Former Aston Villa star sentenced to one year in prison

Former Premier League striker Bosko Balaban has been sentenced to one year in prison in his native Croatia after failing to pay his ex-wife £70,000.

Balaban married Iva Radic, a model who was named Miss Croatia back in 1995, and the two had three children together in more than a decade of marriage.

The couple divorced in 2017 and Balaban was given a two-year window to pay off alimony debts totalling £70,000.

The former footballer refused to give her the money and according to HLN, the 45-year-old will now be sent to jail for one year in January.

A court in Zagreb gave him a one-year prison sentence and an additional four years of probation.

The 45-year-old is currently working as a football agent and represents Hoffenheim striker Andrej Kramaric.

This comes after a career as a striker, one in which he played 35 times for Croatia.

Balaban also had a very brief spell in English football back in 2001, signing for Aston Villa as part of a £5.8m deal with Dinamo Zagreb.

The forward played just nine times for Villa as the move never really worked out.