From Mkhitaryan to Oseyan: Why Dmitry Seluk Remains One of the Most Controversial Figures in Armenian Football

Dmitry Seluk’s name has once again become the center of attention in Armenian football. After a public conflict with Pyunik head coach Artak Oseyan, the club announced the termination of cooperation with the specialist.

For Seluk himself, such situations are not new. Over the past two decades, the football agent and official has repeatedly been involved in high-profile stories connected with Armenian footballers.

His name has been associated with the careers of Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Aras Ozbiliz, Marcos Pizzelli and other players. However, many of these relationships were accompanied by public disputes, mutual accusations and controversial statements.

In 2026, Seluk returned to Armenian football in a new role — as Pyunik’s adviser to the general director on sporting matters. Almost immediately, a controversy emerged around the club regarding transfer policy and the powers of the head coach.

However, Seluk’s complicated and controversial relationship with Armenian football began much earlier.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan: The Story That Became a Symbol of an Era

The most famous story in Dmitry Seluk’s career remains his cooperation with Henrikh Mkhitaryan.

Seluk has repeatedly claimed that he played an important role in the young Armenian midfielder’s move first to Donetsk Metalurh, and later to Shakhtar Donetsk.

According to the agent, he convinced Metalurh owner Oleg Mkrtchyan to sign Mkhitaryan, and later helped organize the player’s transfer to Rinat Akhmetov’s club.

“I brought Mkhitaryan to Shakhtar. Mkrtchyan asked me whether he should take Henrikh or not. Then I reached an agreement between him and Akhmetov so that Henrikh would move to Shakhtar.”

The period at Shakhtar became a turning point in Mkhitaryan’s career. The Armenian midfielder became one of the team’s leaders, won the Ukrainian championship and attracted the attention of leading European clubs.

However, the cooperation between the player and Seluk eventually ended.

The agent claimed that pressure had been put on the player and his family, which led Mkhitaryan to end their professional relationship.

“A lot of pressure was put on them and their families.”

Seluk also stated that Mkhitaryan had the opportunity to move not to Borussia Dortmund, but to an English club.

“If I had continued working with him, Mkhitaryan would have signed a contract with Liverpool. I had already arranged everything.”

Later, the agent repeatedly returned to this topic, saying that the move to England collapsed because of changes in the situation surrounding the footballer.

Mkhitaryan himself has never publicly provided detailed comments about the conflict with Seluk and has not confirmed the agent’s version of events.

Aras Ozbiliz: The Conflict After the Move to Spartak

Another major story involved Aras Ozbiliz.

Seluk claimed that he had been involved in the midfielder’s transfer from Ajax to Kuban and expected to help him make the next step in his European career.

However, in the summer of 2013, Ozbiliz became a player of Moscow Spartak.

After that, Seluk stated that the transfer situation had not developed as it should have and spoke about more profitable offers that had existed.

“Kuban had an offer from Monaco for six million euros and from Metalist for eight million. And suddenly — Spartak and two million.”

According to Seluk, he was prepared to defend his interests through legal means.

Several years later, another dispute emerged after Ozbiliz joined Turkish club Besiktas.

Seluk strongly criticized the footballer’s decision and stated:

“He will kiss the Besiktas badge and play for the Armenian national team. This is pure prostitution.”

The phrase caused a major reaction among Armenian football fans.

Ozbiliz responded very harshly to the words of his former representative.

“Seluk is a fool if he said something like that.”

The footballer stated that his decision to represent Armenia was not motivated by money.

“If I had chosen money, I would have chosen the Netherlands national team.”

Ozbiliz emphasized that playing for Armenia was his personal decision and a choice made with his heart.

Today, the former Armenian national team player works within the structure of Urartu, where he manages the club’s second team. Previously, he played for Pyunik.

Marcos Pizzelli: Another Conflict Around Kuban

Another Armenian footballer whose name became connected with Seluk’s statements was Marcos Pizzelli.

In 2013, the agent defended the player, claiming that Kuban was preventing him from changing clubs.

“He is firmly sitting on the bench. When Marcos wants to leave the team, they tell him ‘no’.”

Seluk believed that the lack of playing time could negatively affect the footballer’s career.

He also linked Pizzelli’s situation to a broader conflict surrounding Armenian players in the Russian championship.

Conflict with Armenian Football Officials

During the period of the stories involving Mkhitaryan, Ozbiliz and Pizzelli, Seluk entered into a conflict with representatives of Armenian football leadership, particularly with Ruben Hayrapetyan.

The agent claimed that pressure had been put on some players to make them stop working with him.

“The football leadership of Armenia pressured Henrikh Mkhitaryan, as well as Aras Ozbiliz, so that they would not cooperate with me.”

Seluk also said that there were offers from the English Premier League for Armenian players.

“I have real offers from England for these two footballers.”

These statements caused significant public attention, although this version of events was never officially confirmed.