Commentator Georgy Cherdantsev told Match TV that Zenit got rid of ballast by selling midfielder Gerson.

On January 10, Zenit announced the departure of the 28-year-old Brazilian to Cruzeiro. Gerson moved to the Russian club in July 2025 from Flamengo. After the footballer’s transfer to Zenit, information appeared in the Brazilian media that the player regretted the transfer, since he could have earned more at Al-Nasr.

— Why didn’t Gerson succeed in Russia?

— If you remember what we said before the New Year, then Zenit acted strictly in accordance with my feelings. It didn’t work, there are always certain risks when you take a top player who has an offer from a country where they pay 10 times more. It’s hard to get him to play to his full potential. Especially as a Brazilian, it’s very difficult. Many Brazilians look at the contract amount first rather than playing football for fun. Zenit got rid of ballast. Such an expensive player who does not make it into the squad is ballast for everyone – the coach, the players. It’s predictable. “Zenith” worked quickly; there is no need to keep such ballast in the club all year. There are no clubs in the world whose 99 percent of transfers are successful. The percentage of successful Zenit transfers, especially regarding foreigners, is very high. Yes, we didn’t get it right, it happens. They quickly got rid of it, made a decision and did the right thing,” Cherdantsev told Match TV.

Gerson played 15 matches for Zenit and scored two goals. The Blue-White-Blues, after 18 rounds with 39 points, are in second place in the WORLD RPL standings.

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