Pajola to Partizan: Details on Why He Didn’t Join Olimpia

Alessandro Pajola joins Partizan Belgrade: After eleven years in Bologna, the former Virtus captain has chosen the Serbian club for his first stint abroad, and according to La Repubblica, he has signed a two-year contract worth one million euros per year.

In recent months, the Italian national team player had also long been linked to Milan: La Repubblica details a deal that never materialized. The first contact between the player and Olimpia reportedly took place in May: an initial approach that was rejected, and the matter never progressed beyond that initial interest. Formal negotiations never actually began, and after the arrival of Darius Thompson, the Milan-based club definitively shelved the idea.

Pajola is thus moving to Belgrade, where he will serve as the backup point guard behind Carlik Jones, with the opportunity to play alongside him and bring balance to Coach Joan Peñarroya’s team.

In recent weeks, Alessandro Pajola had bid farewell to the Bologna fans with a lengthy message on social media: “In the last few weeks and months, I’ve read all sorts of things about myself. The accounts that have been reported do not at all reflect the reality of what happened. I’ve thought long and hard about this, and I don’t feel I need to justify myself to anyone, because my actions have always demonstrated and defined the person and athlete that I am. I’m a perfectly normal guy, deeply in love with basketball. All I’ve ever wanted to do is play basketball, and I’ll continue to do so as long as I have the chance.”