'I can't believe he is one of us' - inside Salah's life in Trabzon

Back in August, when Mohamed Salah landed in Istanbul after flying in from his holiday in Mykonos, he wore Trabzonspor's burgundy and blue home strip as he stepped out of the plane to be greeted by thousands of fans.

That kit sold out almost instantly. Later that day, as Salah headed to Trabzon in north-east Turkey to complete the formalities of one of the most unexpected transfers, he asked one of his entourage what he should wear.

"The same kit," came the response, but Trabzonspor president Ertugrul Dogan advised Salah to wear the black away kit instead. Of course, that sold out too.

From the outset of the 34-year-old's arrival to this historic port city on the Black Sea, that sense of adulation has only grown.

"I went to the airport to see him in Istanbul and it was surreal," says Nisa Dumangoz. "I still can't believe that he is one of us."

Go for a stroll through Trabzon on matchday and it is Salah's face which adorns everything. Even the walls inside the fishmongers have pictures of him.

At the club shop in town, one of the staff jokes that the ground floor is for the Egyptian and the upper floor is for everything else.

Outside the stadium, there are scarves, magnets, keyrings, lighters with his face on and Egyptian Nemes headdresses in Trabzonspor colours. Season ticket sales rocketed after his arrival.

"Walking around Trabzon, it feels as though nine out of every 10 fans wearing a shirt have Salah's name on the back. The 10th has their own," says Turkish football journalist Hasan Tuncel.

The club have surpassed their merchandise revenue from last year in three months since Salah's arrival, while the local airport is only getting busier.

Liverpool was difficult to reach for many supporters across the Arab world and tickets were often hard to source. Trabzon is far more accessible, with new flights introduced from Cairo, Dubai and Riyadh since Salah's arrival.

On our flight from Istanbul, we meet an Egyptian family of 10 coming from Cairo for Trabzonspor's Uefa Conference League game against Freiburg.

"He is our ambassador and our Egyptian King, and with how many people want to come to Turkey now, he is their ambassador too," says Mahmoud.

At the game, there is a group of Egyptian celebrities and influencers. A quick check of their social media shows their combined Instagram following of about five million. Trabzonspor have three million. Salah has 68 million.

Salah recently went for a hike and posed for a picture on a rock in the Trabzon highlands. That rock has been renamed Salahtasi (Salah's Rock) and is now a tourist destination.

The commercial element of his signing has more than been justified but crucially, on the pitch, Salah is driving Trabzonspor's push for the Turkish Super Lig title and he has hit the ground running with 10 goals and five assists in all competitions.

Trabzonspor trail leaders Galatasaray by three points, having won seven of their first 10 games, including victories against the table-toppers and Besiktas.

For context, the Istanbul 'big three' of Galatasaray (26), Fenerbahce (19) and Besiktas (16) have won the league on 61 occasions combined, compared with Trabzonspor's seven titles.

"In Turkey, he is the biggest football star after Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo," says Kerim Tonyali, who is part of Gurbetci Gencler, a Trabzonspor supporters' group.

And given Salah's status as an icon, Trabzonspor are quickly becoming the second club for many in Turkey and the wider Muslim world.

Trabzon may be more than 2,000 miles from Liverpool but there are similarities, particularly when it comes to the sense of identity and pride associated with originating from here.

"Everywhere is Trabzon for us," is the local mantra and aligns with the sense of unity within this city that has a population of about 800,000 and is only the 30th-biggest in Turkey.

For Salah, the financials were important and he is earning about £14.6m per year as well as 20% of official merchandise sold with his name on, but one of the key aspects of coming here was the ability to focus entirely on his football.

Besiktas was considered as an option after the 2026 World Cup but, after multiple calls with Trabzonspor, Salah felt they were the ideal fit and offered a life away from the hustle and bustle of Istanbul.

He has his own security detail and is living in the nearby town of Yomra, where he now has a street named after him. He also employs a private chef and, unsurprisingly, continues to set standards in the gym and on the training ground.

By all accounts, Salah is thriving. He is a fan of Turkish coffee and is often spotted leaving the ground with Ayran - a traditional yogurt drink - but as much as he wants to explore the city, he knows of the difficulties given his reputation.

"Everyone wants to work with a star like Mohamed Salah," said Trabzonspor's Paul Onuachu, formerly of Southampton. "He adds so much and helps all of us and he contributes positively. I am grateful for him. It's a blessing to play with him."

Watching Salah in the flesh in a Conference League game against Freiburg, his pace has gone down a notch compared with his peak but the touch, quick feet and sheer quality is still there. And so is that knack of getting in goalscoring positions, even if his defensive duties - which were such a source of debate last season at Liverpool - are limited.

Salah believes he still has plenty to give for club and country, with aspirations to play in both the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations and 2030 World Cup, which will be partly held in North Africa.

No decision has been made about how long he will stay in Turkey, but there is growing belief among sources in the Middle East that he will move to Saudi Arabia when his two-year Trabzonspor deal expires in 2028. By then, he will be 36.

On initial thoughts, it is easy to question how and why Salah ended up here.

When he delivered that infamous mixed-zone interview at Leeds' Elland Road less than a year ago and the wheels of his departure from Liverpool were set in motion, surely no-one would have imagined his next destination would be this Turkish outpost near the Georgian border.

"I remember looking at him when we landed in Trabzon and seeing the crowds outside and how emotional it was," says Anil Dincer, one of the lawyers involved in Salah's move to Turkey.

"We already have Salah and Fabinho. So now we are waiting for [Virgil] Van Dijk," adds Serhat Sumer, a Trabzonspor fan.

Salah, of course, delivered so much joy to Liverpool and the intention here is the same. This is no drift towards retirement, but a player determined to prove he still belongs at the highest level and that football still has meaning beyond trophies and money.

Asked by BBC Sport if he had a message for Liverpool fans, Salah simply said "hello" and smiled. Given how rarely he spoke in the mixed zone during his time at Anfield, it is not in his nature to talk regularly on record.

Last season was Salah's least prolific at Anfield, but given Liverpool's struggles in front of goal in the Premier League, it is hard to argue they have replaced one of their greatest ever players.

Perhaps a time will come when the likes of Salah, Arne Slot and Richard Hughes will reveal more about the chain of events that led to the forward agreeing to terminate his contract a year early. As it is, none of them are at the club and that chapter is firmly closed.

Salah's influence that once helped shape the Premier League is now being felt on the shores of the Black Sea. He is Trabzonspor's force of nature. And the team known as the Black Sea Storm are rising and on the hunt for silverware with their Egyptian King.