By Eurohoops team / info@Eurohoops.net
Barcelona superstar Nikola Mirotic confirmed that he’ll be leaving the team at the end of the season. In an interview with Mundo Deportivo, the 2022 EuroLeague MVP mentioned that Barca never showed any willingness to enter negotiations with him about possibly staying with a salary cut.
Here’s what Mirotic said on:
If Barcelona gave him any explanation on why they aren’t continuing together:
Honestly no. First, I would have liked it to have been communicated to me in a different way, at another time, from other people, perhaps someone who’s higher up. My agent has already sat down with them and asked: If it’s an economic issue, let’s talk, we’re going to sit down and see if we can do something.
If Barcelona approached him to talk about a potential salary reduction:
Never. At any time. We haven’t talked about it for two years. It’s not something that has been put on the table. And it’s something that I had hoped it could happen this summer.
If he would be willing to continue with a salary reduction:
I’d done it for sure. I already helped the club once. Why not do it? Why not sit down [for a talk]? Why not listen? Why not see how we can help each other? I’m very happy in Barcelona and so is my family. Where am I going to be better? But it hasn’t been possible because the decisions have been very clear. And the explanations, in the end, have been that the club wants to go a different way.
Mirotic was signed by Barcelona in 2019 to return to EuroLeague after a five-year stint in the NBA. His deal made him the highest-paid player in Europe.
In 2020, he signed a contract extension until 2025. He came under criticism several times during his run with Barcelona mainly due to the team’s failure to win the EuroLeague championship, especially after falling twice in a row to archrival Real Madrid in the semifinals of 2022 and 2023.