Russian big spenders Anzhi Makhachkala are lining up swoops for Robin van Persie, Nicolas Anelka and Neymar, according to player-coach Roberto Carlos.
Carlos claimed his club are also targeting Paris St Germain star Nene in a bid to eventually become as big as Real Madrid and Barcelona.
Carlos was the first major star to move to Anzhi following their takeover by billionaire businessman Suleyman Kerimov at the turn of the year. In all Kerimov has spent about €70m on the likes of Roberto Carlos, Yuri Zhirkov, Samuel Eto’o, Balázs Dzsudzsák and Mbark Boussoufaas he tries to turn Anzshi into a footballing powerhouse.
Roberto Carlos says that the club is looking to bring in more stars in the next 12 months:
“Anelka is not the only player,” he told French TV show Canal Football Club. “Nene from PSG and Van Persie from Arsenal are players we are following. And Neymar? I talked to him. If Real, Barca or Manchester United cannot pay the transfer fee, we will pay it. Suleyman Kerimov can offer what he wants.”
While Anzhi are only the fourth or fifth best team in Russia, and that the standard in the Russian league is below that of the main European leagues, you cannot discount the money that Suleyman Kerimov is throwing at players and managers.
Samuel Eto’o could not turn down a three year deal worth around €20.5m a year, while Jose Mourinho us said to have turned down a €26m a year offer to manage the team.
Anelka is out of contract next summer, while Van Persie has less than two years left on his Arsenal deal. If either player gets offered a three-year deal worth between €50-75m could they really turn that down?
