Mo Salah Spurns Sporting KC and Signs in Turkiye

Almost four weeks ago, Sporting Kansas City fans and everyone around Major League Soccer were thrown into a tizzy over the news that Mo Salah may come to KC. Tom Bogert and Paul Tenorio of The Athletic reported that Sporting KC “has emerged as [the] top MLS suitor for Liverpool legend Mo Salah.”

That pursuit has failed.

Turkish club Trabzonspor has announced a two-year contract with Mohamed Salah to join their club.

In case AI makes you believe nothing is real; there are numerous videos from different angles of Trabzonspor fans greeting Salah as he arrived in Turkiye.

As was reported at the outset, just because SKC led all MLS teams, didn’t mean coming to the United States was Salah’s first choice. The rumors he wanted to stay in Europe seemed to be true, even as rumors of $25 million per year contracts from the Saudi League floated around.

And Sporting KC ownership acknowledged it was a long shot, as The Athletic reported initially.

Sporting KC Ownership Confirms Attempting to Sign Egyptian Star Mo Salah

“Long shot for sure but many conversations [are] happening and there are no limitations on what is possible,” said Sporting KC majority owner Peter Mallouk. “The goal is to get back to winning quickly. This is not a multi-year turnaround.”

Despite the chase for Salah coming up short, Sporting Kansas City are still hard at work. There have been numerous rumors that they are signing Brazilian winger Andre Luiz from Greek club Olympiacos. The KC Soccer Journal will bring you an update on that later today.

In the meantime, if you are fretting about another big deal not happening, know that ownership has started their investment process. Check out our breakdown of the approximately $13 million that new owner Peter Mallouk has spent this year in transfer fees, which doesn’t even factor in salaries or the Dejan Joveljic transfer from 2025 that he was rumored to be the money behind.

Sporting KC Have Already Spent Big, Even Without Mo Salah