Pnow Fernando Roig Alfonso (Valencia, 1947) no two days are the same. He president of Villarreal You may already have come from an intense day at Grupo Pamesa – your company with close to 3,000 workers – and no detail escapes you when you access the ceramic stadium, imposing after the reform of this course. Before the dispute of various grassroots football competitions, remind those responsible for maintenance that the original lines of the field must be erased so that they are not confused with those that have been set up for 8-a-side football matches. Graded with an A the hectic course that the submarine has just closed, which had as its main focus of controversy the Fede Valverde’s attack on Baena after the game of Santiago Bernabú.
Ask. Are you satisfied with the result of the season?
Answer. Yes, being fifth in the Spanish League is the highlight of a good season. If we had been fourth, it would have been an honors degree. But being fifth is a good result.
P. Emery went to Aston Villa and Setin’s transition cost more than necessary.
R. This season two important people for the club have left us. One because he wanted to leave and the other because he died, which was Jos Manuel Llaneza. And they coincided in time, on the same dates, which left us one on one side and the other on the other. The thing about José Manuel is difficult to recover from. But after Emery we have recovered and we have finished a very good season.
Being fifth is outstanding; rooms would have been registration
Q. There were two critical moments with Setin: one, at the beginning and, another, after the elimination of the Conference League. In the club were there doubts too?
R. It’s what I call ‘els sabuts’ (the know-it-alls) of Villarreal football… Surely it didn’t go well, but I think we’ve redirected that. He has redirected him with his management and at the club we had no doubts. You always have what people say, which bothered me a lot. When I say they have to criticize, the one they have to criticize me is me, not the coach or the players. I am responsible. If there is something wrong, I am responsible.
Q. What was it that bothered you?
R. That people whistled at him, but that’s over, it’s history. And now I ask, who was whistling? And now it turns out that no one whistled. But it’s always the same.
Q. Next year Villarreal will play the Europa League, and in the League the goal is to qualify for the Champions League?
R. No, the objective is the same. First, being in the First Division; the second, trying to be in Europe; and of the three categories, as much as possible. If we manage to be fourth, well for us it will be the title. For us that is already a title and every year we have one. Being able to play in First Division next year is a title. Being able to play in Europe, another title. And within Europe, being able to play in the highest category would be a ‘super title’.
The objective next year is the same: playing in the First Division is a title; in Europe, another title; and in the Champions League it would be a ‘super title’
Q. Bournemouth was about to pay 25 million in January, how much is Jackson worth now?
A. It has a clause that at this moment I don’t remember (it is progressive and now it is around 40 million), but it has the value of its clause and there are other players like Samu (Chukwueze) and many others. Jackson yes, it is an example that in winter he was about to go out and due to circumstances he did not go out. He has been revalued with his performances and with his goals. Jackson has scored super important goals and has been a very important player for us.
Q. In winter there was already some sale, is this going to be a summer of sales?
R. No no. It is a summer like all, like anyone. We are not sellers, but if they come to buy, the player wants to leave and we agree, go ahead. If there is someone who does not agree, it cannot be done. But we do not go with the need to go to sell.
Jackson has the value of his clause, he has been revalued with his performances and with his goals
Q. What do you know about Real Madrid’s interest in Samu Chukwueze?
R. We do not have any kind of news and I already know that it is a management of the CEO (Fernando Roig Negueroles), who is the one that has to do with it.
Q. Has the situation of Pau Torres changed this summer? Because it always seemed like an imminent sale.
R. It will depend on him, his interests, and the interests of Villarreal. And if there is someone who is interested or is not interested. But he is open to everything. There is nothing closed, nor any obligation to sell.
We do not go to the market with the need to sell, we are not a sales club
Q. The fact that the subsidiary remains in the Second Division reinforces the philosophy of the club.
R. We have players that come from below and people that we have to bring in from outside. Not all come from the quarry. We bring some, as was the case with Samu (Chukwueze), who started with the second team, and like Jackson, who is signed. Not all of them come from the age of 10 or 12, but at 16, 17, 18 and the second team plays an extraordinary role for us.
Q. Is there an option for Villarreal to play in the Champions League in the event that UEFA sanctions Barcelona, what do you think of the ‘Negreira case’, the fact that Barcelona paid all those years to the second in the refereeing estate?
R. I don’t know him in depth. I do not know how or in what way he paid and I would not like to assess this situation without knowing it and making a judgment about it does not seem correct to me. And I believe that this is what the official and judicial bodies are for, and whatever is resolved in the best possible way for Barcelona, for the Spanish League and for us to be what we all have to achieve, for the League to be every louder.
Almost the one who smacked Baena was the president of Villarreal
Q. What feeling do you have left months after Lex Baena denounced an assault by Fede Valverde and the case remains the same?
R. I told them that it should have been fixed. The situation occurred in Madrid, which came from something that had happened three months before, and for me it was quite unpleasant. I did not live it live because I was not witnessing that game. Villarreal has not taken any action on anything and we have been at the player’s disposal. I believe what the player said. What happens is that it is Madrid, it is very mediatic. The way of giving an opinion… Or comments of all kinds. I was about to leave for the United States, to get out of here.
Q. How?
R. Because more or less Villarreal was guilty of everything. The one who smacked him was the president of Villarreal. I think they have pulled their feet out of the pot. I would like someone to retract the comments, what was done, and they did not seem entirely correct to me. But Madrid is a lot of Madrid; and the press, a lot of press. Here we are in a town. But, we always try to be chivalrous and gentlemen, with respect to everyone.
