Croatian professional soccer player Ivan Perisic brought an extra level of excitement this weekend when he played at the Swatch World Series Major in Porec. The InterMilan winger, a part of his country’s National soccer (football) team, is being shopped around by his club – originally because of a court finding that they violated transfer rules, which forced them to make certain transfers, and partially because of the €40 million (£35 million) to €50 million (£43 million) offers they’ve received from clubs like Manchester United.
But not everyone was thrilled about his appearance on the beach. InterMilan is reportedly furious and will impose a “heavy fine” upon the player. His status on the transfer market means that an injury could cost his current club tens-of-millions of dollars.
Ultimately, he and partner Niksa Dellorco finished tied for 25th, which means they lost all 3 of their matches in 2-0 defeats, including to #1 seeds Saymon Barbosa and Alvaro Filho 21-10, 21-10. Perisic has no reported injury from the match, which saw him play a grand total of 82 minutes of competitive volleyball (less than a single soccer match). He and his partner did each earn $2000 in the top-tier tournament on the FIVB World Tour.
Results:
- Barbosa/Filho (Brazil) def. Bellorco/Perisic 2-0 (21-10, 21-10)
- Brunner/Patterson (USA) def. Bellorco/Perisic 2-0 (21-11, 21-16)
- Crabb/Gibb (USA) def. Bellorco/Perisic 2-0 (21-8, 21-14)
His partner is a former junior player of some repute, but himself had only played 2 prior career tournaments on the World Tour and has never won a match in those appearances.
Perisic said before the tournament that he has a “passion” for volleyball, a sport he’s played since the age of 10, and says that he practices every summer with friends. “This was always my dream. I’ve been playing beach volleyball since I was 10.”
The club also said they were concerned that he might miss part of Inter’s pre-season training camp in the (unlikely) event that he advanced for further rounds of play. Local observers in Italy view the latest rift as another possible push of Perisic to his suitors at Manchester United.
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