Dinamo Tirana president bursts into dressing room with bag of cash, hands out bonuses
Dinamo beat Latvian Auda 4:1 on aggregate; president Ardian Bardhi rewarded the squad in the dressing room and announced €500.000 for qualifying to the group stage.
Dinamo Tirana celebrated a crucial European win in unorthodox fashion after the team secured a place in the Europa Conference League playoff. The Albanian side defeated Latvian Auda by a 4:1 aggregate score and now faces Cypriot Pafos in the decisive tie for a place in the tournament’s group stage.
President rewards the players inside the dressing room
Moments after the qualification was sealed, club president Ardian Bardhi entered the dressing room carrying a bag reportedly full of cash and handed out immediate bonuses to players for reaching the playoff. Clips that circulated on social media show players and staff celebrating as banknotes were thrown around inside the room.
Bardhi did not stop with the immediate payments: he publicly announced a substantial additional incentive should the team eliminate Pafos and reach the group phase. The figure put on the table was €500.000.
Pafos will be a heavy favourite in the tie — the Cypriot club participated in last season’s UEFA Champions League group stage — but the mood in Tirana is euphoric after the 4:1 aggregate victory over Auda and the unexpected dressing-room spectacle that followed.
The images and video of the president entering with cash and the subsequent celebrations quickly spread across social networks on 18.08.2026, drawing attention and mixed reactions from fans and commentators about the scale and publicity of the reward.
Photo: press material from the event
