Panathinaikos has signed French guard Sylvain Francisco after paying just over one million euros to buy him out of his contract with Villeurbanne, taking the Greek club's total outlay on release fees this summer to 3.85 million euros.
Francisco arrived in Greece late on Thursday to undergo a medical before being officially announced. He had already been presented as a Villeurbanne player but never featured for the French club because of the team's financial difficulties. Panathinaikos tracked the situation and moved to secure him once those problems became apparent.
The signing is described as one of the most high-profile transfer moves in Europe this summer. It is also the fourth buy-out the Athens club has executed this transfer window, as owner Dimitris Giannakopoulos assembled a squad to satisfy head coach Zeljko Obradovic.
The four fees
The largest payment was 1.5 million euros to Valencia for Senegalese guard Branko Mando, who had a strong season last year. Mando will join the squad in September.
German forward Isaac Bonga cost 700,000 euros to prise away from Partizan Belgrade. Bonga and Obradovic had previously worked together at the Serbian club, and the coach identified him as the preferred option for the forward position.
Gerson Yabusele was released from Real Madrid for 650,000 euros, a fee paid by Giannakopoulos to bring him to Panathinaikos.
The four payments to Villeurbanne, Valencia, Partizan and Real Madrid add up to 3.85 million euros in total.
