Singaporean billionaire Peter Lim has become the new owner of Valencia Club de Fútbol, after he completed the purchase of a 70.4% majority stake in the Spanish football club.
Valencia has recently been struggling with its debts, which are reported to be as much as €300 million (£245m), with the club halting the construction of a new stadium, Nou Mestalla, in 2009 after they ran out of funds.
As part of the deal, Lim has pledged to spend €90 million paying down the club’s debts, as well as providing €35 million to improve the club’s liquidity, and €60 million to buy new players.
Valencia’s fans hope that this injection of money, from a man who has long aspired to own a European football club, will turn around the fortunes for their club, and return them to the form they found at the start of the millennium that saw them reach the Champions League final in 2000 and 2001.
However, before Lim can focus on rebuilding the club’s footballing prowess, he will need to negotiate the repayment of the club’s €230 million debt with Spanish banking conglomerate Bankia, which falls due on 27 May.
