Before the days of the Saudi Pro League and the hundreds of millions being spent to sign players like Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar, Karim Benzema, and others, there was another wealthy player in town. For that, we have to take you on a journey to a part of Russia that not many know about – Dagestan.
Known for being a tough region that has produced many boxers, MMA fighters, and wrestlers over the years, Dagestan isn’t typically associated with football. However, in the early 2010s, Anzhi Makhachkala was on its way to becoming a footballing superpower — at least that’s what its billionaire owner, Suleyman Kerimov, believed.
Then came the signings, as is the case with any club owned by someone not shy about dishing out cash. Superstar players such as Samuel Eto’o, Roberto Carlos, and Lassana Diarra joined the club, and they began performing fairly well in the Russian Premier League.
Anzhi Makhachkala even qualified for the UEFA Europa League Round of 16 in 2012-13, where a closely fought battle with Newcastle of the English Premier League denied them a further run. There was a lot of optimism surrounding the club, with talks of the Russian Premier League booming as a result. However, they had little idea of what was going on behind the scenes.
Owner Suleyman Kerimov had a radical realization in 2013, and his previous aims of making Anzhi Makhachkala a superpower in European football went out the window when financial problems came through the front door.
Previously, the club’s budget was around $180 million a year, a sizeable income that made them richer than almost every other club in Russia and one of the richest in the world. However, Kerimov decided to slash it by around half, bringing the budget down to as little as $50 million in the 2013-14 season. This, of course, meant the departure of sizable talents like Eto’o and Carlos in the following months.
The club adopted a policy of signing Russian youngsters instead, but this did not replicate the success they had with foreign superstars.
Kerimov sold the club to Osman Kadiyev in 2016, and they suffered relegation to the Russian 2nd Division at the end of the 2017-18 season. However, the club that had just finished above them, Amkar Perm, had their license revoked, which allowed Anzhi Makhachkala to return to the Russian Premier League.
Unfortunately, in 2018-19, they suffered relegation again, and Lady Luck could not save them this time. The dream was officially over, and things were about to get much worse. There was financial turmoil behind the scenes, with a lot of debt accumulated due to the huge salaries paid to players who had already left.
Finally, in 2022, Anzhi Makhachkala’s professional license was revoked, and the club ceased to exist. They last played in the 2021-22 FNL2 (Russian Football League 2), the third division of football in the country.
A forgotten project now lies in an abandoned stadium in the heart of Dagestan. What could have been.
