Cyprus first division clubs appear to be attracting higher-profile players with the lure of fat contracts, family security and guaranteed warm weather on tap.
Players who have played for better teams in the Premier League, La Liga and France’s Ligue 1 are now coming to Cyprus.
But these are big names coming towards the end of their careers and are unable to obtain sizeable contracts elsewhere.
In one of the biggest deals ever made on the island, Pafos FC has signed English midfielder Jason Puncheon, a veteran Premier League player with the club heralding the move as a landmark signing.
Puncheon, 33, joins Cyprus First Division Pafos FC after spending the second half of last season at Huddersfield on loan from Premier League side Crystal Palace where he spent the previous six seasons.
An agent with knowledge of the Pafos FC deal said Puncheon will receive around €370,000 for the season.
Puncheon faced Salamina’s Jay Simpson a former Arsenal academy product in the first game of the season, he will also go up against Omonia’s Matt Derbyshire, a former Blackburn Rovers and England U21 striker.
Reportedly Omonia’s new signings enjoy annual salaries of €250,000 to 300,000, while some of APOEL’s latest acquisitions are believed to have salaries nearing €500,000.
According to agents and footballers, Cyprus clubs are also attracting new talent as they are building a good reputation, erasing the sins of the past which kept talented players away.
“APOEL, Apollon, AEK Larnaca and Omonia have been building up good reputations, keeping to the contracts and paying on time,” said Costas Christodoulou a football agent and President of Doxa Katokopia.
All teams have increased their budgets in the chase for better quality players, taking advantage of money coming in from television rights and successes in European competition, said Christodoulou.
“My team Doxa, is set to receive some €300,000 as a result of our teams doing well in Europe,” said Christodoulou, explaining that UEFA has decided to share a pool of money amongst teams which didn’t participate in the tournaments as means of maintaining a measure of financial equality.
“But unfortunately, Cyprus cannot entice talented players at the peak of their careers, as the Cypriot transfer market is almost non-existent. Players think that playing for a Cypriot team will only see their market value drop. How many players make their way to big European clubs from Cyprus?”
Christodoulou argued that big clubs hesitate to loan players to Cyprus teams as they feel that they will lose from their market value.
But those who do choose to come to Cyprus, mainly older players, appear to be satisfied with the conditions they find.
“Long gone, we hope, are the days where we had players reporting that they were not paid, and in some cases forced to accept to terminate their contracts after being threatened with physical violence,” said Spyros Neofitides, president of the Cyprus Footballers Association (PASP).
After the financial fair play rules imposed on clubs by UEFA, teams think twice before reneging their side of the agreement, while making wiser decisions, said Neofitides.
Confirming that Cyprus is an attractive destination for older players at the end of their careers as teams offer good contracts, not to be found in other EU countries, he added the island is an attractive destination for yet another reason.
“Older players usually have families. Cyprus offers them good schools and an environment where they can raise their family not having to worry about their kids being in danger or alarms going off in the middle of the night”.
He added that the Mediterranean sun has its role in this, noting that unfortunately in some cases teams were cheated by players who sought to find a fat contract while having a long holiday at the same time.
“In any case, Cyprus offers them a good contract at the end of their career, while some teams can offer a few final adventures in the European tournaments,” said Neofitides.
