If the French club buys out the player’s contract on the terms that were announced earlier
Midfielder of the national team of Ukraine Ruslan Malinovsky already mastered in Marseille, where he moved from Atalanta. The midfielder has already met with Ukrainian children, had his first training session at the new club, and today he can even make his debut in the French championship in a match against Troyes.
If we talk about a slightly more distant future for the player, then for now we are talking about a loan agreement between the Italian and French club. However, no one doubts that at the end of the season, Marseille will buy out the contract of the Ukrainian. Actually, this was one of the terms of the lease. The other thing is that Marseille will not be relegated to Ligue 2. This option is also unbelievable, given the current standings of the club, its composition and ambitions.
It is not yet known how much Marseille will eventually pay Atalanta for the transfer of Malinovsky. Two of the most authoritative insiders in world football – Fabrizio Romano and Nicolo Schira – give different amounts. They agree on one thing: the French will pay 10 million euros in a fixed rate, as well as three (according to Skira) or five (according to Romano) million euros as bonuses. However, in any case, the transfer of Malinovsky will enter the top 10 purchases of Marseille in history.
In principle, it must be admitted that Marseille has never been chic in the transfer market, although it is considered one of the richest clubs in France. The record for the club remains the return of Dimitri Payet from West Ham in January 2017 for a little more than 29 million euros. The club paid more than 20 million for two more players: Roma – for the Dutch midfielder Kevin Strotman and Flamengo – for the Brazilian midfielder Gerson.
Moreover, the transfer of Malinovsky may be the most expensive for Marseille in the last two years: in August 2021, the southerners paid Fiorentina 13 million euros for the transfer of the defender Riola. And Marseille tested the loan scheme with subsequent repurchase in the 2021/2022 season on goalkeeper Roma Pau Lopez: the French rented the goalkeeper for the season, after which they bought out the goalkeeper’s contract for 10 million euros.
| Player | Where | Amount (million euros) | Season |
| Dimitri Payet | West Ham | 29.3 | 2016/2017 |
| Kevin Strothman | Roma | 25 | 2018/2019 |
| Gerson | Flamenco | 20.5 | 2021/2022 |
| Lucho Gonzalez | Porto | nineteen | 2009/2010 |
| Duje Chaleta-Tsar | Salzburg | nineteen | 2018/2019 |
| André-Pierre Gignac | Toulouse | sixteen | 2010/2011 |
| Luke Remmy | Nice | 15.5 | 2010/2011 |
| Konstantinos Mitroglou | Benfica | 15 | 2017/2018 |
| Dario Benedetto | Boca Juniors | fourteen | 2019/2020 |
| Valentin Rongier | Nantes | 13 | 2019/2020 |
| Paul Riloa | Fiorentina | 13 | 2021/2022 |
| Ruslan Malinovsky | Atalanta | 13-15 (10+3 or 10+5) | 2023/2024? |
Source: Sportarena
I’m Scott Moore, a professional writer and journalist based in the US. I’ve been writing for various publications for over 8 years now, and have been working as an author at athletistic for the past five years. My work has been featured by some of the leading sports websites and magazines across Europe.
