Sports
 Ka-ching...many Russian players look set for big money moves(AFP Photo / V.Pinto)Start the bidding - Russian players targeted by foreign giants
The successful performance of the Russian national team at Euro 2008 has made a strong impression on the continent’s biggest clubs, many of whom have now added Russian players to their shopping lists for the coming season - and are ready to pay big money for their services.
Despite their semi-final loss to Spain, the total price of the Russian team has more than doubled since the start of the tournament in Austria and Switzerland.
Top of many clubs' list is, of course, Andrey Arshavin. French superstar Zinedine Zidane has hailed Andrei Arshavin as one of the main successes of Euro 2008, and virtually all the other European experts seem to agree with him.
Top English clubs, including Arsenal, showed interest in the player even before the tournament started, but now Spanish giants, Real Madrid and Barcelona, also want to see Arshavin in their teams. Barca see the Russian attacking midfielder as a replacement for superstar Ronaldinho, who is set to leave the Catalan club. The price of Arshavin’s transfer is thought to be in the region of € 20 million.
The Zenit St.Petersburg star is not the only Russian that interests Real Madrid and Barcelona. They're said to be also ready to pay € 17 million for Russia's top goalscorer Roman Pavluchenko.
Real Madrid are also interested in capturing CSKA’s Yury Zhirkov, who was one the best performers Russia’s memorable match with the Netherlands. The player’s price is expected to be around € 12 million.
Russian goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev is connected with a € 10 million move to Arsenal. Another London club, Chelsea, is rumoured to be in the market for Diniyar Bilyaletdinov.
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