Mohamed El Assy: 'The Club would only be sold in the event of a great offer and with guarantees of continuity'

UD Almería Managing Director Mohamed El Assy has taken advantage of the official presentation of last signing Selvi Clua to hold a long, informative meeting with the media to talk about all the latest Club news. The leader has addressed all the issues raised and as per usual, he has been deeply sincere in his statements.

 

The first question focused on the comments and rumours about the sale of the Club and the changes in the board of directors. 'The vice president who had entered the parliament of Saudi Arabia and could not combine the two things,' he explained, and then added that the people who were recently in the Stadium were current sponsors and investors interested in Turki Alalshikh's projects in Almería, not buyers of the Club. In fact, he stressed: 'The Club would only be sold if a great offer were put in and added that if one occurred it would be 'leaving it in the best hands and with guarantees of continuing the project.' 

 

At the same time, he mentioned that the President and him feel like they are from Almería, totally identified with the Club and with the city and the province. A clear example of all this, the great investment made, the achievements and the projects that remain to be tackled both inside and outside of football.'

 

Among them, the UDA Sports Complex that was recently presented: 'Next week we have to make a payment to the City Council and then we'll be able to announce the date of laying the foundation stone, but it'll be very soon,' he said. El Assy also spoke about phase 2 of the Stadium remodelling: 'The delay isn't due to the Club being unable or unwilling to face it, but to the opinion of the technicians and engineers. Personally, I'm the one who is in the greatest hurry to finish it because it'll bring more economic returns in terms of season-ticket holders and income,' he explained.

 

When asked about the January transfer window and the non-arrival of a defender, he argued: 'It's true that we wanted a centre-back, but it was specifically Rodrigo Ely. We tried it since summer. The head coach told me that if he could come, OK because he knows the team. If it wasn't Ely, he told us there was no problem.' 

 

Mohamed El Assy, who made it very clear that the current UD Almería squad is the best ever in the Segunda and is guaranteed to fight for promotion, revealed: 'We refused offers for players that exceeded €60 million. That's not easy. I don't want to reveal the names of the footballers, but I want to thank them for their attitude. Our position was always firm and clear, they had to bring the termination clause. The objective is to try to lift a second title in the Second tier.'

 

Mohamed El Assy acknowledged that there have been financial problems after relegation, but they have now been resolved and the Club is in good hands. He highlighted the work of Turki Alalshikh although now it seems that he isn't aware of the Club due to his ministerial obligations in Saudi Arabia and apart from everything that has already been done, he talked about new projects that will be announced shortly and the management so that UD Almería are known with relevance at an international level.'