Corona: “Yaremchuk is going to help us to increase our attacking strength”

Miguel Ángel ‘Corona’, Sporting Director of Valencia CF, spoke at Roman Yaremchuk’s official presentation.

Welcome message to Roman Yaremchuk.

As you all know, today we are presenting our new striker, Roman Yaremchuk. Roman is a player who will help us increase our attacking potential. We know what he is capable of and he is a player who has had a career that speaks for itself, playing for big teams and generating big transfers. We fully trust his ability. Roman, welcome to Valencia CF. I know you know where you're coming from, the difficulty of the challenge and what this club represents. I wish you luck.

Why haven't Valencia CF signed anyone else if there was a margin in the Financial Fair Play restrictions?

The president explained this. It is not a question of just FFP, but also of financial capacity and cash flow... she listed several technical aspects. We had to reduce our costs due to the club's financial situation; it was not just a matter of Financial Fair Play.

We have tried, within our financial difficulties, to make a balanced squad. Everyone, not only coaches, but also the sporting management and the fans, would love to have the deepest roster, but as the president has already expressed, we had a delicate economic situation, costs had to be reduced and we tried to balance the squad with our limitations. We lack depth in some positions, it is true, but we do not lack the ability to compete.

Liga has made the financial limits of the clubs official. Could you confirm the club's squad cost?

We, or I, in this case, I am not here to give financial information. I suppose you understand this.

Do you think this squad is better or worse than last season's?

Football has given us many examples that theories do not come true, and that what you think is good on Day 1 -as we thought last year and in October when we seemed to be doing well – can turn out differently. This year I want to see how they mature, see how the players grow. Like Roman Yaremchuk has said, they have potential and youth. We are going to give them the greatest support and stability possible so that they are able to demonstrate that, without entering into comparisons, they are a team prepared to compete.

The coach said on the last day of the transfer window that he was hoping to sign a winger. At that moment, did you already know that only Yaremchuk was going to come in?

The press conference was at noon, and at that time we did not consider the squad to be finalised and we were looking at various situations for a few more hours. Due to how they fit, cost, tactical and operational criteria, much later in the day we determined the squad to be finalised.

Aren't you worried that the fans will call for you to leave?

No, not at all. I am a professional who humbly gives it my all to work at this club. I am proud to work in this club and I come in every morning with tremendous desire. I am giving up many things in my life to be here and I try to play my role as best as possible.

Why was there a budget depending on the player?

At that moment, to which you are referring, the reality is that we had not finished carrying out the operation to sign Amallah. There is no problem in recognising that the coach had worked with Rafa Mir in the youth system and that he was an important desire for us. At that time, we tried -and were able- to meet the demands that Sevilla FC had set for us to bring him in, but once that did not happen, we had to continue working on the market with our first criterion, which was to reduce the squad cost but to keep the team as competitive as possible.

Don't you think it's a bit risky not to have invested more in the transfer market?

We believe that with what we have we are capable of competing and achieving our objectives. Money was not so decisive last year, either. The investment compared to now was not so decisive. We are going to let these players work, we are going to give them as much stability as possible, we are going to give them confidence and hopefully, they will have the feeling of everything flowing like the younger players had last season, helped by those who were already here and those who have come in.

Did this readjustment in financial criteria occur during the transfer window, after the signings of Pepelu and Cenk?

During the transfer market things always happen, such as other clubs coming in with offers for Mamardashvili or Diakhaby and an attempted offer for Thierry... And instead of accepting them to have more financial availability and balance previous losses, the club decided not to sell them. That is also investing in the squad. The market tells you what you can or cannot do in the end. Turning down sales is also a way of investing.