The Euroleague rejects the first offer from the NBA
The idea of a Barça headed by Laporta prevails and the clubs see the North American league's proposal as insufficient
BarcelonaThe Euroleague owner clubs met in Cernobbio (Italy) to debate and reach a consensus on strategic decisions regarding the future of their joint ownership. The majority rejected the NBA's offer to jointly organize a new competition in Europe, although reaching an agreement in the future is not ruled out. Furthermore, they agreed to continue the process to expand the number of franchises and the expansion of the tournament from the current 13 members to 24.
According to SDNA, Real Madrid, which requested 30 days for the NBA to improve its offer, Panathinaikos, Fenerbahçe, and Bayern Munich urged the rest of the clubs to maintain the dialogue, while Barça, Olympiacos, and Armani Olimpia Milan were completely opposed. President Joan Laporta led the Blaugrana delegation. The leader was accompanied by the executives responsible for the section, Sisco Pujol and Jaume Nicolàs; the secretary of the board of directors, Josep Cubells, and the director of professional sports, Xavier O'Callaghan.
As the Greek media explains, Olympiacos adopted the most "aggressive" stance and requested a vote to stop any further negotiation with the NBA, a proposal that ultimately did not prosper. Several clubs described the offer as "unacceptable" and "colonialist." Barça considered it "a joke." The general consensus is that, after the NBA's first offer and following the refusal of the Euroleague owners, the North American league will make a counteroffer to be able to continue with the negotiation. At the end of June, NBA Europe announced an unprecedented economic investment to launch its project in Europe in October 2027, in addition to defining which teams will make up the competition, with whom they hope to close agreements with the help of FIBA.
As stated then by the Deputy Commissioner and Chief Operating Officer of the NBA, Mark Tatum, the North American league closed the deadline for final offers to build the new "permanent franchises" for this league, which will be based in 12 target cities, with participation, in addition to clubs with football sections. Barcelona and Madrid are on a list that includes Paris, Lyon, London, Manchester, Berlin, Munich, Rome, Milan, Athens, and Istanbul.
From licensed clubs to franchises
The arrival of the Catalan Chus Bueno as CEO at the Euroleague has served to maintain dialogue with the NBA, but the current proposal does not yet entice the clubs. According to Athletiko, the acquisition offer remains well below the 2 billion euros that had been hinted at.
The owners of the attending clubs, on the other hand, agreed to move forward with the process of converting the current ten-year licenses into franchises for the thirteen shareholder clubs: Barça, Real Madrid, Kosner Baskonia, Anadolu Efes, CSKA Moscow, Armani Olimpia Milan, Bayern Munich, Fenerbahçe, ASVEL Villeurbanne, Maccabi Tel Aviv, Olympiacos, Panathinaikos, and Zalgiris Kaunas.
The clubs also agreed to continue working on the possibility of increasing the number of Euroleague franchises. The competition's board of directors will continue to study and evaluate the existing candidacies and will have to present a final proposal to the clubs to be approved in the coming weeks. Therefore, PAOK, Dubai BC, Aris, and the other candidates remain on hold. The Como meeting did not close the door to their incorporation, but it did not serve to make a final decision on any of them.