The desert calls football players with green. Malcolm will also go to Saudi Arabia

Malcolm’s transition for our championship, whatever one may say, is significant. You can, of course, joke that the transfer has become the most expensive sale of a Russian footballer, and in light of his departure, the story of obtaining a passport looks absurd. But the main thing here is that even in the isolation of the RPL from European and world football, Zenit managed to get a record amount of money for the Russian club – 60 million euros.

For a second, Chelsea paid the same amount for the insanely talented Christopher Nkunka and slightly less than what Newcastle and Manchester United paid for Sandro Tonali and Mason Mount. Despite the fact that Saudi Arabian clubs sometimes offer unimaginable salaries to football players, for them, in terms of the transfer amount, this transition is also the most expensive: Ruben Neves, acquired from Wolves, cost five million cheaper. For the RPL, the transfer also became a record, as the Hulk left Zenith himself for China for four million less.

It may seem that everything is in the black after such a deal: the Saudis get another great footballer, the Brazilian got a juicier contract than the city on the Neva, and even other RPL clubs might think that St.

It is worth considering that our league is losing a very special player, who was once considered the Hulk himself. In the first two seasons at Zenit, Malcolm, frankly, did not shine: a total of 15 league goals and the absence of a serious impact on the game in European competitions, when the club was still participating in them, is not something that the Brazilian paid big money for by the standards of Russian football. But in the previous draw, the player flourished – 23 goals and another seven assists. Fantastic numbers for the Premier League.

Zenith

However, for European football this transition is nothing more than a river flowing in the Saudi desert. Malcolm had his only strong season at Bordeaux, after which he made an unsuccessful trip to Barcelona, ​​literally throwing Roma out on the street. By the standards of European football, this is nothing more than a good player. These are the people who are going to the Middle East now: star veterans past the prime of their careers, as well as just fine football players in their prime, but not with superstar status. To some extent, Karim Benzema, who is the current owner of the Ballon d’Or, can be called an exception, but he is already 35 years old, so the Frenchman can be safely added to the first category of players seduced by an oasis of Arab “green” after the desert.

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It turns out that our championship has lost a great player, perhaps the strongest. On the other hand, what’s the point of Zenit spending so much money on a footballer’s salary, if even without him he could easily win the RPL, but there is still no need to think about European competitions? In general, there are both pluses and minuses in Malcolm’s departure. The question is only from your point of view.