The line is, "the amount of transfer money is greater than the hatred of Villarreal," or thereabouts. It appears from reports coming out of the press in Mallorca that Mallorca and Villarreal have agreed to terms for the transfer of Jonathan De Guzmán to the Yellow Submarine. Despite feverish denials in the press by Mallorca's president, to the effect that De Guzmán can go anywhere but Villarreal, apparently "secret" negotiations have been ongoing between the clubs.
The reported terms so far are that Mallorca has agreed to accept between 6.6 and 7 million euros for De Guzmán. There is apparently still a need to figure out what percentage, if any, of the money Villarreal receives for any future sale of the midfielder. The rumors are that Mallorca are angling for 20 percent.
Previous reports had suggested that Mallorca had agreed to a deal with Rubin Kazan, but that apparently was no the case. Of course, the Villarreal deal has not yet been finalized, so anything could still happen. But it makes sense that Villarreal have been pursuing this, as things have been outwardly quiet. We all knew believed hoped that Villarreal would be following through with the need to sign midfield depth, but the wires had gone silent for close to a week, with only days left before Villarreal's first competitive match and only a couple of weeks before the close of the transfer window.
The move for De Guzmán should effectively wind up Villarreal's transfer plans for the summer, as they have finally realized the necessary depth at all positions. The squad's depth chart should look something like this:
Forwards: Rossi, Nilmar, Ruben, *Camuñas, Gerard.
Holding Midfield: Bruno, Senna, *Marchena. (and cover by *Valero).
Attacking Midfield: *Valero, Cani, *Camuñas, Wakaso, De Guzmán, Hernán Pérez.
Leftback: Joan Oriol, José Manuel Catalá.
Central Defense: Gonzalo, Zapata, Musacchio, *Marchena.
Rightback: Mario, Ángel.
Goalkeeper: Diego Lopez, César.
*Players starred appear at multiple places in the depth chart.
That is a squad of 23, going at least two deep at every position. This should be just deep enough to be comfortable in at least La Liga and the Champions League, and perhaps even a run in the Copa del Rey (although I still think we should just forget this and play the B team here). Not to mention, Villarreal is always able to call up B-team players from the Segunda A when they need emergency cover. I think Villarreal fans have to be feeling pretty good about this as we get ready to play Odense next week.
Other News:
Former backup Villarreal keeper Xavi Oliva has retired from soccer. He said on Twitter, "Después de disfrutar perseguiendo y alcanzando muchos sueños deportivos he decidido retirarme. Gracias a todos por ayudarme a ser quien soy." Best wishes to him and his family!
President Roig opened the new administrative complex at Sport City yesterday. The building was completed in six months, and included a lot of local labor in the building process.
Using the opportunity, President Roig spoke his mind to the press. In short (with my interpretation of the comments): (1) The strike: First and foremost, all players should be payed, and it is an embarrassment to find 19 of the 20 European teams in administration based in Spain. Nevertheless, the players should not strike, but rather the solution should be worked out through further dialogue. (2) The root of the problem for Spanish teams is the current media setup. The television rights are ridiculous, only further deepening the various clubs' economic crises. Paying fees for radio broadcasts doesn't help either.