Valencia president has no qualms about the sales of David Silva and David Villa
Manuel Llorente, president of Valencia CF, has said that he does not regret this summer's departures of David Villa and David Silva, the sales of whom helped secure the club's finances ahead of the current season.
Villa, who became the club's top scorer for five consecutive seasons after joining in 2005, was signed by Spanish champions Barcelona for a staggering
€40m, while Silva was picked up by Premier League side Manchester City for
€27m.
The pair were instrumental to Valencia's successes in recent seasons, leading the club to victory in the Spanish cup in 2008.
"Sometimes you have players who you do not ever want to sell, but we needed to do it. What is clear is that both were sold when they were regularly playing in the first team," Llorente told radio station Cadena SER in an interview, adding that he was happy
with the money his cash-strapped club received for the Spanish internationals.
"Villa’s transfer was the most expensive in Europe, and even after the World Cup I know we would receive no more than €40m. As for Silva, [Real Madrid president] Florentino Perez tells me whenever he sees me that he would not have paid what Manchester City
did."
Promising start to the current season
In the duo's absence, Valencia have made a promising start to the league season, earning 16 points to sit top of the table with six games played.
"Today, I thank the coaching staff and the efforts of the players in the squad—they have allowed me to sleep easier," said Llorente, whose team is third in Group C of the Champions League after defeating Bursaspor but losing to Manchester United.
After the international break, Valencia travel to face Barcelona at the Nou Camp, where a defeat would see them relinquish their lead to the defending champions.
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