Celta Vigo sent one of their directors to Lisbon recently to explore purchasing Belenenses as a potential affiliate club, the President of Belenenses has revealed.
Vigo has close relations with Portugal given the proximity and the crossover between Gallego and Portuguese, and Celta were reportedly looking to take that into their portfolio. According to President Morais de Carvalho, a director from Celta came to speak with him about it, as EFDV report.
“He thought he was coming to buy Belenenses. He didn’t understand anything. He didn’t know that Belenenses SAD was just the players. Nothing else, no stadium, nothing. In Spain, things don’t work like they do here.”
De Carvalho revealed that it ended in more of an education for both on how the club ownership model differed.
“It was just an exploratory lunch and, in essence, it served as a lesson to understand the Spanish model and for the Spanish to understand the Portuguese model.”
However it does not mean that relations stopped there. The Belenenses chief went on to hint that they may well come to an agreement with Celta over players. He did not reveal more details, but following the usual pattern, it would allow Belenenses, now in the Portuguese second division, access to Celta players on loan, and Celta access to young talent coming though.
Celta have radically changed their strategy in recent years, relying on Sporting Advisor Luis Campos to recommend players from further afield, and clearly exploring new markets. The additions of Williot Swedberg, Jorgen Strand Larsen and Anastasios Douvikas are evidence that Celta will invest in younger talents abroad rather than established players in Spain.
