“I realized that I was just tired”: Mamaev announced his retirement

“I want to be with my family more”

The end of his career by Pavel Mamaev was not a big surprise.

The 34-year-old football player has been without a club for more than six months, and recently there have been fewer and fewer rumors about interest in him from certain teams.

According to the midfielder, he still received several offers, including from abroad, but back in the summer he decided to hang up his boots.

“I spent a fabulous summer with my wife and newborn son and realized that I was just tired.

I want to be with my family more, ”Mamaev said in an interview with Match TV.

At the moment, he is completely focused on his own football school, which he opens in Dubai together with Alexander Kokorin, and devotes all his time to this project.

“I get up, go on business ... Building and compiling classes, schedule, documentation, then training, in the evening I plan the next day, then writing again ... My wife and I laugh that the maximum that I have time to watch is 10-15 minutes of a movie to fall asleep.

That's all, ”Mamaev admitted.

Unfortunately, the talented midfielder will be more remembered by the fans not for his game, but for serving a prison term of 1 year and 5 months for attacking Denis Pak, an official of the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

After his release, he, like Kokorin, failed to return to his previous level.

Krasnodar, whose colors Mamaev has been defending since 2013, terminated the contract with him in the fall of 2018, as soon as a scandal broke out with a fight.

Another club from the South of Russia, Rostov, extended a helping hand to him, in 2019 they signed an agreement with him for two years with the possibility of prolonging for another one.

Valery Karpin, when signing a newcomer, assured that he was 100% sure of him.

“Those moments that happened in his life, I think, will remain in the past.

Let's revive him.

I am sure that Pavel's mood will not go anywhere during the season.

This year has taught him a lot.

We talked to him and realized that he would help us in the future.

So far we cannot declare it, but in the spring we will get the Mamaev we would like, ”the specialist noted.

The debut took place in March 2020.

Pavel came on as a substitute in a match with his former team CSKA and scored a goal just a few minutes later.

Alas, injuries prevented him from fully expressing himself.

In November, the footballer suffered a torn Achilles tendon, due to which he was out of action for almost six months.

He returned only in April 2021 and has since been content with substitutions.

Not surprisingly, at the end of the contract, they did not renew it.

The midfielder tried to revive his career in Khimki, with whom he signed an agreement in December until the end of the season with the possibility of an extension for one more.

However, this stage turned out to be completely unsuccessful.

Pavel played only one half of the meeting with Dynamo, after which he was replaced due to muscle damage.

He did not appear on the field again, and in the summer the parties naturally suspended cooperation.

“Prison did not bring me anything good”

Could not but affect the state of Mamaev and the divorce proceedings with his ex-wife Alana.

Only in January the end was put in this matter.

The court divided a one-room apartment in the center of Moscow worth 35.2 million rubles, a parking space in the same place for 3.7 million rubles and a car for 26 million rubles acquired by a football player during the marriage.

He was also ordered to pay 1/6 of his monthly income to support his daughter.

However, last year he began a new life.

He married a second time, and the chosen one of the athlete was the girlfriend of the first wife, blogger Nadezhda Sanko.

And in the summer, the happy newlyweds became the parents of the boy Timofey.

The woman also has a five-year-old son from her first marriage.

More importantly, after his release, Mamaev changed a lot as a person.

This was noted even by his friend Kokorin.

So, according to his confession, Pavel has not consumed alcohol at all for several years.

“We were young, it was crazy, I did a lot of interviews about this story.

This can be understood, an interesting story, but everything will remain between us.

I'll be 32 soon next March, he'll be 35 soon, times have changed.

He had a good level in CSKA, he spent about eight years at a decent level, but then we made a mistake, a big mistake that affected our reputation, ”said the striker.

And if Kokorin said that the prison experience he had gained is useful, and every man should get it, then Mamaev adheres to a fundamentally different point of view.

"Everyone has their own opinion.

I can't tell if it's correct or not.

Today I understand that the prison did not bring me anything good and did not give me anything.

It was a kind of experience, but I didn’t take anything positive from there.

I don’t want to comment on this in any way, but my opinion is this, ”the football player emphasized.

Five trophies with CSKA and a bright performance for Krasnodar

At the same time, Mamaev, despite the forced pause of a year and a half, built a fairly bright career.

The pupil of Torpedo showed great promise from childhood and at the age of 16 he made his debut in the RPL in a match with Spartak.

“Firstly, with the appearance of Mamaev on the field, our game has improved markedly.

And secondly, for people like Pavel, the future of Torpedo, ”Sergey Petrenko, the coach of the car factory team, commented on the entry into the field of the young ward.

In 2005, the midfielder took part in 13 meetings of the Russian championship, and at the end of the season he was fixed at the base.

He spent the next year and a half with his native team in the First Division.

However, the talented midfielder did not stay in the elite league.

Domestic grandees quickly drew attention to him.

In the summer of 2007, the midfielder bought CSKA from Torpedo for € 2 million.

As a result, he gave the army team almost seven years.

During this time he made about 200 appearances in all competitions and scored nine goals.

As part of the red-blue, he won all possible domestic trophies: he won the championship, took the Cup (four times) and the country's Super Cup.

He also made regular appearances in European competition, including in the Champions League group stage.

During this period, Mamaev had different segments.

Sometimes he became the leader of the team, and sometimes he fell out of the cage.

For example, in 2011 he was transferred to the second team due to discipline problems.

Allegedly, in front of his teammates, he told the mentor that there were "various rumors" about him, hinting at a non-traditional sexual orientation.

“I don’t know who invented it, but they tell in such colors that when I read it, it’s funny to myself.

There was no such story.

There was a dispute over fees.

I do not remember the amount, but once he fined me for a yellow card, which affected the fact that I missed the next game.

Did he want to raise me this way?

The head coach can do anything.

I did something I don't regret.

I told the person what I think and what I think is right, ”Mamaev recalled years later.

And in the summer of 2013, just after winning the championship with CSKA, Mamaev decided on serious changes, moving on loan to Krasnodar.

The midfielder completely fit into the attacking football of the southerners, and already in December they bought out his contract for €5 million.

The next season turned out to be especially successful for the graduate of Torpedo, when Fedor Smolov moved to Krasnodar.

Together with the striker, Pavel made up a killer bunch that literally tore apart the Premier League.

The forward scored 20 goals, many of which were from his partner's passes, and became the top scorer of the championship.

And the midfielder with 13 effective passes was second only to the Hulk (16).

He also added ten heads to them.

After such a brilliant performance, Leonid Slutsky, despite past quarrels, was forced to include both of them in the Russian national team for Euro 2016.

But if Smolov was the main performer there, then Mamaev was content with substitutions.

Only in the last match with Wales did the mentor release him at the base.

But even here Paul did not do without scandal.

First, trying to break up the fight between Roman Shirokov and Denis Glushakov, he received a cut in his eyebrow.

Already after the elimination from the tournament, he posted a sensational post on social networks, in which he complained that the result was natural, and also stated that he was “waiting for g***a in the comments.”

And just a month later, Mamaev, together with Kokorin, took part in a party in Monte Carlo, which was discussed by the whole country.

Such was the career of a football player.

Vivid games, goals and assists in it have always coexisted with scandals and conflicts: with his wife, coaches, teammates.

Not surprisingly, one of them ended up in prison.

But it is important that the athlete learned an important lesson from what happened and changed.