Sunday December 12th 2021
“Dignity for Valencia CF”
Fan anger at “crook” Lim is violently discharged
Years ago, FC Valencia was a top European club; in the 2001 Champions League final, it was only defeated by FC Bayern Munich on penalties. Today the reality is very different. The fans have identified a culprit in the condition of the club – and want to get rid of him.
Thousands of people protested against the owner of the traditional Spanish football club Valencia CF. During a march to the Mestalla Stadium, the demonstrators demanded the departure of the Singapore-born billionaire magnate Peter Lim. They chanted slogans such as “Lim, you crook, leave Mestalla” and carried posters with inscriptions such as “Dignity for Valencia CF” and “Lim go home!”. The Spanish sports newspaper “Marca” wrote pathetically: “A protest that will go around the world. The Valencia fans organized the largest demonstration in memory to restore the club’s dignity.”
The protest wasn’t quite that huge, but it was impressive: The regional newspaper “Las Provincias” and other media unanimously estimated the number of participants to be at least 15,000. Among the demonstrators, who partially paralyzed traffic in the center of Spain’s third largest city with their protest, were numerous well-known politicians, actors and club idols such as the former Spanish national goalkeeper Santiago Cañizares. “Hopefully Lim will hear our message,” he said.
The former top club in the Primera División has often been in the lower half of the table since it was taken over by Lim’s company Mériton Holdings Limited in 2014. The 68-year-old, who holds 82 percent of the share capital of the “Fundación Valencia CF” foundation, is primarily accused of years of mismanagement with losses totaling around 100 million euros.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s partner
In addition, Lim has still not kept his promise to resume the construction work on the new stadium, which had been closed since 2011. The dispute over the stadium has now become a political issue. The Prime Minister of the Region of Valencia, Ximo Puig, said, amid the protests, that he hopes to meet with Lim soon. The wealth of the successful stock market investor and fisherman’s son Lim is currently estimated by specialist media at 2.4 billion US dollars.
At the once glorious Valencia CF, “the constant disrespect” that Lim and his governors “displayed has led to an unbearable social atmosphere that has brought it close to relegation points in terms of sport and to the worst figures in history in terms of economy.” “Marca” raged.
Lim is not only involved in football with Valencia CF: As “Marca” writes, Lim’s company Mint Media has been the owner and administrator of the image rights of superstar Cristiano Ronaldo for several years, apart from those of the club he is currently playing for , to be generated. It was only in October that Lim and the Portuguese announced a joint venture called ZujuGP in the service of Manchester United. This is supposed to be a platform that is supposed to unite football, technology and communication. “You will never see football the same way again,” the company said in a statement. For the fans of Valencia CF it must sound like a promise: The way they are currently experiencing their club, they no longer want to see it.