Full coverage· Sports· Updated 13:36

Maccabi Tel Aviv Faces Real Madrid With Significant Budget Gap

Maccabi Tel Aviv will host Real Madrid in Belgrade on Thursday for their seventh EuroLeague game of the season. The Israeli team, currently 16th in the standings with a 2-4 record, enters the matchup following a recent 88-91 victory over Valencia. Real Madrid sits ninth in the standings with a 3-3 record and arrives on a six-game winning streak across all competitions.

3 newsrooms · 1 language · since 09:32

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What happened

01Maccabi Tel Aviv faces Real Madrid in Belgrade on Thursday for their seventh EuroLeague game of the season.
02Maccabi Tel Aviv guard Ify Lundberg is sidelined for six to eight weeks with a partial quadriceps tendon tear.
03The injury to Ify Lundberg has accelerated Maccabi Tel Aviv's search to sign a new guard to bolster the roster.
04Yam Madar and John DiBartolomeo are expected to take on larger roles in the rotation during Lundberg's absence.
05Real Madrid holds a budget of 40 to 45 million euros, with 30 to 35 million euros dedicated to player and staff salaries.
06Maccabi Tel Aviv operates with a total budget of nearly 44 million dollars, including 28 million dollars for salaries.
07Daniel Theis is Maccabi Tel Aviv's highest-paid player at 2.2 million dollars per season, followed by Yam Madar at 2 million dollars.
08Historically, Real Madrid leads the head-to-head series against Maccabi Tel Aviv with 47 wins to 28.

Maccabi Tel Aviv will play without guard Ify Lundberg, who is sidelined for six to eight weeks due to a partial tear of his quadriceps tendon. His absence has accelerated the club's search for a new guard, a reinforcement coach Oded Katash noted was needed even before the injury. In Lundberg's absence, Yam Madar is expected to take on a larger role alongside returning player John DiBartolomeo, with increased playing time also anticipated for Jalen Adams, Yovel Zoosman, and Tamir Blatt.

The matchup highlights a significant budget disparity between the two clubs. Real Madrid operates with a budget of 40 to 45 million euros, including 30 to 35 million euros for salaries, and recently paid a 1.2 million euro buyout for coach Pedro Martinez. In comparison, Maccabi Tel Aviv has a total budget of nearly 44 million dollars, with 28 million dollars allocated for salaries, led by top earners Daniel Theis at 2.2 million dollars and Yam Madar at approximately 2 million dollars per season.

Summarized by baba from the reports of 3 newsrooms. Updated 14:17

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