Valencia has successfully cleared the largest debt in the club’s history, chairperson Abdulla Azmeen said today.
Azmeen, a former sports journalist and football commentator, said that the club had paid over MVR 1.3 million to settle outstanding salaries for Spanish players Borjas Martin and José Antonio Domínguez, who played for Valencia in 2021 and 2022, as well as fines owed to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).
"Valencia has never had such a huge debt in its entire history. We've never had to spend so much money on debt at once," Azmeen said.
Borjas, one of the club's standout players, was owed USD 40,000, while José was due USD 20,710 in salary.
In addition, Valencia had to pay an AFC fine of USD 20,000 for failing to travel to Bangladesh for the 2022 AFC Cup qualifiers. Despite requesting an installment plan, AFC required full payment upfront.
In total, USD 87,000 (approximately MVR 1.3 million) was transferred to settle these debts.
"This was a massive challenge, especially as we are preparing for the new season," Azmeen stated.
"If we didn't have to pay off this debt, we could have invested in building a stronger squad for the upcoming season."
Due to financial constraints, Valencia was under a transfer ban last season, preventing new signings Ibrahim Waheed Hassan and Rilwan Waheed from playing.
Now, with the debt cleared, the club is working to sign four foreign players to strengthen the squad, Azmeen said.
Azmeen credited the Ministry of Sports for its support in overcoming the debt, particularly during the tenure of former Valencia chairperson Raslan Adeel Jaleel, the brother of ex-Football Association of Maldives (FAM) President Bassam Adeel Jaleel.