Maxim Potyrnicke revealed a big difference in salaries of Moldovan players and foreigners at Sheriff // Photo: fc-sheriff.com
According to Potyrniche, local players were paid significantly lower salaries than foreigners. “The salaries of Moldovan footballers varied between €3,000 and €5,000 per month, some received a little more. Foreign players were much better rewarded, receiving salaries at €15k – €30k per month. Everyone knew who financed the club – Viktor Gushan. No one ever questioned the origin of the money, everyone was only interested in getting their salary by the end of the month,” said the former footballer in an interview with unimedia.info.
Maxim Potyrnicke said that he saw Viktor Gushan in the locker room several times, but he did not notice anything special in his behavior as a club owner. “Like any club owner, he went into the locker room, shouted, criticized, came out… Teammates who participated in the meeting with the participation of Gushan, told that he praised the players, spoke with admonitions of a successful game, but personally I heard from him only words of criticism,” – recalled the MP.
He also spoke about what motivated him after leaving Zimbru to continue his career in Sheriff. “I was guided solely by sporting criteria. “Sheriff was the best soccer team until recently, many Moldovan and foreign players aspired to get into it. The club has the best infrastructure, pays solid salaries and plays in European cups, and previously reached the group stages of the Champions League and Europa League. A lot of factors influenced my decision to move to Sheriff, including the fact that playing for this club increased the likelihood of getting into the national team”, – said Potyrnike.
Maxim Potyrnike finished his professional soccer career this year at the age of 36. In different years, he played at the position of defender in the clubs Academia (Chisinau), Iskra-Stal (Rybnitsa), Belshina (Belarus), ROW 1964 (Rybnik, Poland), Zimbru and Sheriff.
The last club in his career was Petrocub, for which he played since 2017. He was called up to the Moldovan national team, for which he played in 14 matches. In 2025, he became a member of Parliament of the XII convocation on PAS lists.
As Logos Press previously reported, Sheriff has the most solid budget among all Moldovan clubs. The Tiraspol club’s budget in 2024 exceeded $16.5 million, while the coffers of other clubs do not exceed $1 million a year.
