Red Star Belgrade So Deprived Of Income, Players Cannot Pay For Food, Rent

Red Star Belgrade coach Aleksandar Jankovic said that players at the debt-ridden club "are so deprived of their incomes they are unable to pay for food and rent," according to Zoran Milosavljevic of REUTERS. Jankovic revealed that first team players "have only received three minimum wage payments" amounting to a total of around €600 ($780) each since November. Red Star's debts are estimated to be in excess of €50M ($65M), "a vast sum in Serbia's dilapidated" football structure almost entirely dependent on exporting talent to wealthier European rivals. Jankovic said, "The situation has never been as grave as it is at the moment and the players' very existence is at stake here. The problems are mounting, there is no solution in sight, and I don't have a magic wand" (REUTERS, 3/5).