Ludogorets’ Sporting director, Georgi Karamandzhukov, officially announced that the club will take advantage of the option to pay 400,000 BGN in order not to comply with the new Bulgarian Football Union rule that requires at least four Bulgarian players on the field in First League matches for the upcoming season.
“The club’s official position is that we will pay the fee. Still, the fact that our first transfer is a Bulgarian player (editor’s note: Stanislav Ivanov) shows that we want to develop and promote our own players. But at Ludogorets, the goals are very high, and unfortunately, it's difficult to find five Bulgarian players at such a high level. This year, we will pay the fee to be exempt from this rule,” said Karamandzhukov.
He confirmed that Denny Gropper, Antoine Baroan, and Georgi Rusev will not continue with the club, as their contracts will not be renewed or their options to buy will not be exercised.
“As you know, Ludogorets and Igor Jovicevic mutually terminated their contract. We had to urgently find a new head coach, as the team begins its Champions League qualification matches in 20 days. Our choice was Rui Mota, and I thank him and his agent, Tiago, for their quick response. Despite having a contract, we managed to resolve everything quickly. I wish him great success — you’ve already written plenty about his resume,” Karamandzhukov added.
“After parting ways with Mr. Jovicevic, we had already targeted some players with him. We had to delay our transfer activity slightly. We wanted Rui, upon arriving, to approve the players we had in mind, because every coach has their own vision and preferred player profile,” he continued.
“It’s hard to keep our key players — there’s a lot of interest in them. We want to place everything available in Rui Mota’s hands so we can start the season in the best way possible. Pedro Naressi is fully recovered from his injury. Tekpetey is also 100% fit — he even scored in the last game. They’re important players for us. The only ones joining later will be the national team players, who will report to the coach on June 20 in Austria.”
“We’re celebrating Ludogorets’ 80th anniversary and 80 years of football in Razgrad in a year when we became champions for the 14th consecutive time. Over the years, many top-class players have helped build this club, along with coaches and club officials. It’s an honor and pleasure to invite them. Many of them, especially the Brazilians and former coaches who are not currently active, have been invited to the celebration. There will be a legends' exhibition match. Everyone accepted the invitation with enthusiasm and fond memories of the club. We all remember our Champions League appearances, the matches against Milan and Inter — games that are hard to forget. There’s strong interest in the event. Everyone who has contributed to the club deserves recognition. We’ll also honor the veterans — former staff and coaches. We’ll do our best to show respect to all who played a role in the club’s history,” Karamandzhukov concluded.
