Panathinaikos owner Dimitris Giannakopoulos announced on Instagram that Zeljko Obradovic is returning to the Greek club, 14 years after his last departure. Giannakopoulos posted a photo with the Serbian coach and the caption, "The king is coming home."
According to the report, the 66-year-old Obradovic signed a three-year contract worth a total of 10.5 million euros, or 3.5 million euros per season. He had left Partizan Belgrade in December after four years there.
Obradovic is returning to the team with which he had his greatest coaching success. He first arrived at Panathinaikos in the summer of 1999 and stayed for 13 years, winning 11 Greek league titles, seven Greek Cups and five EuroLeague, or European Champions Cup, crowns.
After Panathinaikos, he spent seven years at Fenerbahce, where he won four Turkish championships and another EuroLeague title. In total, Obradovic has nine European Champions Cup titles, also earned with Partizan, Joventut Badalona and Real Madrid, and he is widely regarded as Europe’s greatest coach.