Valencia players offered IOUs as full scale of crisis laid bare

Valencia are up shit creek

Valencia's financial situation has reached breaking point, with the club unable to pay player's wages, according to local media outlet Las Provincias. Members of the board have plead with the playing squad to accept IOUs in lieu of payment, with minimal liquid cash available to the club at the moment. The club are selling as many first team players as possible this summer. Captain Dani Parejo left for free to move 50 miles north to Villarreal, as did Francis Coquelin for a fee of around €8m. Ferran Torres has also joined Manchester City for just £21m, 80 million less than his release clause, but the club still need to offload several more first team players if they are to reduce their growing debt of €274 million. Rodrigo Moreno and Gonçalo Guedes are among Valencia's most valuable assets and will be up for sale for a cut price in this window. The financial crisis at Valencia has been brewing for some time due to the looming debt caused by the construction of the 'Nou Mestalla' stadium, which is still unfinished more than ten years after the project began. A meltdown of finances in 2009 put construction on pause, and the half-finished shell of a stadium remains on the edge of the city. The recent coronavirus pandemic has compounded an already dire situation, with the suspension of the league and its resumption behind closed doors seeing Valencia lose all of their matchday revenue. Of course, they are not alone in this situation, but one of the worst equipped clubs to deal with the crisis. Their poor form this season is another factor, as Valencia missed out on European football entirely after three straight seasons in the Champions League. If an emergency solution is not found in the coming weeks, Valencia face the prospect of not being able to register their team for next season.