Espanyol are following Malaga’s unsuccessful blueprint
It’s just two-and-a-half years since Chinese billionaire Chen Yansheng rode to cash-strapped Espanyol’s rescue, clearing their debts and promising a bright future for the Catalan side. On his arrival, he announced an end to their financial troubles, greater investment in the squad, and targeted a Champions League place in less than three years.
As is so often the case with new owners, these bold statements turn out to be nothing but hot air. Early optimism has given way to stagnation, and now the club finds itself in something of a funk.
“Barcelona can have two powerful clubs,” Yansheng insisted in his inaugural press conference. As it turns out, Espanyol are no longer even the second highest-ranked team in Catalonia, having been usurped by Girona last season.
There has been very little in the way of investment since Yansheng’s takeover, and despite his insistence that Champions League qualification remains his target, relegation to the Segunda División currently seems a far more likely outcome.
After a respectable eighth-place finish in 2016/17, Yansheng’s first full season at the club, Los Pericos fell to 13th last season, which could have been far worse but for a late-season flourish under interim manager David Gallego. Espanyol took 13 points their five games under Gallego’s stewardship, the same amount they mustered in their previous 15 matches under Quique Sánchez Flores.
The new man in charge is Rubi, who was appointed earlier this summer after leading Huesca into La Liga for the first team in their history. He did a fine job at the unfancied Aragonese club, but his last two spells as a manager in the top flight were not quite so successful. He led Levante to relegation in 2016, before repeating the trick a year later with Sporting Gijón.
He faces a tough challenge at Espanyol, and his task has been made all the tougher by the fact that the squad he inherited, which was already pretty average, has been significantly weakened this summer.
The promise of greater investment from the board has all but disappeared, and the club are now in a situation where they are selling prized assets at knock-down prices, despite Yansheng’s insistence as recently as December that “there is no need to sell from an economic point of view.”
Last season’s top scorer Gerard Moreno has gone to Villarreal for €20m. It’s not an insignificant fee, but when you consider he was responsible for just under half of Espanyol’s goal total last season, as well as the fact that his release clause was set at €40m, it seems bizarre that they didn’t try to hold onto him, or at least hold out for a bigger offer. His replacement is Borja Iglesias, who banged in 22 goals for Real Zaragoza in the Segunda last season. He looks a good player, but it is a big step up, and Moreno will be a very tough act to follow.
More baffling still is the sale of young left-back Aarón Martín to Mainz for an initial loan fee of €3m, with an option to buy for a further €9m. His release clause was increased from €30m to €40m earlier this summer to ward off potential suitors, before he was sold for a pitifully low fee. The fact they turned down a €20m offer for Martín from Everton in January only makes the deal stranger.
Equally mystifying is the sale of Marc Navarro to Watford for a pathetically low €2m – the same Marc Navarro who had three years remaining on his contract, with a release clause of €25m.
There can only be two possible reasons for selling their best players for well below their market value. Either the Espanyol board are terrible negotiators, or they are desperate to get some money through the door as a matter of urgency. It is surely the latter, but Yansheng is still trying to project an image of stability at the club, insisting that further investment is just round the corner and the club will have a bright and glorious future.
What is clear is that all is not as rosy as Yansheng would have you believe. The squad is far weaker than last season, and the hasty sales suggest that the financial picture isn’t altogether healthy.
Significant investment is needed if they are to be at all competitive this season, and with just over three weeks left of the transfer window, there is time. But sadly, there is no money. Promotions from the B team and possibly loan signings appear to be their only hope.
We all saw what happened at Málaga. Their wealthy owners arrived to much fanfare, promising a shiny new beginning, but later the investment dried up, all the best players left and the club sank like a stone into the Segunda. Like Málaga last season, Espanyol now have a threadbare squad, devoid of quality, with little hope of improvement. The way things are going, it’s easy to see them joining Málaga in the second tier next season.
Dan Bridges