Alvina Tsarenko, the ex-girlfriend of Panathinaikos midfielder Benjamin Verbic, said that Dynamo president Igor Surkis wanted to keep him in the team.
“Benjamin had offers from Belgium and other countries. But he didn't really want to go there. Panathinaikos was a priority for him due to the fact that there were Slovenes - Andraz Sporar and Adam Gnezda-Cerin. They agreed that they would move to the same team and play together.
Igor Surkis wanted Benjamin to stay at Dynamo and offered him better conditions than Panathinaikos. But Sporar was already in the Greek club, and in Dynamo nothing was yet clear with the championship, so Benjamin made such a choice. If he were Ukrainian, I think he would absolutely stay at Dynamo, but he is a foreigner," Tsarenko said.