Valencia Not Afraid To Sell Players, But David Villa Will Cost €84m – Manuel Llorente

Reports in the past few days have suggested that Valencia could finally be persuaded to sell off David Villa in order to pay their massive debts once and for all.

A number of clubs have since been alerted to the striker’s potential availability in the transfer market, but club president, Manuel Llorente has made it clear that ‘El Guaje’ will not be allowed to leave on the cheap, although he did drop his strongest hint yet that incoming offers could be considered.

“Selling players should not be seen as something negative, but it should be seen as a financial opportunity,” Mercafutbol quoted him saying during a university speech on the History of Valencia CF.

“Every club sell their players. We do not have to be afraid of selling our assets,” he added.

When asked how much would be enough to tempt him to sell Villa, he replied, “In my opinion, he is worth double the €42 million valuation put on him.

“In any case, this figure has nothing to do with Villa. It’s the price that the market has set. If he continues to score goals and help us qualify for the Champions League, then his value will increase some more,” he explained, before concluding that he would have sold Villa last year had a “quantitative proposal” been made.

The likes of Manchester United, Chelsea, Real Madrid and Barcelona have reportedly rekindled their interest in Villa, while Valencia coach, Unai Emery recently said that they will sell off their star striker, who is currently leading La Liga’s Pichichi race, should the club sign a suitable replacement. 

KS Leong, Goal.com