Raul Bravo: Reports of order to kill Darko Kovacevic are ‘like a movie on Netflix or Amazon Prime’

Former Spain defender Raul Bravo has denied that he was involved in an attempt to fatally shoot ex-teammate Darko Kovacevic earlier this month, claiming the Serbian called him two days after dodging a bullet from gunmen in Athens.

Bravo, who played alongside Kovacevic at Greek side Olympiacos more than a decade ago and was part of last year's Operation Oikos investigation into match-fixing in Spain, laughed off a report linking him with the attempt on Kovacevic’s life on January 8.

Two men allegedly approached Kovacevic and aimed a weapon at the former Juventus and Lazio striker as he parked his car in the Greek capital. The 46-year-old reportedly suffered wrist and knee injuries while attempting to escape and later required hospital treatment.

Bravo, talking to Radio Marca’s A Diario, described being baffled by “a crazy story” and “nonsense.” 

“A magazine in Serbia reported it and I was stunned that it said I ordered the murder,” he said.  

“It is a mockery to read in some media that Raul Bravo has sent [people] to kill Darko Kovacevic. It seems like a Netflix or Amazon Prime movie. I’m fine but it affects my family. I knew that Darko was going to laugh when he saw the news. It took him two days to call me. I’ll say it again, the relationship is great,” added Bravo.

Both players made their name in La Liga, where Bravo spent six years with Real Madrid, while Kovacevic was prolific for Real Sociedad across two spells spanning almost ten years.

They also briefly played in the Premier League, where Bravo turned out for Leeds United on loan and Kovacevic had a short spell with Sheffield Wednesday.

Bravo spent the last two years of his career in Greece before retiring in 2016 but insisted any connection with the crime was “a complete invention.”

“He’s earned a lot of money from football and I've told him to be calm,” the 38-year-old said of Kovacevic, slamming the story as one with “neither heads nor legs.”

The ‘assailants’ fled the scene in a Smart car which was later found burned out in a nearby neighborhood.