Chapter 79: Reinforcements Begin
When old Alemany held his press conference, José had already crossed all of Europe and arrived in Kyiv, Ukraine.
He wasn't here to recruit the famous striker Shevchenko, who had already transferred to the Serie A giants AC Milan last summer. The superstar forward had scored 24 goals in the previous season, winning the Serie A Golden Boot. At this point, his fame was skyrocketing, and Mallorca's meager transfer budget could barely afford a single leg of this shooter—probably the one he was least skilled at, his left leg.
Even last summer, Mallorca wouldn't have been able to sign Shevchenko. Over the past two seasons, Shevchenko had stunned Europe, scoring an astonishing 17 goals in just 14 appearances in the Champions League. Major clubs had already taken notice of him, with AC Milan keeping a close eye for over a year, forging relationships with both the Kyiv Dynamo club and Shevchenko himself. That's why they managed to secure him for the relatively low price of $23 million. With that kind of attraction and connections, Mallorca was nowhere near the level of a top club like AC Milan.
His target wasn't even Kyiv's other star, Rebrov, who had already transferred to Tottenham Hotspur for $18 million this summer—making him the second most expensive Ukrainian player in history, after Shevchenko. Though José knew Rebrov's career would soon falter, he also understood that signing him now would be nothing more than a pipe dream...
José's goal in Kyiv was someone entirely different: a versatile midfielder and defender—Kakha Kaladze from Georgia.
At 23 years old, Kaladze had been playing for Kyiv Dynamo for four seasons. He started his career young, making his debut for Dinamo Tbilisi at just 15, and moved to Kyiv at 19. In the previous seasons, his performances had been stable, but this season, he had encountered some problems.
Not long after the Ukrainian league started, Kaladze injured his ankle ligament and was sidelined for several months, returning to the field only a fortnight ago. His performances in the two matches since his return were lackluster. The interest from AC Milan, which had seemed promising, waned, making Kyiv Dynamo's president Igor Surkis anxious.
You see, when Kaladze transferred from Georgia years ago, Kyiv had signed him to a five-year contract, but now, with just one and a half years left, things were complicated. Kaladze had previously been hesitant to renew his contract, waiting for AC Milan's interest, but now, with his injury and underwhelming performances, Milan wasn't as eager. If they waited another six months, Kaladze's contract would be down to only a year...
For Kyiv Dynamo, selling players was an important way of keeping the club running.