Financially Struggling Romanian Club Rapid Bucharest To Sell All Foreign Players

Troubled Romanian club Rapid Bucharest plans to offload every foreign player on its books and build a squad made up entirely of locals in an attempt to ease its wage bill, according to REUTERS. Rapid Manager Danut Perja said, "We renounce all foreigners. All of them will receive the documents under which their contracts are terminated unilaterally by email." Rapid, one of the most-popular clubs in the Balkan country, "filed for insolvency this month after running up huge debts." The move could mean the end of professional football for the three-time league champions as Romanian football regulations "do not allow an insolvent club to have a first-division licence" (REUTERS, 12/19).