Nikola Mirotic receives standing ovation before Barca-Madrid Game 1 / News - Basketnews.com

Nikola Mirotic was welcomed with a warm round of applause by Barcelona fans during the team's presentation before the first ACB final game against Real Madrid.

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Nikola Mirotic has captured all the spotlight before the ACB finals start this Friday.FC Barcelonahave made the decision to terminate his contract although he still has two years remaining.

Nikola Mirotic

Team:FC BarcelonaPosition:PFAge:32Height:208 cmWeight:102 kgBirth place:Podgorica, MontenegroProfileNewsStatistics

The player talked to El Mundo Deportivo, expressing complaints about the fact that confirmed that the club didn't give him any kind of explanation for the decision.

Mirotic confirmed that the club had informed him that it will terminate his contract when the season ends and assured, contrary to rumors in recent weeks, that Barca never reached out to him about a possible salary reduction.

The Montenegrin forward also added that he wants to bid farewell to Barcelona fans because "these are my last games."

The Palau Blaugrana left no doubts about their support for Mirotic at the start of Game 1 of the Spanish finals. The Montenegrin was massively applauded at his presentation on the court by some totally dedicated fans.

Some doubts as to how Mirotic would be received by Barca fans emerged after the interview and also following the club's version and the statements made by Juan Carlos Navarro.

"First of all, I was surprised by Nikola's statements yesterday, when we had no idea that he was going to talk about it," the former Barca legend and manager of the basketball section admitted.

"Second, we are in the [Spanish] finals, for which we have worked a lot and he has also made a good playoff run. Hopefully, he'll be with the team to try to help us with these finals. And then we will explain everything, the whole situation, how everything has gone, all the 'timings', because, as you already know, it is a decision that we have made and that he has known for a long time.

However, it will be discussed when everything is over", Navarro told Barca TV.

In his four seasons in Barcelona, Mirotic has won one Endesa League and two Copa del Rey trophies. He has also made it to three Final Fours, but won none.

The economic situation at Barca is critical and the sections are going to suffer a cut that may reach 25% of their budget. In the case of basketball, that can be equivalent to about 10 million euros. Mirotic currently enjoys the highest salary in Europe, as it is around five million net. A beastly contract that Barca is trying to get rid of in times of crisis.

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