Greece captain Theodoros Zagorakis became a free agent today after being released by debt-ridden AEK Athens, the club said.
Zagorakis, player of the tournament at Euro 2004 after leading his country to a shock victory, settled for half the 660,000 euros owed to him, ending his four-year stay with the Athens club. "He showed that he genuinely has the club's best interests at heart and is free to take up any of the great offers from teams abroad," AEK said in a statement.
AEK are close to bankruptcy with debts of 100 million euros and their directors expect to lose all five of their Greece internationals before next season. Midfielder Zagorakis, 32, is reportedly attracting interest from teams in France, Spain, Italy and Germany, with local media predicting a swansong at Serie A club Bologna.
The former Leicester City and PAOK Salonika player is favourite to be given the honour of carrying the Olympic flame on the final leg of its journey into the stadium for the opening ceremony of next month's Athens Olympics.
Filed by Barry J Whyte
