Ligue 1 special: http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Olympique-de-Marseille-c40127 star Lucho Gonzalez and his suitors
Argentine international has been linked with a host of European clubs since news broke that Olympique de Marseille are looking to offload the midfielder this summer.
Les Phoceens’ financial constraints are forcing them to sell a few players who are a burden on the club’s payroll. Though rumours were ripe throughout the second half of the 2010/2011 Ligue 1 season that the club will introduce a new budget policy, it wasn’t
before the start of the summer transfer window that things became clearer.
First, the Rhone giants terminated the contract of Argentine international http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Gabriel-Heinze-c14310. The left-back was earning around 4.5 million Euros per year and was the first to go. Andre-Pierre Gignac was bought last summer from Toulouse and the Frenchman has
been disappointing so far.
Rumours suggest that Gignac might be offloaded as well. However, one player who is in the front pages of transfer rumours everyday is Lucho Gonzalez. El Comandante as he is called affectionately by his fans is earning around 3 million Euros per year. The
30-year-old was brought to the Stade Velodrome in the summer of 2009 from http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/FC-Porto-c39186 for fee in the region of 18 million Euros.
The former http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Portugal-c2984. However, the Frenchman understands that the club’s financial
situation doesn’t allow him to keep players who are a burden on the payroll.
Though Lucho Gonzalez has been linked with a move to a host of clubs this summer, it appears that few clubs are willing to meet Marseille’s price tag. Les Phoceens want nothing less than 13 million Euros for the player which is the main reason why the Argentine
hasn’t moved on.
Bettor.com takes a look at the possible suitors of the experienced midfielder who want to recruit the talented midfielder but don’t want to break the bank for that.
Malaga
The Andalucian side has been heavily linked with a move for Gonzalez for several weeks. Initially it seemed that the Argentine would move to the Spanish club but the Malaga direction does not want to pay such a steep price for a player who they believe is
nearing the twilight of his career.
Reports in various French magazines suggest that Malaga are willing to give only 10 million Euros the midfielder and Marseille are unwilling to yield.
Moreover, it seems that Malaga’s interest in the player has cooled down following the recent capture of http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Olympique-Lyonnais-c40130. Malaga paid Les Gones 10 million Euros for the 27-year-old midfielder so it’s unlikely that
the La Liga side would pay that much for an older Lucho Gonzalez.
Galatasaray SK
The Turkish giants had a disappointing 2010/2011 Turkish Super Lig campaign and club president Ünal Aysal is now willing to break the http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Bank-c38601 in order to take the Aslanlar back to the glory days. The Turkish club are keen on recruiting the want-away Lucho Gonzalez
and might even be prepared to meet Marseille’s valuation of the players.
However, Gonzalez might re-consider any approaches made by the Turkish club since Galatasaray are not going to feature in Europe next season after finishing eighth in the league standings.
Besiktas are also monitoring Gonzalez’s situation at Marseille and might try to steal the player right under Galatasaray’s noses.
Other clubs
English Premier League side http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Chelsea-c38786 have been linked with a move for the Argentine but following the arrival of Andre Vilas Boas as the club’s new manager, it remains to be seen if the 33-year-old tactician would be looking to bring in the 30-year-old.
The midfielder has also been touted for a return to FC Porto – a club that introduced him to European football. However, the move seems unlikely as El Dragao might not be able to meet Gonzalez’s wage demands.
German interest
Gonzalez’s agent http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Wolves-c40952 are yet to make a concrete offer for the player.
Wolfsburg coach Felix Magath is not looking to keep http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Diego-c11058 at the club so a move to the Lower Saxony club might still be on the cards for Gonzalez.
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