Nebojsa Covic – president of Crvena Zvezda – gave a long interview to SportKlub. Among the topics covered, Covic underlined how in basketball you manage to produce too little revenue. “You know, everyone attacks and talks about ‘state projects’, whether it’s us or Partizan because we take money from the state… People, this basketball is not commercial. It’s not football, so – I’m sorry – there you can sell a player with “two left legs” for 500, 600 thousand euros. During the two years I spent at Crevna Zvezda Football Club, I couldn’t believe how much compensation there was and what it was about… Well, I don’t know much about football, but if I compare… If you win the Euroleague, you cannot get more than two million euros. Here’s how much a better player in basketball costs“.
Among the topics covered also that relating to EuroLeague licenses. Without Covic it is not so certain that theAlba Berlin can come out, and there are several situations still to be resolved. “I think that both Partizan and Zvezda contribute a lot to the image of the Euroleague. The two most followed teams are Partizan and Red Star. We spoke to EuroLeague and they took their time. They have an open question for CSKA. And if continues like this in Israel? What will there be? Then Alba Berlin: they have a three-year license, don’t underestimate them. They belong to a group of ‘factory’ clubs, like Efes, like Armani. ‘Alba… Panathinaikos and Olympiacos, those are big names behind which the rich stand, right?
