Malaga Vice-President Moayad Shatat has reaffirmed owner Sheikh Abdullah Al-Thani’s commitment to the club.
In an open letter to supporters published on Malaga’s official website, Shatat maintains Al-Thani [pictured] has no plans to quit despite his apparent withdrawal of financial backing over the past 12 months.
“Firstly, I would like to point out the various criticisms surrounding the President and owner of Malaga Football Club, Sheikh Abdullah Al-Thani, and categorically deny any doubts over his involvement with the club.
“Sheikh Abdullah has invested €140m into to date, which can be shown on an external audit. In addition to this amount is the actual cost of the acquisition of the club and the investment into [Marbella’s] Puerto de La Bajadilla project,” he wrote.
“Sheikh Abdullah has no intention of leaving and has never even considered doing so. His main objective is to develop a more solid club for the future in compliance with Fair Play regulations and maintaining economic stability according to UEFA and the LFP, and supervised by the Spanish treasury, Hacienda.
“We are not concerned about the future at all, as it won’t be any different from other clubs in the League. Adapting our budget to come in line with financial regulations ahead of next season and remaining amongst the other clubs in the top half of the table are our priorities.”
Shatat went on to say that he considered there had also been a lack of institutional support for what the Qatari owners have been trying to accomplish since taking over in summer 2010.
“We can clarify that the club has not received the required institutional support, but the authorities have enjoyed the team’s success over the past year. This total lack of support also made it impossible to advance plans to construct the sports city that the club needs, again due to a lack of action and no administrative coordination.
“Also, whilst other clubs have the use of a municipal stadium for a nominal fee, Malaga have to pay €700,000 per season for the use of La Rosaleda. This amount is paid to Malaga City Hall, the Provincial Government and the Junta de Andalusia in the form of advertising and match tickets – 150 season tickets and three VIP boxes, each with 15 seats, for every match at La Rosaleda.”
Finally, he thanked the Malaga fans for their support during a season that was the most successful in the Costa del Sol outfit’s history.
“Although I should have started by saying this, I’d like to thank all the fans for their unconditional support over the season. You’ve all shown that you’re the best fan base of any team in La Primera and fully deserve the LFP’s ‘Player No 12 Award’.”
