Ten years of ‘Welcome Mr. Lim’ to Valencia, with the unknown of his departure on the horizon
In the MARCA archive, of the day October 25, 2014 There is only one photo in which Peter Lim appear alone. Ten years ago, the Singaporean tycoon staged his landing in the Valencia making a triumphal parade with orange carpet to the door of the authorities of Mestallaacclaimed by hundreds of Valencian fans. It was before a match against Elche and in almost all the images, the then president Amadeo Salvo appears next to the Singaporean tycoon: greeting some, giving a thumbs up to others and even grabbing the shoulder of the new owner of 70% of the shares (now it has 92%).
one day before, Meriton Holdings, ePeter Lim’s company, had signed the purchase of the shares of the Valencia CF Foundation for an amount of 94 million eurosas well as the refinancing with Bankia from others 230 million of debt contracted by the club with the bank. The agreement was closed in the early hours of October 23 to 24 after more than 10 months of negotiations and a last marathon meeting with the executive Layhoon Chan as inflexible lieutenant of the businessman’s operations.
The truth is that before summer, the Foundation I had already voted in favor of the sold to Peter Limin a process managed with cunning and populismin equal parts, for Amadeo Salvo. For this reason, the president had opened the door to the club for him – with little economic margin – so that he could do and undo as he pleased. That’s why it came Nuno as a coach, he provided Rodrigo Moreno, André Gomes and Cancelo and led to the signing of Negredo. The team started the season like a shot.
LEAGUE MATCH BETWEEN VALENCIA AND ELCHE TIFO WELCOME PETER LIM TIFO, MOSAIC
That was a holiday weekend for Valencianism. Peter Lim landed in Valencia early on Sunday, October 25 and the first thing he did was go to visit the paralyzed works of the new Mestalla. Except and Aurelio Martínezpresident of the VCF Foundation, which was the entity that transmitted the shares, had made public opinion believe that Lim had promised to finish the stadium before 2019. And that image fueled the illusion for a time. The club prepared a mosaic in the stands in front of the stands with the message ‘Benvingut, Peter’ (Welcome, Peter).
Peter Lim visiting the works of the New Mestalla. Author Lázaro de la Peña. VCF
We not only want a team that can win the Champions League; We are going to have an avant-garde, structured and top-level club
“We not only want a team that can win the Champions League; We are going to have an avant-garde, serious, structured and top-level club,” said Amadeo Salvo in the first round after the agreement. Next to him was Layhoon Chanwhich left hints of Peter Lim’s intentions: “After many months we are still here despite the fact that many thought we would give up. This is not the end but the beginning of a new project; the facts will speak for themselves, but we are going to be here for a long time.”
The facts will speak for themselves, but we will be here for a long time
Indeed, the facts have spoken for themselves. AND It didn’t take ten years to pass so that a representative sector of the fans asks for the departure of the Singaporean tycoon from the shareholding. The critical sectors have been making themselves noticed in bad sporting moments. but it was after the pandemic when the opposition to the businessman who spaced out his visits to Valencia until he stopped appearing completely has become more evident.
LEAGUE MATCH BETWEEN VALENCIA AND ELCHE AMADEO SALVO AND PETER LIM
The disaffection between Valencianism and Peter Lim has multiple reasons: sports disinvestment, reputational crisis caused by the previous president Anil Murthythe bad results, the non-compliance and bankruptcy of political institutions as a result of the new stadium…
In fact, the only hope now is that the presumed unlocking to restart the works of the new Mestalla with the urban planning privileges agreed nine years ago Allow Peter Lim to make his investment profitable in Valencia and that exit the shareholding. The club complies with its strict mandate of being self-sufficient with what it receives through box office and television, which reduces its competitive capacity. Valencia’s best classification in the last five years has been 9th place (Bordalás and Baraja), although they have also finished 13th and 16th, in the 22-23 season when they were saved on the last day. Now, on matchday 10, the team is bottom with six points, mired in a total crisis that seems irremediable.
