has recently reported concrete MLS interest and characterised Saudi Arabia as the likeliest destination; as of Thursday night he had not corroborated any Beşiktaş agreement, and nor had the BBC, Sky Sports, The Guardian or ESPN.
The backdrop is a fractious end to one of the great Premier League careers. Salah's final Liverpool season soured after he lost his starting place, and he told ViaPlay that the club were "throwing me under the bus" — an extraordinary public rupture that preceded his summer exit and left the Premier League's most decorated African player without a club at 34.
Until a first-rank outlet or an official announcement confirms the Istanbul deal, the Foot Mercato claim should be read as exactly that: a single outlet's report on a fast-moving negotiation. With Abbas promising clarity "very soon" and Turkish clubs pushing to conclude business before the season starts, the wait for a definitive answer may be short.
