MOSCOW, July 7, Oleg Bogatov. the transition of the ex-defender of the Moscow CSKA Mario Fernandez not to the capital's football club, but to the St. Petersburg «Zenith» — more favorable financial conditions, about some moral principles, like the long-term goalkeeper of the army club Igor Akinfeev, we are not even talking, said the former referee FIFA Sergey Khusainov.
Earlier, a source said that 32-year-old Fernandez will go to Zenit and will receive two million euros a year. The player's agent, Jorge Machado, told the agency that it was he who made the decision to end talks about returning to CSKA, not the player. The head coach of the St. Petersburg team, Sergei Semak, said on Friday that the player is interesting to Zenit, but there is no final decision on the transition yet. The ex-goalkeeper of the Russian national team, 37-year-old Akinfeev, has been playing for CSKA since 2003 and has spent his entire career with the team.
“As they say, promising does not mean getting married,” Khusainov said. “Of course, money is at the forefront. There are no moral principles, only money. And they dictate a choice — they say, excuse me, I have such a situation. the choice of a person who lives in real current conditions. Of course, if a Russian player did this, he would immediately be called Judas. Here's a comparison for you — Igor Akinfeev and Mario Fernandez.»
Fernandez played for CSKA for 10 years, and in May 2022 he left the club with a valid contract, he announced that he was suspending his career. The defender noted that if he returned to Russia, he would play only for the army team. In December 2022, Fernandez resumed his career and began to play for the Brazilian Internacional on loan. In April, he left the team for personal reasons. A native of Brazil, Fernandez has Russian citizenship and played 33 matches in the Russian national team, reaching the quarterfinals of the 2018 home world championship with the national team.