Istanbul Awaits Mohamed Salah: 500kg of Watermelons on the Line

In Istanbul’s fevered transfer summer, one promise cuts through the noise: 500 kilograms of free watermelon if Mohamed Salah signs for Besiktas.

A local fruit vendor, filmed by an Al Jazeera account specialising in Turkish news, has turned a rumour into a street spectacle, vowing to hand out half a tonne of watermelon the moment the Egyptian star is unveiled in black and white. It is theatre, of course. But it captures the mood. This is not just another signing chase. This is a city daring to believe that one of the game’s modern icons could land in the Turkish league.

Salah’s departure from Liverpool has triggered a wave of speculation about his next step. In Turkey, those whispers have grown louder by the day. Reports linking the “Egyptian pharaoh” with a move to Besiktas have intensified, and now Turkish network NTVSpor says the saga is edging towards resolution.

The outlines of the deal are in place. Besiktas, led by club president Serdal Adali, have reached an agreement with Salah himself, according to the reports. The last major hurdle sits off the pitch: the commission for his agent, Ramy Abbas.

This is where the story shifts from fantasy to hard negotiation.

Abbas, a powerful and seasoned figure in the transfer market, initially demanded a commission of 35%, the reports claim. That number would strain almost any club, never mind one operating in the financial realities of the Turkish league. Besiktas did not walk away. They went quiet.

Behind closed doors, Adali and his team kept the talks alive, working “quietly and in a strategic manner” despite the size of the demands. No grandstanding. No leaks from the boardroom. Just a slow, methodical attempt to bring a global star to Istanbul without losing control of the finances.

The pressure finally told. Abbas began to lower his demands step by step, bringing the parties closer to the point where signatures replace speculation. The deal has moved, in the words of local reports, into the final signing stage, with only the last details of the agent’s commission left to iron out.

For Besiktas, this would be a statement that reverberates far beyond Turkey. For the league, it would be a headline-grabber of the highest order. For the fans, it is already something more visceral. You can measure hope in numbers and clauses, but you can also measure it in a vendor’s willingness to give away half a tonne of fruit just to celebrate.

According to the same reports, Besiktas now stand on the brink of making the Salah transfer official, ready to announce the deal as soon as the final agreement with Abbas is sealed.

If the signatures come, the watermelons will follow. And so will the question: how far can Besiktas go with Mohamed Salah leading them out in Istanbul?