"My arrival at Valencia was 80%, but La Liga said the Russians would be a bad influence"

Valencia completed an interesting summer transfer window, although, as is often the case, they did not close all the deals they tried. One of the players they tried and failed to sign was Dmitri Barinov, who plays for Lokomotiv Moscow.

The 25-year-old midfielder, in an interview in 'Sport-Express', denounced that the negotiation was stalled by La Liga: "If my arrival in Spain was blocked because La Liga did not recommend signing Russian players? Yes".

"When they said that Russian players would be a bad influence on the championship, I understood that it would not work. The negotiation was at 80 per cent, it only remained to discuss the details of my contract with Valencia," he added to his explanation in reference to the armed conflict in Ukraine.

Barinov, who had already admitted Valencia's interest in the summer, was rumoured to be interested in joining Mestalla even before the summer transfer window opened. He is a defensive midfielder and international with Russia who has spent his entire career at Lokomotiv. He has now spent eight seasons with the capital club, with a total of 219 games played, 12 goals and 7 assists.