The 34-year-old flew into the city on a private jet from the Greek island of Mykonos, where he had been on holiday following his World Cup involvement with Egypt, and was pictured aboard the flight wearing a Trabzonspor shirt bearing his name and the number 61, a number regularly used as a symbol of the city and the club. Salah addressed supporters directly in a video released by Trabzonspor ahead of his arrival.
"Trabzon are you ready, I can hear you," he said. "See you very soon."
He is a free agent after agreeing to tear up the final year of his Liverpool contract, ending a nine-year spell at Anfield.
Trabzonspor had invited fans to pay to join a livestream of Salah's journey, with supporters gathering at Istanbul's Ataturk Airport after the club shared his travel schedule. His jet departed Mykonos at around 10.30am, and he is due to continue on to Trabzon later on Wednesday evening, where a welcome programme is being planned.
Turkish giants Besiktas had been considered Salah's first choice, but talks with the Istanbul club stalled last week. Trabzonspor confirmed the move on Tuesday night, telling their 1.9 million followers on X: "Negotiations have begun regarding the transfer of professional footballer Mohamed Salah to our club," before following up with details of his arrival time.
Reports in Turkey suggest Salah is set to sign a two-year deal worth a €5m signing bonus and an annual guaranteed fee of around €17m, which would make him the best-paid player in Turkish football history, with a further 20% of shirt-sale revenue from his name reportedly included in the terms.
Trabzonspor also released a 17-second AI-generated video showing a camera panning from pyramids over mountains to their 41,000-seater Papara Park stadium as part of the build-up to his arrival, part of a wider push by the club to end their long wait for a first Super Lig title since 2022.
The move represents a significant statement of intent from a club outside Turkey's traditional Istanbul powerhouses, with Trabzonspor hoping Salah's arrival can be the final piece needed to end a title drought and reassert themselves domestically.
Salah leaves Liverpool as one of the most decorated players in the club's history, having scored more than 250 goals across nine years at Anfield and claimed the Premier League's Player of the Season, Golden Boot and Playmaker Award in the same campaign during his record-breaking 2024-25 season.
His decision to head to Turkey rather than pursue interest from Saudi Arabia has surprised some observers, but the guarantee of regular football appears to have been decisive.