After signing an Israeli player at the last minute who publicly supported his country’s occupation of Gaza, some of Villarreal’s fans are angry about the club’s controversial signing.
After the club signed forward Manor Solomon toward the end of the transfer deadline, which was late on Monday, some fans expressed their anger toward Villarreal through social media posts.
Villarreal signed the 26-year-old Solomon after his loan deal with Tottenham expired.
The Israel international helped Leeds United advance to the Premier League last season by assisting them in their loan-only campaign.
After posting messages in support of Israel in the war, Solomon had already received criticism from some English fans.
Prior to joining Fulham, he has represented Ukraine’s Shakhtar Donetsk.
Shon Weissman’s signing by Bundesliga 2 Fortuna Dusseldorf was overshadowed by fan outcry over his controversial social media posts about the Gaza conflict.
The 29-year-old, who has 33 international caps, made a number of social media posts following Hamas-led attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023, that sparked the Gaza war.
Weissman urged Israel to “wipe Gaza off the map” and “drop 200 tons of bombs on it,” according to Bild’s German newspaper at the time.
Villarreal is one of the busiest Spanish clubs right now.
Villarreal, which is making its return to the Champions League this year, came to a close with Solomon’s signing.
According to the Transfermarkt website, the club from eastern Spain signed for more than 100 million euros ($116 million), which is the third-highest sum of money ever made. With the signings of Thierno Barry, Yeremy Pino, and Alex Baena, it made almost as much money as it did with Alex Baena and Yeremy Pino, respectively, at Atletico Madrid.
In addition to signings during this window, Villarreal signed Chelsea’s Renato Veiga and Lyon’s Georges Mikautadze.
Tottenham, Solomon’s former club, will be Villarreal’s first Champions League opponent on September 16.
Atletico Madrid Revamp
With nearly 10 new signings worth nearly 175 million euros ($203 million), Atletico was the Spanish club that made the most money, according to Transfermarkt. Diego Simeone’s team also welcomed defensive end David Hancko from Feyenoord, midfielder Johnny Cardoso from Real Betis, Juventus forward Nico Gonzalez, and playmaker Thiago Almada from Botafogo from Brazil.
Top three Real Madrid players
Madrid had the top three signings for the highest sums of money, with more than 167 million euros ($194 million). According to Transfermarkt, the club paid 62 million euros ($72 million) for River Plate defender Dean Huijsen, 50 million euros ($58 million) for left back Alvaro Carreras, and 45 million euros ($52 million) for teenage forward Franco Mastantuono from River Plate. Trent Alexander-Arnold from Liverpool has also been signed by Madrid for 10 million euros ($11 million).
All was quiet about Barcelona.
Due to financial fair play rules, Barcelona still is unable to spend a lot. The Catalan club signed a loan deal for Marcus Rashford from Manchester United for 25 million euros ($29 million) in exchange for Joan Garcia from Espanyol. According to Transfermarkt, the club also acquired Copenhagen forward Roony Bardghji for 2.5 million euros ($2.9 million).
La Liga’s remaining players
Source: Aljazeera
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