Isaac Kearney, a young Liverpool fan with Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome who went viral in 2024 for singing Kop chants with a toy guitar, was flown to Turkey by Trabzonspor for a surprise reunion with Salah at the club’s training ground. Video posted by the club showed Salah embracing the boy before introducing him to his new team-mates.
Hours later, Kristoffer Zachariassen headed Ferencvaros in front after 17 minutes at the Papara Park in the Europa League play-off round first leg, and Trabzon defender Chibuike Nwaiwu was sent off in the sixth minute of second-half stoppage time for violent conduct. Salah had Trabzonspor’s clearest openings, a shot that flashed wide just after the interval and, on 55 minutes, a header from the rebound after Paul Onuachu had struck the crossbar, which was cleared off the line. The Turkish side go to Budapest on 27 August trailing 1-0.
Nine years, 255 goals, one missing trophy
The move ended a nine-year Anfield spell in which Salah scored 255 goals in 435 appearances, the third-highest tally in the club’s history behind Ian Rush and Roger Hunt. He won every major honour on offer at Liverpool except the Europa League: two Premier League titles, the Champions League, an FA Cup, two League Cups, the UEFA Super Cup and a FIFA Club World Cup.
He said goodbye at Anfield in May with an emotional message to supporters.
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“Hello everyone, unfortunately the day has come. This is the first part of my farewell. I will be leaving Liverpool at the end of the season.”
“Liverpool is not just a football club, it’s a passion, it’s a history, it’s a spirit.”
“This club will always be my home to me and to my family. Thank you for everything. Because of all of you, I will never walk alone.”
The season that ended the Anfield story
The farewell followed a season in which Salah’s relationship with then head coach Arne Slot fractured in public. He was benched for both legs of the Champions League quarter-final against Paris Saint-Germain in April, and, dropped for a run of Premier League matches over the winter, he used a post-match interview at Elland Road to accuse the club of trying to make him carry the blame for its results and to say his relationship with his manager had broken down. Slot left Liverpool at the end of the season and was succeeded by Andoni Iraola, whose first Premier League campaign begins this weekend.
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From “embarrassment” to “betrayal”: how the move was received
Salah signed a two-year deal at Trabzonspor reported to be worth €17m per season, the largest in the Süper Lig, and initially wore the ceremonial No. 61 shirt, a nod to Trabzon’s provincial vehicle code and the fireworks that light up the stadium in the 61st minute of home matches.
The reception outside Turkey has been sharp. Goal columnist James Westwood called it an “embarrassment”, arguing that “going from being the best player in the Premier League to a free transfer to Turkey in the space of 12 months” reflected badly on the way his Liverpool career ended. Writing for FourFourTwo, Kedar Bayley went further, describing the choice as “a betrayal of his own talent” for a 34-year-old still capable of top-level European football.
In Trabzon, where hundreds of supporters greeted him at the airport, the priority is more immediate. Trabzonspor must overturn a one-goal deficit in Budapest on 27 August to reach the Europa League league phase, the one European competition Salah never lifted at Anfield.
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