Partizan restart marks Sreten Nikolić’s third bid for club presidency

Sreten Nikolić is making a third attempt to become the leading figure at FK Partizan, 12 years after he first entered the club’s presidential race.

His first bid came in 2014, when he emerged as a candidate within the opposition Group Albert Nađ during Partizan’s extraordinary presidential election. Zoran Popović won that contest, while Albert Nađ said the vote had been rigged.

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I would be happy if the debt really were that much. At this moment, we are not choosing a president but a bankruptcy administrator.

At the time, Nikolić said information from the club’s management indicated that Partizan owed 13.7 million euros, though he feared the real figure was higher. “I would be happy if the debt really were that much. At this moment, we are not choosing a president but a bankruptcy administrator,” he said, according to Sportski žurnal. He proposed a three-stage plan involving two million euros for immediate problems, investment in the youth academy and longer-term spending on the club, including a boarding facility for young players.

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I have a couple of strong business partners from abroad who are ready to enter the club. The condition is that they enter with clean papers, with a precise record of who is owed what. They are ready to invest serious money. Around $30 million at a certain point.

Nikolić’s second attempt came in October 2023, after Milorad Vučelić resigned as club president. Nikolić, then 71, had recently sold his pharmaceutical company, Infarm, and said he had no remaining obligations. He also spoke of potential investments worth $30 million from foreign business partners, provided the club’s finances were made transparent.

He later told Sportinjo that he was still willing to help. “No one can dispute my love for the club and my readiness to help,” he said. The Partizan restart team has now formally presented its offer to take over the club’s management.

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No one can dispute my love for the club and my readiness to help.