Arshavin and his confessed anti-Madridism: "Every defeat of Madrid is a balm to my heart"

In statements collected this Monday, the former player admitted that he wishes for the defeat of the white team in the Champions League match against his former team, the Kazakh club. "I hope Kairat wins. Every defeat of Real Madrid is a balm for my heart," he expressed with laughter in an interview granted to EFE.

A career marked by his bond with Barça

Arshavin became an international figure after his brilliant performance in the 2008 European Championship, where he was a key player for Russia to reach the semifinals before falling to Spain. Since his beginnings as a player, he never hid his passion for the style of Barcelona. He even posed with the blaugrana jersey and stated after retiring: "I have always liked the way Barça plays and I would like to bring that idea to the field if I ever become a coach." Regarding his football references, he commented: "I never had a fixed idol. I liked some players from Barça: first Romário, then Ronaldo, and later Ronaldinho. Always the number 10s of Barça. I consider myself a fan of the club since 1992, when Ronald Koeman scored the goal in the final. That´s when my passion began."

The frustrated signing by Barça

After that European Championship, Arshavin was close to joining FC Barcelona. However, the transfer did not materialize and he ended up at Arsenal. "The Catalans made an offer of 15 million euros, but Zenit rejected it. They didn´t want to sell me at that time," he recalled on the day of his farewell from the playing fields.

The distance as a factor in the Champions

Ahead of the match between Real Madrid and Kairat Almaty, the Russian believes that the travel could be an obstacle for the whites: "For Russians and Kazakhs, covering long distances is normal, but for Europeans, it´s like going around the continent seven times."

Arshavin´s opinion on Xabi Alonso

The former Russian international also assessed the challenge of Xabi Alonso on the Madrid bench: "He did a great job at Bayer Leverkusen, but it will be difficult to apply the same style at Real Madrid. Even if he tries, it won´t resemble what he did in Germany."