Apollon's press officer, Fanourios Konstantinou, confirmed in statements to “Super Sport 104.0” that an official offer for Giorgos Malekkidis had been rejected.
Specifically, Universitatea Craiova expressed interest in the Cypriot international, but the the “blue-and-whites” were not satisfied with the amount offered and do not wish to weaken the team at this point in time.
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
Furthermore, it was revealed that management will soon enter into discussions with Malekkidis regarding the renewal of his contract, as it is set to expire in May 2027.
In detail
Regarding the offer Malekkidis received from Romania: “We received various offers, but none of them were satisfactory to us. Malekkides has shown that he is a reliable player who respected the team and demonstrated genuine maturity and a positive attitude while listening to what the management had to say. I believe that playing in a league other than our own is the dream of every Cypriot soccer player, just as it is for all soccer players around the world. However, we spoke with the president, and he himself very graciously accepted the team’s decision without any major objections. This is particularly commendable of him, since the offer was tempting for him—he could very well have chosen a different path while still playing. Both sides understood each other. For us, it is important that a player who plays for Apollon sets an example for his teammates. The president made it clear that the team will not be weakened and that he wants it to be very strong in order to achieve its goals. In the near future, we’ll also be having discussions with him.”
Regarding whether there was an offer for Malekidis last year: “Yes, there was such an offer last year as well. At that time, it came up a few months before negotiations began to renew the player’s contract with our team. We’ll be entering into discussions with him in the near future, and he’s aware of that himself. The money wasn’t enough for Apollon, despite the lure and the prospects. We’re working hard right now to keep our team highly competitive. We’ll be very competitive so that we can confidently achieve our goals and maintain this team’s style of play. He is our captain, and we would very much like him to stay. We were particularly pleased that he accepted the team’s decision.”
