Nikola Mirotic hopes that his last games with Barça, in the Endesa League final against Real Madrid, will end with the conquest of a title that would close a “very good stage” with the Montenegrin at the helm of the team. The Balkan admits in an interview for Mundo Deportivo the European disappointments, but assures that he “has put the club where he deserved to be”, among the best teams on the continent.
“A stage that I and many people thought could have been much better is coming to an end, but if this title is won I think it will be a very good stage. What should have been achieved in the Final Four (of the Euroleague) but the club has put itself where it deserved to be, the fans have accompanied it, basketball is incredibly good”, explained the Blaugrana star, winner of a League and two Cups with Barça.
The man from Podgorica does not believe that the sad European outcome this year, in the semifinal against the Whites and with a poor performance by the power forward (3 points and a 10-shot basket), has precipitated his goodbye. “It shouldn’t. Obviously it was a disappointment, I wasn’t good. But we talked about important decisions and I don’t think they are taken because of what happens one day. I don’t know if they were waiting for the moment,” said the player, who intends to leave the club giving “everything until the last minute” and through “the front door”.
Mirotic wants the Blaugrana fans, of whom he is full of praise, to “continue enjoying” basketball despite his sudden departure. “I hope they receive me with a big round of applause, with a big smile and supporting the team and Niko,” he said about the behavior of the fans this Friday (9:00 p.m.) in the first game of the Endesa League final against Real Madrid.
“If there has been something great in this time, it has been the connection that I had from day one with the fans. And I tell you one thing: when I arrived I was very surprised that people received me in that way. From the past that I had Madrid, the NBA behind me… But I was wrong because they welcomed me like one of the family”, he added about the heat of the Palau.
Although he admits that “it was not the perfect moment”, a day before the final, Mirotic does not regret having aired his future a few hours before the start of the series against the whites, since he wanted to say goodbye to the fans and both his teammates as the coach were aware of his situation since the club informed his agent, Igor Crespo, of the decision to dispense with his services, “three days before the start of the playoff with Valencia”.
“If we’ve been playing for three weeks with this situation, this isn’t going to change anything. If my teammates didn’t know, I obviously protect my team. But if everyone already knows, why can’t the fans know? They They must know it and I must say goodbye to them as God commands”, Mirotic defended his position, convinced that his goodbye will not affect the team’s performance against the whites.
The power forward went on to explain that “the day after” receiving the news, “two days before the playoffs”, he sat down with Juan Carlos Navarro, manager of the basketball section, and Mario Fernández, sports director, and they confirmed the club decision. “They knew that the moment is difficult, that we’re playing a playoff, that this could affect me and the team, but they felt they had to tell me,” he said.
Contrary to what the club defends, the Balkan assures that Barça never offered him a reduction in his salary. “I would have done a sure thing,” he said of his willingness to fix his situation. Mirotic, who did not want to leave the club, even wanted to finish his career in Barcelona, ??does not feel “betrayed” or “cheated” by those responsible for the section. “I have to play a playoff, I have to terminate the contract, which has not yet been done. It’s not legal and I don’t want to talk to anyone. Once I finish with Barça and reach an agreement, then I’ll be free,” said the Balkan, that he does not want to talk to any other team until he finishes his time with the blaugrana.
“Not everything is work, it is also life. I am very sure that the decision I made (coming to Barça in 2019) was the correct one. And I am grateful to the people who have brought me to this club, who we know very well who they are, and to the people with whom I have lived this time, to the old board of directors and to the current board of directors, to everyone”, he concluded.
