Salah feeds the Turkish circus

Hours after it was announced Mohamed Salah was travelling to Turkey to continue talks over a move to Trabzonspor, the club's supporters began to gather. The Turkish Super Lig has become used to welcoming stars of this stature, but Salah — a two-time Premier League and 2019 Champions League winner with Liverpool — may be the most exciting of them all.

Rather than touch down in Trabzon, the city on the Black Sea where the club are based, the 34-year-old arrived in Istanbul. There, Trabzonspor supporters were already chanting his name in anticipation. Salah, who left Liverpool on a free transfer in June, was driven through the streets of Istanbul followed by supporters on mopeds and in cars, with horns sounding and flags being waved from windows.

When he finally met his new supporters, he was clearly eager to embrace and lead the celebrations himself — while appearing taken aback at the passion he was faced with.

Ahead of his arrival into Trabzon, the club issued a statement asking fans to avoid lighting flares and remain calm. Did they listen? Of course not — this was the welcome that greeted Salah upon arrival in the city. Salah will miss out on Champions League football this season, with Trabzonspor participating in the Europa League qualifying round, but taking in the love and leading the chants as he sported the club's No 10 shirt, he appeared content as could be ahead of his grand unveiling at Papara Park on August 6.

The Egyptian is not the first player to experience that kind of welcome from Turkish fans and he will not be the last. Super Lig clubs routinely announce impending signings before the paperwork is complete, allowing supporters to assemble in this way. It is not just the biggest players who are met with that kind of reception either. Just ask Darius Vassell...

Victor Osimhen (Galatasaray, 2024)

Nigeria striker Osimhen initially joined Galatasaray on loan from Napoli in September 2024, and touched down in Istanbul deep into the night. His arrival was delayed by several hours, but for Galatasaray's dedicated fanbase the timing made little difference.

He was greeted at the airport by swarms of camera flashes and the chanting of hundreds of supporters, as fans posed with their new signing, holding a banner picturing Osimhen seated on a throne in a Galatasaray shirt and wearing a crown. Osimhen took photos with supporters young and old, before flares lit the streets of Istanbul as his convoy made its way into the city for his medical, with fans throwing flowers in his direction.

Darius Vassell (Ankaragucu, 2009)

Vassell was far past his peak when he arrived in Turkey in 2009, but the 22-time England international's welcome was befitting of a global superstar. The striker was greeted by around 3,000 fans as he arrived in Turkey's capital, Ankara, to a chorus of supporters singing his name.

Scarves and shirts were draped over the former Aston Villa and Manchester City player as he walked through the crowds, and he was handed a bouquet of flowers as he struggled to find a path to the cars waiting for him.

"It was the kind of reception you would have expected for someone like Nelson Mandela," he said in an extract of his book, published by The Guardian in 2017.

Vassell was in Ankara to scope out his prospective new club rather than directly sign for them, but it did not take long for him to be convinced — despite Ankaragucu not being one of Turkey's traditional big clubs. Once the then 29-year-old joined from City, he witnessed a ritual that also took arriving players such as Les Ferdinand and Dean Saunders by surprise. Before the first match of the season, a goat was sacrificed, with Vassell writing in his autobiography that he felt as if the animal "looked at me just before" the ritual.

Didier Drogba (Galatasaray, 2013)

Drogba arrived in Turkey in January 2013, eight months on from scoring the winning penalty for Chelsea in the 2012 Champions League final — and he was given a reception to match in Istanbul. A huge cheer erupted as the Ivorian striker stepped off his private jet, stooping over photographers to wave to hundreds of Galatasaray fans who had gathered to welcome the then 34-year-old.

During his unveiling at the Ali Sami Yen Sports Complex, thousands of supporters filled the stadium with flags, banners and constant chants, remaining inside the ground long after Drogba had been welcomed. His six goals in the second half of the season helped his new side finish as Turkish champions, 10 points ahead of rivals Fenerbahce, while they also reached the Champions League quarter-finals.

Robin van Persie (Fenerbahce, 2015)

Like Salah, Van Persie directly swapped the Premier League for the Super Lig when he left Manchester United for Fenerbahce — and his new supporters adored him for it. He touched down at Istanbul's Sabiha Gokcen airport, a 45-minute drive east of the centre, greeted by fans of Fenerbahce intent on inducting him into their culture.

Wearing a club scarf, the Dutchman grinned his way through a deafening corridor of supporters, who would not let police barricades stop them from welcoming their new No 11.

"I have seen a lot over the years but I have never seen anything like this. I hope that I'm going to make you happy," Van Persie told supporters at the time.

He went on to score 36 goals in 87 matches, although he could not help them to silverware before leaving in 2018.

Andre Onana (Trabzonspor, 2025)

Goalkeepers rarely arrive to the same fanfare as players further forward on the pitch, but Andre Onana's arrival at Trabzonspor from Manchester United a year ago proved an exception. Emerging to greet the crowd with a claret and blue scarf, Onana joined his new fanbase in celebration, silencing them before leading them in song.

The Cameroonian even had to use his scarf as a face covering when smoke from supporters' flares became too much, embracing the atmosphere and expectation that comes with playing in Turkey.

Jose Mourinho (Fenerbahce, 2024)

These extraordinary welcomes are not just reserved for players — as shown by Mourinho's appointment as Fenerbahce manager in June 2024. Mourinho's private jet landed at Istanbul's Sabiha Gokcen airport, where Fenerbahce supporters were waiting to get a glimpse of the then 61-year-old and two-time Champions League-winning coach.

'The Special One' strolled past with a wave, was met with cheers and his name being chanted, before his car was engulfed by Fenerbahce's giddy fans. Then, what must have felt like the whole of Istanbul descended on the Sukru Saracoglu Stadium, where Mourinho was unveiled during an hour-long presentation in front of a deliriously packed stadium.

Like many other big names, Mourinho learnt the first lesson in Turkish football: nowhere else turns an arrival into such a spectacle.