"We can't take any more!": Valencia is a ticking time bomb

BarcelonaFor decades, a Valencia crest presided over the Mestalla stadium, installed at the very top of the grandstand. Until some fans found it on the ground, in pieces. During some improvement works at the old stadium, it was removed and the workers did not take enough care of it. The board announced that they would put up a new one, but the fans saw it as just another symbol of the owners' way of managing the club.

Valencia is living through one of the darkest moments in its history, comparable only to the club's only relegation to the Second Division in the 80s. For years now, the team has been fighting to avoid relegation and this year it has signed off on the worst scoring start in its entire history. It is bottom of the table with only one point and after falling 0-5 to Barça, the fans protested against the directors again. The bus with the players left Mestalla escorted by the police and through a different door than usual due to the protests of the fans, many of whom were radicals. There were about 2,000 fans trying to reach the VIP box area because against Barça, the club's president, Kiat Lim, was indeed there. It was only the second match in which Lim was in the box this year. The first had been the friendly against Newcastle and it ended with police charges. Against Barça, it was much the same. "We are fed up, we can't take any more," a veteran fan told the press. Every day that Valencia plays at home, the police have to deploy more officers than in other stadiums, due to the risk of incidents.

Kiat Lim is the son of the club's owner, Peter Lim, one of the richest businessmen in Asia. A man who has built an empire in Singapore and who a few years ago bought Valencia, an operation that for many could have meant an investment of money that would bring the club back to Champions League finals. But instead of improving, the club sinks further every year, without making big signings and irritating a fanbase that is fed up. “The key is that it is hard to understand Lim's management. We don't understand it. Does he want to make money? We don't know for what reason he manages the club poorly. He is letting it die. He must not understand us and we don't understand him,” said Rafa Lahuerta, a Valencian writer and one of the critical voices against the board.

In fact, it is hard to find voices in favor. The chant “Peter, leave now” has already become common at the stadium. In every match it is sung and banners are shown. Even a fan took advantage of being in Singapore on a layover during his honeymoon to go to Peter Lim's house and show a banner against his management. And he ended up being arrested by the local police.

From illusion to despair

In fact, some fans go as far as to claim that if the price to pay for Lim to sell the club is relegation, they would accept it. In 2013, Peter Lim bought 70.4% of the shares, a figure that would rise to 82% after a capital increase. The club was then experiencing an economic and political crisis that had its roots in 2004, when construction businessman Juan Soler bought the club and proposed building a new stadium, which, if all goes well, might be finished in 2027 after years of being abandoned. The bursting of the real estate bubble and poor management left the club badly affected. "The beginning of the drama is then. When the new Mestalla project is born. When dark figures with economic interests appear. It was foreseeable that things would not go well. And so Lim arrives. The feeling is one of helplessness, since you can see that we will have to go down to the second division. And what will become of this club if we go down to the Second Division with a new 60,000-person stadium?" says journalist Cayetano Ros.

Lim's arrival seemed to solve things initially, as the businessman had good contacts such as player agent Jorge Mendes. Valencia maintained its sporting level. Every year it used to play in Europe. And in the centenary year, 2019, it even won the Cup against Barça. But Lim has stopped investing, prioritizes selling players and seems to live calmly despite the drop in the team's level. It is difficult to know the reasons why Lim stopped taking care of the club. There are many theories. The most likely is that he prioritizes selling and signing players, since a lot of money can be moved in signings, between commissions and offers. A fact that interests Lim's partners. "Before, you could change a president by applying social pressure. Now you can't. If he lives far away" says Ros, who also criticizes "the political class. It has abandoned the club. They haven't held a single meeting with Lim in all these years. And now they have given him a new opportunity with the building permit for the new Mestalla. There are many interests behind it" he adds.

The businessman has been changing the visible face of the club, as he did with president Lay Hoon Chan and now with his son, while every year rumors arrive about offers to buy the club. There was talk of the American group Apollo, but they finally bought Atlético de Madrid.

Lim's management, disastrous, has somehow ended up being part of the day-to-day life in Valencia. Someone who knows neither the city nor the fans, nor seems to want to know them, is now part of local folklore, as was made clear at the Fallas, since he was the protagonist of some of them. The most striking one, with devil's horns. A devil destined to be burned.