Legionnaire CSKA exchanged the RPL for the water pump championship. But they won’t call back!

The first Belarusian footballer decided to use the FIFA option, which allows him not to return to Russia. The top clubs in Europe did not hunt for the striker, but he was of interest to the military commissariat. Ilya did not want to become a soldier again and preferred a frankly weak championship to the Russian Premier League, comparable in level to the championship of a water pump.

It will be very difficult for him to return to the RPL after such an act.

“We would not go to China”

Belarusian striker Ilya Shkurin, whose contract with CSKA runs until the summer of 2024, has moved on loan to the Israeli club Maccabi from Petah Tikva. The forward’s new team plays in Liga Leumit, which is the second strongest division in the country.

For the sake of moving to Israel, the athlete had to resort to activating the FIFA option, which allows foreigners to suspend the contract with Russian teams. Thus, Shkurin became the first Belarusian who decided on this move. It is not entirely clear why the player did not want to try to negotiate another loan with the management of the “red-blue” by mutual agreement. But if moving to Israel by any means will allow Ilya to return his bombarding talent, then one can only be happy for him.

It would not be superfluous to recall that Shkurin moved to CSKA as the top scorer of the Belarusian championship. In the 2019 season, the young forward scored 19 goals, playing far from the strongest team in the country – Energetik-BGU. Judging by the words of the football player’s agent Valery Isaev, Ilya had everything in order with ambitions. He considered the Russian Premier League as a springboard to a strong European championship.

– In the future, Ilya wanted to go exactly to the West. To be honest, as his manager, I want him to go to the top championship in the future. Shkurin is fluent in English. I confess that Ilya did not even consider the options of moving to a club from the bottom of the RPL table, although there were enough offers, Isaev was quoted by the tribune.by portal.

Not only Russian second-tier teams seemed unattractive to the player, but even any rich clubs outside of Europe, such as participants in the Chinese Super League or the Middle East championships.

– We had an agreement with Dynamo, and for a long time, that if a good offer comes from a worthy reputable club, then no one will interfere. We wouldn’t go to the conditional championship of Saudi Arabia or China, ”Sport24 quoted the agent as saying.

“Everyone just rejoiced”

With the implementation of ambitions, it turned out not to be so simple, in CSKA Shkurin did not shine very much. In 13 matches of the Premier League, he managed to score three goals, he did not have to score in the Russian Cup and the Europa League. In addition to not the best performance, the football player added unsportsmanlike problems to himself, which is why he lost his chances to play for the national team and interested the Belarusian military commissariat.

Whether this was an additional factor for the army team to disown the athlete is unclear. However, in the summer of 2021, the Belarusian moved to Dynamo Kiev, a little closer to the dream of playing in Europe. The people of Kiev really played in the Champions League – Shkurin twice entered the field in matches against Benfica and Bayern. But the athlete’s romance with goals ended – he could not score in any tournament for the Ukrainian club.

Photo: © FC Dynamo Kyiv

In the winter of 2022, Ilya penetrated even deeper into the West – he ended up in Poland, where he was rented by Rakow, which can be nightmares for Rubin fans. The Polish land also did not become happy for the Belarusian – in the second half of last season he entered the field twice, without scoring goals. In the new season, the Poles did not count on the striker – the club terminated the contract with the athlete, who is now moving to Israel. And if the main league of the country is still competitive, then the second strongest one resembles the Second League, or the PFL. I don’t want to belittle anyone, but exchanging CSKA for a water pumping championship is something you have to manage.

CSKA fans, for the most part, are not too upset about the loss. Many are even happy that the “red-blue” club will no longer be related to the footballer who disappointed the fans. Here’s what fans are saying on social media:

– We had Shkurin! Somehow I completely forgot about it…

Is he still under contract?

– Why is it so funny? Everyone, probably, was only glad that he would not come.

– Loss of losses. Well, at least I remembered that we have such a player listed.

Formally, by the way, Shkurin could still appear in CSKA. FIFA rules so far allow to suspend the contract for only one year, while Ilya has two in reserve. But there are doubts that the union of the army with the Belarusian is interesting for at least one of the parties.