Accusations fly as Reds announce Djebbour purchase
In a shock move, Olympiakos confirmed the transfer of Rafik Djebbour on January 21, as the French-born Algerian has signed a six-month contract with the club that can be renewed in the summer for two more years.
Prolific goal-scorer Djebbour is known to have caused problems at most of the clubs he has played for, but that did not stop Olympiakos from agreeing to get him on board during the January transfer window, even though Vangelis Marinakis, the club?s president, had ruled out anymore transfers after the acquisition of Yiannis Maniatis.
?I am happy to have joined a big club like Olympiakos. This is a major step in my career. I want to enjoy my presence in the team as much as possible. I would like to cherish Champions League games at the Karaiskakis Stadium,? stated Djebbour after signing his contract.
The announcement came just a few days after the Algerian striker terminated his contract with AEK following a spat with manager Manolo Jimenez and a threat of the case going to court.
Eventually the two parties agreed to an out-of-court settlement, but Olympiakos raised eyebrows across Greece when it moved to buy the player.
Yiannis Lypimenos, the player?s agent until Friday morning, has cried foul as he thinks there was some backroom dealing behind Djebbour’s move to Piraeus, which he claims to have known nothing about.
?There was some kind of game being played when Djebbour was signed by Olympiakos. I have nothing to do with it,? said the agent, who expressed his disgust at the developments and said he had distanced himself from the Algerian upon hearing about his move to the Reds.
?This is an issue of strategy and decency. When AEK invited me to terminate his contract it was all clear. AEK did everything on its part to hold on to Rafik,? Lypimenos told Novasport FM.
?There was an agreement between the two sides but Rafik did not want to sign it. It was a verbal agreement but he did not complete it and I do not know why,? the Greek agent added.
While still at Panionios, Djebbour had come close to signing a contract with Olympiakos in the summer of 2008, but he ended up at AEK.
He has also played for Ethnikos Asteras and Atromitos in Greece.
