Salah's Fenerbahce talks freeze as Saran calls early presidential election
Fenerbahce's pursuit of Mohamed Salah is on hold, paused by a Turkish boardroom crisis rather than anything to do with the Liverpool forward. President Sadettin Saran called an extraordinary election for June 6-7 after a 3-0 away derby defeat to Galatasaray and has confirmed he will not stand again, parking any major signing decision until a new board is in place.
Salah's camp had already met Fenerbahce officials twice, with reports putting the requested salary at around €20 million a year, a figure the Istanbul club had been believed capable of matching before the leadership change.
Why the talks froze
The trigger was last week's Istanbul derby at RAMS Park. Galatasaray's 3-0 win pushed them seven points clear at the top of the Super Lig with three matches remaining, ending Fenerbahce's title hopes and prompting an immediate clear-out: head coach Domenico Tedesco was dismissed and sporting director Devin Ozek also departed. Saran's call for early elections followed within days.
That sequence has practical consequences. Outgoing presidents do not typically commit a club to free-agent contracts of this size. Whoever wins on June 6-7 will set the 2026-27 budget and decide whether the Salah pursuit continues. The Egyptian's representatives have been told as much, according to Turkish reporting, and the negotiations have effectively been frozen rather than ended.
Why Salah is available
Salah, 33, will leave Liverpool as a free agent at the end of the season after the club and player agreed in March to terminate his contract a year early. He had signed a two-year extension only in April 2025, but his relationship with manager Arne Slot deteriorated through the autumn, and after Liverpool's 3-3 draw at Leeds in December 2025 he publicly accused the club of "throwing him under the bus" and said "someone doesn't want me in the club".
His agent Ramy Abbas Issa has insisted no next move is locked in, telling reporters: "We do not know where Mohamed will play next season." Saudi Pro League side Al-Ittihad has been the most persistent name in the background, and MLS has been floated. Salah's preference, according to multiple reports, is to stay in Europe through the 2026 World Cup, which keeps Fenerbahce, PSG and Bayern Munich live possibilities.
What a new Fenerbahce board would inherit
Whoever takes over at Fenerbahce will land a club between cycles. The Tedesco era is already over, the sporting director's chair is empty, and the squad is heading into the summer needing a No. 9 and a creative midfielder before any forward of Salah's profile makes sense. Adding a 33-year-old free agent on a contract worth around €20 million a year is a defensible call, but only after a manager and a sporting structure are in place to build around him.
The Salah camp's calculation is simpler. Liverpool's exit terms are settled. The squad number on the back is Liverpool's last problem, not his. From Issa's perspective, Fenerbahce on hold is fine; he has the rest of Europe to talk to until the Istanbul board takes shape. Whether the Turkish side becomes the first marquee signing of a new era or watches another club close the deal will depend on who wins the vote on June 7.
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