For many athletes, money doesn’t arrive gradually. It hits fast – one contract, one transfer, one breakout season – and suddenly life changes.
So does your circle.
Family, friends, old acquaintances… people start showing up with “small favors” and “temporary loans.” Sometimes it’s genuine need. Sometimes it’s pressure dressed up as loyalty. And if you’re not ready, you can end up funding everyone else’s life while risking your own future.
Ivan Miljković knows that world. After years at the top of volleyball, he now shares the lessons most athletes never get taught: how to protect your money and your peace.
He tells a story about a famous coach whose friend came to borrow a large sum. The coach listened, then turned the oven on to maximum and said, “Put your head inside for one minute.”
“One minute is enough for you to understand what I went through working abroad to earn what you’re asking for.”
The friend left, shaken, and later told people the coach was crazy. But the message was simple: money is sacrifice in another form.
Ivan has seen how quickly “help” becomes expectation. He once watched a pro athlete pull out a list—names and exact amounts their family expected them to pay. No plan. No structure. Just obligation.
That’s where the real lesson hits:
If you don’t set boundaries, others will set them for you.
Saying “no” isn’t cold. It isn’t selfish. It’s protection. Your career is finite, and every emotional “yes” has consequences your future self will carry.
That’s also why Ivan wrote Prvaci na terenu, šampioni u finansijama (Winners on the Field, Champions in Finance). After retiring, he started collecting notes in his phone, mistakes, truths, and real conversations athletes rarely talk about publicly. Over time, he kept hearing the same question from athletes and families:
“Why has nobody ever told us this?”
So he wrote it down, practical, straightforward financial guidance built for athletes, parents, and anyone facing sudden money for the first time. The English edition is coming soon, with wider availability planned.
If you take one thing from this:
Invest in knowledge before you invest in people.
Because sport ends. Life doesn’t.
