Valencia coach Nuno Espirito Santo believes an expected takeover by Singaporean billionaire Peter Lim can bring back the club’s glory days after years of financial problems.
The protracted deal, which has been under negotiation since before January, has still not been signed, but should be sealed in the coming weeks and Lim has been active behind the scenes over transfers.
His aim is to return the La Liga club to the top of Europe — they kick off the new campaign at Sevilla on Saturday — and reports say he is ready to invest 50 million euros (US$66.61 million) on arrival.
“The takeover has been going on for some time and we know that when it is finished we will be a lot stronger,” Nuno told reporters in Valencia. “I told him [Lim] that his dreams for the club can become a reality. He is going to come because the fans want him and because he wants to come to the [Estadio] Mestalla, a club that for those now here it is well prepared and organized.
Club president Amadeo Salvo was treated like a hero by fans on his return to Valencia airport last Saturday after meeting Lim in Singapore, reflecting the excitement over what a new era could bring.
“It is a step further in a long process, but the end will arrive in a few weeks,” Salva said at the airport.
One of the club’s first moves in the close-season was to make Nuno coach after Juan Antonio Pizzi was sacked following a disappointing campaign in which they finished out of the European places in eighth in La Liga.
Lim gave his backing to former RC Deportivo de La Coruna and Porto goalkeeper Nuno, who is represented by Portuguese agent Jorge Mendes, a business partner of Lim’s in Quality Sports Investments.
Valencia have reinforced their squad well, with promising striker Rodrigo Moreno from SL Benfica the pick of the newcomers.
The 23-year-old played for Real Madrid and Spain at youth level, and arrives at the Mestalla on a one-year loan, though the move will become permanent if Lim takes charge.
Valencia have seen Jeremy Mathieu leave for Barcelona, but the club’s new outlook was shown by their refusal to sell the French defender for less than his buyout clause of 20 million euros.
It is a turnaround for a club that in recent seasons has been forced to sell top players like David Silva, David Villa and Juan Mata to pay off debts.
Lim’s expected takeover will include a deal with main creditor Bankia to settle the current debt the club has with the bank, which is in the region of 320 million euros.
Valencia won La Liga in 2002 and 2004; were UEFA Champions League finalists in 2000 and 2001; and won the 2004 UEFA Cup. However, they have not won any silverware since the 2008 Copa del Rey.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
HSIEH MAKES QUARTERS: Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens of Belgium won in the women’s doubles and face Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Sofia Kenin of the US Top-ranked Iga Swiatek and US Open champion Coco Gauff were knocked out of the women’s singles at the Miami Open on Monday, while Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei advanced in the women’s doubles. Swiatek lost to Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-4, 6-2, hours after third seed Gauff fell in three sets to No. 23 Caroline Garcia 6-3, 1-6, 6-2. Alexandrova beat a top-ranked player for the first time and advanced to face Jessica Pegula, a 7-6 (7/1), 6-3 winner over Emma Navarro, in the quarter-finals. Alexandrova recorded her second win over Swiatek, following a 2021 victory in Melbourne. Swiatek had won their three matches since. “We played quite