To follow up on the comments on the previous post, I wanted to put something up on Villarreal's current financial situation. As it states in the comments, Villarreal are allegedly in a lot of debt. This comes on the virtual heels of discussion in the press of a case of possible financial fraud by the board of directors.
I have spoken to a "source" (gracias, my friend! - pretty much all of this is his material, not mine) in Spain, and this is what I was able to gather. The truth in the matter is not a known quantity at the moment. Jose Manuel Llaneza was interviewed the other day on a local radio station, and indicated that the financial situation for the club was not great, but that the club was prepared for this. The route to avoid serious problems in all likelihood involves the sales of at least Giuseppe Rossi and Diego Lopez, and possibly more. But Llaneza did not doubt the ability of the club to stay in the Primera, and indicated that it was his belief that the club would be back in the Champions League in two years.
All in all, this doesn't tell us much about the actual seriousness of the situation. Spain in general is in very difficult economic times, and is currently suffering more than most other European countries. Spain relies heavily on the building/construction sector, which obviously has been in trouble. Many of Villarreal CF's sponsors are tile factories - another industry that is shaken by the recession and by its impact on construction projects.
There is good news though. However slowly it might be happening, the general consensus is that the US and World economies are beginning to improve. These changes will eventually trickle down, in the form of jobs and spending, and it will affect Spain. How long it will take to bring Spain up (and thus, Villarreal CF), though, is anyone's guess. Obviously, the sooner the better.
As to the player sales, I think we all believed that was going to happen anyway, at least as far as Rossi and Lopez go. Villarreal has an advantage that no other Primera side has when it comes to dealing with financial difficulties - and yes, many other clubs from smaller towns are going to be facing the same issues. Villarreal has a B team in the Segunda A division, meaning that a bevy of players are ready to step up and play on the first team when called. This will give Villarreal a window in which they can, without significant financial outlay, have the player-personnel to stay in the Primera and ride out the storm.
Although the media stories are frightening, I am not concerned at this point that something such as administration is a realistic possibility.