Andrei Arshavin: How Much Is He Worth?

May 30, 1981 (Leningrad/Saint Petersburg): The Arshavin family celebrates the joyous birth of their son Andrei.

June 21, 2008 (Basel): 27-year-old Andrei establishes himself as a superstar by destroying the Dutch defence and sending a nation of 142 million people into raptures.

If you watched the Euro 2008 match between the Netherlands and Russia, then you would have definitely been impressed by a certain little maestro's guile, pace and vision.

His extra-time dinked crossed pass which eluded Edwin Van der Sar, finding the tiny feet of Dmitry Torbinsky and then the net, was the stuff of magic. He then followed it up with a goal himself to put the icing on the cake.

The diminutive number 10 is no longer a Russian secret and has fully exploded onto the international scene with an unstoppable verve.

After giving the aging Swedish defence nightmares in the final Group D match, ultimately sending his nation into the quarter-finals, Andrei Arshavin became the architect of the demise of a ridiculously talented Dutch team.

In two matches he has tormented some of the most established international players with trickery, play making, and off-the-ball runs that would have made Pele and Maradona proud. The disappointment at not witnessing him in the first two Group D matches, due to suspension, should be extremely high.

With countless assists and 13 goals in 36 matches for his country, as well as 47 in 217 matches for his club Zenit St. Petersburg, he can be assured of having some of the most prominent suitors in European football chasing his signature this summer.

Equally adept as a winger and in the hole behind the striker, it is no wonder he is capable of such sumptuous displays like playing a major part in the 4-0 demolition of Bayern Munich in the UEFA Cup semi-final.

The question then is: Who is going to break the bank and how much are they going have to part for his services?

One thing is for sure: It's definitely going to be eight figures, and big eight figures at that, for a player at his physical peak and on around £50,000-a-week. During Zenit's UEFA Cup run, whispers began to accumulate about a move to the English Premiership, with Manchester City, Newcastle and Everton interested. 

Everton manager, David Moyes, apparently even contemplated a £12 million move after selling James McFadden and being impressed by Arshavin's mesmerizing performance against his team in the UEFA Cup group stages.

So, £12 million before the Bayern match, before the UEFA Cup win and before Euro 2008. The Rosgosstrakh Championship (Russian Premier League) Player of the Year is surely guaranteed a fee in excess of £20 million. To bid any less would certainly be a slur on his amazing skill and ever-enhancing reputation.

He has truly conquered the hearts of the Russian people and that of this reporter who is now truly hooked on "Euro Two Thousand and Great". We should bow to this little Russian who goes about his business with fantastic flair and a boyish vigour.

Just don't expect him to sign for Newcastle after Euro 2008. Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger should take heed and bid, for he is overall better than the Judases Cristiano Ronaldo and Aliaksandr Hleb.

Andrei Sergeyevich Arshavin would grace any big team in any major league with his extraordinary skill and amazing work ethic.