La Liga side Levante President Quico Catalán has reduced his club's debt, which was at €90M five years ago, to €30M ($40M), and he "sees a promising future" for the Spanish Football League, according to Conrado Valle of AS. Catalán said of goalkeeper Keylor Navas, who recently transferred to Real Madrid for €10M ($13.3M), "It means a lot economically. It allows us to amortize significant debt that we have inherited from the past. In the last five years we have met our demands and exceeded our expectations. But the transfer of Keylor Navas gives us as much more than that socially. For an institution like Levante, it has an incalculable value. For Levante to transfer a player that has been here three years to Real Madrid and for Real Madrid to value him so highly, it means that this footballer has increased Levante's value. It puts Levante on the map for other players." With the club receiving €8M ($10.7M) -- €2M ($2.7M) went to Navas -- Catalán said of his team's financial situation, "We entered in 2009 and the debt was approximately €90 million. After an agreement with creditors and a related decrease, it was at €62 million. Now we will face the project of this season with a debt of just less than €30 million. In four years, we have amortized more than 55 percent of the debt. And if we achieve our objective of staying in La Liga for a sixth season next year, we will make a significant jump for the club's viability" (AS, 8/18).
