Valencia were the team in the news this week, with boardroom shenanigans which make some of the top television soaps look tame. Club president Juan Soler had already got his "ropa interior" in a bit of a twist in recent months, with coach Ronald Koeman making himself "Mr. Unpopular" leaving players such as Cañizares, Albelda, and Angulo on the sidelines.
Koeman is already history and Unai Emery has been taken on to try and turn things around, but Soler decided he needed a new man higher up in the organization.
In came ex-Telefonica boss Juan Villalonga as the super-CEO, but it only took him a few days to upset everyone, trying to tempt Luis Aragonés away from Fenerbahçe and bringing in old fox Javier Azkagorta as his sporting director ahead of the present incumbents.
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His biggest mistake though was to make public the club's huge debt and then announce that he wanted a capital increase to be able to hold on to players such as Villa and Silva, promising to bring in around €77 million in new funds in two weeks' time.
Soler had had enough and decided to fall on his own sword. He fired Villalonga (reportedly costing him a €10 million severance payout in to the bargain) and made "a pact with the devil," giving a purchase option over his shares to his old enemy, Vicente Soriano, hitherto the club's second largest shareholder.
Soriano takes over as president with immediate effect, but the future of Villa, Silva, and several others is once again in doubt, with the striker in Real Madrid's sights and his Spanish teammate already the subject of a bid by Atlético.
Eat your heart out Dallas/Dynasty and all the rest!
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Alby Jnr
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3 months ago
It is crazy to think of how recently Valencia was considered one of the best teams in La Liga. And with their current talent, they should still hold that distinction but I doubt that they will be able to hold on to Vill and Silva now that the cat is out of the bag, so to speak, about the debt the club is in. Hopefully Real Madrid will be able to capitalize and nab Villa.
3 months ago
Sad to see, I've always had a bit of a soft spot for Valencia after I went to the Valencia v Chelsea QF at the Mestalla in 2007. It's a nice city, but the stadium is a bit old!
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