FORMER REAL MADRID defender Raul Bravo has denied that he was behind the attempted shooting of ex-Serbia international Darko Kovacevic.
Bravo, who had a brief spell with Leeds United in the early 2000s, was a team-mate of Kovacevic’s at Olympiacos between 2007 and 2009.
Kovacevic, who had his own short spell in England with Sheffield Wednesday, was attacked outside his home in Athens earlier this month and sustained minor injuries after diving to the ground in an effort to avoid gunshots.
As per Marca, Bravo was soon accused of orchestrating the attack in the Serbian press. He was arrested last year as part of ‘Operation Oikos’, an investigation into match-fixing and corruption in Spanish football, and La Gazzetta dello Sport has reported that there could be a connection.
Now, however, speaking to Radio Marca’s ‘A Diario’, Bravo has laughed off the allegations.
“A magazine in Serbia reported it and I was stunned that it said I ordered the murder of [Darko] Kovacevic,” he said.
“The only thing that matters [to them] is selling [magazines], and saying I wanted to kill Darko sells more. It’s a crazy story, it’s nonsense.”
Bravo went on to claim that he has a good relationship with Kovacevic. “I will say it again, the relationship is great,” he said.
“It [the report] is something that his neither legs nor a head. It is a complete invention, madness.
“He hasn’t gotten into any trouble and he doesn’t know why this has happened. He has earned a lot of money from football… I’ve told him to stay calm.”
Bravo also claimed that he and Kovacevic have spoken about the incident. “At home they’re a little scared,” he said. “But I knew that Darko was going to laugh when he saw the news. It took him two days to call me.”
Bravo made 133 appearances for Madrid between 2001 and 2007 before joining Kovacevic in Greece, winning La Liga twice along with the Champions League.
He also made 14 appearances for the Spanish national team, starting every game at Euro 2004 as La Roja went out at the group stage.
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