Putin awards €41m Barcelona flop Malcom Russian citizenship

Robin Bairner

• Updated: 23 May 2023 09:09 CDT
• 3 min read

Barcelona flop Malcom has been awarded Russian citizenship by special decree of president Vladimir Putin along with team-mate Claudinho, making them potentially eligible to represent Russia’s national team, Zenit St Petersburg have confirmed.

Brazil-born Malcom’s career is most remembered to date for his failed spell at Barcelona, who he joined in a €41 million move from Bordeaux in 2018.

He spent a single difficult season at Camp Nou before moving to Russia and Zenit, where he has seen his career take off once more.

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In a statement published on social media, the Russian Premier League side indicated: “Malcom and Claudinho obtained Russian citizenship.

“Decree number 118 signed by the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin.

“Zenith Football Club congratulates Malcolm and Claudinho on their new status and the great privilege of becoming citizens of our country.

“We wish you good luck and new victories together with the blue-white-blue!”

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Malcom, who is valued at €31m by FootballTransfers, has 15 goals in 23 matches this season, making him one of the country’s leading players. He could be eligible to play for Russia as soon as next year, while Claudinho will have to remain in the country until 2026 if he is to turn out for the national team as there is a five-year residency rule.

They were among 38 foreigners granted citizenship by Putin on Friday.

A controversial decision

The decision of Malcom and Claudinho to take up Russian citizenship is a controversial one in western Europe due to the country’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

Indeed, the announcement of Zenit came a year to the day that Russian first attacked its neighbour.

From the players’ perspective, having Russian citizenship offers them huge tax advantages, meaning that they will earn significantly more money.

Russian football teams were swiftly prevented from playing in European or international competitions by UEFA and FIFA, and there has been no indication that this situation will reverse in the current political climate.

Indeed, reports in France suggest that Malcom and Claudinho have been granted Russian citizenship to allow Zenit to seek to sign more Brazilian players given that the prospects of adding European talent to their side has been greatly diminished over the past year.