By Antonis Stroggylakis / AStroggylakis@eurohoops.net
In a statement to Eurohoops, guard Stefan Jovic cleared the air on recent rumors of him returning to Crvena Zvezda, saying that he hasn’t even received an offer and something concrete by the Serbian club.
“The club [Crvena Zvezda] hasn’t sent an official offer to me or my agents. I was contacted by their side in regards to if I could join the team or not, however, nothing official came from it. Just talks”, he told Eurohoops.
Jovic played for Zvezda from 2014 to 2017 and was a significant part of the team’s rise to the dominant power in ABA League and emergence as a EuroLeague staple. In 2016, he won ABA Finals MVP after pushing Red Star to its second straight championship title, some weeks after the team made the EuroLeague playoffs for the first time ever.
In 2015, Jovic set the new single-game record for assists in EuroLeague with 19.
After becoming a free agent following his 2020-21 stint with Khimki, Jovic saw various reports sending him back to his former club.
“The situation with rumors and headlines is crazy and puts unnecessary tension,” Jovic said.
Right now Jovic is practicing with the Serbian national team in preparation for the Olympic Qualifying Tournament that will be held in Belgrade, Serbia. The “Orlovi” will look to win the tournament and the 30-year-old playmaker has locked his attention on helping his country punch the ticket to the Olympics.
He was a member of the national team that won a silver medal in 2016 in Rio.
“I’m still a free agent. There are other offers but nothing settled yet. Right now, I’m focused on the national team and our efforts to make the Olympic Games,” Jovic said.