By Achilleas Mavrodontis/ info@eurohoops.net
With the season over and many questions about the future of Panathinaikos, the management of the team met with the press to confirm once more that while Dimitris Giannakopoulos remains the owner, he will not have any extra financial input to the team.
As general manager Panagiotis Triantopoulos confirmed: “It will be one more hard season for Panathinaikos. We will follow the same model, with our budget being totally dependent on our revenues”.
Like last year, Panathinaikos remains for sale, however Triantopoulos, who will still represent Panathinaikos in the EuroLeague, but will also not be involved in day-to-day affairs, explained: “Due to COVID everything has been pushed back. Our main priority is to secure a lease on OAKA in order to use it for the next 49 years”.
And that’s why according to Panathinaikos, the changes in the EuroLeague are a sign for things to come: “Being on the board was a big success for the clubs because so far they have invested money without the proper return and the way thing work must change. We need more teams to follow our current model and don’t be dependent on millions spent from their owners’ pockets. We even proposed a salary cap in the EuroLeague. We don’t think also about the present, but also about our future”.
Meanwhile, Triantopoulos denied that the team was ever in contact with Zeljko Obradovic about a possible return to Athens and said that Panathinaikos will first meet with current coach Oded Kattash and then decide about the future direction of the team. However, this future is likely not to include Kattash.