Beşiktaş President Adalı Denies Salah Transfer Rumors
Beşiktaş president Serdal Adalı has moved to slam the door on the Mohamed Salah saga, insisting his club were never beaten to the Egypt captain’s signature by Trabzonspor – because, he says, they were never in the race.
Speaking to Turkish outlets including A Spor, Adalı cut through weeks of speculation with a blunt clarification: Salah was never a Beşiktaş target.
“We did not want the Mohamed Salah deal, and this must be clear to everyone,” he said. “We did not sign him, but not because we lost the deal or were unable to bring him in, that talk is not true.”
“We were not a party to this deal”
For Adalı, the narrative that Beşiktaş chased Salah and were outgunned has clearly struck a nerve. He pointed to comments made by coach Onder that, in his view, were twisted into something they were never meant to be.
“The coach explained the matter in a clear and respectful way when he said: ‘At the present time’, but his words were understood incorrectly,” Adalı explained. “We could simply have announced then that we had withdrawn from the negotiations, but the matter was portrayed as if we were a party to the deal and then another club came and snatched the player, and that is not true and it bothers me.”
The message is unmistakable: Beşiktaş do not see themselves as losers in a transfer battle. In their version of events, they never stepped onto the pitch.
A president guarding his record
Since taking office, Adalı is keen to protect one particular line on his record – that Beşiktaş do not get gazumped.
“Since I took on the responsibility, no one has been able to snatch away any player we wanted to sign,” he declared. “Our relationship with Trabzonspor is also good, and nothing of this kind could happen between the two clubs.”
It is a pointed defence, both of his own authority and of the club’s standing in the Turkish game. Salah’s name may dominate headlines, but Adalı insists the real story lies elsewhere: in a transfer strategy he says is unfolding exactly as designed.
“Our deals are going as we planned them, and new players will join us starting next week,” he said. “In the end, what will decide matters is what happens on the pitch, while the transfer hype only lasts a few days.”
The noise, he suggests, will fade. The squad he is building will be judged in the league table, not in the rumour mill.
Trossard, licences and the first weeks ahead
Amid the Salah storm, Adalı also moved to calm another concern: the situation of Belgian forward Leandro Trossard. Questions had been raised about his registration, but the president dismissed any suggestion of a problem.
“There is no problem regarding Trossard's licence, the matter was resolved last night, and we are waiting for the documents to arrive from England,” he confirmed. “He will not be ready for the first match, but we hope he will feature in the second.”
So while Salah prepares for life in Trabzon, Beşiktaş are looking to integrate Trossard into their attack as quickly as paperwork allows.
The “facial expression” controversy
The Salah story even followed Adalı into the stands. During Trossard’s presentation, some fans chanted Salah’s name, and cameras quickly zoomed in on the president’s reaction. Social media did the rest.
“Everyone talked about the look on my face, but honestly I did not hear what the fans were chanting at that moment,” he said.
For Adalı, the obsession with a fleeting expression underlines how far the narrative has drifted from reality. Facial cues, crowd noise, online clips – all of it, he suggests, has been woven into a story that never matched the club’s actual intentions.
“His move was not part of our plans”
As he wrapped up, Adalı circled back to the point he wanted to leave ringing in the air: Salah to Trabzonspor was never a blow to Beşiktaş because Salah to Beşiktaş was never on their agenda.
“Much was said based on my facial expressions, as if we had lost the deal, but his move was not part of our plans,” he said. “The player's agent did things we had not been accustomed to before, and I think everything went in the end as it should. As time passes the picture will become clear, and everyone will understand why this deal was not completed.”
In other words, Beşiktaş will be judged on the players they did sign, not the superstar they insist they never truly chased. The question now is simple: when the season starts and the noise dies down, will the squad Adalı has backed on principle be strong enough to prove him right?
