Giannakopoulos slams Bertomeu, explains his big comeback and investment / News - Basketnews.com

Dimitris Giannakopoulos called Jordi Bertomeu a 'gangster' and presented his reasons for investing heavily on Panathinaikos.

Credit: Vangelis Stolis Credit Vangelis Stolis

Panathinaikos Athens owner Dimitris Giannakopoulos gave an all-encompassing interview on SDNA's 'Magic EuroLeague' show, where he discussed everything about the Greens' roster rebuild and plans for the future.

Among other issues, Giannakopoulos touched on one of his 'favorite' topics, Jordi Bertomeu's stint as EuroLeague President and CEO. The Greek businessman was asked by hostsVassilis Papatheodorou and Tolis Kotzias why he decided to make an impressive investment this summer, as PAO have already signed household names in Kostas Sloukas, Luca Vildoza and Juancho Hernangomez.

But Giannakopoulos initially shrugged off the question.

"Anyone can say what they want," he said.

"Bags of money have been invested for too many years. It was just a couple of years that the budget dropped. People probably can't tell the difference between 'I can' and 'I don't want to', that's all I can imagine," he continued, pointing out that the circumstances in the past were discouraging for a bigger investment.

"I was clear as to why I didn't want to keep investing, I gave a press conference in 2020. All circumstances have changed. I was trapped in a league where no matter what I did, I couldn't get a response," he commented.

Giannakopoulos then referred to his feud with the EuroLeague, which he accused of "always being against PAO."

"We were putting in 30-40 million and overcoming obstacles. We tried every possible way, but everything was against us. That was the root of many problems. We were trying to keep Panathinaikos afloat amidst the financial crisis. That's why there no willingness to put in a lot of money," he explained.

PAO's owner recalled that there had been years when PAO had good teams, most notably when Xavi Pascual and Rick Pitino were at the helm.

"History could have been written completely differently," he noted. "That created a domino effect. No one addressed why I left in 2020. I understood that I had to keep pouring in 40 million, regardless."

Giannakopoulos stressed that all the EuroLeague shareholders came to realize that Jordi Bertomeu was detrimental to the league's well-being.

"Fortunately, they understood that this gangster had to be replaced," he said.

"I am fully aware of what I am saying. That man was never interested in the development of basketball. Panathinaikos has always been on the opposite side because we love basketball. As a family we have invested a lot of money," he added.

Giannakopoulos thinks that with the changes in the EuroLeague, growth will come.

"I hear of Dubai, I see Paulius Motiejunas and Dejan Bodiroga, who have no need for anything. What need does Bodiroga have? No matter what I did, I'd only throw money away. The three-year period between 2018 and 2020 was very stressful for me in all areas, mentally and physically. I just couldn't prioritize Panathinaikos at that time. I had to put other things in order instead of keep fighting with Bertomeu," he repeated.

Unlike many other clubs in Europe, for the Giannakopoulos family, starting with the late Pavlos who passed away in 2018, basketball is a timeless personal and family investment.

"Unlike other clubs we invest and spend and then work endless hours. No government subsidizes us, nor do the banks give us loans for free. Nor do we have football clubs behind us," he clarified.

"We're working hard every day and were interested to see where our money was going. How is it possible to hear about 6-7 million for TV contracts and get just one million?" he asked.

"How is it possible to not know what we signed up for? They wouldn't give us our contract. In 2002, we were ready not to play in the final in Bologna. We were on the other side because we didn't know where our money was going.

I want PAO and basketball to be profitable. We need to figure out how to make the product profitable. Fortunately, we don't have this gangster in front of us, who only cared about his position. We never bowed our heads, we never submitted. We said we'd fight Bertomeu to the end, and that's what we did."

In his 2020 presser, Giannakopoulos stated that Panathinaikos is for sale.But, as he reflected, no serious investor was found.

"The most serious case was the owner of another EuroLeague team, who wanted to buy Panathinaikos for its permanent license and shut the club down after two years. At some point, after everything else had come into place and watching the team end up 17th and fans being sad, I said 'that's enough'. I put some money to the team both in 2021 and 2022," he revealed.

However, things changed last year. Not in terms of how the season panned out for PAO, but with regards to the team's budget and roster. On paper, the Greens could have fielded a competitive squad. In reality, they finished second in Greece and 17th in the EuroLeague.

"We had more or less the same budget as Olympiacos," Giannakopoulos said. "Our team was sick, and it didn't need an aspirin, but an operation."

According to Giannakopoulos, Panathinaikos is investing both within the four lines as well as elsewhere.

"I have gone by my own criteria. I think we have brought in executives at the level of Campazzo, Vildoza, Sloukas, Tavares and Vezenkov. We want to run the team at fully professional level, as befits the company, and push basketball forward," he said.

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