Mohamed Salah is weighing a move to Besiktas, one of the three big Istanbul clubs alongside Galatasaray and Fenerbahce, though talks have stalled. The reported wage on offer is £10.7 million a year plus add-ons, with a hitch reportedly over the shirt sales revenue Salah would be entitled to and the commission owed to his camp. His alternatives would likely be in Saudi Arabia or the United States.
Besiktas fans have shown limited patience for the wait. During Leandro Trossard's recent unveiling, they chanted Salah's name instead of celebrating their new signing.
Ahmet Turgut, host of the Turkish Football Podcast, told Daily Mail Sport that fans should be careful what they wish for. "The price is too much - it would hurt Besiktas. They would sell a lot of shirts and have fans greeting him in the beginning, but if he had a season like he did at Liverpool, these fans would boo Salah," he said. "It would be a burden on Besiktas. Already they are financially in trouble."
Turgut said the big three clubs are not run by professionals in the way English and European clubs are, and that each year all three chase the title, which causes financial problems. "These three clubs need to look in the mirror and change their habit of transferring all these players and the money going down the drain wasted," he said.
A £444m net loss
Turkish clubs have made a net loss of £444.51 million over the past four years, a figure exceeded only by the Premier League, the Saudi Pro League and Serie A.
Victor Osimhen's move illustrates the trend. In September 2024, with proposed transfers to Al-Ahli and Chelsea having collapsed and Napoli having dropped him from the squad in favour of Romelu Lukaku, Galatasaray manager Okan Buruk called him directly. "As a father, I want you at my club," Buruk told him. "These fans will love you. They will do everything for you."
Osimhen, then 25, landed in Istanbul at 3am on September 3, where 3,000 fans greeted him with flares despite a lengthy flight delay. He signed permanently last July for a Turkish transfer record of £64.1 million. His weekly salary of around £300,000 is bettered in the Premier League only by Erling Haaland and Virgil van Dijk.
Ederson, N'Golo Kante, Leroy Sane, Ilkay Gundogan, Trossard and Mason Greenwood have all moved to Istanbul clubs. AC Milan's Rafael Leao, 27, who has drawn interest from Real Madrid, Liverpool and both Manchester clubs, now looks more likely to join Fenerbahce.
The appeal beyond money
Kaan Bayazit, host of the Black Eagles podcast about Besiktas, said a Salah move to Besiktas would partly be about writing a special final chapter to his career, unlike a move to Saudi Arabia, where he said everyone knows a player is there to cash in.
Bayazit said Istanbul offers Champions League football, a top-ten European league, some of the biggest derbies in the world, and a city bigger than London with abundant luxury, hotels and dining, though players cannot go to the supermarket without being mobbed.
He also warned that fan passion can turn negative. "If Salah goes to Turkey and doesn't do well, and he's spurning 12 million euros a year, then fans will turn toxic for sure. It's not likely, but it happened to Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain," he said. Oxlade-Chamberlain spent two years at Besiktas, playing under eight managers and four club presidents, and when results went south, fans turned up at the training ground to voice their displeasure.
Poor European results despite spending
Turkish clubs have reached the Champions League knockout stages only four times this century, and Galatasaray remain the last Turkish side to reach the quarter-finals, in 2001. Besiktas were the most recent Turkish club to reach the Europa League quarter-finals, in 2016-17, while Fenerbahce once reached the Conference League last eight.
When Sane arrived last summer aged 29, Galatasaray's live stream of his arrival drew a peak audience of 3.2 million viewers, thousands of fans met him at the airport, and his image was projected onto the 14th-century Galata Tower before he had even signed.
When Jose Mourinho managed Fenerbahce, the club housed him at the Four Seasons hotel for 16 months, running up a bill of £656,000. The hotel had a spa, gym and indoor and outdoor pools, and a chauffeur drove him to and from the Can Bartu training complex daily. He reportedly always ate the same meal at home: chicken soup, margherita pizza, ice cream and sparkling water.
Former Arsenal midfielder Matteo Guendouzi has lived in Istanbul with Fenerbahce since January, along with his wife Maelle and their two daughters. They share a hilltop house with a pool overlooking the rooftops and take boat trips down the Bosphorus.
Gold-coated ribs and a private island
Istanbul has around 23,000 restaurants, according to one travel blog, and Salt Bae's original Nusr-Et restaurant in Besiktas is a popular stop for footballers. Lionel Messi and Paul Pogba once met there for Turkish tea, and diners can order ribs coated in 24-carat gold for more than £300. Salt Bae, whose real name is Nusret Gokce, is a lifelong Fenerbahce fan who has hosted players for meals and joined the club's basketball team on court for title celebrations.
Galatasaray moved into a new 130-acre training facility last year costing around £17.5 million and have also spent on upgrading their academy and other sports branches. The club has invested in part of a private island in the Bosphorus Strait, turned into a destination for players to enjoy parties and fine dining.
Besiktas moved into an £86 million stadium a decade ago and plan a new training ground near Istanbul Airport. The club is currently carrying debts of around £387 million, according to its latest announcement, and hopes to clear that through a state-backed real estate project. There is a feeling at Besiktas and Fenerbahce that they must catch up to Galatasaray, who have generated large revenues from four consecutive league titles and annual Champions League campaigns.
Turgut said the big three's presidential elections, held every two years by member vote, are a fundamental problem. "If you buy the members, you'll be president. This system has to change, otherwise it will be the same thing with other clubs. We'll see the clubs go bankrupt or they'll get bought by some people," he said. Asked whether the spending could eventually bring European success, Turgut said: "I don't see any hope for Turkish teams doing really well in European competitions in the future."
