As recently as 2014, according to research conducted by Cyprus’s players’ union, the collective debt of the clubs in the island’s top two divisions totaled roughly 60 million euros, or about $65 million.

“There was a lot of money in Cyprus football about five, six, seven years ago,” said Spyros Neofitides, the president of the players’ union. “Now it feels like there is none.”

That shortfall is evident in how teams treat players, as well as in the match-fixing allegations that linger over Cypriot soccer like a smoky fog. New financial regulations from European soccer’s governing body, UEFA, have ensured that more players’ salaries are being paid, according to Neofitides — three years ago, 77 percent of professional players in Cyprus said they were not paid on time — but there are still many examples of instances in which clubs use improper, if not illegal, methods to deal with money troubles.

Three years ago, Neofitides recalled, a Venezuelan playing for Olympiakos Nicosia, César Alberto Castro Pérez, reported being confronted at his home by two musclebound men who threatened him with guns and demanded that he sign a document terminating his contract and renouncing any claims on unpaid earnings.

“He called me right afterward, told me what happened and told me that the gorillas even had his old contract so that they could compare the signatures,” Neofitides said. “Now, come on — how would they have gotten his old contract?”

Last year, Neofitides said, a player on another club, Limassol, claimed to have had a similar experience; he said he was confronted by two men who said they would plant drugs in his car and call the police if he did not agree to a pay cut.