Alemany: Valencia CF close to signing deal with ADU Mediterráneo for sale of current Mestalla land

Valencia CF Director General and Spokesman, Mateu Alemany, spoke with the media on Tuesday to address several matters surrounding the club, including a possible signing of a binding offer from ADU Mediterráneo for the sale of the land currently occupied by Mestalla.

“We are close to signing. The reason we didn't do so this morning was purely bureaucratic. I hope that the contract is signed tomorrow, accepting the offer that was presented by ADU Mediterráneo in this selection process for the future of the land at Mestalla. As you know, we have left the selection process in the hands of Deloitte,” explained Alemany, who also ran through the next steps that are expected to be taken.

“This acceptance of the binding agreement means that ADU Mediterráneo have exclusivity. Valencia CF will not be able to make any transaction of this land. We agree to take a series of steps to reach the next milestone of the process, the signing of the private sale contract, which will hopefully come before October of this year. Obviously that will be pending the signing of the land, which will be made when Valencia CF can leave behind the old Mestalla and move to the new stadium.”

“That's the timeframe that we have at the moment for the 'pre-commercialisation process. As you know, a cooperative does not work like a normal developer. When they can show a sufficient number of members of the cooperative to be able to meet the guarantees Valencia CF have demanded to reach the next step, it will be made. In parallel to this, Valencia CF will begin the construction of the new stadium.

A confidentiality agreement meant that the VCF Director General would not reveal the price agreed upon for the sale, but said that “I can announce that it would be for above net value. That is why we have made the selection process and had Deloitte with us as guarantors of the possibility of this going through. It would be for above net value and very close to being able to finance the completion of the new stadium. On an economic level it has convinced us, and it is of course a significant figure.”

The plan is for the club to leave Mestalla in around 3 years’ time, and Alemany said that “Being realistic about the numbers, we have forecast that the stadium will be ready for Valencia CF to play there during the 2022/23 season. That's a logical forecast, because we need to complete the operation with the buyers. Obviously, we need to obtain all the licenses and go through all of the urban development processes, and from there the construction will take between 18-22 months.

“We have to play there until we have the new stadium in the proper condition to host Valencia CF games. Until then, we have a mortgage on the stadium, with annual payments that we are making religiously and which we will continue to make. That debt will have been reduced, in three years’ time, by a significant amount in the region of 14 million euros per year.

“There was no better offer than that of ADU Mediterráneo. We are very happy with the offer that they made us.”