Milos Degenek hints about complicated Red Star Belgrade exit
Amid talk he turned his back on a club loved by his family for Middle Eastern riches, a cryptic Milos Degenek has hinted there was more to his departure from Red Star Belgrade than meets the eye.
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A cryptic Milos Degenek has hinted there was more to his surprise departure from Red Star Belgrade than meets the eye.
The Socceroos defender has opened up on his lucrative transfer to Al Hilal, having signed a three-and-a-half-year deal with the Saudi giants after they triggered his €3 million buyout clause on the back of strong UEFA Champions League form.
But amid talk he’s turned his back on a club loved by his family — refugees of Serbian heritage and dyed-in-the-wool Red Star followers — for excessive Middle Eastern riches, the 24-year-old indicated the situation was more complex.
“No one can force you out in terms of — obviously clubs can force you out — but it was in my hands,” Degenek said.
“I had the right idea and I could have made the decision either to stay or leave. There’s a few things that no one knows and no one will know what happened, why I left and I why I decided to move on.
“It’s not easy at all because it’s a club that I love the most in the world and it’s a club that one day I’ll go back to for sure.
“It wasn’t an easy decision for me or my family, but sometimes you make decisions that aren’t always easy and you make decisions based on certain things.
“The club, obviously they think things differently, but the fans were very thankful to me and very upset that I left. They wanted me to stay longer but that’s sometimes football.”
Degenek will head to Al Hilal straight after Australia’s Asian Cup campaign finishes and join a group of high-calibre teammates including a chunk of Saudi Arabia’s international squad, the UAE’s Omar Abdulrahman and Peru’s Andre Carrillo.
“It’s a very good team, I think it’s the best team in Asia,” Degenek said.
“People say that I’ve left a UEFA Champions League team but this is the first time Red Star has played it in 26 years.
“Who’s to guarantee Red Star’s going to play Champions League next year?”
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Originally published as Milos Degenek hints about complicated Red Star Belgrade exit
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