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.
Freddie Freeman homered and drove in four runs, Shohei Ohtani also went deep and Roki Sasaki earned his first major league win as the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Atlanta Braves 10-3 on Saturday night for their seventh straight victory. The Dodgers have won the first two games of the series to improve to 5-0 against Atlanta this year. Los Angeles’ three-game sweep at home early in the season left the Braves 0-7. Sasaki allowed three runs and six hits over five innings. The 23-year-old right-hander gave up a home run to Ozzie Albies, but received plenty of offensive support in his
Bayern Munich on Sunday were crowned German champions for the 34th time, giving striker Harry Kane his first major trophy, after second-placed Bayer 04 Leverkusen drew 2-2 at SC Freiburg. Bayern’s 3-3 draw at RB Leipzig on Saturday, when the Bavarians came from two goals down to take the lead before conceding a stoppage-time equalizer, meant defending Bundesliga champions Leverkusen needed to win at Freiburg to delay the title party. Leverkusen were two goals down before scoring twice in the final 10 minutes, but Xabi Alonso’s side could not find a third, as Bayern reclaimed the title at the first attempt after
A man fell from the 6.4m-high Clemente Wall in right field at PNC Park in Pittsburgh during Wednesday night’s game between the Pirates and the Chicago Cubs. Right after Andrew McCutchen hit a two-run double in the seventh inning to put the Pirates ahead 4-3, players began waving frantically for medical personnel and pointing to the man, who had fallen onto the warning track. The fan was tended to for approximately five minutes by members of both the Pirates and Cubs training staffs as well as PNC personnel before being removed from the field on a cart. The team issued a statement shortly
PAINFUL VICTORY: Ruud said that felt pain in his rib during the warmup and was put on painkillers so that he could finish the match against Argentine Francisco Cerundolo With the help of painkillers, Casper Ruud overcame a rib ailment to defeat Francisco Cerundolo in straight sets and reach the Madrid Open final on Friday. Ruud is to face Jack Draper, who beat Lorenzo Musetti 6-3, 7-6 (4) in the other semi-final to make his third final of the year. Ruud received treatment on his rib three games into the match and went on to win 6-4, 7-5 on the Caja Magica center court. The 15th-ranked Norwegian saved 15 of the 18 break points he faced against the 21st-ranked Argentine. Ruud said he felt something in his rib during the warmup, just before
RSS