One of the expected big transfer stories of the summer is that of David Villa from Valencia CF, but as things stand it also appears that it will be one of the most protracted as well, if it does actually come to fruition. The Spanish hot-shot has increasingly become a focus in recent months for Europe's other major clubs, both Real Madrid and Chelsea have been consistently linked in the way that usually invokes an air of inevitability.
This is easily understandable when considering his strong part in Spain's triumph at Euro 2008 and his incredible strike rate in La Liga. For Valencia alone he has scored 87 goals in just 129 appearances in the domestic league, take all competitions into account and it reads that Villa has scored 101 goals for Los Che in a mere 167 appearances. Wherever he may end up, his statistics are the type that would justify trepidation amongst any opposition fans in any major domestic league.
So why on earth are Valencia even considering to sell their prize asset?! Well, as of June 24th Valencia reiterated that 'the club wants to insist that we are not negotiating the transfer of David Villa with any team, nor Spanish nor from abroad'. That seems quite clear then you might think, but alas this is typically far from the whole story as Valencia have previously insinuated that they would listen to offers for Villa, particularly if they were of a 'scandalous nature'!
The reason for the changing perspective of the Valencia board lies in the financial tightrope that the club has been walking for the last few months. They clearly don't want to sell Villa, he is idolised by the fans and is their greatest hope in firing them back into the Champions League places come next season. At the same time, things have got so bad at the club, that a massive windfall from the sale of Villa would help ease the pressure that they are under- it could even stop them needing to take up offers from the vultures circling for the rest of the squad.
Back in 2004 the club debt was at $180 million, it may sound odd to say but this was a manageable deficit. In short, Valencia are now thought to be in debt to the tune of up to $725 million, an astronomical amount which has been blown out of proportion since the glory years and two La Liga titles enjoyed under the reign of Rafa Benitez.
What is breaking the bank on top of all this debt is the building of Valencia's new stadium. The Nou Mestalla will eventually replace the Estadio Mestalla, and the grand plan to help offset some of the debt was the selling of their current home for an estimated $300-400 million. On top of this the club hoped to earn even more collateral by selling it's training ground Paterna. Sound plans in theory but unfortunately the world economic crisis has seen these hit the buffers in a big way, the current state of the Spanish property market means that both the Estadio Mestalla and Paterna are still on the market and will be for the foreseeable future.
Vicente Soriano took over the club Presidency a year ago with the promise to sell both of the clubs major land assets. Since his failure to do so and the crisis at Valencia having actually expanded, he did the 'honourable' thing and jumped ship, tendering his resignation on June 4th.
I visited the Nou Mestalla and as you can see from my pictorial evidence, for now it is lying dormant, work is on hold because the construction companies are owed around $20 million. To add further calamity to the story, Valencia still don't fully own the land on which the new stadium is being built on, instead it still belongs to the Municipality of Valencia. So far Valencia have paid up €28 million on the €45 million piece of land, all things considered it seems that the Valencia board and it's recent predecessors have managed to write their own passage on how not to run a football club!
As if all that wasn't enough, there is also the small matter of roughly another $20 million outstanding to the playing staff- yes it's reached that worrying stage when even the star players are not cashing in their cheques! Then again, when you consider that Valencia rallied during the second half of last season to finish in 6th place and crucially at least a place in the Europa League, the players to their credit produced a tremendous effort on the field whilst it was all going up in smoke off of it.
The Nou Mestalla was originally due to be completed and ready for opening in time for next season (2009/10). Up until the last few months this was still very much on course, but now the optimists are saying that Valencia will be in position to move in time for the 2010/11 season. Until the outstanding costs are somewhat met there will naturally be some pessimism even over the new date.
Even so, whilst Valencia will have a summer of major worry and concern, things may be starting to look up. From today the club has some money available from new advertising deals it has signed with MediaPro and Kappa. Meanwhile Mrs Rita Barberá (the Mayor of Valencia) has expressed her obvious support and backing for the club to get back to where it was a few short years ago, whether or not this will extend to some financial input or not remains highly doubtful.
The major creditor of the club-Bancaja- recently put an austerity order in place over the club, in an effort to reclaim some of the $350 million that it is owed itself. Though this may not sound that positive, at least the club is now being forced within reason to emphasise budget cuts and ways to run a profit rather than spending further cash. As for David Villa, the man himself has stated that he is committed and settled with Los Che. Clearly his future will more likely be decided by the ability of the Valencia board to chop elsewhere, at the end of the day beggars can't be choosers however big you think you are...