Anil Murthy, who will take over as president of La Liga side Valencia on July 1, said that club Owner Peter Lim "would not let the club go," even for €1B ($1.06B), according to Adriana Garcia of ESPN.com. Valencia has had a "turbulent time" since Lim took over in Oct. '14, leading to "speculation that the Singaporean businessman could sell up." Murthy, currently Valencia's CEO, said, "There is nothing regarding the sale of the club. Not for €2 million ($2.1M), not for €1 billion." Lim has "reportedly not visited Valencia since last April, and some fans have protested against the way in which the club is being run." Murthy: "The fans have the right to feel disappointed when things go bad. We haven't had the success we had hoped for, but I'm very optimistic for the seasons to come." Valencia has won its last three league games and is 12th in La Liga (ESPN.com, 4/11). In Barcelona, Nacho Herrero reported in December, coach Cesare Prandelli, Sporting Dir Jesús García and President Layhoon Chan "traveled to Singapore to plan a turnaround" -- and all three are no longer with Valencia, though "Layhoon will not be formally replaced until June 30" (MUNDO DEPORTIVO, 4/11).
N.Y. ACADEMY: In Valencia, Marta Costa reported the team "is continuing its int'l expansion plan and the next stop will be N.Y." Valencia will open its first VCF Academy in the U.S. on the campus of Long Island University. Valencia already has academies in Shanghai, Singapore, Japan, Bermuda, Malaysia and Canada (SUPERDEPORTE, 4/11).
