By David Gold
September 24 – Valencia President Manuel Llorente has reaffirmed the club’s commitment to building a new stadium despite being plagued by a new set of problems in the construction of the ground.
The Nuevo Mestalla (pictured top) was scheduled to be complete by the 2009-2010 season, but work stopped in 2008 amid Los Che’s financial difficulties.
Those same financial problems led to the club selling a number of its best players in recent years, from David Villa and David Silva to Juan Mata and Jordi Alba.
Last year a deal was reached with Spanish lender Bankia that enabled works to resume, but progress has once again been suspended with no clear sign of when it will continue.
Llorente said the club was “working with Bankia to seek solutions”, adding: “I want to send a message of calm and confidence to the fans of the club.
“The latest events do not affect the foundations of this club.
“I cannot name a date for when work will begin again, there is a lot already completed such as plans and models.
“The only thing remaining is to restructure the financial side.”
The new stadium, when complete, will seat 75,000 fans, and may go some way to easing the financial constraints the club has had to work with in recent years.
Nonetheless, Valencia have finished third for the last three seasons and remain a consistent participant in UEFA’s Champions League.
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