Russia’s skipper close to joining ‘overpaid’ Englishmen
Published 15 November, 2007, 17:59
Two English Premier League sides are keen to sign the Russian captain, Andrey Arshavin. Meanwhile one of his national team-mates has accused English players of earning too much.
Russia are preparing to leave Cyprus where they have been acclimatising ahead of their Euro-2008 qualifier with Israel this weekend.
Guus Hiddink knows with Andorra the final group game on Wednesday, a win against the Israelis will go along way to securing qualification. If Russia qualify for the championships it is likely to be at the expense of England.
Scouts watching
The Saturday match may have a big impact on the career of the Russian captain.
Scouts from two English Premiership sides, Tottenham and Newcastle, are expected to watch the 26-year-old Zenit striker in action.
Should they be impressed, Arshavin, recently crowned Russian Champion, might well get a spell in the English Premiership, with a price tag of US$ 20 million.
Too much money
Meanwhile Alexander Kerzhakov, who once led Zenit’s attacks alongside Arshavin, and now plies his trade at Spanish Sevilla, made a controversial statement about wages in England.
O'Connor / Kerzhakov: who's overpaid?
According to Kerzhakov, one of the reasons England are struggling to qualify for Euro-2008 is because their players earn too much money.
“Russia have a compact group of players who don't earn nearly as much money, but are far more hard working on the field,” Kerzhakov claimed.
These accusations may harm Kerzhakov’s chances of being transferred to England himself. Several English clubs have reportedly shown interest in him, but with no offers voiced yet.
Kerzhakov’s words also contradict comments made by Scotsman Garry O'Connor, who played around a year for Moscow’s Lokomotiv. He described his Russian wages as ‘brilliant’, supplemented by ‘absolutely ridiculous’ bonuses.
“If you win derby games – and there are 14 of those a season – it was £100,000. To win the cup final was £250,000. I bought the Ferrari with a bonus,” told O'Connor.
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