Red Star Belgrade players have accepted wage cuts which will enable the debt-ridden Serbian first division club to save around two million euros annually, vice-president Slavisa Kokeza said.

“We have hammered out the terms with the top-three earners Milos Ninkovic, Nenad Milijas and Nikola Mijailovic and we will also revise the other players’ contracts,” Kokeza told Serbian media yesterday.

“The gross annual expenses for players’ wages amount to €4.5 million and the cuts will enable us to save around two million, give or take five per cent,” he added.

Red Star, the 1991 European Cup winners, have been on the brink of going into administration several times in the past few years and have not won the league title since 2007, surrendering their domestic supremacy to bitter city foes Partizan.

They are a point behind Partizan, who are aiming for a record seventh successive league title, at the winter break in Serbia’s 16-team first division which resumes on February 23.

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