Partizan president: 'Basketball is a beautiful but unprofitable sport' / News - Basketnews.com

Ostoja Mijailovic says Partizan Belgrade have a three-time smaller budget than some other EuroLeague clubs.

Credit: Partizan Belgrade Credit Partizan Belgrade

Partizan Belgrade enter the 2022-23 season with a new name and title sponsor.

The Serbian powerhouse officially announced that its long-standing partnership with the Mozzart company has grown into a general sponsorship, so the black-and-white team will perform under the name of Partizan Mozzart Bet in all competitions.

"I want to thank Mozzart for recognizing that Partizan Belgrade is a good brand to invest in. This is the largest single contract that has ever been signed in our club," said Partizan's president Ostoja Mijailovic, who further thanked the club fans for purchasing a record-breaking number of season tickets.

"We broke the ticket sales record and have sold 11,000 tickets. It's a record in Europe since the existence of basketball and the highest income from season tickets," he emphasized.

The top executive also referred to the Partizan budget, comparing it to the big EuroLeague names.

"With Zeljko Obradovic [head coach] and Zoran Savic [sports director], we managed to build a team which represents the strong brand name," Mijailovic pointed out.

"You have to understand that our budget is three times smaller than some others. Now, there are a lot of surrounding factors that we need to overcome. For example, all American players have dollar contracts. The difference in the exchange rate is 20%. So, a contract worth $5 million would cost a million more because of the difference in the exchange rate," the president continued.

"The public doesn't know how club basketball works. Basketball is a beautiful but unprofitable sport. When you look at football and UEFA Champions League as a primary instance, you have 10 million worth of prizes there. Football clubs have a greater chance to earn money," Ostoja Mijailovic concluded the money topic.

Partizan president's words have some proof, looking from the Spanish giants' standpoint.

As reported before, Real Madrid closed the last season with €31.1 million in losses and had the last four years' losses combined for €102.84 million.

Meanwhile, FC Barcelona recorded a €30.0 million loss this past campaign and had €115.2 million combined losses over the last four seasons.

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