Young Croatian football representative Matija Frigan (20) traveled to Belgium to complete the transfer to the local first division club Westerlo, 24sata has learned.
The Rijeka attacker is only separated by a medical examination, scheduled for Friday, from signing for the club that finished eighth in the Belgian league last season.
The club from Rujevica will receive five and a half million euros in addition to 500,000 euros in realizable bonuses. This is roughly the number that the leader of Rijeka has been repeating for weeks Damir Miskovic and which Dinamo could not follow financially. New York City, Sunderland, Shabab Al Ahli and Celta Vigo were also in the game.
Frigan’s transfer should be the second most expensive exit in the history of Rijeka, after that one Andrej Kramarić to Leicester in 2014 for nine million euros. It is currently in second place Filip Bradarić to Cagliari in 2018 for 5.9 million euros. Franko Andrijašević was in third place with a transfer to Gent for 4.25 million euros in 2017.
Because of his brother’s recovery, he refused the Middle East
As we found out, the Emiratis were the most financially generous, they offered more than seven million euros with a higher salary to Frigan, but due to the recovery of his brother Antonio, who ended up in an induced coma after a routine operation, he decided to stay in Europe.
It was hinted that something serious was brewing regarding Frigan’s transfer last week when he did not play in the preparatory matches at Rujevica against Slaven Belup and Rogaška.
Frigan will join Zadranin Types of Perici (28) from Standard Liège as one of two Croatians in the elite class of Belgian football. The Belgian league is known as a development for many strong clubs, and the selection of Westerlo is in favor of that. It is about a club that sold a striker last year Lylea Fostera (22) to English Premier League club Burnley for a record 11 million euros.