Red Star Belgrade shakes off financial burden from the past

Red Star Belgrade is clearly in better shape now than it was in recent years. Not only has the red and white put together a very competitive team for next season (rumors say the spent € 1.500.000 on new players), but they have also paid off most of the debts from the past. Former coach Svetislav Pesic has already been paid in full, while former player Vladimir Stimac is expected to get his remaining € 150.000 of the FIBA Arbitration award before the start of the season. The club also had many more operational debts but most of those seem to have been paid already. Arch rival Partizan Belgrade had earlier suggested that Red Star had gotten government support to solve its financial problems and this suggestion provoked a verbal war between the clubs. This war of words reached a boiling point yesterday when Red Star announced another important signing, Rasko Katic, who has his roots in Partizan.