What Did Roman Ever Do For Valencia?

Rumours are swirling that Chelsea owner and sanctioned oligarch Roman Abramovich has made a bid to take over the reins at the Mestalla. Mark Pulley tries to separate fact from hyperbole… 

Rival bidder and local businessman Miguel Zorío, claims that current owner Peter Lim recently leaked Abramovich’s name to the press. Is there any truth in it or is it just a game of he-said she-said? 

Singaporean Lim, who made his fortune in the palm oil business, has made no secret that he wants out. Until now, Zorío seemed to be the only name in the frame, with a bid of €248m on the table. Strangely, it’s reported by UK newspaper Metro that it was Zorío himself that reported the leak to local press. He did it while informing them about his upcoming press conference on 27 April. A press conference where he will be presenting his offer to the club.

Something which is new to me. I don’t remember watching Gold & Sullivan delivering a powerpoint presentation on Sky Sports News while bidding for West Ham. Maybe this is normal here in Spain and has the aim of getting the fans onboard with your bid. One thing is for sure. Zorío has made the world aware that Lim was apparently trying to flog the club to the soon to be assetless Abramovich.

Due to the ongoing war in Ukraine, Abramovich has had his UK assets seized by Boris Johnson’s gang. Chelsea, of course, is one of those assets and the government is currently in the process of selling it to the most fit and proper billionaire they can find that will pay the most money. Abramovich has said that he would not be looking to sell Chelsea if he didn’t have to, fuelling the rumours that he wants to get straight back into the football ownership business with Valencia CF.

Who leaked the ‘Abramovich buying Valencia’ rumour?

It seems to me that there are two reasons why this so-called leak has come about. If the Russian is genuinely keen to take over Los Che, either he or Lim are using it as a way to test the reaction of the supporters to see if it’s acceptable or not. An angry protest against Abramovich buying Valencia, with the Plaza del Ayuntamiento resembling the final mascletá, might make them think twice about bothering to take the idea further.

However, a sudden upsurge in sales of cossack hats and vodka might make them confident that there will be little resistance to the idea. If that sounds ludicrous, just look back to when the Saudis took over at Newcastle. Tea towels were suddenly at a premium, adorning the heads of many jubilant Geordies to welcome their new owners. It seems their motto became ‘Human-rights schuman-rights’. In other words, if you can keep us up and spend some money, all is forgotten.

On the other hand, Miguel Zorío might have leaked the story hoping that the fans will be disgusted by the thought and throw their weight behind his bid. Maybe he’ll throw in some free biscuits and a firework finale to his upcoming press conference and will win the fans’ hearts and minds with his presentation. The story does only seem to have come to light with Zorío’s claims. Why didn’t we hear about it earlier if indeed Lim did leak it to the press first? 

Whatever the reason, the story is out there and maybe Mr Abramovich is seriously considering throwing his still-considerable wealth behind Valencia with the aim of turning them into the Spanish Chelsea. Which is surely a mouthwatering prospect to Valencia fans desperate to see their team competing at the top table again. We’ll be keeping an eye on developments, and will hopefully get an invite to Zorío’s press conference extravaganza on the 27th. 

It could be one hell of a show.