Anil Murthy: “We want to appeal to the large majority of shareholders: We share a common goal and we have to be united to support the team”

The Valencia CF Ordinary General Meeting of Shareholders took place on Friday, December 11th, with club president Anil Murthy addressing more than 200 questions posed by participants.

The project

“The strategic points for the VCF business plan in the short, medium and long term are: Financial stability, sporting stability, social involvement and the VCF Academy. The VCF Academy is one of the cornerstones of our project. We want to give the team an identity based on players from the VCF Academy, for whom achieving success with Valencia CF is their highest aspiration. A team based on the identity of its roots and with which the fans feel identified with and proud of.

“Our plan continues to be to build a competitive squad, based on the promotion of the VCF Academy and with a squad cost better adapted to the new reality of world football. Selling players does not have to mean giving up on the club's ambition; it's about continuing to plan and doing things well.”

The current goal is to compete, and to try to obtain the best results always, having a very good team, whatever the circumstances, wearing the VCF jersey, and maintaining full respect to technical professionals. All the projects are always serious and with the best objectives. We have full confidence in the current squad and our coaching staff, who are being led by a great coach -  Javi Gracia. We continue working together and we are seeing how this young team continues to grow and all the fans are going to be proud of it.

We are very happy with the 4 great captains we have this year and who perfectly represent our values. 3 of them: Gayà, Jaume and Carlos Soler, are from Valencia and have played in our Academy. And Gabriel Paulista, is a great leader who is totally involved with our club and city and who we would love to see soon also defending the jersey of the Spanish National team. Captains, players, coaching staff, Academy, VCF Femenino and all the workers have generated a great atmosphere of football and family in the Ciutat Esportiva de Paterna. With that as a base I have no doubt that we will continue to grow and achieve great goals together.

Accusations of racism and the relationship with those around the club

(Responding to a shareholder who asked why Mr. Murthy “has called Valencianistas racists,”) “It is important to clarify this because it is a very sensitive issue and also an unacceptable accusation that Valencia CF do not intend to tolerate.

It is absolutely false that either Anil Murthy or Peter Lim have mentioned even once that the Valencia CF fans are racist, or that there is hatred towards Singapore and its people. Absolutely false. Another very different issue is that Valencia CF, naturally, has condemned, condemns and will continue to condemn racist incidents and behaviour from any quarter.

The freedom of expression is a fundamental right that we all respect, celebrate and protect, but the freedom of expression is one thing and the freedom to lie or the freedom to commit violence, which includes verbal abuse, is quite another. When we talk about these issues, we must set limits and be very strict and forceful when it comes to clarifying accusations. Likewise, we must be as strict when it comes to incitement to verbal abuse or harassment on social networks, on the street or even in the media.

In our point of view, VCF MEDIA is and must continue to be the main source of information, and a communications channel that generates its own content that is transmitted, without filters, directly to the fans. There are very respectable media outlets in Valencia that do a great job, and Valencia CF supports media pluralism and vigilance. That should be clear. I want to make a very clear distinction between this and other media outlets who are determined to offer a biased view of events, for their own interests, day after day. The examples are easily recognisable. Think about the intention behind every article you read or radio programme you listen to, and consider if there is a journalistic and informative intention or if there is something else behind it. In some cases there is something else there, which is evident.

(Regarding whether there are plans to reinforce the Board of Directors with a Valencian person after the departure of José Luis Zaragosí and the passing of Juan Cruz Sol) “We are very saddened by the departure of our two Valencian directors. The passing of Juan Sol is a very painful loss personally and also on a day-to-day basis at the club. Valencia CF have lost a legendary player, an exceptional ambassador and an extraordinary member of the Board of Directors. The departure of José Luis Zaragosí has ​​also been very sad. He is a noble person and a great Valencianista who tried his best to help the club in a selfless way, and who neither deserve the treatment he received, with displays of harassment and violence even at his medical consultancy, nor the level of aggressiveness and criticism unfairly directed at him by some media outlets. I particularly remember an opinion piece that was unbefitting of the historical newspaper in which it was published. This article referred to somebody as noble as Zaragosí as a "collaborator to the Vichy Government.” This is unacceptable. We are on the look out for good people and good professionals to help us on our Board of Directors and, of course, if we can incorporate women then all the better. We have already had the first female president in the history of the club, in Chan Lay Hoon.”

“Regarding our relationship with the Peñas, we still consider our fans to be a fundamental part of the club, and our desire is to remain united with them. We want to remain close to them, and that is why we want to have a direct relationship with the Peñistas. We have been working hard during this period of COVID-19 to make a system of direct Access to the club for Peñistas. We still have the same excitement when we see Peñistas on our away trips and at Mestalla.”

Peter Lim

“From Singapore, Peter Lim pays attention to the day-to-day management of the club and the team. We have constant, daily communication with him. He advises us on decisions, and the passion he has for the club remains intact from day one. He is fully involved with Valencia CF and with Valencian society, as he has already demonstrated on different occasions (such as with the donation of medical supplies during the most complicated stage of the pandemic).

We are well aware of the role and relevance of the club in Valencian society and we will continue to support it, beyond the pitch. An example of this is the support for the constant donations that are made at Mestalla by the Banco de Alimentos food bank to disadvantaged families, the Escoles Cor Blanquinegre project, our LaLiga Genuine team and the multiple charitable projects that we carry out through the club and the VCF Foundation - one of our cornerstones. It is also present in our full support for the growth and improvement of the VCF Academy; our belief in our commitment to it is absolute. We want a project based on these players raised at our club, who value success at Valencia CF above all else and who endow it with an identity from the club’s roots. A team with which our fans feel identified and proud of.

