"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, smashed to pieces. During some improvement works at the old stadium, it was removed and the workers did not take good care of it. The board announced they would put up a new one, but the fans saw it as just another symbol of how the owners manage 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. The team has been fighting to avoid relegation for years, and this year it has recorded the worst goal-scoring start in its entire history. It is bottom of the table with only one point and after losing 0-5 to Barça, the fans once again demonstrated against the directors. The bus with the players left Mestalla escorted by the police and through a different door than usual due to protests from the fans, many of whom were radicals. There were about 2,000 fans trying to reach the box area because, against Barça, the club president, Kiat Lim, was actually 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 at other stadiums, due to the risk of incidents.

Kiat Lim is the son of the club's owner, Peter Lim, one of the wealthiest businessmen in Asia. A man who has built an empire in Singapore and who bought Valencia a few years ago, 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 why 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, go away” has already become common at the stadium. In every match it is sung and banners are shown. One fan even took advantage of the fact that he was 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 arrested by the local police.

From hope 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. Peter Lim bought 70.4% of the shares in 2013, 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 severely affected.

Lim's arrival seemed to solve it, as the businessman had good contacts like the player agent Jorge Mendes. Valencia maintained its sporting level. Every year it used to play in Europe. And the centenary year, in 2023, it even won the Cup against Barça. But Lim has stopped investing, prioritizes selling players, and seems to live calmly despite the team's drop in level. It is hard to know the reasons why Lim stopped taking care of the club. As for theories, there are many. The most likely one is that he prioritizes selling and signing players, since a lot of money can be moved in transfers, between commissions and offers. A fact that interests Lim's partners.

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 ultimately bought Atlético de Madrid.

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