One of the biggest stars in the European basketball firmament is still free. Nikola Mirotic (Podgorica, 1991), who was in advanced negotiations with Partizan Belgrade, has finally renounced that path and has decided that he will not play in Serbia after receiving threats from the fans.
Mirotic, whose contract was unilaterally terminated by Barça last Thursday, revealed in a post on Instagram that he has been receiving threats from Serbian Partizan fans since the negotiations became known.
“Threats and insults came to me that surprised me a lot and hurt me. I don’t want to be a person who divides people,” wrote the Montenegrin, resigned to changing strategy and destiny.
Another Belgrade team, Red Star, had also taken an interest in Mirotic but, in this case, the player clarified that “for the sake of truth, I have to mention that no threat has come from Red Star and that I have always had good communication with them, full of respect”.
The statement also contains excerpts like this: “Furthermore, I want to point out that my desire to play for a team in Serbia was not conditioned by either financial offers or the colors of any club. I wanted to play in the country I love, but things just didn’t go in that direction. I would like to thank Partizan for their trust and desire to be part of the team, but still I decided that the best thing for me and my family is to continue my career in one of the European teams outside of Serbia.”
