Valencia have finished another season with a bitter taste in the mouth, following a series of damaging audio clips released of former President Anil Murthy and a lacklustre end of the position.
As a result, owner Peter Lim (who heads the Meriton Holdings group), is looking to take control. Lim has already removed Murthy and former manager Jose Bordalas from their posts, with Sean Bai and Gennaro Gattuso replacing them. The next item on Lim’s agenda is a Sporting Director.
The man in his mind is Leonardo. Most recently at Paris Saint-Germain, Leonardo has had three spells as a Sporting Director, twice in Paris and another in Milan.
As Marca note, Leonardo spent three years at Valencia from 1991 to 1994, which would give him an understanding of the culture at Mestalla. Other factors working in his favour is his agent Jorge Mendes, whom Lim is close with, and a good relationship with Gattuso, both playing together for Milan for two years.
Even so, it’s worth questioning Leonardo beyond his good relationships. His spells as Sporting Director have not been particularly successful and in Paris, he was marked out as one of the reasons for their inability to progress in the Champions League last season.
