By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Makis Aggelopoulos gave an interview to the Greek newspaper “Documento” and once more he stated that he is opposed to the EuroLeague and fully supports the Basketball Champions League.
When asked what he would do, if the EuroLeague offered him a ten-year contract, he replied: “Honestly, I would not accept it. My disagreement is structural. Someone puts one million dollars prize, picks up ten sprinters and organizes a race of 100 meters. And the winner will be declared the Olympic champion. It is a mistake to have contracts when 650 teams, with thousands of players, fans and presidents exist from the Urals to Portugal. European participation must be a sporting reward, not a privilege. Only eleven European clubs have guaranteed revenues for the future. For the others, the horizon reaches the next Saturday”.
According to Aggelopoulos, the EuroLeague model is failing: “Sport is based on surprise. The sponsor pays only when he sees the eleven teams tied in handcuffs. So the model is failing. The real goal of the Euroleague is the abolition of national championships and the acquisition of the weekend television slots. But that will be the end of it. National leagues are powerful. If Panathinaikos withdraws from Euroleague, Olympiacos will collapse. Olympiacos‘ fans are not interested in Maccabi and CSKA“.