When Mohamed Salah put pen to paper on a two-year contract at Trabzonspor's Papara Park in front of 35,000 roaring supporters, club president Ertugrul Dogan found it hard to hide his delight. The reaction from fans in the days leading up to the signing had already confirmed what Dogan believed: he had secured one of football's greatest transfers.

"He's the biggest Muslim footballer in the world. He's an influential role model," Dogan told BBC Sport Africa and BBC Turkish. "It was clear from everything he did that he felt that love, and he told us as much too. He thanked us."

A pitch rooted in passion

Trabzon is a Black Sea coastal city of around 800,000 people, tucked into the north-eastern corner of Turkey near the Georgian border. It does not rank among the country's 20 largest cities. But Dogan insists the city possesses something money cannot manufacture.

"I always say this about Trabzonspor and the city — we're the biggest one-club city in the world," he said. "Salah asked us something like, 'Why should I choose Trabzonspor now?' We told him about the city and said: 'You can be sure you will meet a group of supporters unlike any you have experienced before. You'll feel the genuine love those people have inside them.'"

Dogan, born in Trabzon in January 1977, built his fortune across real estate, hazelnuts, and the energy sector before specialising in biofuels. He assumed the club presidency in 2023, shortly after Trabzonspor's landmark league title win in 2021-22 — their first Super Lig triumph in decades. Under his stewardship, the club known as the Black Sea Storm have posted finishes of third, seventh, and third.

Last season, Trabzonspor claimed the Turkish Cup under coach Fatih Tekke. They now face a challenge in the UEFA Europa League play-offs, trailing 1-0 on aggregate after the first leg against Hungary's Ferencvaros.

The financial logic

Dogan has been transparent about the economics of landing Salah. The Egyptian will earn €17m per year (£14.6m, $19.9m) and receive 20 percent of merchandise revenue bearing his name. On the surface, the numbers look daunting for a club of Trabzonspor's scale.

"Purely from a financial perspective, this transfer has no direct return as such," Dogan acknowledged. "The attention it has generated and the level of engagement it has created around the world cannot easily be given a direct financial value."

The commercial response has been striking. Season ticket targets were initially set at 25,000 but the club now expects to surpass 30,000. Dogan says that nearly 70 percent of Salah's annual salary was covered by season ticket sales generated within the first four or five days after the announcement. Major corporations across Turkey, Europe, and the Arab world have since contacted the club about partnerships.

During the same transfer window, Trabzonspor sold 20-year-old Ivorian midfielder Christ Inao Oulai to Fiorentina and 22-year-old Brazilian forward Felipe Augusto to Zenit St Petersburg — both for significant profits after a single season at the club. Young players from Albania, Belgium, Cape Verde, and Portugal have come in, while Cameroon goalkeeper Andre Onana has returned on loan from Manchester United for a second spell.

How the deal was done

Many observers anticipated that Salah — fourth on the all-time Premier League scoring chart after nine extraordinary seasons at Liverpool — would opt for the Saudi Pro League or follow Lionel Messi to the United States. Instead, Trabzonspor moved fast once talks began in earnest.

"We'd actually been pursuing him since the World Cup, but we knew at the start he was also talking to other clubs," said Dogan. An unwritten rule in Turkish football meant Trabzonspor had to wait for rival domestic clubs to withdraw their interest before entering negotiations. Once those clubs stepped aside, the deal came together in roughly five or six days.

The first conversation took place over Zoom, with both parties getting acquainted. Talks continued digitally while Salah was on holiday in Mykonos, before the club flew him to Istanbul for his medical — a deliberate choice, Dogan explained, to let the 34-year-old experience the warmth of Turkish fans beyond Trabzon itself. Thousands of supporters greeted Salah at the airport, despite his arrival falling in the middle of a working day.

Salah made his competitive debut for his new club as a second-half substitute in a 1-1 draw against Kasimpasa on the opening day of the Super Lig season. His home league debut in Trabzon is expected this Sunday.

"The whole city lives for football," Dogan said. "Everywhere you go, on every corner, the city gives that player that energy and that happiness." For Trabzonspor's president, the smile on his face looks set to last a long time.