By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
Facundo Campazzo is returning to Europe and at this point, it’s almost certain that he will sign the offer made to him by Crvena Zvezda. Real Madrid can still match the contract offer made to him, the deadline expires tomorrow night, but so far there’s not any indication that the Spanish club will match.
On the contrary, Real Madrid was reluctant from the first moment to match a 1,8M+2,5M euros offer, which will make Campazzo once again one of the highest-paid players in their roster with Madrid having to spend in the second year of the contract almost double the money to cover also the taxes.
With that being said, Campazzo can still end up being a free agent in the summer, having a very manageable opt-out clause in his contract with Zvezda which ends in 2024.
Campazzo will be paired up with Luca Vildoza who is already making waves at Belgrade with the goal of the Serbian club making it at least to the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague playoffs. It has to be noted that Zvezda has not secured yet their presence in next season’s EuroLeague, hence the opt-out clause of Campazzo.
Meanwhile, the player still owes 2,6 M euros to Real Madrid from his NBA buyout, and a formula for Madrid to get their payment must be found. As for Zvezda, there’s currently a EuroLeague ban on transfers on the club, but the Serbian management has stated that this ban was the result of a formality that will be settled immediately.