Andrei Kanchelskis threatened by masked men after ex-Everton hero asked for £1.2m in unpaid wages

Former Everton winger Andrei Kanchelskis has spoken about the threats he received during his time working in Uzbekistan.

Kanchelskis was a club record signing for Everton when he arrived from Manchester United, back in 1995. He earned hero status for his brace in a Merseyside derby win, finishing his debut season with 16 league goals, before eventually leaving for Fiorentina in January 1997. The 54-year-old moved into management after hanging up the boots, taking charge of various Russian sides and most recently being named general director of Kazakhstan club Tobol in July.

However, it was his second spell at Uzbek side Navbahor Namangan that proved most eventful, with Kanchelskis filing an appeal with FIFA over $1.6million (£1.28m) in unpaid wages. This resulted in him being approached by four masked men, while eating at a cafe, who reportedly threatened to break his legs if he did not reduce his claim to £60,000.

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“The club owed me compensation due to earnings lost in the COVID pandemic, and four guys from Chechnya weren't happy that I'd asked for the payments when I was sacked," Kanchelskis told FourFourTwo Magazine.

"The four men approached me while I was eating in a café and informed me that I would be 'disabled for life' if I didn't lower my demands. I told the police about it and luckily everything was sorted in the end.”

Navbahor were ordered to pay Kanchelskis but the club still accused the former Everton star of disrespecting the team. A club statement read: "Despite the fact that Andrei Kanchelskis accuses the club's management of being amateur, the