Former Bosnia and Herzegovina international Miralem Pjanić recently signed for CSKA Moscow, a move that came as a surprise to many football fans.
“I had offers from other countries, but none of them interested me. I wanted to play at a serious level, I feel that I am still capable of many things. When CSKA approached me, I immediately thought that it was a good option. I knew the club very well, I played against them in the Champions League. A great team with history, and also quite famous in Europe,” the CSKA midfielder told Sport-Express and continued:
“As soon as the first contacts started, I immediately said: ‘Let’s get everything resolved quickly – I want to play.’ And the negotiations didn’t take long. We had a great conversation with Marko Nikolić and the club’s management. The desire to see me in CSKA did not come from just one person, everyone really wanted my arrival. It also had an impact and mesmerized me”.
Bad relations with Koeman, Xavi was not the first choice
He repeatedly emphasized that the reason for his arrival in Russia was not related to money, but to the fact that he “wanted to play at the highest level”. Also, he mostly blames Dutch expert Ronald Koeman for his short stay in Barcelona:
“For me, this is not a story about money. Again, I just wanted to play at the highest level. To be honest, I’m pleasantly surprised at how good our team is. CSKA has a lot of young players, as well as quality players with great potential. Of course, the youth needs to gain experience, but all the guys have a good mentality. They work hard, many of them are talented. So far so good. I’m happy,” explained the former Barcelona player.
He again emphasized that money is not his primary concern, which is why he returned to Europe.
“I have to start from the fact that I didn’t want to leave Europe at first. But circumstances were such that I moved to the UAE. This was influenced by several factors: the situation with the corona virus, plus we did not have a very good season in Barcelona under Koeman. I was not comfortable with him. And I wanted to leave because Koeman remained the head coach. That’s how I ended up in Besiktas. After I came back, Xavi became the coach of Barcelona. I had a great relationship with him, but at the same time I realized that I was not the first choice for my position. When you go to Barcelona, you always have to be ready to be number one. “If you go on loan, your importance to the team is lost, even if you come back later,” said Pjanic.
His move from Juventus to Barcelona, he points out, was a really big transfer. He had his role in the team, he played, but with Koeman things didn’t go the way he wanted.
“In the second season I thought Ronald would leave. The team didn’t play very well. It didn’t have the style that is characteristic of Barcelona. So I was very surprised that Koeman stayed,” claims Pjanić.
The United Arab Emirates was a great experience for the BiH footballer, but he believes that he made the right choice by moving to CSKA.
“In the UAE I won four titles and played in the Asian Champions League. Great experience. But I still missed real football, the atmosphere of big stadiums. I wanted to come back to perform at a high level. I was at a point in my career when I had to make the right choice. And I think that I did that by moving to CSKA,” said the former BiH footballer.
“If anyone misunderstood those words, I apologize, Džeko and the other stars were scared”
He was also asked if he could have imagined that he would end up at CSKA, after being one of the first to oppose the friendly match between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Russia.
“Because of the situation that was developing at the time, no. But we have to clarify something: in that very interview I spoke only about personal safety. At that time, the events in Ukraine had just begun, and we did not know what was happening in the country. Now I am in Russia and, despite the fact that nothing is over, I see that it is safe here. Yes, unfortunately, something is happening. But I came from a country where similar things have already happened… And I saw how many people suffered,” said Pjanić.
His comment, he added, referred solely to the fact that they did not know how safe it was to hold the match in Russia.
“That was the attitude of the entire team at that time. Now I am here, and I have nothing to be ashamed of, I have nothing to worry about. All my words were only about safety. Nothing more. I know the country well, I respect Russians, as well as every person of another nationality. I’ve never had a problem with any team or any player for that matter. It was strange for me to be asked such questions recently. After all, these words were not spoken against the country”, said Pjanić.
He did not intend to offend anyone with his attitude at the time, and he would have nothing against Bosnia and Herzegovina and Russia playing a match in the future.
“If anyone misunderstood those words, I apologize. I’m not a person who will say one thing and then deny everything. I am responsible for what is said. At that time I did not know what the situation was in Russia. In fact, we were the first European team to play against Russia. Dzeko and the other stars of the national team were scared. This was our point of view. I don’t know what the pundits or commentators heard from me. But I never spoke ill of Russia. Why did I even have to say something bad about Russia? What’s the point? I am not a politician. I didn’t know what was really going on, what the background was. Those words only meant that we were scared and did not know what the situation was. Again, if someone misunderstood my words or offended someone, of course I apologize,” Pjanić said, adding that he only touched on the topic of security and lack of information about the current situation.
He is of the opinion that it is okay to hold such a match, and that if a match with Russia were to be held, he would be “for”.
“Everyone can see that some other countries are doing wrong things. But their clubs and national teams continue to perform on the international stage. This makes me angry because it is unfair. If in two to three months there is a match between Bosnia and Russia, of course, I will be in favor. I see the real picture of what is happening here,” Pjanić pointed out.
Before joining CSKA, he spoke with former Russian and Bosnian footballer Elvir Rahimić.
“Yes, we have known each other for over ten years. We played side by side for a long time. Elvir had a very successful career at CSKA. He gave me some advice and left a great review of both the club and the city. He told me what the situation was like at the club, how everything was during his time. Rahimić still follows CSKA, so he gave his opinion on the team. And, you know, everything was confirmed. My first month in Russia went well. Step by step I am joining the team, I see huge potential. And I absolutely share Nikolić’s vision of football. It suits my style of play. I am convinced that I will become an important part of the team,” Pjanić said.
“We footballers are lucky to earn a lot”
He added that he likes life in Moscow, and that he has been investing since the beginning of his professional career. He also revealed an interesting fact – he owns between 40 and 50 apartments and 10 houses.
“It’s expensive in Dubai, not in Moscow. The prices here are not that high. Maybe expensive for a certain standard of living. But you have to take into account that in Moscow you have almost everything. The capital city lives 24 hours a day. You see, I started my professional career at the age of 17 and from that moment I started investing. I love real estate. I buy houses, apartments and so on. I have properties all over the world. This is really important because professional careers are very short. Of course, everyone wants to live luxuriously, buy a nice car or something similar. But I can say, especially to young guys, that a football player’s career is quickly coming to an end. Therefore, you need to understand what you are spending your money on. We footballers are lucky to earn a lot. But if you don’t care about saving, then you could end up with nothing after your career. There are many such examples. So I started investing early. You could say this is my hobby. I can do this even after my career is over. I have between 40 and 50 apartments and 10 houses”, concluded Miralem Pjanić.
