📺 Anil Murthy: “We all wanted to strengthen the squad, but I have confidence in the squad and coach”

The day after the close of the summer transfer window, Valencia CF president Anil Murthy spoke to VCF Media to address an absence of signings and explain the various objectives the club had targeted to strengthen the squad. He also underlined that there was confidence in both the players and coach Javi Gracia to pull together for an important season.

The reasons for a lack of signings in the transfer market

“We've started this season with a very difficult challenge -one that is almost impossible. We have suffered a drop in earnings from 200m euros to 100m, a difference of 100m. That is a lot of money. However we had a very clear objective: Besides reducing the cost of the squad, to solve the 100m euros difference, we also wanted to strengthen the team at the same time. In the end, we weren't able to achieve our first objective of reducing the squad cost, and today we are above the Financial Fair Play restrictions that we have by some way. Without having been able to achieve our first objective, it was impossible to add further costs to the squad.

A final evaluation

“I understand the frustration from the fans. I understand the coach's frustration. We all wanted the same thing: To strengthen the team and to improve our level. It wasn't possible because we couldn't reduce the cost of the squad any further, in order to bring in reinforcements. I told my colleague, José Luis Zaragosi, that we should work with the aim of signing players. That was what José Luis Zaragosi transmitted to the public: That the aim was to strengthen the squad. The truth is that we aren't satisfied with the situation. We aren't satisfied with the end result of this transfer market. We all wanted to strengthen this squad, but instead of taking populist decisions we decided to be responsible, as we are already a great deal over the Financial Fair Play limits.”

Tackling a difficult situation for football

“We are in a global situation that isn't just going to last this season. What I think -and what is the general consensus in football- is that it is going to last for 2 or 3 seasons. The solution is not to hide from the problem. The solution is to face this problem, with confidence, a clear idea, and knowing exactly what weapons we have at our disposal to compete. I will repeat what I said months ago: We have to be responsible in this situation, because it's what this club deserves.”

The squad

“We have a team that have shown that they can compete. We won against Real Sociedad away from home. It's the start of the season and we've played five games so far. There is a long way to go, and 33 games to play. Now is the time to work harder to improve the team's performance. Now is the time for everybody to come together to work, fight for success and have a positive mindset, in order for us to face a long season. We have one main competition and we have a team that can compete.”

Young talent being given a chance

“Historically, in difficult situations the club have always looked to young, homegrown players to strengthen the team. We have to see something positive in this, because we have many young players who are training with the first team -and some who are playing for the first team. The other day, when we beat Real Sociedad, we had a team on the pitch with an average age of 23 years old. I think that it's the youngest side Valencia CF have fielded. We have to see something positive in that. What is happening right now? I know that we have offloaded some important players and that in theory we have weakened the team. But those who are in the squad now are very motivated and working very hard.

“I believe in this team. They are working very well under the coach, Javi Gracia. He is working with young players who want to fight for the team. I think that on this journey together we are going to see many positive things; I have a lot of confidence in the coach, who is working with players who want to fight to represent the club. That's something positive that is coming out of this situation.”