SINGAPORE – Valencia’s president, Anil Murthy, has told fans of the Spanish La Liga club that he will have to be “responsible” as he prepares for Covid-19’s “serious” effect on football.
In an open letter to them on the club’s website, the 47-year-old former Singaporean computer sought out the realities facing the club on two fronts: the summer market to recruit players and plans to build a new stadium.
He also presented a fierce defense of the club’s monetary control under Peter Lim, following protests from a segment of Los Che enthusiasts who accused Singapore’s billionaire of “negligently managing the club” and “damaging the team.”
Murthy noted that the club is in a better monetary form now than in the recent beyond – it has accumulated debts of up to 547 million euros (S$888 million) in June 2009 – and can start financing debts from 2017, while previously. had not done so since 2009.
He noted that when Lim became the majority shareholder in 2014, “there is a total of 48 million euros in unpaid player salaries and there is no cash in the bank.”
In 2019-20, Valencia had “by far the largest source of income in history”. They also won their first name in 11 years, the Copa del Rey de España.
But even with his good fortune in the Copa del Rey, proceeding to spend recklessly on players, he added, “it’s not sustainable.” “We stopped him and reduced the losses before he got too into trouble,” Murthy said.
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Valencia has played in the Champions League for more than two seasons and reached the semi-finals of the 2019 Europa League. But they finished ninth in the recent La Liga season, and qualifying for European football is a monetary setback, as clubs can win 15.25 million euros and 3 million euros respectively in fundamental prices of the organisation level in the Champions League and Europa League, with add -ons for wins, draws and progression to the final levels.
There will also be a monetary blow to the coronavirus pandemic, Murthy added, and the club’s overall revenue source is likely to halve over the next two seasons, and attendance and sponsorship ad revenue will also fall by 50%, while royalty cash could fall. about 30 percent.
“So we have to rebuild, ” he said. “This is neither the beginning nor the end. We have to be informed of the past.
“Boosting the concept (of having) ‘a great stadium, players, winning the League and the Champions League at all costs’ will lead to a replay of the past.”
In his first public comments on the subject, owner Lim also reminded fans: “A broken club is a bigger club.”
In an effort to pay his salary, Valencia sold the Ferran Torres to Manchester City for 23 million euros, while midfielders Francis Coquelin and Dani Parejo joined Villareal for 11 million euros combined at Villarreal.
It is another source of discontent for fans, although Murthy said that Torres, 20, the club’s youth quarry and a player that fans hated to see go, “he chose to leave despite being introduced as one of the team.” more productive wages.”
“Everyone chooses their own path,” he added. “We are informed of this fun, but we do not forget it. We have an intelligent organization of players from our academy and we will make sure that we no longer have that kind of challenge.”
Murthy also spoke about ongoing efforts to sell and reshape the club’s Mestalla stadium after a failed deal with ADU Mediterraneo, as asset developers could not secure monetary promises for the 113 million euro deal.
He laid bare the club’s “sustainable model” to finance the project, the “simple plan” involved:
– Sale of the facility for a minimum of millions of euros
– Build for millions of euros with investment for the remaining 30 million euros
– Increased to 65,000 possible, up from 48,600 today
– Increased the value of subscriptions and tickets to the general public by an average of 15% to the operating prices of a larger stadium.
“Now, with Covid’s current economic climate, investors are waiting,” Murthy said. “But many wonder. We will continue to work with the Generalitat and the City Council (governing bodies) on this vital task for the city (and) we will find a solution to the new stadium.”
He reiterated that the club is taking a cautious technique on this, stating: “This is a transfer that has led to the club’s bankruptcy before. We’re going to sell all our players to build a new stadium!”
Inviting patience, he added: “We are committed to building a sustainable club and its development. It takes time.”
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This article was first published in The Straits Times.