Dear ‘Malaguistas’,
I would like to address you via an official statement from the Club, ahead of the press conference soon to be held at La Rosaleda Stadium.
Firstly, I would like to point out the various criticisms surrounding the President and owner of Málaga Club de Fútbol, Sheikh Abdullah Al-Thani, and categorically deny any doubts over his involvement with the Club. Sheikh Abdullah has invested 140 million euros into the Club 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 the ‘Puerto de La Bajadilla’ project.
However, despite the firm commitment by the owner in undertaking various investment projects in Málaga and the Costa del Sol, I feel it is necessary to highlight the constant problems we’ve come up against, derived fundamentally from a lack of institutional support.
Everyone is aware of the difficulties we’ve been faced with since we decided to become involved with plans to expand the ‘Puerto de La Bajadilla’. A lack of decision-making made it impossible for the project to be carried out.
Focusing on Málaga Club de Fútbol, we can also 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, Málaga have to pay 700,000 euros per season for the use of La Rosaleda. This amount is paid to Málaga City Hall, Provincial Government and the Junta de Andalucía 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.
Málaga Club de Fútbol has been a true ambassador of the city all over the world, taking the Málaga name to more than 500 million people on five continents (according to LFP and UEFA). During last season, Club activity generated 425 million euros for the Málaga economy (100 million in direct spending and 325 million as a result of the successful campaign), resulting in a direct contribution the ‘Hacienda’ of 40 million euros.
Nevertheless, despite all the obstacles we’ve encountered along the way, the owner is determined to continue. Sheikh Abdullah has no intention of leaving the Club, 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 remain amongst the other clubs in the top half of the League table are our priorities.
In order to continue to grow, it is fundamental that we have the support of the various administrations. The Club requires its own stadium, an idea which has been raised with the three government institutions. The ‘Sports City’ development is also essential. We’re ready to do all it takes to finalise everything before the end of the year, but in order to do that we need the authorities to decide on a location for the project as quickly as possible.
Finally, 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 the First Division, and fully deserve the LFP’s ‘Player number 12 award’. With your support we can continue to grow, and we must stick together in order to achieve our goals. We’ll soon be finalising our new project, according to the strategy I mentioned earlier, and we’re all excited about making Málaga even bigger and more solid in the future.
Many thanks again, and I look forward to seeing you all at La Rosaleda next season.
