Kostic without a new Juventus contract: 'In July I go home'

On Tuesday afternoon, in the closed-off part of the Continassa centre, Filip Kostic had a short conversation with director Cris Hughes. Coach Thiago Motta after training released the list of players who from June 30 will no longer be part of the first team, which for Kostic, whose contract expires on that very day, was all he needed to know. Italian outlet Football Italia a few hours later confirmed that the Old Lady “will not be offering a new contract to the Serbian left winger”.

At 33, Kostic from July 1 becomes a free agent. Olympiacos and Panathinaikos, the two biggest Greek clubs, are according to TransferFeed already in contact with his agent Sasa Pavlovic. From Fenerbahce in Turkey came two further calls in May, but the Serbian player reportedly prefers Athens for family reasons; his wife is Greek, their two children attend an international school in Piraeus.

How did the Juventus era end?

Kostic joined the Old Lady in 2022 from Eintracht Frankfurt for 12 million euros, after a winning Bundesliga season in which he won the Europa League with the German club. In his first two seasons he played 65 times with 5 goals and 14 assists, a solid two-year balance for his left wing-back position. Coach Max Allegri in both years praised his work in the front three, alongside Federico Chiesa and Vlahovic on the right.

In 2025-26, with the coaching change to Thiago Motta, Kostic lost his place in the starting eleven. He played 22 Serie A matches, only 8 of them in the starting line-up, which for a player who in the Bundesliga was first choice is one of the lowest playing-time tallies of his career. The reasons, according to Italian sources, are “the technical philosophy of Thiago Motta, who prefers players with better play in tight central spaces”, which for Kostic, a classic wide player who develops best in wider formations, is not a good fit.

In statistical terms, Kostic during his four-year career at Juventus registered 96 appearances, 10 goals and 24 assists. For a left wing-back of his rank that is a solid number, but not enough for someone who in Frankfurt in 2021-22 had 19 assists in 51 matches, then a Bundesliga record for his position. After this summer, Kostic will be a free agent for the first time in 11 years, rare for a career of his profile.

What next, where in Greece?

Olympiacos under coach Jose Luis Mendilibar, the Basque manager who last season won the Europa League with Sevilla before moving to Piraeus in February, is the favourite for the signature in Greece. The club has a recently renovated Karaiskakis Stadium, as well as participation in Champions League qualifying in July and August, which for Kostic is a European challenge. The salary would be in the range of 3 to 4 million euros a year, 25 per cent less than what he was getting at Juventus, but for Kostic right now playing-time in the first eleven matters more than headline pay.

Panathinaikos, with new coach Sasa Stevanovic, the Serbian manager who last season took Crvena Zvezda to the Europa League semi-final, is the second option. The club in May had a meeting with Pavlovic about a three-year contract on 2.5 million euros. Stevanovic told Mozzart Sport it “would be a great pleasure for me to have Kostic in the team for next season, he is still a top-tier player”.

On the personal side, I see Olympiacos as the more likely outcome. Mendilibar likes to play with two wide wingers, the ideal system for Kostic. The salary is 25 per cent higher than at Panathinaikos, with bonuses for Champions League group-stage appearances that can bring in another 800,000 euros. On the other side, Panathinaikos with Stevanovic, a Serbian coach, is for Kostic the socially easier option, which for someone at 33 entering the last serious season of his career can be a factor.

Talks between Pavlovic and both sides continue, with a signature expected by mid-July.