City capture Shakhtar's Castillo
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Article summary
English high-fliers Manchester City FC have landed Mexico forward Nery Castillo in a 12-month long loan from FC Shakhtar Donetsk for a reported €5m fee.
Article body
Premier League high-fliers Manchester City FC have signed Mexico forward Nery Castillo on a year-long loan from FC Shakhtar Donetsk, who claim they will receive €5m for the deal.
Failed to settle
Shakhtar had bought the 23-year-old from fellow UEFA Champions League group stage participants Olympiacos CFP in July but he failed to settle, making just eight Ukrainian league appearances without scoring. Castillo was on target 12 times in 25 games in his last season in Greece and his four goals helped Mexico reach last summer's Copa América semi-finals.
Desire
Castillo will be eligible to play for Manchester City, who are fourth in England, from 1 January and the club's chief executive Alistair Mackintosh said: "Nery Castillo's desire to make this deal happen has been extraordinary. He has made a significant financial contribution in order to complete this move by paying most of the loan fee himself." Shakhtar president Rinat Akhmetov said on the club's website that the Ukrainian side negotiated the large fee as part of the loan transfer.
