Brussels, Apr 30 (IANS): Belgian midfielder Marouane Fellaini has lent his boyhood club Standard Liege 3 million Euros, according to Belgian media. Fellainin has thus become the second former player to help out the club after Borussia Dortmund midfielder Axel Witsel invested in the Pro League club.

According to Belgian paper Het Nieuwsblad, Standard have been desperately looking for money since April 8 to secure a professional license for the next season without which they would be relegated to the amateur divisions. Standard are one of the most successful clubs in the Belgian league but have run into significant financial trouble in the recent past.

32-year-old Fellaini made his professional debut in 2006 for Standard Liege. The midfielder has since gone on to play for Everton and Manchester United in the Premier League and is currently at Shandong Luneng. He was one of several football players who contracted coronavirus which has brought the sporting world to a halt. Fellaini was discharged on April 14.

Witsel also made his professional debut for Standard in the same year as Fellaini and went on to make 183 appearances for the club. Both players have also had successful international careers for Belgium and were an integral part of the side that finished third in the 2018 World Cup.