You're reading: BBC News: Dagestani billionaire creates ‘the Man City of Russia’

Suleiman Kerimov, one of Russia's richest men, has made a fortune from potash and gold.Now he is bankrolling his local football club, Anzhi Makhachkala, and giving soccer superstars the chance to cash in - in the Caucasus

In Dagestan, in the volatile North Caucasus, there are attacks by criminal gangs or Islamist insurgents nearly every day.

But the dangers haven’t put off some of the world’s top footballers from joining the local team.Inside the cramped and run-down Soviet-era stadium, Anzhi Makhachkala’s biggest star is introduced to the crowd."It’s Number 99! It’s Samuel Eto’o!" shouts an excited voice across the public address.Cameroonian striker Eto’o has moved to Anzhi from Inter Milan, with a transfer fee almost as high as the Caucasus mountains.He is estimated to be earning $560,000 (£350,000) a week here, making him the highest paid footballer on the planet.
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