MOSCOW (AP) – Kuban Krasnodar’s fans hoped that signing Andrei Arshavin would herald long-awaited success for their club. The local governor hoped for a pre-election boost.
By July 2015, Arshavin had lost much of the pace and attacking skill which made him a star in England for Arsenal years earlier, but he was still among Russia’s best-known footballers.
Like most Russian top-flight clubs, Kuban had a close financial relationship with the regional government, so Arshavin flew to the southern city of Krasnodar for a much-publicized meeting with governor Veniamin Kondratyev before signing a contract. The two posed for pictures in typical Russian official style, facing each other across a conference table with flags in the background.
Two months later, Kondratyev won re-election with 83 percent of the vote. Five months after that, as the Russian economy plunged, Arshavin left Kuban amid reports the club had stopped paying his 2.5-million-euro salary ($2.5-million).
Kuban was soon relegated and is now floundering in the Russian league’s second tier. Last month, local media reported it faced a lawsuit from tax authorities seeking to have the club declared bankrupt.