The demands of the club and the Espanyol fans made the last regular league match in Cornellà, against Cartagena, more like a funeral than a party, full of protests and long faces, dissatisfaction and reproaches after two relegations in four years and a new course full of disappointments and sporting entanglements. The bus arrived at the stadium wrapped in a blanket of silence, without massive support or revelry, although the noise later occurred in front of the entity’s offices, where several entertainment groups appeared with a banner as clear as it was explicit against the owner Chen Yansheng. “Free Espanyol,” he read. Others were more laconic but equally censorious. “Out”, they claimed. It is the boredom of the blue and white fans, who during the duel sang about “resignation of the board” or “let them go”, proclamations that demand a radical change in the direction of the entity, headed for a playoffs promotion against Sporting and, if they win, against the winner of Oviedo-Eibar. If the attempt fails, Espanyol would play for the first time in its history two consecutive years in the Second Division, a setback never seen in the club’s previous five relegations. But the club’s guirigay, symbolized by managerial and sporting entanglements, diminished by presidential absenteeism and evidenced by the displeasure of the social mass, is morrocotudo.
Chen has not been seen in Barcelona since the closing of the 2022 market, almost two years ago. And although it is known that every week he has a telematic meeting with the sports director Fran Garagarza – always with CEO Mao Ye Wu as an interpreter and active part -, the relationship with the workers or with the scarce local board (since the vast majority are from China and reside in the East) is almost anonymous. Among other things because years ago the president and owner decided to sell the club. “Nothing is officially known here,” they accept from the entity’s offices; “But there are rumors and it is known that there are negotiations.” In the absence of official status that would not come until the last moment – because until the club goes on sale on the Chinese stock market, an agreement can be negotiated and reached, but it will not materialize – it is known that the Mountain Group Star Sports Group led by the couple Alejandra de la Vega and Paul Foster is in it, in addition to having the figure of Andrés Fassi (president of Talleres and vice president of Pachuca who also tried without success to participate in the purchase of Granada and Valladolid), who It aims to be the pillar for sports management and the highest acting leader. They were also the ones who two years ago tried to seal the transfer, denied at the last minute by Chen because it tightened the economic conditions and prevented them from recovering 10% of the total paid before the purchase in case the required audit was not satisfactory. the due diligence.
Espanyol’s price is now estimated at around 120 million plus 60 million in debt that it accumulates – but it is with Rastar Group, Chen’s conglomerate, and not with the banks – which would amount to around 160 million plus debt in the event that Espanyol managed to trample First. That is why Chen, who has more than 99% of the club’s shares, is not in the hurry that buyers convey, confident of recovering his investment in an Espanyol that for him has been a hole in his pocket, since he has invested more than 200 million in the eight seasons he has been at the club, punished by poor sporting performance. His has the signature of the most expensive purchases in the club’s history: Raúl de Tomás (20 plus 2.5 million in variables); Mario Hermoso (12.5), Matías Vargas (10.5), Adrián Embarba (10), Borja Iglesias (10), Leandro Cabrera (9), Sergi Darder, Fernando Calero and César Montes (8), and Leandro Baptistão ( 7).
But tired of not recovering economically – even though this summer he did achieve sales close to 30 million – Chen decided to turn off the tap – he did not invest in this winter market, for example – since he understands that not always You can depend on the signings and why should you invest in others when they told you that the previous ones would be the panacea. “For more than five years there have been six restricted investment sectors for Chinese capital abroad, and football is one of them. This limitation is still there”, he resolved not long ago, hiding behind the Chinese law that prohibits – or rather advises – not investing capital outside the country. Despite this, he has cleaned up the club as much as possible (he has gone from a debt of 200 million to one of 60), and religiously pays the salaries of the entity’s workers.
But the money has not gone hand in hand with the results, nor with a deficient sports management that has been highlighted this season, since the coach has been changed on three occasions without a common pattern, lurches that have led to a playoffs when the requirement was promotion by direct means. Luis García started, wanting a dapper and protagonist game, successful in attack but denied in defense, to bad luck with the sports director Garagarza; Ramis followed him with an opposite style, closed defense, which was not contestable, and at the expense of offensive inspiration; and it ended with Manolo González, promoted from the reserve team, who announced a more offensive football that does not correspond to reality, even though he has been able to remedy the goals conceded, having recorded his journey with 10 draws and six victories, still without defeat to regret, a hopeful argument to return to First Division.
Failure to achieve promotion will be Espanyol’s biggest setback, taking into account that it is the most expensive squad in the Second Division as certified by LaLiga, and it will be an economic slap that would force it to resize itself — it is known that there will be a harsh adjustment of more than 40 million at all levels—pending knowing if the sale is undertaken. Four games to decide the future of Espanyol, promotion or life.
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