STA, 18 June 2019 - Ljubljana, the runner up of the last Slovenian football premier league season, is reportedly in the process of being sold to an Italian businessman. According to sports paper Ekipa SN, Olimpija's chairman Milan Mandarić is looking to sell the club for at least EUR 6 million.
Mandarić, an Serbian-American tycoon who also owned England's Portsmouth, Leicester City and Sheffield Wednesday in the past, bought the Ljubljana club from banana wholesaler Izet Rastoder in 2015, reportedly for EUR 4 million.
According to Tuesday's report on Ekipa SN's website, the potential new owner is Italian businessman Gabriele Nardin, who was already involved in Slovenian football at lower levels through Jadran Dekani, a small village club that currently plays in the second Slovenian league.
Ekipa says Nardin has until 10 July to pay the first instalment in the amount of EUR 3 million.
Mandarić would reportedly also be entitled to the revenue from the sale of players, while part of the deal is allegedly also connected to a potential transfer of Slovenia's star goalkeeper Jan Oblak form Madrid's Atletico.
If Oblak left Madrid, Olimpija would also be entitled to part of the buyout sum as compensation for having raised the player, the paper reported.
While Olimpija has seen a seemingly never ending streak of headcoach replacements under Mandarić, the club also ended a 20-year national championship drought in 2015/2016. Olimpija won the national title again 2017/18, also becoming the Cup winner that year and again this year.
