SPORT24 cite the background to Nemanja Maksimovic's signing with Panathinaikos two months ago and his handling of Greens up to a massive €6m deal, at which point Sevilla appeared to have the upper hand on his transfer.
Transfer stories are always fascinating. In particular, when the matter “burns” and the respective negotiation is in its final stretch, things that do not see the light of day and (serious) details arise along the way.
Panathinaikos' agreement with him contained such juicy details Nemanja MaksimovićIt was closed about two months ago, but it went through several stages until it reached signatures, due to the involvement of many teams and leagues higher than Greece.
Panathinaikos' big signing of the international Serbian midfielder – which, due to other very important moves in January, but the string of matches that followed for “Clover” has yet to receive the recognition it deserves – came. In the last 24 hours the spotlight has returned, after confirmation from the lips of Getafe president Angel Lopez that the 29-year-old ace will continue his career on the greens from the summer.
With a related statement from Madrid coach Jose Bordelas at the press conference after the match against Girona.
Why this particular “admission” now after two months of “radio silence” from Getafe? Because as reported by the Spanish press, Maksimovic has agreed with the management of the Spanish team (since Gedaf did not agree to a direct transfer to Greece at the end of January) that his departure from the club will absolutely guarantee his stay. Type.
Maksimovic is highly influential at Getafe (7th in their history with 213 official appearances since 2018) and in the dressing room, and he doesn't want the transfer issue to derail his team's efforts.
That's when the Spanish team's stay in La Liga was confirmed on Saturday night (16/3) – and more than that – after a 1-0 win over Girona (10th place, 16 points above the danger zone, 9 “turns” before the final) and Getafe out. , officially announced the departure of Maksimović, who signed his pre-contract with Panathinaikos from the evening of 21 January.
Open channel and very tough competition
However, until Panathinaikos got the signature of “Maxi”, there was a big battle. The 29-year-old midfielder had huge competition and interest from several teams.
And from Italy and from another Greek club (not from PAOK, who had long withdrawn his claim) and from Sevilla, but from Getafe, who wanted to keep him in their ranks.
The biggest obstacle, for various reasons, was Sevijani, who had him on their roster for a long time and did a lot of groundwork around his case.
Communicating directly from one point and directly to the player. Panathinaikos have had Maksimovic as their transfer target since last summer.
He and Willian Aro were his main targets in midfield at the time, but even though he was a very strong communication channel with the player's side from a point (while he was still on the case and at PAOK), Getafe constantly changed its demands and no deal was reached.
The Greens, however, were in touch with the workers' representatives and were willing to wait to strike again.
More than twice as many as Getafe and 800,000 more than Sevilla
Due to financial constraints, Getafe could not offer him more than 800,000-900,000 euros, net (more or less the contract he had), while Sevilla started their own offer from 1.2 million euros annually.
Executed from a point, then Nemanja Kudele, his compatriot in the national team of Serbia, “roasted” him and showed that he had the upper hand for his signature.
On January 18, three days before Getafe's match in Osasuna (a 3-2 loss with a Maksimovic header), Panathinaikos – who respectively… acted for their own Serbian internationals and friends of the good Maksimovic. Filip Djuricic and Filip Mladenovic – made important connections with the player's side:
He put on the table a three-year, “royal” contract with an annual salary of 2 million euros and an option for another year, while there was a trip to Spain for closer contact with the player.
Both moves ultimately made the difference in the final decision for the Serbian midfielder, who signed the contract offered by the Greens and locked in a one-man transfer in January (long before Euro 2024). ..