SHARE

Villarreal president Fernando Roig has insisted that they are not a selling club, despite selling Pau Torres and Nicolas Jackson to Aston Villa and Chelsea this summer.

The Villarreal president has been speaking to AS about the situation at his club following a busy summer for them that saw several key players depart.

The biggest of those were arguably Jackson, who joined Chelsea in a €37m deal early in the summer and Pau Torres, who joined Aston Villa in a €33m deal.

They were also joined by the likes of Samuel Chukwueze, who left for AC Milan in a €20m move and even Boulaye Dia, who joined Salernitana permanently and Arnaut Danjuma, who joined AC Milan on a loan deal.

It meant Villarreal brought in over €109m in transfer fees, the deals with Chelsea and Aston Villa bringing in most of that, while also spending just €12.5m on new signings.

That’s led to some criticism, particularly as they currently sit 16th in the table and just two points outside the relegation zone.

One of the strongest criticisms has been that Villarreal are nothing more than a selling club but Roig disputes that, even insisting they didn’t make as much money as everyone thinks they did.

“We don’t sell, but there are times when the footballer’s path is to go out,” he said.

“This summer they came to buy, we have received offers for players who wanted to leave and look for a better opportunity, and it was also beneficial for all parties.

“We have sold for a significant amount, but we have not earned anywhere near what is said. Villarreal has not earned 100 million euros.

“Villarreal has sold for a differential between what it has bought and what it has sold in these years of 69 million, and that is the reality. Everything that we cannot get together is what we compensate for with this type of operations.

“As I said, we risk to be at the top, normally we achieve balance, but when that is not the case, we also want to sell and do this type of operation.”