Back in 2018, Malcom was one of the hottest prospects on the market after a successful season at Bordeaux.
Everything indicated that the Brazilian would join AS Roma after the Italians agreed on a deal with his club. However, Barcelona intervened as Malcom was about to board his plane to Italy and brought him to Camp Nou instead in a move worth €41m plus add-ons.
Malcom was destined to fail at Camp Nou, though. Mainly a right winger, there was no way he would be starting ahead of Leo Messi. And on the left, Ernesto Valverde preferred Ousmane Dembele and Philippe Coutinho. The Brazilian finished the 2018/19 season with 24 games (11 starts), 4 goals and 2 assists.
The next summer, Malcom was sold to Zenit St. Petersburg for €40m plus bonuses, with Barca effectively recovering the money they had spent on the Brazilian the year before. He’s had quite a ride.
1. He got called 'not even a footballer'
Malcom's first year in the Russian Premier League didn't go too well. The forward suffered a serious injury which kept him on the sidelines for four months and when he played, he didn’t set the world on fire.
For a footballer worth €40 million with wages around €6 million, 4 goals and 3 assists is a scandalous form — an average Ivan in the Russian league gives you that.
As rival fans were trolling Zenit, the Brazilian was testing the patience of his club. One of Zenit’s former players even complained about the lack of effort from Malcom, saying ‘you can’t even call him a footballer’.
2. Could re-join Leo Messi at PSG
Malcom picked up the pace eventually and established himself as a key player. The forward has been especially good this season, recording 15 goals and 7 assists in 23 games for Zenit.
His good performances actually resulted in him being linked with a January move to PSG but the transfer never materialized. The reason could be that Malcom…
3. Became a Russian citizen
It seems like Malcom isn't too interested in leaving Russia anyway.
He signed a new five-year contract with Zenit in August 2022 and last month, he obtained Russian citizenship. Russian Premier League clubs are limited to a certain number of foreign players in each match, so Malcom is trying to help out his team.
Theoretically, he could also play for their national team as he never made his senior debut for Brazil.
4. Got involved in a mass fight
Most recently, Malcom made headlines after being involved in a brawl in the cup clash against Spartak Moscow. The former Blaugrana saw a red card, like five other players involved in the fight, although he had been subbed off earlier in the game.
Malcom is no longer in the eye of mainstream footballer media but his life in St. Petersburg is definitely not boring.
