Jamie Carragher's Surprise Over Mohamed Salah's Move to Trabzonspor
Jamie Carragher did not hide his surprise.
The former Liverpool defender, speaking on the Football Ramble, admitted he was stunned that Mohamed Salah chose Trabzonspor and the Turkish Super Lig over a final act in one of Europe’s traditional power leagues.
“I never believed he was going to go to Saudi, because number one, he's too good for that,” Carragher said. “I think he can be playing in Serie A. Turkey for me feels a level too low.”
In Carragher’s eyes, this isn’t just an unexpected move. It’s a missed opportunity.
“I was convinced he’d end up at AC Milan or Juventus”
Carragher had built his own picture of Salah’s next step. A 34-year-old still obsessed with numbers, still chiselled, still decisive in the biggest moments, finishing his European career in Italy, at a historic institution, in a league that suits a technically sharp, tactically disciplined forward.
“I was convinced he'd end up at an AC Milan or Juventus or somewhere like that, maybe his wages were a problem,” he admitted. “I don't know him, obviously have never spoken to him. But he's like Ronaldo, he's so driven, his numbers mean so much to him.”
That comparison with Cristiano Ronaldo is central to Carragher’s frustration. Ronaldo, in his view, stretched his peak years at the very top by clinging to “prestigious” clubs, refusing to drift away from the brightest lights until the very end. Carragher expected Salah to follow that same script.
“I thought, he can still do this in Turkey by the way,” Carragher added, “but I thought he'd want to play at a real prestigious club.”
Prestige vs payday
The heart of Carragher’s criticism is blunt: he believes Salah has traded the intensity and exposure of elite competition for money in a softer environment.
Reports in Turkey suggest Trabzonspor have assembled a package worth around €17 million per year to bring the “Egyptian King” to the Black Sea coast. For a player who only recently turned down a £400,000-a-week deal at Liverpool, the numbers are eye-catching, but not shocking. The destination is.
Trabzonspor will be in the Europa League next season, so this is not a complete step away from European nights. Yet Carragher remains unconvinced that the weekly level of the Super Lig matches Salah’s remaining ability.
“Obviously his wage demands have put a few people off,” he continued, “but I thought he might almost curb those demands a little bit to almost get a better club. To go to an AC Milan or Juventus or whoever it may be, play at the San Siro, still playing in big games, still playing in Europe. Turkey just feels like... I just think he's better than that.”
The pause in his words says as much as the criticism. Carragher sees a player who could still shape title races in Serie A, settling instead for a different kind of challenge.
A king in a new kingdom
If Carragher is unconvinced, the scenes in Turkey tell another story.
Salah’s arrival at Istanbul Atatürk Airport drew a fervent reception, the kind reserved for icons rather than signings. Flares, banners, chants. A player who conquered England and Europe with Liverpool walked into a country ready to treat him as a deity.
On Merseyside, he leaves behind a legacy that needs no embellishment: every major trophy secured, including the Premier League and Champions League, and a goalscoring record that places him among the club’s greatest forwards. At Liverpool, his story is complete.
In Trabzon, it starts again.
The club finished third in the Super Lig last season and are desperate to reclaim the domestic title they last lifted in 2022. They are betting heavily that Salah’s presence can tilt the balance back in their favour and close the gap to Galatasaray and Fenerbahce.
He will not be alone. Salah is set to reunite with familiar faces from the Premier League, including Manchester United loanee Andre Onana and former Manchester City defender Stefan Savic. For a player used to operating among elite company, those names offer at least a hint of continuity.
Carragher may see a step down. Trabzonspor see the cornerstone of a title push.
Some careers end with a slow fade from the spotlight. Others veer off the expected path and try to light up a new one. Salah has chosen the latter. Whether this is a detour from the top or the start of a new empire in Turkey will be written in the noise, or the silence, that follows his first season on the Black Sea.
