Malaga Vice-President Moayad Shatat has commented that the club “haven’t got any debts at the moment” and are ‘examples’ to UEFA.
The Costa del Sol outfit are serving a season’s ban from European competition this year as punishment from UEFA for falling foul of Financial Fair Play regulations and entering into last year’s Champions League with debt to players and other clubs.
However, after a summer of great change in the squad’s make-up, the club are in a stronger financial position, report their Vice-President [pictured, right].
“At this moment we can say with confidence that we’re one of the best examples to UEFA,” Shatat has revealed to Malaga’s official website this week.
“We have no debts with the Hacienda [Spanish tax authorities], nor with any players or members of staff. Everything is up to date and our books are balanced.
“The UEFA sanction? UEFA used us as an example throughout Europe and Spain, in order to rectify the Financial Fair Play situation.
“We fought against the verdict, taking our case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, to show that we had done everything correctly and certainly hadn’t done anything wrong.”
Shatat commented on the club’s future under owner Sheikh Abdullah Al-Thani.
“It’s common knowledge that the Sheikh has invested over €150m since he came here and purchased the club. Regarding the sale of the Club, let’s not talk about this any further, we’ll never sell the club.
“We chose Malaga over anywhere else in the world and wish to stay here. We’re focused on complying with the Financial Fair Play rules and having a healthy financial situation to set a good example to others, and prepare for new investments.
“Yes we sold certain players, that’s correct. During the process of rectifying our financial position, we had to sell some players.
“We changed our strategy, which we’ve previously spoken about, and focused on selling players and offering opportunities to young talent to work with our coaching team.
“We’re not taking part in UEFA competition this season, so we’re taking advantage of that to remedy our situation. We’re also giving La Academia players the chance to grow and improve their game by working with the first team.
“Al-Thani visiting the club? He could at any time. He is kept up to date with everything and is a big follower of the team.
“It’s in his interest to know every detail about the Club, but as I said, he has many businesses all over the world. The Sheikh sent me here to oversee the management, and as I live in Malaga I’m here at the office every day.
“We’d like to thank all our fans for their continued support. They’re always there for us. Everyone at the club is very grateful to them, they do a great job in getting behind the Blue and Whites and helping them achieve big things.
“I’m sure there will be even more exciting things to come, so thank you all for your support in the stadium and all over the world.”
