“Profit from shirt sales doesn’t belong to the player”: Why Salah’s demands sparked debate at Beşiktaş
Veteran football pundit Zeki Uzundurukan has weighed in on the talks surrounding Mohamed Salah and Beşiktaş, focusing not only on the sporting side of the transfer, but especially on the economic model behind it. According to him, the financial conditions requested around the deal cross a line that clubs should firmly protect.
Uzundurukan underlined that a player of Salah’s calibre already receives exceptional treatment when a club like Beşiktaş comes calling.
“You arrive, and they’re already giving you every possible condition,” he said. “They put the most attractive contract on the table. But then you also say… why is the club signing you? To compete for trophies, yes, but also for sponsorships, ticket revenue, matchday income. You are a financial project for them.”
From his perspective, it is precisely because the club is investing in a global star as a “financial project” that there must be clear limits. The most controversial point for Uzundurukan is the idea that a player could demand a share of profits from shirt sales bearing his name and number.
“Why should I hand over the profit from the shirts I sell to you?” he asked, stressing that match jerseys have always been a fundamental commercial asset for clubs, not players. “We’re talking about a world-class star who can help raise Beşiktaş’s squad quality and global image. But then he turns around and says, ‘I also want a cut of that.’ That’s not acceptable. It goes against the basic logic of the business.”
He described such demands as completely incompatible with traditional football economics:
“This is not how it works. It’s like saying, ‘I’ll take everything, you take nothing.’ That’s impossible. A club can’t run its business that way.”
Despite these strong objections on the financial side, Uzundurukan was careful to separate the commercial debate from Salah’s sporting value. He repeatedly underlined his admiration for the Egyptian forward as a footballer.
“Of course we have enormous respect for the player,” he stated. “His numbers are dizzying: 694 matches, 334 goals, 171 assists. For a winger, that means almost one goal contribution in every single game. Only a handful of centre-forwards in the world have ever reached numbers like these.”
In purely football terms, Uzundurukan believes Salah would instantly transform Beşiktaş’s attacking line. Assessing his potential impact in the Turkish league, he made a bold but, in his view, realistic prediction.
“If he joins Beşiktaş, you’re looking at 25 goals and 20 assists at a minimum,” he insisted. “It might sound exaggerated at first, but Mohamed Salah is capable of this. He’s a player who has done it in the Premier League, one of the most demanding competitions in the world.”
Why shirt sales are such a sensitive issue
The core of Uzundurukan’s criticism lies in the economics of modern football. Clubs invest massive amounts in transfer fees, wages, signing bonuses, and image rights. In return, they expect to recoup part of that outlay through commercial channels: shirts, merchandising, global partnerships, and increased fan engagement.
When a superstar arrives, shirt sales often spike dramatically. However, Uzundurukan argues that this boom should not be viewed as “extra” income for the player, but rather as one of the few mechanisms that allow clubs to balance their books. From his point of view, if stars start to demand a share of those profits on top of their already huge salaries, the model becomes unsustainable.
He also implies a question about fairness inside the squad. If one player negotiates a share of shirt sales, what prevents others from asking the same? Over time, that could create a hierarchy not only in the dressing room but within the club’s entire wage structure, and eventually destabilize the sporting project.
The fine line between image rights and club revenue
Modern contracts with top players often include complex image-rights arrangements. Clubs and players negotiate how to share income from marketing campaigns, advertising usage of the player’s image, and global promotional work. Uzundurukan’s stance suggests he sees a clear boundary: image rights can be shared, but core club products like shirts should remain under the club’s full financial control.
In his view, when a club uses a player’s name and number on a jersey, it is not simply monetizing the individual, but leveraging the club’s brand as a whole. Fans buy the shirt of Salah, yes, but they are also buying Beşiktaş. The crest, the colours, the history – all of that belongs to the club, not to any single star.
Salah as a brand – and as a risk
At the same time, it is impossible to ignore that Salah is not only a footballer but a global brand. His popularity stretches from Europe to the Middle East, North Africa, and beyond. Any team that signs him gains instant international visibility. That is precisely why both sides see such enormous value in the deal, and why the negotiations around financial rights can become so tough.
Uzundurukan indirectly acknowledges this: by calling Salah a “financial project”, he accepts that the Egyptian’s arrival would be about much more than goals and assists. However, he warns that this must not lead to a situation where the club accepts every demand just to secure a big name.
For him, the key question is sustainability: if you give away too much to one star, what happens when the next big signing sits down at the negotiating table and asks for the same, or more?
Sporting impact: what Salah could change at Beşiktaş
Putting aside the financial controversy, there is little doubt in Uzundurukan’s mind regarding Salah’s impact on the pitch. In a league where defensive structures are often less rigid than in England, Salah’s pace, intelligence, and finishing could be devastating.
A return of 25 goals and 20 assists, as Uzundurukan suggests, would not just make Salah the star of the team; it would completely alter the balance of power in the title race. Beşiktaş’s attack would gain not only a scorer, but also a creator capable of dragging rivals out of position and opening space for teammates.
Beyond the numbers, a player of his calibre would transform the mentality of the dressing room. Younger players would train and play every day alongside a world-class professional, absorbing his work ethic, movement patterns, and decision-making under pressure. For a club that wants to raise its standards, that cultural effect can be as valuable as the goals themselves.
The club’s perspective: investment versus control
From Beşiktaş’s standpoint, any move for Salah would be a calculated risk. On one side of the scale, there is the sporting upgrade, the worldwide attention, and the potential spike in commercial revenue. On the other, there is the need to maintain control over core income streams and protect the wage structure.
Uzundurukan’s comments reflect the fear that, in chasing star power, clubs might hand over too much leverage to individuals. If a single player is allowed to treat the club’s shirt as his personal revenue channel, it can set a precedent that will haunt future negotiations. For a historically member-based club with a large fanbase and deep traditions, that is not a trivial matter.
Where should clubs draw the line?
The debate around Salah and Beşiktaş exposes a broader question that many football institutions face: how far should clubs go in tailoring deals to the commercial weight of a superstar? Performance-related bonuses, image-rights packages, and loyalty payments are already standard. The controversy comes when players push for direct participation in core club revenues such as merchandise profit.
Uzundurukan’s answer is clear: there must be a non-negotiable red line. Salaries and bonuses can be higher for elite players, but the economic foundation of the club – ticketing, sponsorships, and shirt sales – must remain within the club’s control if it wants to survive and grow.
Respect for the player, protection of the institution
What stands out in Uzundurukan’s stance is that he combines strong criticism of specific financial demands with genuine admiration for Salah as a professional. He can call the request for jersey-sale profit “against the logic of the trade” while still describing Salah as one of the few players on the planet to reach such extraordinary statistics from a wide position.
This duality captures the reality of modern football: admiration for the stars coexists with concern about how much power they should wield. For Uzundurukan, the message is simple – respect the player’s greatness, but never forget that the institution must come first.
In his view, Beşiktaş – or any club – should aim to sign icons like Salah on terms that reward their talent generously, yet do not undermine the club’s long-term stability. That balance, more than any single transfer, will determine whether a club can compete at the highest level year after year.