Eran Zahavi is leaving PSV. At the beginning of this month, his expiring contract was formally terminated, so that the farewell already seemed imminent. According to previous reports from the regional newspaper, a longer stay was only possible for a greatly reduced salary, but it will not come to that. In conversation with Broadcasting Brabant the striker announces his departure.
“It was mutually agreed that now is the right time to leave. I had a great time here. I love this club. Of course there were ups and downs, but I’m going to remember the beautiful things,” explains Zahavi. “I need a new challenge. But I’m also leaving because of my family. We are ready for a new place. Of course things have happened in the past two years. Those were difficult. But it’s time to move on. Our time here is up.” Zahavi was twice the victim of a burglary at his home in Amsterdam; the first time his wife and children were tied up while the attacker was not at home. The events had a significant impact on the Israeli and his family. .
Zahavi had an offer from Olympiacos in his pocket in January, but stayed with PSV at the time. Currently, the Brazilian Botafogo is according to the Eindhovens Dagblad a serious candidate to recruit Zahavi, although the 34-year-old striker and his agent do not want to go into that. Zahavi settled in Eindhoven two years ago. He came over from Guangzhou R&F and has since accounted for 35 goals and 15 assists in 76 games. Zahavi won no less than six million euros in two seasons (as appeared earlier from leaked documents from FIFA), of which four million euros was paid out as a signing premium. So on paper, Zahavi earns one million euros per season, but PSV did not want to go any further for that amount.
The search for a new striker has already started. A name that is inextricably linked with PSV is Luuk de Jong, it reported Eindhovens Dagblad recently. The Barcelona striker, who is rented from Sevilla, does not have to count on many playing minutes under Xavi and can once again become the figurehead of the club in Eindhoven. Other names mentioned by the regional newspaper are Wout Weghorst, Sam Lammers (leased by Atalanta to Eintracht Frankfurt) and Joshua Zirkzee. However, Weghorst earns a considerable salary from Burnley, while Lammers left PSV with some disagreement and for that reason does not seem a logical choice. Zirkzee has a contract with Bayern Munich, which now leases the youngster to Anderlecht, that only lasts one year and seems to be a real option.