Euro Watch August 26th
Zenit Sign Danny Alves For €30m
Zenit St Petersburg have smashed the Russian transfer record with a €30million deal for Portuguese midfielder Danny from Dynamo Moscow, but denied that the 25-year-old is a replacement for want away star Andrei Arshavin.
I’m always going to be for a Portuguese player getting a bigger piece of the pie. 30 million euros is pretty steep but that was the figure in his release clause which was the only way Dynamo Moscow were going to let him go.
The figure is excessive but the player is already used to the Russian culture and style of play which usually becomes an issue when bringing in foreign players.
Rivaldo quits AEK Athens to head to Uzbekistan
Rivaldo has rocked AEK Athens by telling the club he is leaving to take up a lucrative contract with Uzbekistan outfit FC Bunyodkor.
This shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone. Rivaldo previously left Olympiacos for bitter rivals AEK. At his age he is going to cut himself the best deal he can possible get.
Madrid Set To Up Villa Bid
Real Madrid are ready to increase their offer for Valencia forward David Villa in a desperate attempt to land the Euro 2008 Golden Boot winner.
Real are going to have pay through the teeth in order to sign Villa or any other big name transfer at this point. For big name players it’s always better to start negotiations right after the season ends since so close to the deadline the selling team would want a premium for the distraction it will cause to the other members of the team and the issues with finding a replacement.