Valencia fans are staging a mass protest outside their Mestalla stadium against the club ownership of Peter Lim’s Meriton Holdings.
It has been a tough week for fans with Valencia news dominated by the departure of popular players as the club makes major cutbacks to its playing staff.
The protests are calling for the exit of controversial club owner Lim, with mocked up images of the club’s death with fans holding a minutes silence.
💬 Imágenes del despertar. El Poble de Mestalla parla. pic.twitter.com/6ctGq0PfIC
— Paco Polit 🇪🇦 #VeusFC 🛡🦇 (@pacopolit) August 12, 2020
📽 EN DIRECTO: Manifestación Protesta contra Meriton. Creo que algo más de 500 personas sí que hay… pic.twitter.com/7cyOaApHip
— Paco Polit 🇪🇦 #VeusFC 🛡🦇 (@pacopolit) August 12, 2020
It is estimated that over 500 fans are in attendance at the protest, which has been organised by the Salvem Nostre Valencia CF (Save Our Valencia CF) group.
Actions of the club’s board has proven controversial in recent times and Lim’s daughter Kim has claimed her family ‘can do anything we want’ with the club amid growing criticism.
Reports claimed 12 first-team players at the club who were told they would be allowed to move clubs this summer amid a huge squad clearout at Los Che, who missed out on European football ahead of next season.
The exits of club captain Dani Parejo and Francis Coquelin to Villarreal were confirmed on Wednesday, following the exit of star winger Ferran Torres to Manchester City.
The combined total fees for those trio is reported to be less than €30m, which has further angered the club’s fans.
Goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen, defenders Eliaquim Mangala and Mouctar Diakhaby and midfielder Geoffrey Kongodbia are among the players who are also said to be free to leave, with forward Ruben Sobrino and full-back Thierry Correia also expected to exit.
Fan discontent has been a factor all season, with Marcelino Garcia Toral sacked earlier in the campaign after falling out with the club’s hierarchy.
Marcelino guided the club to successive top four finishes alongside last season’s Copa del Rey title but off-field instability has led to chaos this campaign.
There have been other controversies engulfing the club, with defender Ezequiel Garay leaving at the end of his contract with Valencia’s hierarchy and the player making contradictory claims of whether he was offered a renewed deal.
