FC Crvena Zvezda's GM Zvezdan Terzic takes a jab at EuroLeague / News - Basketnews.com

Terzic said that basketball is seriously played only in Spain, Turkey, Greece, and Serbia. He highlighted the difference between basketball and football budgets and said that the EuroLeague is a second-class competition and cannot be compared to the UEFA Champions League.

Credit: Teodoras Biliūnas/BNS; RTS Credit Teodoras Biliūnas/BNS; RTS

The lack of financial growth is often seen as one of the biggest issues the EuroLeague currently faces. This time, even an operative from the football world noticed a stark contrast between basketball and football in Europe.

Talking on the Oko show on Serbian television RTS, FC Crvena Zvezda's general manager Zvezdan Terzic briefly talked about the EuroLeague, and even called it a second-class competition.

"The EuroLeague in basketball is a second-class competition. What the Champions League is in football, where the best [players] play, it's the NBA in basketball. You cannot compare football and basketball," he said.

Terzic went on to say that basketball is seriously played in only four countries in Europe.

"In Europe, basketball is played in three or four countries, football is played all over the world, in every country. Spain, Turkey, Greece, and Serbia, where else is basketball played?" he rhetorically asked.

"In basketball, you are the champion of Europe with [the budget of] 35 million euros. In football, you cannot approach the Conference League [with the same budget]," Terzic explained. "In basketball, Real and Barcelona have twice the budget when you play against them. In football, they have a budget that's 20 times larger."

In a recent interview with BasketNews, ALBA Berlin's general manager also highlighted the issue clubs face in the EuroLeague, especially when they don't have an A license.

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