Antwerp denies a strike of… cooks and counts on a jackpot this summer

This week, a rumor that “the club’s cooks would not be paid and would have stopped working for a certain time” surfaced on the popular podcast 90 minutes. The words came, perhaps clumsily, from the mouth of Sam Kerkhofs, the creator of the podcast and (new) owner of Sporting Hasselt. Information that he collected from supporter groups and that Antwerp firmly denies. Unlike its cash flow problems. “Every year we encounter cash flow problemsadmitted Sven Jaecques, the CEO, in the Gazet van Antwerpen at the end of March. To summarize: the payment date does not always correspond to the date on which we receive the money in the account. Which causes some delays. But, so far, everyone has been paid properly every year. And that will always be the case.”

This story of unpaid cooks could fit into this logic. Many of these people are fans of the club themselves and can take it upon themselves out of love for Antwerp. In any case, in the end, no one sued the club for any late payment.

Antwerp prefers to look to the future. The club's coffers will soon be replenished by €20 million thanks to participation in the Champions League this year. They will undoubtedly also be thanks to the sale of players. Slowly, it seems more and more unlikely that Georges Ilenikhena will stay at Bosuil next year. Many clubs are following the 17-year-old striker. The Frenchman could leave for a record fee. Amounts between €30 and €40 million are mentioned.

Players like Mandela Keita, Jean Butez and Michel-Ange Balikwisha could also go away for several millions. Amounts which would not be used to heal the wounds but rather to help the club in the next stage of its evolution. While Paul Gheysens has invested enormously and carried out capital increases, it is time for the club to become independent. Whether through qualifications for the Champions League or by training and selling young people. The second option seems to be the one with the greatest chance of success.