St. Petersburg Zenit will sell the Brazilian football player Malkom to the Saudi Al-Hilal for a record 60 million euros for Russia. The chairman of the board of Zenit, Alexander Medvedev, spoke about this.
How did Zenit manage such a transfer?
According to Medvedev, half of the amount must be paid for the transfer to take effect.
“All payments will be completed before the end of the 2023/24 season. No bonuses are provided. 60 million is a fixed amount,” he emphasized. Medvedev added that he considers the amount an “adequate reflection of the talents” of the forward.
The transfer of 26-year-old Malcolm will be the most expensive in the history of Russian football. Previously, this was considered the transfer of the Brazilian Hulk from Zenit to the Chinese Shanghai SIPG — the transfer amount was 56 million euros.
Why is Malcolm so expensive?
Malcolm moved to Zenit from Barcelona in 2019 for 40 million euros. Over four seasons in the RPL, the Brazilian played 109 matches, scored 42 goals and gave 24 assists.
As part of Zenit, Malcom became a four-time Russian champion, as well as the winner of the country’s Cup and Super Cup. Last season he became the RPL’s top scorer, scoring 23 goals in 27 matches.
In February 2023, Malcolm and his teammate Claudinho received a Russian passport. He will now play for Al-Hilal, last season’s bronze medalists in the Saudi Premier League.
At the end of May, it was reported that the club offered Lionel Messi a two-year contract worth €1.2 billion, but the Argentine ultimately chose Inter Miami. Now Al-Hilal has approached the management of PSG, to whom they offered a record amount of 300 million euros. Journalist Fabrizio Romano reported this on his social networks.