'A sick man in intensive care' – Valencia a club in crisis amid huge fan protests at Mestalla
Thousands of Valencia supporters took part in a demonstration on Saturday ahead of their team's defeat to Athletic Club, which saw them drop into the relegation zone
Valencia are one of Spain’s grandest clubs. Prior to the resurgence of Atlético Madrid over the past decade, Los Che could credibly lay a claim to being the nation’s tercer grande – the third-biggest team – behind Real Madrid and Barcelona. After all, they had won LaLiga in 2002 and 2004. And in 2000 and 2001, they were Champions League finalists. Happier times.
Gradual decline followed as Valencia were hit by the financial crisis and crippling debt following a period of unsustainable spending. So in 2014, there was hope and optimism following the takeover of Singaporean businessman Peter Lim and his Hong Kong-based Meriton Holdings company. Instead, it has turned into a nightmare.
It actually started well enough. Lim surprisingly sacked coach Pizzi and appointed Nuno Espírito Santo in the summer of 2014. Valencia went on to finish fourth and returned to the Champions League after a two-year absence. But that success did not last long and Nuno’s appointment was the first indication of a close relationship – and an unhealthy reliance upon – Portuguese super-agent Jorge Mendes.
Since Nuno’s sacking the following season, eight full-time coaches have come and gone at Valencia: Gary Neville, Pako Ayestarán, Cesare Prandelli, Marcelino García Toral, Albert Celades, Javi Gracia, José Bordalás and Gennaro Gattuso. Plus Voro, the dependable delegate now in charge for the fifth time as interim manager since Lim’s arrival – and eighth overall.
Early signs were positive under Gattuso, but the fiery Italian was never likely to be in it for the long haul alongside Lim and his board, with key players often sold well below their market value (sometimes even to direct or local rivals) and seemingly few funds available for strengthening the team. His departure was announced late last month and by the end, he had been desperate to leave.
But amid all the chaos of the past eight-and-a-half years, there was a time when it looked like Valencia were heading in the right direction. With Marcelino as coach and Mateu Alemany as sporting director, Los Che won the Copa del Rey and finished fourth in 2018-19. There was a clear identity on and off the pitch. But 109 days after beating Barcelona in the cup final, Marcelino was sacked. Two months later, Alemany was gone too.
Marcelino claims his sacking stemmed from winning the Copa del Rey, which was Valencia’s first trophy since 2008 but of seemingly of no interest to Lim. “I am absolutely sure that the trigger for this situation was the Copa del Rey,” he said. “During the season, we received direct and indirect messages that we had to discount it [the Copa]. They didn’t tell me why they didn't want the Copa, only that it was a minor tournament and that I could be putting the main goal [Champions League qualification] at risk.” Marcelino also revealed he had not been congratulated by Lim for winning the cup.
Mateu, meanwhile, admitted he was upset to depart Valencia in November 2019. “If you win, don’t touch anything. It’s a basic code. I’m sorry to leave Valencia ,” he said. “I’m very sad and I don't understand it. I am especially sad because Valencia are at a decisive moment to make an extraordinary leap.”
Since 2019, Valencia have taken an extraordinary leap. Not up the table and into the Champions League to challenge Europe’s elite, however; on the contrary, their jump has been backwards and has taken the club towards the precipice. Relegation to Spain’s Segunda División is now a real possibility.
Against that backdrop and years of mismanagement by Lim and his board, supporter groups came together – under the name Libertad VCF (Freedom for Valencia CF) – outside Mestalla on Saturday night in a huge protest against the owners. Fans waved banners which read “Lim go home!” and the message was repeated with loud chants inside the stadium after 19 minutes of the match against Athletic Club.
Valencia took the lead against Athletic, but ultimately fell to a 2-1 defeat. It was their sixth loss in the last seven LaLiga games (the other one was a 2-2 draw against Almería) and means they have picked up just one point from a possible 21 since the World Cup break. More worryingly than that, it leaves the club in the relegation zone. With no signs of a new coach coming in (note: former Valencia midfielder Rubén Baraja has now been appointed) and Voro already admitting he could be sacked as well, VCF are in turmoil.
“Meriton Holdings, here is your work,” journalist Pablo Leiva entitled a column in Valencia-based sports paper SuperDeporte on Saturday night. In it, he wrote: “The precipice is close and the sick man is in intensive care.”
What happens next is unclear, but previous protests against Lim have fallen on deaf ears. The businessman has not been seen at Mestalla since December 2018 and further angered fans by telling The Financial Times in 2021 that he saw Valencia as a “trophy asset” which has been “incredibly good for networking”.
At the beginning of the month, club president Layhoon Chan reiterated that Valencia would not be put up for sale. “We have no intention of selling the club,” she said in a press conference. “We haven’t received a credible offer,” she added. “Nor are we looking for one.”
And after a series of protests against Lim in 2020, the billionaire’s daughter hit out at Valencia’s fans in an extraordinary rant on Instagram. “Don't they get it?,” she wrote. “The club is ours and we can do anything we want with it and no one can say anything.” It was later deleted, but the damage had been done.
Although that was some time ago, it is an attitude that definitely does not endear Lim and his family to the club’s long-suffering fanbase. Whether these fresh protests make any difference remains to be seen, but the team’s downward spiral has led some supporters to fear that relegation is inevitable, even if it does not happen this season. And if that is what it takes to rid the club of Lim and bring about real change at Valencia, you get the impression some fans might be ready to accept a drop down to Segunda.
In the meantime, though, there is still hope of survival in LaLiga and of better times ahead. Away to Getafe next Monday, the protests will continue.
Very well written. It gives everything the club has gone through in their worst years.
Thank you Ben for your hard work. 👍
Grande Ben! Gran artículo y gracias por dar visibilidad a una realidad que en la liga ocultan.
Cuando vengas a barcelona vamos a la Ciutadella a por arroz yo invito abrazo amigo!