Arriaga: from salary reject to €5m sale in one year

Kervin Arriaga will not be part of Levante's squad for their league opener against Espanyol. The Honduran midfielder has been sold to Greek side AEK Athens for approximately €5 million, according to *Sport*, after the Greek club won the battle against Celta de Vigo for his services.

The turnaround is deeply ironic. Just a year ago, Real Zaragoza deemed him «not worth keeping» due to his high wages (around €400,000 net per season over three years) and the salary cap burden. The Aragonese club tried to lower his pay without success and let him go, instead signing Paul Akouokou, who actually earned more than Arriaga.

An expensive mistake

Levante signed Arriaga for €500,000 in La Liga, with 25% of any profit going to Partizan Belgrade. In his 17 matches for Zaragoza, the midfielder was «one of the architects of their survival» and scored against Huesca, proving his worth from day one. Akouokou, meanwhile, turned out to be a complete flop: he barely had one decent game, when he scored against Real Sociedad B.

Now, a year on, Arriaga is valued at €5 million and will continue playing at the top level. Moreover, AEK will compete in Champions League qualifying this week and next. Zaragoza learned the lesson far too late.