Coupled with all this, and with regards to the questions about whether Meriton is considering liquidating the club, collect the profits and disappear, or if a possible relegation to the Segunda División would affect his continuity as the majority shareholder: We have already said many times that Meriton are not selling. What’s more, the only thing that Mr. Lim has done is keep putting money into the club. His commitment to continuing is demonstrated by this responsible management in times as difficult as the present moment.

In addition, to date no sum of money has been returned to Meriton, be it principal nor interests, and loans have been renewed at maturity. It is not true that a short term agreement have been set in order for Meriton to keep club assets, and as you can see the largest loan pertains to the 2014/15 season. Meriton's financial support for the club has been -and remains- absolute and unquestionable. I believe that it is legitimate for a creditor to protect their credit positions. What Meriton is doing is to highlight the importance of credit positions, that is, the recoverability of loans.”

The new stadium

“Regarding the new stadium, we are aware of the importance of completing it and making good on the significant effort made in the investment carried out to date.

The point is that we are talking about a stadium that was designed and conceived more than a decade ago, with enormous scope and requiring a very large investment cost. Companies that, as one shareholder says, have approached us to finish it in exchange for use of the tertiary sector, have eventually not seen it as feasible.

We are working to find a solution, and we have not stopped working on this during all this time. After the expected sale alongside ADU Mediterránea fell through, we continued looking for alternatives. It should also be recalled that the ADU proposal was supported by all, and that their inability to meet the commitments was a matter external to the club

We will not go to the shareholders with a proposal until we have something completely solid in place, as we have always expressed, both to you and to the Administration. We understand your concern. Your concern is the same as ours. We are looking for the same thing, which is to finish the stadium so that not only the Valencianistas but the entirety of Valencian society can enjoy it.

We will not be able to finish the stadium if we do not sell Mestalla: This is a reality that we cannot ignore. There have to be many movements made simultaneously to make the operation feasible. This issue has many facets:  The existing mortgage debt and the negotiation with the financial entities, the terms and restrictions of planning and the ATE, the needs of the acquirer of the land at Mestalla, the construction and budgetary requirements for the completion of the stadium, the licenses, the payment guarantees from the constructor, the municipal sports centre that must be built and the needs of the Administration etc. All of this must be worked on together, and we are working on it. Hopefully soon I can give good news to Valencianistas about this important project for them and for the city.

Does all this mean that we are going to let the ATE go? Absolutely not. The Administration has asked us for action and movements, because it also wants to lend a hand in this project. We have to come up with a concrete plan and that is what we hope to do in the coming months; we are going to request an extension to the ATE, but you will agree with me that after so many delays, so many frustrated movements trying to start the project, it would be much better for all of us to go into this hand-in-hand with the buyer of the land at Mestalla with the specific requirements on their part.

What happens if we don't get a buyer in a fairly short term? Without a doubt, we will have to make a joint effort between the Administration and VCF to reach some kind of agreement for the extension, with commitments on both sides, because the sale of the land of Mestalla is a very difficult operation -and even more so without the extension of the ATE.

If the extension of the ATE cannot be achieved, some 39,000 m2 of commercial tertiary land around Mestalla would be lost, without significantly affecting the area around ​​the new stadium. For this reason, we have carried out a valuation with an independent expert and we have adjusted the asset values ​​to a scenario without the ATE, so that the loss of the ATE would not have an impact on equity.

We do not want to turn the issue of the stadium into a political issue, as that does not benefit the future of the project and only feeds negative rumours. Valencia CF technical experts are working with the Ayuntamiento city council, the Generalitat local government and Deolitte to fulfil a common objective, which is to finish the stadium as soon as possible. We want to communicate news when we have an offer that guarantees that there are no mistakes, and to continue dealing with this issue between institutions -as we have been doing in recent times. We have held different meetings with the mayor's office informing them of the situation. Unfortunately, since the last meeting there has been no significant progress that allows us to go back to the Ayuntamiento with a specific proposal as agreed. As I say, we continue working to make it happen as soon as possible and to jointly carry out what is an important project for the club and the city.”

Closing speech

“Finally, I would like to close this assembly with a message to the fans. Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, fans are unable to watch the players in action and cannot go to Mestalla. It is a pity that they cannot feel that special connection that they have with the team. We hope that soon we can all return to Mestalla.

The Valencia CF fanbase is demanding, loyal, passionate and dedicated to the end. We want to feel close to them and we want to see them enjoying themselves with the team.

The team need everyone's support to keep winning games. It is a young squad that is growing, and the best is yet to come. Nowadays LaLiga is very evenly matched and earning three points has great value, so that is why I want to appeal here today to the vast majority of fans: We share a common goal and we have to be more UNITED than ever.

We may not agree on everything, but we agree on the most important thing: We all want the best for the team and we want them to win games. Let's avoid focusing on the issues we don't agree on, and let's instead focus our efforts on helping the team. There is a very positive atmosphere at the Ciudad Deportiva and unity between the captains, the dressing room and the coaching staff, based around a key word: Commitment. Let's support Valencia CF together.

Being united will help us to continue enjoying our club and team in the present, and in the future that we are going to build together. Thank you very much to all of you. Good health, happy holidays and Amunt Valencia CF.”