The possibility that Mohamed Salah lands in Major League Summer this summer just got a boost after Beşiktaş all but conceded in attempts to sign the superstar free agent.
It was March when Salah’s decision to leave Liverpool a year early was announced. He said goodbye to the fans who cheered his name for nine seasons at the end of May and then played a historic World Cup in which Egypt broke new ground to reach the round of 16.
But his next move in club soccer is still yet to be decided and there is now one less option on the table because Türkiye’s Beşiktaş are refusing to offer more money.
Beşiktaş sporting director Önder Özen revealed to local reporters that talks with Salah’s people began well—“everything was smooth”—until finances started to be discussed after the first three initial meetings. Around a week ago, talk of money “slowed” everything down.
“Requests began to arrive that would both disrupt the flow of information and create a deadlock in the financial process. I can assume that a respected athlete like Salah was unaware of this,” Özen said, appearing to place blame on people representing the player.
Besiktas ‘Will Not Make Another Offer’
The proposal put forward from Beşiktaş to Salah is considered best and final.
“The club has a policy, and it cannot deviate from that policy, our president has very clearly identified his position and has stayed there,” Özen continued.
“I don’t have a chance to say yes or no … Beşiktaş’s offer, made under its own terms, is clear. If a response comes to this offer, it can be evaluated. But Beşiktaş will not make another offer.
“[Salah’s people] said they are also in talks with another club, maybe they will get a result from there. The last offer we made to Salah is the final point that does not harm Beşiktaş’s club identity.”
Beşiktaş president Serdal Adalı already spoke publicly on the matter to apply pressure. But it increasingly looks like the Süper Lig team is fighting a losing battle.
Sporting Kansas City Awaits First Ever Superstar
Sporting Kansas City emerged as the top MLS suitor for Salah almost three weeks ago and there is what has been reported as a “lucrative” two-year offer waiting for a response.
SKC has existed since the inaugural MLS season in 1996, known as Kansas City Wiz back then. There has never been a bona fide international superstar in the locker room. But ambition is high and efforts were made to get Cristiano Ronaldo when he left Manchester United and was on the market at the end of 2022, aided by holding his MLS Discovery Rights. At the time, transfer reporter Fabrizio Romano decribed the salary package offered to Ronaldo in Kansas City as ‘huge.'
There remains an open DP spot on the 2026 SKC roster, with that tag currently only applied to midfielder Manu García and forward Dejan Joveljić. Neither earns big money, even by MLS standards, with García guaranteed a little over $2.4 million in 2026, and Joveljić $3.3 million.
In his final season at Liverpool, Salah was estimated to be earning the equivalent of $28 million. In the whole of MLS currently, only Lionel Messi’s guaranteed compensation is that level. Inter Miami owner Jorge Mas said earlier in 2026 that Messi actually pockets around $80 million each year, so there are more ways to entice international stars financially.
Back in January, reports explained that an MLS-record $700 million deal was transferring majority control of SKC to financial adviser and wealth management billionaire Peter Mallouk, the son of Egyptian immigrants.
