After arriving in Kaunas, Alen Smailagic: "I was threatened in Serbia"

Alen Smailagic, the Serbian center, left Partizan after three seasons to join Zalgiris Kaunas. Although his departure was initially attributed to sporting reasons, Smailagic revealed that his reasons for leaving the club were related to non-sporting issues in Serbia.

Upon arriving in Lithuania, the player stated in an interview with the portal Basketnews: "In Serbia, many things were happening that I don't want to talk about now. I wouldn't want to be surrounded by that kind of energy... The Partizan as a club is great, Zelko Obradovic is like a strict father." However, "I didn't want to be part of some of the things happening in the country. It all came from outside," admitted the Serbian center, who had experienced certain ups and downs that many did not understand.

In 2019, after his first season with the Santa Cruz Warriors in the G League, Alen returned to Serbia. At that time, he and his parents signed a contract with a company called Beko Basketball Kotež, which supposedly would benefit Smailagic's development club, KK Beko. However, this company had no relation to KK Beko, and the contract was immediately terminated. Despite this, the representatives of this company sued Smailagic in 2021 for an alleged non-payment of approximately 280,000 euros.

Smailagic was pressured and threatened to pay over 475,000 euros as part of this fraudulent contract. His team filed a lawsuit for financial fraud and fraudulent representation against the individuals involved, arguing that the contract was illegitimate and they had been deceived into signing it.

These pressures and threats had a negative impact on Smailagic's performance at Partizan. Despite being a key player on the team, his personal situation led him to seek a fresh start at Zalgiris Kaunas.

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Alen Smailagic, tras llegar a Kaunas: "Me amenazaban en Serbia"