Basinas-Olympiakos talks end with no ink
Greece soccer captain Angelos Basinas is on the verge of signing for AEK, after his talks with Olympiakos finally broke down yesterday. Just when it seemed certain that he would be moving to Olympiakos, the champion club pulled out of negotiations due to a disagreement in the duration of his contract. Olympiakos issued a statement in the afternoon saying that talks with Basinas had broken down as the club offered him a two-year contract while the player’s side insisted on a three-year deal. It is clear though that had Basinas signed with Olympiakos the reaction from the club’s fans would have been extremely hostile to the former Panathinaikos captain, who spent 10 years with Olympiakos’s archrivals. Some fans had already expressed their opposition on the radio and television, saying Basinas should never don the red and white stripes. The Greece skipper is now close to moving to AEK, which after seven months courting the former Real Mallorca player with no real results, returned with a concrete offer on Monday. AEK president Demis Nikolaidis reportedly called Basinas or his agent on Monday night, in view of the defensive midfielder’s then imminent move to Olympiakos, and matched the Reds’ offer. Basinas appeared cool toward AEK’s interest then, but when Olympiakos turned him down on Tuesday afternoon he expressed renewed interest in AEK. AEK is headed by Nikolaidis, a former teammate of Basinas in the Euro 2004-winning national team and coached by Basinas’s ex-teammate at Panathinaikos, Giorgos Donis. Papastathopoulos stumble AEK is not yet parting with defender Sokratis Papastathopoulos. The transfer of the 20-year-old player will not be finalized at least until Friday according to reports, as AEK raised its demands with Italian club Genoa yesterday, while Ajax Amsterdam has made a late offer that the player appears to be seriously considering. Genoa and AEK will reportedly have fresh contacts on the transfer on Friday. But sources close to the international defender said Papastathopoulos might think twice before signing for a midtable club in Italy. This also seems to raise an obstacle to a move by Greece defender Sotiris Kyrgiakos to AEK, as AEK will probably only make a bid for the former Eintracht Frankfurt star if Papastathopoulos is sold. The interest expressed in Kyrgiakos yesterday by Spain’s Deportivo La Coruna has complicated things even further. AEK also has an eye on Benfica’s Costas Katsouranis, but if Basinas does join the Athens club, AEK may not make a move for its former player. Yesterday AEK drew 1-1 in a friendly with Bundesliga side Energie Cottbus.
