Gazprom wants to block Arshavin’s transfer to Barca
Published 02 July, 2008, 18:46
The owners of Russian football champions Zenit St Petersburg will try to block the sale of their in-demand star player Andrey Arshavin. Energy giant Gazprom doesn’t want the forward to leave, according to Russia’s Sport-Express newspaper.
Arshavin became one of the biggest surprises of Euro 2008 and Barcelona and Chelsea head the queue of clubs desperate to pay big money for the player.
Negotiations with both European clubs are reported to be underway, with the price of Arshavin’s transfer expected to be in the region of € 20 million.
Arshavin has said that playing for Barcelona has been his dream since childhood and has made no secret of his desire to play abroad.
Zenit, who are the reigning UEFA Cup holders after beating Glasgow Rangers in May’s final, have a lot of tough challenges ahead. The St Petersburg club face Manchester United in the UEFA Super Cup in August. They also have to defend their domestic title, and then for the first time ever will represent Russia in the Champions League.
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