Hull City owner Acun Ilıcalı has promised Maribor that fans that they are getting a Barcelona quality player in Jean Michaël Seri.
[NK Maribor’s website](https://www.nkmaribor.com/news/63uZArBJDGHVwLt5jpOr) cover comments from the Hull City owner today, as he builds excitement for their signing.
Ilıcalı owns Maribor alongside Hull City as part of his football group. He’s also held shares in Fortuna Sittard and Shelbourne FC in the past.
As with most groups of that nature, there’s often been movement between the various clubs when it comes to players.
That’s not quite the case with Seri, despite him signing for both. He joined Hull City in 2022 and was there for two years, making 77 appearances in total.
He left last year for Al-Orobah but lasted just over a year there before heading to Maribor at the beginning of September. It’s the latest step in a wide-ranging career for the 35-year-old that’s seen him play for sides such as Nice, Fulham, Galatasaray, Bordeaux and Hull City.
“He did the same at Hull City”
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The 34-year-old was once considered a rising star in Europe and linked with Barcelona, something Ilıcalı wanted to reference.
_“Unfortunately, we will have to wait a little longer for them to join,”_ he said regarding Seri and Oscar Zambrano, another player he had at Hull City.
_“But with them we will have two stars in the team. When they are both on the pitch, Seri and Zambrano, the fans will realise the quality they bring. We are happy to have brought them in._
_“Seri will take the whole team to a higher level; he did the same at Hull City when he arrived. We were a team, and he was like the conductor who upgraded the team. I think we will see that in Maribor as well. I am excited for him to join us._
_“All Maribor fans will be excited to see him play. He is an intelligent, very high-quality player and we are proud to have him in the team. He’s a player with quality for Barcelona._
_“He should have joined Barcelona, everything was agreed, but they could not make an agreement because his club changed the terms at the last minute and demanded a compensation of €40m. Now we will bring a player with quality for Barcelona seen in Maribor.”_