Salah flies young fan Isaac to Turkey for Trabzonspor reunion after Liverpool exit

Mohamed Salah flew his young friend Isaac Kearney to Turkey this week for a reunion at Trabzonspor, months after the Egyptian forward left Liverpool at the end of last season. The eight-year-old, who has the rare genetic disorder Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome, was given special access to Trabzonspor’s training ground before serving as mascot for the club’s match against Hungarian side Ferencvaros.

Isaac first came to the attention of Liverpool supporters in 2024, when videos of him singing Liverpool-themed songs while playing a toy guitar went viral on social media. That exposure led to a surprise school visit from Salah and Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk in December 2024, followed by a tour of the club’s training ground and a place as official mascot for Liverpool’s 2-0 Premier League win over Manchester City.

At the time, Isaac’s mother Melissa described the encounter warmly. “They were so caring towards Isaac. They were so genuine, I couldn’t have wished for anything better, really,” she said. “He [Salah] was asking Isaac how was school, has he been going to the game — things like that, so that was really nice.”

The friendship has clearly endured beyond Salah’s departure from Merseyside. Arriving at Trabzonspor’s training ground this week, Isaac — dressed in his hero’s new club shirt — shouted “surprise” across the pitch, prompting Salah to break into a broad smile before walking over to embrace him. Isaac also met former Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onana during the visit, receiving a pair of the goalkeeper’s gloves as a gift.

The day culminated with Isaac walking out onto the pitch hand-in-hand with Salah ahead of the Ferencvaros fixture, in front of a crowd of 40,000. In a social media post afterwards, Isaac captured the moment with characteristic wit: “Teacher — What did you get up to during the summer holidays Isaac? Isaac — Me? I flew all the way to Turkey and walked out in front of a crowd of 40,000 fans with my friend the Egyptian King!”