Salah became available this summer after agreeing with Liverpool to tear up the final year of his contract, ending a trophy-laden nine-year spell at Anfield. Besiktas president Serdal Adali had been driving the pursuit personally, telling Turkish media the club was awaiting a final decision from the Egyptian's camp, with head coach Vincenzo Italiano also involved in face-to-face talks. According to Ozen, discussions on the sporting side progressed smoothly before the financial element derailed things.
"We contacted Salah, this also involved a financing model," Ozen told Turkish media. "Salah is a global star, a respected athlete. We met with Salah three times before the financial part of the negotiations was discussed.
"Up to this point, everything was smooth. When the financial side began, the initial smoothness slowed down from July 21st onwards. 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."
Elsewhere, reports in Turkey suggested the sticking point centred on image rights and an agent commission demand reaching as high as 35 percent, terms Besiktas considered unacceptable regardless of the player's profile.
Ozen was clear that the club would not move further despite the collapse in talks.
"The club has a policy, and it cannot deviate from that policy, our President has very clearly identified his position and has stayed there. I don't have a chance to say yes or no, Besiktas's offer, made under its own terms, is clear. If a response comes to this offer, it can be evaluated. But Besiktas will not make another offer," he said.
Ozen added that Salah's representatives had indicated they were negotiating with another, non-Turkish club, though he stopped short of naming one.
"They 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 Besiktas's club identity," he said.
Salah, 34, also has offers from elsewhere, including a lucrative two-year proposal from Major League Soccer side Sporting Kansas City, as he weighs up his next move away from European football's biggest stages.
Besiktas president Serdal Adali struck a similar tone in his own recent comments on the pursuit, confirming the club's stance without giving a clear timeline for how long their offer would remain on the table. He had earlier said Salah's agent, Ramy Abbas, initially responded positively before demands escalated once reports of a completed transfer began circulating in the media.
For Besiktas, landing Salah would have represented one of the most significant signings in the club's history and a major statement of intent in the Turkish Süper Lig, but Ozen's comments make clear the club is unwilling to compromise its own financial principles to get the deal over the line, whatever the player's global profile.