text: The problems with the license exposed the club's weak financial situation and led to chaos and panic, prompting many of the key players to flee, including head coach Stoycho Mladenov himself, who left saying he was not happy with the fire sale of so many important players. The future of CSKA looked grim, its status as a professional club hanging in the balance. In the midst of the crisis, Dimitar Penev was given the head coach's job for the third time and burdened with the task of saving the club. With almost all senior players gone, Penev had no choice but to rely on members of the CSKA youth squad.
  Ultimately, CSKA managed to fulfill all licensing requirements set by the BFU and was allowed to compete in A Group. Despite all the difficulties, and to the surprise of the whole football community, Penev's young squad claimed the Bulgarian Supercup in August 2008, overcoming Litex 1–0.
  At the beginning of the 2008–09 season, the club managed to strengthen their ranks by signing Bulgarian internationals Zdravko Lazarov and Vladimir Manchev. On 24 December 2008, club owner Pramod Mittal announced he had signed a preliminary contract with a local investor to sell the club. The deal was finalized on 6 March 2009, and the ownership of the club was transferred to Titan Sport EAD, a subsidiary of Bulgarian waste management company Titan AS. Meanwhile, coach Dimitar Penev was replaced by his nephew, Lyuboslav Penev, who set aggressive goals for the club. After having led the league for most of the season, CSKA finished the championship in second place, one point behind arch-rivals Levski.