Ilya Zabarnyi, a defender of the Ukrainian national team and English club Bournemouth, refuses to join French club Paris Saint-Germain because the Parisians have Russian goalkeeper Matvey Safonov. "PSG may consider selling the goalkeeper to acquire Zabarnyi. This was told by French journalist Loic Tanzi in the podcast 100% PSG la tribune on the France Bleu platform, writes the portal le10sport.com, reports UNN.
Details
According to Tanzi, Ilya Zabarny does not want to move to PSG because the Parisians have a Russian goalkeeper, Matvey Safonov, and especially against the backdrop of Russia's war against Ukraine.
Zabarny is a great player, but he is Ukrainian. And there is a Russian in the PSG team. Zabarny said: "If Safonov is in the squad, I won't be able to come." The point is not so much that he is Russian, but that goalkeeper and center back are two positions that are ultra-connected on the field. And Zabarnyi doesn't want it to get to the point where a Ukrainian and a Russian create a problem for the team
It is also noted that PSG coach Luis Enrique is a fan of Zabarny, so the Parisians may consider selling Safonov this transfer window.
Addendum
Ilya Zabarnyi joined English side Bournemouth in January 2023 from Dynamo Kyiv for €15 million. Dynamo will also receive another €7 million in bonuses. This season, Zabarnyi played all 20 matches in the English Premier League. "Zabarnyi's Bournemouth have been pleasing their fans with their performance this season, which has seen the Cherries take 7th place in the standings.
In particular, this season, the Cherries crushed Manchester United 3-0 and also beat a number of giants, including Oleksandr Zinchenko's Arsenal, the crisis-ridden Manchester City, and Tottenham.
It should be noted that rumors about Zabarnyi's move to PSG emerged against the backdrop of a possible transfer of Paris defender Milan Skriniar to the Turkish championship. There were also rumors about the Ukrainian defender's move to Chelsea, which Mykhailo Mudryk plays for, Real Madrid, which has Ukrainian goalkeeper Andriy Lunin, who has been facing injuries to his central defenders during the season, and a number of other clubs.
This summer, Bournemouth extended the contract with the Ukrainian center back until 2029, but the club is open to offers. The Transfermarkt portal values the player at €38 million, which is the highest transfer value among Ukrainian players.
In addition, in December, Zabarnyi won the Player of the Year nomination from the Ukrainian Football Association.
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It is also worth noting that after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Russian clubs and the national team were excluded from official competitions under the auspices of FIFA and UEFA. European clubs also refused to buy players from Russia and the Russian championship.
However, in July 2024, PSG announced the signing of Krasnodar goalkeeper Matvey Safonov after the departure of Keylor Navas. The Parisians paid €20 million for the Russian goalkeeper. This season, Safonov has played 8 matches in which he conceded 6 goals.