Lim sends his right hand to unlock the new Mestalla

Cornered by debt, with the social environment inflamed, and 80 million from the British capital fund CVC blocked by a conflict with the city's political class, which damaged the management of former president Anil Murthy, Peter Lim sent two weeks ago to Valencia to Layhoon-chan.

Layhoon, right-hand man of the Singaporean businessman at Meriton Holdings, the conglomerate of companies that Valencia CF is a part of, explained this Friday, in a one-hour press conference, the main reason that has brought him back to the city.

Chan was president of the bat club from December 2014 to June 31, 2017. "We are ready to build the new stadium," said the former president.

The dormant stadium that Valencia has had on Avenida de Cortes Valencianas since 2009 has suddenly become of paramount importance for Meriton.

CVC's manna, which has put 120 million euros in the hands of the club, provides that 80 of them be allocated to infrastructure and Peter Lim has found an unexpected solution there.

The businessman promised to finish the stadium when he bought the club in 2014, but had not shown any interest in doing so until the arrival of money from CVC thanks to the intermediation of his friend Javier Tebas, president of LaLiga.

“I am here to find a solution, not to go against the authorities.

The stadium is important for the club and for the city.

What if we can't start building?

Will it continue as it is five or ten more years?

We have all the necessary financing, why don't we go ahead?

I see the situation as positive.

I have assured both Ximo Puig,

of the Generalitat, and Joan Ribó, mayor of the city, that I am going to solve all the problems.

The reasonable thing is to find a balanced solution.

The club has never been as prepared as it is now," Layhoon said.

Peter Lim's person of trust in Meriton explained that “the stadium is going to cost 120 million, 80 from CVC, which represents a very large item of financing;

with that we finished 80 or 90% of the stadium”.

As for the rest, he said with conviction that “it's not a problem.

We can finance it with Caixabank, with the sale of the tertiary...”.

The financing to cover the 40 million difference between the 80 of CVC and the 120 of the global cost of the project is the problem that blocks the start-up of the works.

Politicians, faced with Lim's lack of will to comply with what was agreed in 2014 on the matter of the new stadium, are suspicious of the project and demand firm financial guarantees, although there are differences between Compromís and the PSOE-PSPV, two of the three parties that They govern the city in coalition.

“My assessment is that it is Meriton's third announcement for the stadium at City Hall and then nothing has materialized.

Meriton should be synonymous with prudence for public sectors.

The club presented a new project a few days ago and when it arrives at the Town Hall you realize that there is a big gap between what is advertised and what is done.

It is not worth presenting anything.

The project is much worse than the one presented in November.

I'm sorry for cooling things off, but you have to study it and be careful," said the socialist deputy mayor Sandra Gómez, who, incidentally, took the opportunity to poke the mayor, from Compromís, Ribó, in favor of reaching out to Peter Lim.

“There is a lot of desire from political parties to announce things because we are in an election year, but it is out of place,” Gómez said this Friday.

“The situation is very difficult.

In August 2021, LaLiga informed us that there would be financing from CVC.

We are ready to start the project.

However, despite our efforts, we did not make progress,” Layhoon complained.

Recently, the Institut Valencià de Finances (IVF) ruled out Meriton's penultimate project due to the lack of firm financial guarantees to finish the stadium.

In his conversations with the Generalitat and the City Council over these two weeks, Chan assured that he had not been asked for anything: “As for the financial guarantees of the stadium, during my stay here no mention has been made of me.

The stadium is part of the club and the financial support is for everything that affects the club.

Nothing should be questioned about that.

I don't understand".

The former president recalled that "Meriton promised to finance the club at 100 million when it acquired it and that they had contributed" 150 million more than what we agreed.

Meriton agrees to complete the stadium with CVC and through third parties.

I am representing Meriton to support the management and finish the stadium”, she commented before insisting again that Peter Lim is not going to sell.

“The club is not for sale.

Its not for sale"

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