The president of Arda Yashar Durmushev made an interesting statement about the future of Ivelin Popov, writes "Tema sport".
Popeto was categorical that the team from Kardzhali will be the last team in his career. The strong man in the sky blues, however, gave hope to the fans and revealed under what condition the former captain of the national team can stay. The 38-year-old Popov moved to Arda in mid-September last year, after surprisingly leaving Botev Pd. Popeto recorded 18 matches in which he scored 3 goals in the championship, but few of them are full 90 minutes. He stays on the field until about the 60th minute or comes on as a substitute. However, the player is invaluable to Alexander Tunchev and his staff with his rich experience.
„Ivelin Popov's wish is to play until the summer and end his active career. So we can't do anything. This is his will. We tried to dissuade him. We will try again. However, he is firm and wants to end it. But we will see, time will tell. However, he promised me that if we win the Bulgarian Cup and qualify for Europe, he will continue. He may change his mind. We have not yet reached the point of talking about his future after the field and whether it could be related to Arda, because he is an active competitor“, Durmushev shared with “Tema Sport“.
This week, the cup draw assigned the players from Krdzhali to meet Loko Plovdiv in the semifinals. Arda is also in the battle for fifth place, which entitles them to a play-off for the Conference League against the third-placed team.