playSam TigheOct 13, 2026, 04:00 AM ETCloseSam is a writer, broadcaster and podcaster for ESPN. He will write on the Premier League, scouting and transfers.Multiple AuthorsOpen Extended ReactionsMohamed Salah looked on, wide-eyed with astonishment, as Trabzonspor fans serenaded him, sung to him and even bowed to him as he joined the club on a free transfer on Aug. 6.Fans had packed inside Papara Park, their 41,000-seater stadium situated on the banks of the Black Sea in northeastern Türkiye, and filled three of the four stands available to give him an unimaginable welcome. Chants echoed around the ground, flares burned bright red, and an old Turkish song — “Allah Allah Bu Nasil Sevmek” — was tweaked so that “Mohamed Salah” replaced the last three words, in perfect rhythm.The 34-year-old Egypt international — a two-time Premier League title winner and champion of Europe with Liverpool — then ascended the steps in the single empty stand, where a stage, a contract and a microphone awaited him. Facing the raucous crowd and visibly struck by the atmosphere, he could barely speak; he opened by nervously muttering “marhaba” (hello/welcome), and then immediately apologized for not yet having learned to speak Turkish (in two days).After a short speech, Salah walked back down to the pitch for a light show.
Meanwhile, around the stadium on TV broadcasts, fans were screaming praise for him: “The King of Egypt!” “Trabzon’s new prince!” “Sultan!” were among the titles bestowed upon him.”When the first rumors of Salah’s transfer started circulating, the reaction of the entire fanbase was ‘Oh, come on! There’s no way something that ridiculous could actually happen!'” NTV correspondent Veysel Mete Kılıç, who was on the pitch for the unveiling, tells ESPN.”Until Salah actually set foot in Trabzon, it was as if everyone believed it was all a dream, and that someone was eventually going to splash cold water in their faces and wake them up. The signing ceremony was an unprecedented spectacle in Trabzonspor’s history.”A well-trodden pathThe transfer window in Türkiye is an entirely different animal.Every year, the four biggest clubs — Galatasaray, Fenerbahçe, Besiktas, Trabzonspor — not only compete to make splashy, eye-catching signings (often from western Europe), but fight one another for those same targets. It drives the fans into a frenzy as their clubs compete for prestige through the transfer market.For the players, the lucrative path to Türkiye is well carved.
It began in the late 1980s with West Germany international goalkeeper Toni Schumacher, who wrote a book that got him fired by his club, FC Cologne. With nowhere else to turn, he joined Fenerbahçe and proved an immense success, captaining the team to the Turkish league title.More followed. In the 1990s, legends like Gheorghe Hagi, Jay-Jay Okocha and Claudio Taffarel also made their way to Türkiye’s Super Lig. Then in the 2000s, a trickle became a flood; depending on how long you’ve been following soccer, you might remember Roberto Carlos (2007), Wesley Sneijder (2013), Radamel Falcao (2019) making the move, or more recently, Victor Osimhen (2024) and Leroy Sané (2025).These players are lauded and treated like kings.
For decades, tradition has dictated that tens of thousands of fans race to the local airport to greet their new heroes in style, draping them in scarves and forcing pens into their hand for signatures.By this stage, Türkiye is no stranger to star names and big spending. The summer of 2026, though, took things to yet another level. Supporters watched, stunned, as all four Turkish giants laid siege to the market, directly competing for multiple players and splashing the cash.”The names brought in made headlines all over the world,” says journalist Hasan Mor.A summer of spendingIn each of the last two years, Super Lig spending has breached €400 million, per Transfermarkt; before that, it had only hit €200 million once. This places the Turkish league seventh in the world in spending over that period, behind only Europe’s top five leagues and Saudi Arabia.The summer of 2025 saw Osimhen join Galatasaray from Napoli for a record €75 million, roughly tripling the previous record set by Youssef En-Nesyri’s move to Fenerbahçe in 2024.
In 2026 the spending cranked up another notch, adding seven fresh names to the Super Lig’s top 15 most expensive transfers of all time.Second in that list is now Mason Greenwood, signed from Marseille for a figure Fenerbahçe claim was €40 million, but the French club insist was €50 million. The club further bolstered their forward line with Romelu Lukaku (€6.5 million) from Napoli and Vedat Muriqi (€15.5 million) from Mallorca. Meanwhile, Nathan Aké (€7.5 million) arrived from Manchester City to shore up the defense.The sheer level of name recognition now present in this Fener side led to a viral moment in the summer, as social media users realized they recognized the entire XI fielded for a UEFA Champions League qualifier against Lyon on Aug. 18.📋 The starting XI tonight. #FBvOL pic.twitter.com/hMfrPgl9cV— Fenerbahçe English (@Fenerbahce_EN) August 18, 2026 Usually, a handful of Turkish players largely unknown to a global audience would create some mystery in the team, but the only one present — Kerem Aktürkoglu — was already well known from eye-catching cameos at Euro 2024 and World Cup 2026. Otherwise it was an XI made up of big-name stars from across Europe: Éderson, Aké, Nélson Semedo, N’Golo Kanté, Milan Skriniar, Matteo Guendouzi, Greenwood and more.
Lukaku would soon be added to that mix too.Over the summer, reigning champions Galatasaray also made waves. They very publicly outbid Premier League outfit Aston Villa for the signing of Rafael Leão of AC Milan, spending €45 million and committing a huge salary package (reportedly €12.5 million per year) to landing the Portugal winger. Gala also spent €25 million to bring in Russia’s rising midfielder star Alexey Batrakov and €10 million to sign FC Porto forward Deniz Gül.Across the city of Istanbul, rivals Besiktas signed winger Leandro Trossard from Premier League champions Arsenal (€18 million), goalkeeper Alexander Nübel from Bayern Munich (€6.5 million), former Juventus striker Dusan Vlahovic as a free agent, and his old teammate Fabio Miretti on loan.Unfortunately for Besiktas, they were beaten to Salah’s signature by Trabzonspor, who also moved to bring in Fabinho, the Egyptian’s old Liverpool midfield colleague. They then did some smarter business in the younger age bracket, picking up two young players from Denmark — Aral Simsir (€15 million) and Franculino Djú (€17 million) — and signing Cape Verde full back Sidny Lopes Cabral (€10 million) before he shone at the World Cup.A transfer that feels like winning a derbyIt’s one thing for a Turkish giant to sign a big-name player; it’s another thing entirely to sign one that a rival was also in the hunt for.
The one-upmanship at play between the four teams is perhaps unrivalled in world football.”In Türkiye, we call it a transfer çalımı [transfer hijack],” Fenerbahce season ticket holder Hira Gizem Fidan tells ESPN. “When you manage to take a player that your rival really wanted, it is seen as a big success, because you stop them from getting what they wanted and make your own team stronger. These moments can almost feel like winning a derby.”Salah is the latest high-profile example of this, as he was strongly linked to Besiktas for weeks before opting for Trabzonspor. The club triumphantly teased the news with a CGI video of the pyramids overlooking their stadium, which hit 18 million views.
The comments section is full of fans not only celebrating his arrival, but also exulting in Besiktas’ perceived failure.𝐀𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 👑 pic.twitter.com/3csin4wD5I— Trabzonspor (@Trabzonspor) August 4, 2026 Another example came in 2023, with Bes
Leave a Reply