Two-time Russian champion with Rubin, **Alexey Popov**, shared his thoughts on the rivalry between Togliatti’s Akhron and Samara’s Krylya Sovetov.

In the last season of the **Russian Premier League**, Akhron, participating in the top tier of Russian football for the first time, finished in ninth place, while Krylya Sovetov secured the tenth position.

“There are all sorts of rumors circulating around Krylya. Apparently, the region doesn’t want to support two teams. Although Krylya has a rich history, it would be difficult to just eliminate it. The residents of Samara region would perceive such a move negatively. The governor doesn’t need this kind of negative publicity. If something happens to Krylya, it would reflect poorly on the governor.

It’s clear that the Samara region can’t sustain two teams. They don’t have a large enough budget to maintain two clubs in the **RPL**. Akhron is prepared to fully sponsor itself. They’ve already taken over the stadium that was supposed to be exclusive to Krylya, removing the seats bearing their name. Akhron has ambitions to completely push Krylya out of Samara region. This is unfortunate,” Popov stated, as reported by Legalbet.