Mucha’s position in the team does not change

“We wish him well, it’s just a pity we won’t get a single pound for him,” say Legia Warsaw officials

Ján Mucha will leave Legia Warsaw in the summer. From July 1 he will challenge American Tim Howard for the No. 1 goalkeeper spot at Everton. The Slovak national team goalkeeper signed a three-year contract, but the Polish runners-up will not receive a single pound for him.

“I know I said I wouldn’t leave the club for free, but the reality was that no one wanted to pay for me. I thank Legia for the offer they gave me. I will do everything to say goodbye to the club with dignity,” Mucha told Przeglad Sportowy. He is reportedly the first goalkeeper in years on whom Legia has not made a profit. When Mucha joined the club in 2005, he cost €50,000.

According to Przeglad Sportowy, since Sunday, when Legia’s squad arrived at their training camp in Mijas, Spain, Mucha had been on edge. He was apparently hesitating about which club to choose. The decision came on Tuesday. On Wednesday, after the morning training session, he got into a car and drove to Malaga for a meeting with Everton representatives. There he signed his new contract. There had been seven offers. “We chose the one that may not have been the most attractive financially, but certainly was in sporting terms,” the Polish daily quoted Mucha. Neither he nor his agent Jozef Tokos have yet revealed which club it was, saying that was part of the agreement.

What does the signing mean for Mucha’s position at Legia? “It will have no impact,” insisted club chairman Leszek Miklas. “What matters are the team’s successes, and Mucha is our best goalkeeper. If he maintains his form, as he has so far, his No. 1 spot won’t be in danger. And he too will care about performing well, because he cannot afford to embarrass himself in front of his future club…”

The bigger problem may be the money. Which club doesn’t need it?! But for Mucha, their best player, Legia will not get any. “We’re a little disappointed. In recent months Ján talked about what Legia meant to him. We offered him very good conditions for a new contract,” said Miklas. “We wish him well, it’s just a pity he’s leaving for free,” added Jaroslaw Ostrowski from the club’s management for Gazeta Wyborcza. As is known, Mariusz Walter, director of the ITI media group, Legia’s owner, had promised Mucha €400,000 a year, which is an excellent offer by Polish standards. According to Przeglad Sportowy, however, it should have come six months earlier and perhaps would not even have had to be that high…

A loan until the end of the season to a club in southern Europe is still an option. “Only clubs from the best leagues are under consideration,” said Tokos. Legia could collect a decent financial sum for such a loan, which would ease the club’s disappointment. “But the loan does not depend only on him. Legia’s representatives would also have to agree to the conditions. Mucha will only go to a club where he is guaranteed to be the first-choice goalkeeper,” added Tokos.