Vicente Soriano
Encyclopedia
Vicente Soriano Serra, born 1953 in Puçol
, Valencia, Spain
, is a Valencian businessman. He became President and majority shareholder of Valencia CF
in 2008, after arriving at an agreement with Juan Soler
to take over the presidency of the club, purchase shares of Juan Soler's to the value of 70.7 million euros. After an ill-fated attempt to resolve the club's debts, he was finally succeeded by Manuel Llorente.
He entered the world of soccer in 2004 when forming part of Paco Roig's "Cor i Força", the team that was running against then ousted president Jaume Ortí. Juan Soler won the election and Soriano accepted the role offered of vicepresident.
Soriano was charged with the selection of plans for the new stadium (see Nou Mestalla
). Finally Soler rejected said projects. As a result, his relations with the then-president deteriorated. He was relieved of the vice-presidency in January 2006, although never he sold his allocation of shares. He resigned from the board in June 2007. He threatened to return to the club accompanied by Juan Villalonga
to get a hold of Soler's stock, a situation that did not bear fruit. Villalonga briefly took over the running of the club in 2008, but when he proposed to buy the 37% held by Soler, Soriano reconciled with the majority shareholder and reached an agreement for the buying and selling of the Soler family shares in an amount set at 70.7 million euros, which was overturned after Soriano failed to sell the old Mestalla ground by the end of the year, finally resigning on 4 June 2009 because he had still failed to sell it. An attempt to raise capital by improving income from television rights also failed.
However, following an absence of just one month, during which time Manuel Llorente took over, Soriano returned in July, having gained 51% of the shares and linked up with a mysterious company called Inversiones Dalport, an investment company supposedly from Uruguay
but with an office in Madrid
. Soriano announced that none of the star players such as David Villa
, Juan Manuel Mata
or David Silva
would now need to be sold, as all the debts would be wiped clean.
However, failure to find any information on Dalport on the Internet prior to the announcement prompted an outcry at the press conference. The media's suspicions were further hightened when fans noticed that the logo
of an eagle
used by Dalport had in fact been copied from a children's colouring-in book. Prematurely ousted president Llorente echoed the fans' suspicions Like 70% of fans, Llorente does not believe that Soriano will deliver, and warned that Valencia is opening themselves up to a potential investment scam.
When, as predicted, Dalport failed to deliver, on August 21, 2009 Fundació VCF took over, becoming the main shareholder with 72.5% of shares, using a loan from Bancaixa and guaranteed by the local government. The Fundació is not allowed to end up with less than 51%, thereby ensuring stability within Valencia CF and cementing Manuel Llorente as the bona fide president.
Puçol
Puçol is a Valencian municipality located in the region of the Horta Nord. It currently has 19,018 inhabitants, of whom 9,468 are men and 9,550 are women .Borders El Puig south and Sagunt to the north.- Geography :...
, Valencia, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, is a Valencian businessman. He became President and majority shareholder of Valencia CF
Valencia CF
Valencia Club de Fútbol is a Spanish football club based in Valencia, Spain. They play in La Liga and are one of the most successful and biggest clubs in Spanish Football and European Football. Valencia have won six La Liga titles, seven Copa del Rey trophies, two Fairs Cups which was the...
in 2008, after arriving at an agreement with Juan Soler
Juan Bautista Soler
Juan Bautista Soler Luján is a Spanish businessman and former president of Valencia Club de Fútbol. He is a real estate developer and investor, based in Valencia....
to take over the presidency of the club, purchase shares of Juan Soler's to the value of 70.7 million euros. After an ill-fated attempt to resolve the club's debts, he was finally succeeded by Manuel Llorente.
Biography
Having started out in the orange export business, in the 1990s he got involved in construction as a real estate broker, and subsequently as a property developer and representative of large investor groups.He entered the world of soccer in 2004 when forming part of Paco Roig's "Cor i Força", the team that was running against then ousted president Jaume Ortí. Juan Soler won the election and Soriano accepted the role offered of vicepresident.
Soriano was charged with the selection of plans for the new stadium (see Nou Mestalla
Nou Mestalla
Nou Mestalla is a partly built 75,000-seat football stadium in Valencia, Spain, intended as a replacement for Valencia CF's current stadium, Estadio Mestalla. The basic concrete structure of the stadium was built between August 2007 and February 2009, but work was then halted for financial...
). Finally Soler rejected said projects. As a result, his relations with the then-president deteriorated. He was relieved of the vice-presidency in January 2006, although never he sold his allocation of shares. He resigned from the board in June 2007. He threatened to return to the club accompanied by Juan Villalonga
Juan Villalonga
Juan Villalonga Navarro is an influential Spanish businessman. He was a partner at McKinsey & Company in the 1980s, CEO for Credit Suisse First Boston and Bankers Trust in Spain in the early 1990s, and CEO of Telefónica from 1996 to 2000....
to get a hold of Soler's stock, a situation that did not bear fruit. Villalonga briefly took over the running of the club in 2008, but when he proposed to buy the 37% held by Soler, Soriano reconciled with the majority shareholder and reached an agreement for the buying and selling of the Soler family shares in an amount set at 70.7 million euros, which was overturned after Soriano failed to sell the old Mestalla ground by the end of the year, finally resigning on 4 June 2009 because he had still failed to sell it. An attempt to raise capital by improving income from television rights also failed.
However, following an absence of just one month, during which time Manuel Llorente took over, Soriano returned in July, having gained 51% of the shares and linked up with a mysterious company called Inversiones Dalport, an investment company supposedly from Uruguay
Uruguay
Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
but with an office in Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
. Soriano announced that none of the star players such as David Villa
David Villa
David Villa Sánchez , nicknamed , is a Spanish footballer who currently plays as a striker for FC Barcelona and the Spanish national football team. He can also operate as a winger....
, Juan Manuel Mata
Juan Manuel Mata
Juan Manuel Mata García is a Spanish footballer who plays for Chelsea. He is mainly a left winger, but can also play on the right wing or as an attacking midfielder....
or David Silva
David Silva
David Josué Jiménez Silva is a Spanish footballer who plays for Manchester City and the Spanish national team. Silva is capable of playing on the wing, as a traditional number 10 and sometimes as a supporting striker...
would now need to be sold, as all the debts would be wiped clean.
However, failure to find any information on Dalport on the Internet prior to the announcement prompted an outcry at the press conference. The media's suspicions were further hightened when fans noticed that the logo
Logo
A logo is a graphic mark or emblem commonly used by commercial enterprises, organizations and even individuals to aid and promote instant public recognition...
of an eagle
Eagle
Eagles are members of the bird family Accipitridae, and belong to several genera which are not necessarily closely related to each other. Most of the more than 60 species occur in Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just two species can be found in the United States and Canada, nine more in...
used by Dalport had in fact been copied from a children's colouring-in book. Prematurely ousted president Llorente echoed the fans' suspicions Like 70% of fans, Llorente does not believe that Soriano will deliver, and warned that Valencia is opening themselves up to a potential investment scam.
When, as predicted, Dalport failed to deliver, on August 21, 2009 Fundació VCF took over, becoming the main shareholder with 72.5% of shares, using a loan from Bancaixa and guaranteed by the local government. The Fundació is not allowed to end up with less than 51%, thereby ensuring stability within Valencia CF and cementing Manuel Llorente as the bona fide president.