Kevin Kuranyi has announced he will be leaving Schalke to join Dynamo Moscow on a free transfer.
German striker denies move was all about money
Kevin Kuranyi has announced he will be leaving Schalke to join Dynamo Moscow on a free transfer.
The Brazilian-born striker confirmed the decision on his
personal website, with his contract at the club due to expire at the end of June.
Kuranyi, who had been in great form this season with 20 goals in all competitions, had been hoping for a call-up from Joachim Low despite falling out with the Germany boss in 2008.
However the call did not come, resulting in what some feel was a catalyst for the striker to exit the country to make the move to Russia, with the striker also denying that he made the move solely for the riches on offer.
"I always said that, at the end of the day, the overall package had to be right," he said.
Build
"I had that feeling with Dynamo. Of course the financial side is one aspect of it and it would be hypocritical to claim otherwise."
"It would be wrong and arrogant at the same time to under-estimate Russian football.
"CSKA Moscow and Zenit St Petersburg have both won the Uefa Cup and Zenit even beat Bayern Munich in the semi-final.
"I think these results speak for themselves and now I want to latch onto these achievements and build something big with Dynamo."
Speaking of Low's decision to omit him from the Germany World Cup squad, Kuranyi admitted his disappointment after finishing the second top scorer in the Bundesliga and earning the team a position in the UEFA Champions League next season.
"Like any footballer, I dreamt as a little child of taking part in a World Cup," he said.
"This dream has been shattered for the second time. Therefore, obviously this decision has made me very sad.
"I gave all I could this season, but sadly that was not enough."
