In an appearance on Gradska TV, the new president of FK Budućnost Boris Spalević spoke openly, which is commendable and respectful, about the events that brought the club to the brink of (financial) collapse.
He revealed that from the transfer of Andrija Bulatović to Lens, Buducnost received around 1,7 thousand euros (in installments) instead of 800 million euros. Andrej Kostić was sold to Partizan for 900 thousand euros in three installments ("lack of managerial skills and malicious intent"), none of which has yet been paid. The Argentine Strumija's monthly salary is 11 thousand euros.
Spalević also clarified the arrangement with the sports equipment manufacturer. The company listed as a sponsor is actually the company with which the club has a business and technical cooperation agreement and from which the club purchases equipment. The debt to that company amounts to 90.000 euros.
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And Spalević spoke openly about many other things, highlighting former executive director Novak Novaković as someone whose signature is on most of the controversial contracts, both business and those with players.
State of collapse
And it's definitely not easy for him to unravel all of this. What a job awaits him in trying to pull the club out of a state of collapse.
And whether it can succeed in doing so, regardless of the energy and knowledge it has. This is a situation that, according to real economic calculations, leads to bankruptcy or closure.
Just remember Mogren, who dominated the Montenegrin scene. The club made multi-million transfers of Đorđević and Bakić to Zenit and Fiorentina, signed high-profile contracts with players - and literally went out of business.
So, kudos to Spalević for his openness, kudos to him for announcing that he wants and will do everything to bring Budućnost back to "normal".
But, there is one "problem" here.
The role of the capital city
The uninitiated would think that until recently, Buducnost was owned by an individual, company, or investment fund, who took advantage of the opportunity to secure financial benefits through harmful contracts and thereby brought the club to the brink of collapse, and that then the Capital City appeared to save what could be saved, if it could.
It's the opposite - all this happened while the Capital, as it has been for all these years and decades, was the majority owner of the club (Budućnost is a Joint Stock Company).
All of this happened while the club was headed - as holders of executive positions, or as members of the board (Supervisory and Administrative) - by people appointed by the Capital City, or rather the majority party in the city parliament. People from its party or coalition partners.
Before 2022, it was DPS, during whose government, when we talk about the recent past, a more than controversial strategic partnership agreement was signed with Veselin Mijač (it turned out that the agreement is such that Mijač is now seeking over a million euros from the club through the courts), and since then until today, these are the parties that have formed the majority at the state level.
New government
After the extraordinary elections in Podgorica, the current government was officially formed at the end of 2024.
Everything that Spalević openly spoke about as anomalies in the club's operations mostly happened in the first six months of this year. The exception is the controversial transfer of Vasilije Adžić to Juventus, agreed in January 2024.
In Spalević's, indeed, and again emphasized - very open address, there was a "little thing" missing. He only needed to say - the people who run the Capital City did not care enough about Buducnost. The people who run the Capital City failed. They made a mistake in choosing the staff they "authorized" to take care of the finances, business and sports policy of the club.
Spalević says that the sale of Kostić for 900 thousand euros in three installments is a "lack of managerial skills and evil intent", and was agreed on June 24, when he himself was sitting on the club's Board of Directors.
There is a theoretical possibility that he was really against such a sale and that he was simply outvoted, but with the same composition of the Board of Directors, and now in the presidential role, every decision he made could be - outvoted!
If Spalević really has the ability, will, and even courage - to dissolve the Board of Directors as composed in this way and form a new one - then perhaps there is hope that he could succeed in his mission.
And until then, even though former director Novaković, as the only one whose name is mentioned in the context of wrong decisions (ignorance does not exempt from responsibility, said Spalević), did everything on his own, it is not known what is worse - whether it is the fact that he took advantage of such an opportunity, or the fact that no one controlled him, that is, that no one was aware of his decisions and signatures.
And if he made decisions with the consent of the delegated members of the Capital City on the Supervisory Board, then the blame cannot be solely his.
Those past and those present
And when someone was in power, and in what coalition arrangements, did the club fail while "their former" were in power - from a sporting and footballing perspective, as well as from a true fan perspective, that should absolutely not be an excuse or justification.
Because, Buducnost is the club of all of us, even if that's what "the former ones" said, and "the present ones" say.
But there is also the old Latin saying Quod omnibus est, nullius est. Or Res nulius, res communis. In Montenegrin: What is everyone's, belongs to no one.
And that's how it is with Budućnost, not just in the last six months or five years. But in the last 80 out of 100.
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