Former Manchester United striker Fredrico Macheda has decided to continue playing for the Greek club Panathinaikos. He recently signed a 3-year extension to his contract for a fee of 1 million Euros per season.
The decision to stay back in Greece came in the wake of speculation that Macheda may move out to play for Qatar’s Al Saliya. He was also tipped to move to Turkey and sign up with Fenerbahce. Gossip mills were also full with theories about how he had been approached by Red Star Belgrade to play in the Serbian League.
The 29-year-old Italian put to rest all talk as he agreed to continue playing in Greece for another 3 years. The announcement to this effect came earlier this month much to the relief of many fans of the Greek club.
Macheda has been an important player in the club’s fortunes. With 15 goals in the last season, he held the key to his club’s progress in the Greek Super League. He was in blistering form scoring an average of a goal per appearance.
Macheda burst onto the scene as a young 17-year-old when he appeared for Man U in the EPL. Having helped the club lift the Premiership title that year, he immediately became some sort of cult figure at Old Trafford. The Italian made it to the headlines when he scored a last-minute winner for United against Aston Villa in a do-or-die encounter. Man United won the match 3-2 firming its grip on the title.
However, as it often happens in sports, success can be followed by cruel failures. And that is exactly what happened with Macheda. Failing to repeat his sizzling form the following year and with a number of injuries, he became an irregular feature in Sir Alex Ferguson’s scheme of things.
Macheda played for a couple of clubs between 2011 and 2018 before he was finally signed up by the Greek warhorse Panathinaikos in 2018. Having discovered his golden touch here, an extension of the contract is a win-win situation for both the club and Macheda.