Russian Premier League side Anzhi Makhachkala "could be forced to sell their top players after billionaire Owner Suleiman Kerimov showed his frustration with the Russian football club's lack of success by drastically cutting its financial lifeline," according to Anton Kolodyazhnyy of REUTERS.
Anzhi has "spent lavishly since being bought by the Russian businessman in 2011 but his money has not bought success." It finished only third in the Russian championship last season and has just two points from its first four matches this season. Club Chair Konstantin Remchukov suggested on Twitter that Anzhi "planned a fire sale of players to trim costs." Remchukov tweeted, "The main news is that there will be a reorganisation at Anzhi. Many expensive players will go, and the budget will be around $50-70 million dollars a year" (REUTERS, 8/7). R-SPORT reported Anzhi’s bloated budget reached a reported $180M last season, likely putting it "among the top-two highest-spending Russian Premier League teams, along with Zenit St. Petersburg, heading into the current season." Remchukov said, "We failed to achieve any kind of success quickly, so a lot of players will leave" (R-SPORT, 8/7). ESPN reported the likes of Roberto Carlos, Samuel Eto’o and Chris Samba "have turned out for the Dagestan outfit, with Eto’o currently believed to be the world’s highest-paid player" -- reportedly taking home £17M ($26.3M) after tax. However, Kerimov and the Anzhi hierarchy "have now decided to adopt a more frugal transfer policy and focus more on youth development" (ESPN, 8/7).
