The sporting director of the Turkish club Besiktas, Onder Ozen, announced on Monday that his club has decided to withdraw from negotiations with Egyptian football legend Mohamed Salah.
The sporting director of the Turkish club Besiktas, Onder Ozen, announced on Monday that his club has decided to withdraw from negotiations with Egyptian football legend Mohamed Salah.
During a press conference, Ozen stated that demands began arriving that could complicate the financial aspect of the deal. He suggested that a respected player like Salah might not be aware of these details.
Ozen specified that financial requests regarding image rights appeared through the player's agent, exceeding the level previously offered by the club to any staff member or player.
The sporting director emphasized that the club president has clearly defined a boundary beyond which further progress is impossible. He noted that management is a legal process and there is a legally established commission percentage. Exceeding this percentage could lead to illegal activity.
He added that the president made a pragmatic decision, not a public statement, and the club has currently suspended participation in the negotiations.
Ozen stated that the initial offer to sign Salah under the club's terms remains valid. If the player's representatives give a positive response to this offer, they can discuss finalizing the deal, but no additional offers will be made. He also noted that if the player's representatives wish to continue negotiations, it remains at their discretion, and they reported that they are negotiating with other parties. Besiktas will not abandon its position, considering this matter closed.
The sporting director revealed that he met with Salah three times. His personal meetings were dedicated to presenting the Besiktas project, the team roster, playing style, club goals, the nature of historical rivalry, and the atmosphere within the club. The following day, the coach met with him, and tactical matters were discussed.
Ozen concluded that the technical part of the negotiations was completed. However, when the discussion of financial details began, the smooth negotiations present at the start started to falter, beginning on July 21st. The pace of information exchange slowed down, and demands began to appear that threatened to derail the financial discussions.
The president of the Turkish club Beşiktaş, Serdal Adalı, confirmed that negotiations with Egyptian football star Mohamed Salah, former Liverpool winger, are still underway.
According to information published by the newspaper Hürriyet, Adalı stated that significant progress has been made in discussions with Salah, but the deal is not yet finalized. He noted that a final decision on signing Salah has not been reached.
Serdal Adalı added that after media reports surfaced about the completion of the deal, the player's agents changed the financial terms, attempting to inflate them to astronomical figures. The club rejected such conditions, and negotiations continue.
Adalı emphasized that the club highly values Salah and agrees with him on everything, but stressed that the priority is the best situation for Beşiktaş, and they are moving in that direction, reassuring the fans.
Meanwhile, Mohamed Salah's agent, Rami Abbas, caused controversy by writing on his official X account: 'We still do not know where Mohamed will play next season, but we can find out very soon.' He also added that their approach is not to engage in discussions with clubs where Mohamed does not want to play, just for the sake of creating hype.
According to a French newspaper, Egyptian star Mohammed Salah is on the verge of moving to Turkish club Besiktas in the current summer transfer window after reaching a verbal agreement between the parties.
The French publication Foot Mercato reported that negotiations between Salah and the Besiktas management have reached the final stages. The captain of the Egyptian national team is expected to sign a one-year contract that includes an option for both parties to extend it for an additional season.
The report also indicated that Salah's annual earnings will amount to 10 million euros, in addition to two million euros to be paid as bonuses and incentives depending on his performance with the team. The newspaper confirmed that Salah's move to Besiktas is inevitable once the official procedures are completed before the public announcement of the deal.
Previously, Salah concluded his contract with Liverpool FC at the end of last season, having spent nine years at Anfield, which created uncertainty regarding the future career of the captain of the Egyptian national team.
