Former Borussia Dortmund and Wolfsburg player Jakub Blaszczykowski is on the verge of re-joining his boyhood club Wisla Krakow without accepting a wage.
The Polish wide-man is also contributing around €300,000 of his own money to assist the club, who find themselves in the midst of a financial predicament.
Wisla, who have the joint-second most Polish league titles in history (level with Legia Warsaw on 13) saw a proposed takeover by a wealthy Cambodian business collapse at the turn of the year.
The corporation had failed to settle the club's debts by a deadline of December 28, causing the deal to be invalidated and leaving Wisla in a state of financial limbo.
However, Blaszczykowski, who represented the club between 2005 and 2007 before joining Borussia Dortmund for a reported fee of €3m, has, along with two other investors, given the club a lifeline out of his own pocket.
Additionally, he has agreed to join their ranks without a wage in an admirable show of loyalty.
The money provided will help the club pay outstanding wages and give the hierarchy time to negotiate a possible takeover with any interested parties.
Wisla sit eighth in the Polish top-flight, some 13 points off the top, but will hope the return of a player with considerable Bundesliga experience will restore them to something approaching their former glory.
Dortmund have lauded their former player's generosity, hailing his loyalty - a trait the club experienced first-hand following nine years of faithful service, with Blaszczykowski often playing out of position wherever needed to help the team.
.jpg?auto=webp&format=pjpg&width=640&quality=60)