Turkish Besiktas Announces Freeze on Negotiations to Acquire Mohamed Salah.. Here are the Reasons

SadaNews - The Turkish club Besiktas announced - yesterday, Monday - a temporary freeze on its negotiations to sign Egyptian international Mohamed Salah, following his departure from Liverpool, due to the club's management rejecting financial demands that led to the deal stalling despite discussions reaching advanced stages.

The club's sporting director, Onder Ozin, revealed details of the marathon negotiations at a press conference, explaining that the management carefully studied the financial feasibility and potential commercial returns before entering into formal discussions with the player.

Three Meetings and a Financial Clash

Ozin stated that the club prepared a comprehensive financial model that matches Salah's significant athletic and commercial value, noting that the management held three successful meetings with the player's camp.

The sporting director said: "Salah is a global star and a highly respected athlete, and things were going smoothly and excellently up to that point, but the pace of negotiations slowed down suddenly as soon as discussions about the precise financial details began on July 21."

He added: "Demands began to surface that could completely disrupt the negotiations. I can assume that a respected athlete like Salah was not aware of them, as players usually do not get involved in these precise details."

Image Rights and Commissions Crisis

Ozin pointed out that the main points of contention were related to "image rights" and agents' commissions. Consistent media reports indicated that the primary reason for the impasse was the inflated financial value requested by Ramy Abbas, Salah's agent.

Ozin commented on this aspect, stating: "The issue of image rights represents a financial demand that the club has never submitted to any player or employee throughout its history. We have a specific policy, and we cannot deviate from it; Besiktas is a club governed by principles first."

He firmly continued: "Player representation is a legal profession with a recognized commission, but exceeding that commission may mean getting involved in something illegal. Therefore, the club president took a correct and realistic stance instead of succumbing to a populist decision and decided to temporarily withdraw from the negotiations."

Principles Over Stardom

Ozin emphasized at the end of his remarks that the transfer file of the Egyptian star has become "suspended" at the moment, without clarifying whether there is an intention to resume discussions in the future or not.

He concluded his message to the club's fans by stating: "It is very important to maintain the values of Besiktas; knowing the cost of sacrificing these values is more important than anything else, and keeping the right path for the club always remains more important than signing any player, regardless of their star status."

Source: Anadolu Agency