By Antonis Stroggylakis/ info@eurohoops.net
ASVEL Villeurbanne was officially confirmed to participate in the 2018-2019 and 2019-2020 editions of EuroLeague and, upon the announcement of the news, club president, four-time NBA champion Tony Parker, voiced the big ambitions he has in mind for the French team.
“My absolute dream is for the team to reach a 15 million budget,” Parker said in an interview with L’ Equipe. “If you are able to do this, you can really be competitive and try to go to the Final Four like Zalgiris Kaunas did last year.”
It’s worth noting that ASVEL already has the highest budget among French clubs. Per information via Jeep Elite (the French League) ASVEL’s budget for 2018-2019 is €9.158.000 (€2.966.500 for coaches’/players’ salaries), over one million more than second-highest Monaco that operates on €8.089.000 but spends a bit more on coaches/players’ salaries (€2.995.000)
If ASVEL increases its budget to €15 million, it will be a move that changes the rules in the French League and automatically elevates the team to a “massive favorite” status regarding the domestic titles.
Parker also mentioned that his team wants to be established as a EuroLeague staple in order to remain in the top-tier continental competition for a much longer period than the two upcoming seasons.
“We have this wild card for two years, so we have two years to continue to meet the objectives and specifications of the EuroLeague. The main subject is the big arena and to become a franchise” full time like ‘big clubs’,” Parker said.