Jamie Carragher thinks Mohamed Salah has gone too far down the ladder by joining Trabzonspor. He said Turkey "feels a level too low", argued Salah should have ended up at AC Milan or Juventus, and pointed to a reported €17 million-a-year package as the sort of deal that can push a player away from the top end of Europe.

Carragher's view on the move

Carragher's point was blunt. Speaking to goal.com, he said he never expected Salah to go to Saudi Arabia because he was "too good for that", before adding that Turkey feels a level too low and that he believed the forward could still be playing in Serie A.

He also said he expected an AC Milan or Juventus move and suggested Salah's wage demands may have blocked that route. Carragher added that Salah is still driven by his numbers and could have chosen "a real prestigious club" instead of Trabzonspor.

The money is part of why the move has landed like this. Carragher said Salah walked away from a £400,000-a-week Liverpool deal, while the reported Trabzonspor package was €17 million per year. On those figures, the criticism is not just about geography, it is about whether Salah traded elite football for a richer, easier final step.

Lovren's pushback

Dejan Lovren did not let it sit. He called Carragher's criticism "disgusting" and said Salah had been treated badly after eight or nine years of elite output at Liverpool.

Lovren's response was emotional, but it also shows why this argument will not go away quickly. Salah's move is being viewed through two very different lenses, one about status and level, the other about how a decorated forward should be spoken about once he leaves Liverpool.

There is still some uncertainty over the move itself, because the reporting describes Salah as having agreed a two-year deal with Trabzonspor rather than giving the kind of official club statement that would close every question. That leaves room for the usual transfer noise, but not much room for doubt about Carragher's opinion. He thinks Salah still belongs in a bigger league than Turkey.

Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 4 outlets. How we work →