Salah Isn't the Only One: Stars Who Have Worn the Trabzonspor Jersey
The arrival of the Egyptian king in Turkey unveils an impressive gallery of big names that have already paraded through the Bordeaux-blue club on the Black Sea coast.
The arrival of the Egyptian king in Turkey unveils an impressive gallery of big names that have already paraded through the Bordeaux-blue club on the Black Sea coast.
As the football world buzzes about Mohamed Salah and his shocking move to Trabzonspor, the Turkish club can boast that the Egyptian captain is not the first global star to have succumbed to the charms of Trabzon. The arrival of one of the best players of his generation is just the latest in a series of major transfers that have marked the club's history.
After nine years at Liverpool, where he won the Champions League, the Premier League, and the FIFA Club World Cup, Salah was officially unveiled as Trabzonspor's new signing on August 5, 2026. The club confirmed he arrived as a free agent, ending four months of uncertainty about his future. "Trabzonspor fans, are you ready? See you soon," Salah said in a video posted on the club's official channels, before adding the famous fan chant in Turkish: "Bize Her Yer Trabzon."
Before Salah, the Bordeaux-blue jersey was also worn by his former Liverpool teammate, Daniel Sturridge. The English striker testified to the incredible passion of the fans. "My family and friends were bombarded with messages from fans asking me to come. They made me feel like part of the family before I even arrived," Sturridge said on his unveiling day.
As for the pressure in Trabzon, Norwegian striker Alexander Sorloth put it most vividly; he left the club for Real Sociedad. "If you play a good game, you're a hero; if you play badly, they destroy you. The passion there is unlike anything I've seen before. It's complete madness," Sorloth told local Turkish media. His departure caused such an uproar that he had to publicly beg fans to stop sending him messages and calling him.
The list of big names who have worn the Trabzonspor jersey is quite long. There's Nicolas Pépé, the forward for whom Arsenal once shelled out as much as €80 million. Spanish center-back Marc Bartra also left his mark, arriving in Turkey from Betis, as did Frenchman Florent Malouda, a former Chelsea and Lyon player.
The club's midfield has been graced in the past by Dutchman Kiki Musampa, a player who developed at Ajax and wore the jerseys of Málaga, Atlético Madrid, and Manchester City, as well as Napoli's Slovak legend Marek Hamšík. Between the posts stood Cameroonian André Onana, after he had already built a name for himself at Inter and Manchester United.
Salah's choice of Trabzonspor surprised many, given that he had been linked with a number of clubs in recent weeks. Turkish rivals Beşiktaş, Spanish side Atlético Madrid, Saudi clubs Al-Ittihad and Al-Diriyah, as well as interest from Major League Soccer, were all mentioned. In the end, however, he decided to stay in Europe and take on the challenge in the Süper Lig, where a hellish atmosphere awaits him, just as his predecessors experienced. In Trabzon, the cauldron is already heating up for the arrival of the new "Pharaoh."
