FK Red Star is one of the most trophy-winning clubs in Serbia, with the largest number of fans and strong financial support, both from sponsors and the state. It has been a rival of Partizan for years, but that does not mean that their budgets and revenues are equal.
Zvezda is considered the most successful football club in terms of the number of championships and cups won. She achieved her greatest success in 1991 when she won the European Champions Cup in Bari and the Intercontinental Cup in Tokyo.
According to the latest data, as of July 2025, FC Crvena Zvezda earned 475 million euros in a decade, that is, from 2015 until 2025. Revenues from transfers and UEFA competitions account for 70 percent of the club's budget and amount to around 331 million euros. writes Đina Nedović for New Economy.
This summer, just by selling individual players such as Lazar Jovanović, Andrija Makrsimović, Luka Ilić and Andrej Đurić, Zvezda earned 23 million euros. The right sports and business way of thinking pushed Zvezda among the most profitable clubs in Serbia.
According to data from the APR, the total income of FC Crvena Zvezda in 2024 was around 90 million euros.
Debts and cash inflow
As previously noted, the majority of the funding of FC Crvena Zvezda comes from UEFA competitions, then transfers. From the sponsor, Gazprom, in total from 2014 to 2024, Zvezda earned about 54 million euros, and from Telekom in 2024, it received about 2,8 million euros. The sale of tickets brings the club about 29 million.
Zvezda receives 6 million euros for domestic TV rights, and the state invested 17,6 million euros during the decade, which is 4 percent of Zvezda's total budget.
However, in 2022, the president of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, drew attention to the clubs' debts and called on them to settle their debts to the state. Red Star was among those clubs.
He was supported by Finance Minister Siniša Mali and noted that FC Zvezda and KK Partizan owed the state 25,2 million euros in taxes - only Zvezda owed 18,8 million euros.
"When you add up the investments in the Zvezda and Partizan football clubs in the previous 10 years, you see that the state directly or indirectly supported them with more than 120 or 130 million euros," Mali said in 2022.
Then, in 2023, the general manager of Crvena zvezda, Zvezdan Terzić, stated that the club had settled all obligations to the state, in several parts. This was also confirmed by Vučić and he thanked via his Instagram account for the video with the Minister of Internal Affairs, Ivica Dačić.
"It is a good example for all our clubs of how they should behave," said the president at the time.
However, according to the data available through APR and according to media reports, FC Crvena zvezda still has outstanding debt. Although the club claimed that the tax was paid, the data showed that there are deferred tax liabilities, that is, a tax debt that was agreed to be paid later and it amounts to 7,8 million euros.
At the same time, there is a discrepancy in the statements of Zoran Terzić, who emphasized several times that Zvezda settled all taxes, and Aleksandar Vučić, who confirms this against the available data at the APR.
So the breakdown at the end of 2024 shows that the club's liabilities amount to 86,5 million euros (total liabilities less capital) - including deferred tax.
By May 2025, Zvezda has earned 32 million euros, as Terzić stated and emphasized that the club's operations are completely transparent, as well as that Red Star has a financially self-sustaining system.
The eternal derby, but financially
Looking exclusively at football clubs from 2012 to 2022, FC Crvena zvezda received more financial aid from the state compared to FC Partizan. As Finance Minister Siniša Mali explained in July 2022, the state invested 17,6 million euros in Zvezda, and Partizan received 14 million.
While FC Crvena Zvezda has a stronger and more stable financial framework thanks to a combination of UEFA awards, transfers and major sponsorships, FC Partizan relied on much more modest sources of income in the previous decade.
According to data from July 2022, Zvezda received a total of 63,4 million euros from state investments and sponsorships (mainly Gazprom), while Partizan had approximately 14 million euros in direct state aid and significantly less income from sponsors in the same period.
Partizan mostly relies on players and income from competitions, while Zvezda dominates the market thanks to large commercial contracts and a more stable flow of funds. Both clubs had significant debts to the state.
Behind Zvezda's stable revenues are hidden challenges, from deferred tax obligations to discrepancies between official APR data and management statements. The political context plays a special role in this dynamic.
The President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, as a prominent fan of Crvena Zvezda, has repeatedly publicly supported the club and openly emphasized its importance for sports. This connection further reinforces the perception of Zvezda as a "state project", since financial investments and sponsorship contracts are often interpreted through a political context.
