from first contacts to signing, Longoria reveals behind the scenes of Malinovskyi’s transfer

Last reinforcement of OM, Ruslan Malinovskyi was targeted since January 2021 by Pablo Longoria, who told the underside of this signing this Thursday at a press conference.

He had wanted it for a very, very long time. By dint of patience and persuasion, Pablo Longoria has achieved his goals. Atalanta Bergamo ended up giving him Ruslan Malinovskyi. At 29, the Ukrainian international pledged to OM on Monday in the form of a loan with a mandatory purchase option.

« He’s a sought-after player. The discussions that started this summer have continued. He corresponds to what we want to put in place. And there is continuity with what he knew at Atalanta », Longoria rejoiced this Thursday during the midfielder’s presentation conference. The Marseille president has also agreed to tell the underside of this signature.

First exchanges in January 2021

« Behind the scenes of a transfer, sometimes it’s curious. The first time I spoke directly with his entourage was in January 2021 when Morgan Sanson had the opportunity to go to Aston Villa. It was the first approach, Atalanta said no. I also remember one day this summer. We were talking about different players and Ruslan’s agent wrote us a message. It was his agent who told us about this possibility It was a time when there was change at Atalanta, which was partly bought out (by an American group, editor’s note). It didn’t work, » he explained.

Despite the failure of negotiations last summer, Longoria did not give up and returned to the charge. « In recent weeks, we have kept in touch with the entourage and Atalanta. We have a very good relationship with Atalanta. It accelerated with the sale of Gerson (to Flamengo), » he said. He underlines. After having had his first appearance in Troyes on Wednesday (2-0), Malinovskyi should continue on Saturday, against Lorient, at the Vélodrome.