Yevhen Konoplyanka, Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk’s star midfielder, has been signed by Spain’s Sevilla, ending his nine-year run at the Ukrainian club. Describing the player as “one of the jewels of European football” in an online statement on July 9, Sevilla signed him to a four-year contract, which reportedly contains a €40 million buyout clause.
Concluding a long and complex negotiation process, the Spanish club even overlooked Konoplyanka’s father revealing to matchday.ua that his son’s real dream was to play for Barcelona. Sevilla Director Ramon Rodriguez Monchi was unperturbed by the comment, insisting that he was “delighted” to have signed the player.
“If I was a Ukrainian player, I might think the same thing,” Monchi said regarding Konoplyanka’s preference for Barcelona.
Konoplyanka, 25, clearly impressed at his last encounter with the Spanish side, when Dnipro were defeated by Sevilla 3-2 in a dramatic Europa Cup final on May 27. The quick, attacking midfielder attracted attention from several major-league clubs, but Dnipro initially appeared reluctant to let him go. Billionaire club President Igor Kolomoysky, the third-richest man in Ukraine, indicated early on that a huge sum of money would be required to persuade him to relinquish the player.
A £16 million bid from Liverpool was frustrated at the 11th hour by Kolomoysky’s refusal to sanction the transfer. Tottenham Hotspur, Atletico Madrid and AC Milan were also reported as showing interest, but did not engage in negotiations with Konoplyanka. Instead, he remains an official Dnipro player until July 31, when he will be released from the Ukrainian side and head to Spain.
After their record-breaking third Europa Cup win, Sevilla will play in Europe’s most prestigious club tournament, the Champions League, for the 2015-2016 season.
Although Ukrainians have played for silver in the Champions League before, former Dynamo Kyiv striker Andriy Shevchenko is the first and only Ukrainian to have won, as part of AC Milan in 2003. Frequently hailed as the best national player since Shevchenko, Konoplyanka is unlikely to set his sights any lower.
Sandra MacKenzie can be reached at [email protected].
