Another SG billionaire makes global headlines: What are the conversations around Peter Lim and Valencia CF?

Another Singaporean billionaire is making headlines globally.

Peter Lim has made headlines when rumours emerged that he was selling his Spanish La Liga team Valencia CF. Since then, Meriton Holdings, the group that holds Lim's majority stake in the club, said in a brief statement on Monday (3 March) that such reports are false, confirming that Valencia CF is not for sale. The company also highlighted its commitments to the Spanish football club. 

On the same day, Valencia CF released a statement appointing Lim's only son Kiat Lim as the club's new president, taking over from current president Chan Lay Hoon. Kiat Lim assumed the role on Wednesday (5 March). 

Don't miss: Series of losses puts Valencia's Singaporean club owner Peter Lim in hot soup

Last week, Spanish radio network Candena Cope reported Lim had acknowledged that Valencia CF was up for sale in his conversations with Nasser Al-Khelaifi, president of French football giant Paris Saint-Germain. The club reportedly proposed an asking price of €400 million. 

According to ESPN, Lim snagged a 70.4% stake in the Spanish football club for €100 million back in 2014. Espana Football noted that Lim's intervention over a decade ago rescued the club from administration, however, a decline in revenue and action saw fans unhappy with the Singaporean. 

Since sacking manager Marcelino Garcia Toral in 2019, the club has faced relegation several times over seasons. Lim has also reportedly refused to invest more money in the club's stadium, leaving the venue dormant for more than a decade. Hence, fans were reportedly pleasantly surprised when the rumors of Lim's exit surfaced. 

In 2022, the club had axed its president Anil Murthy after recordings emerged of him speaking unfavourably about the club earlier this month. According to numerous reports, the leaked recordings contained Murthy’s views describing Liverpool and Newcastle crudely as "s***" cities, and also allegedly speaking ill of Lim.

To address the situation, Valencia CF also published a media statement addressing the events and clarified that the content of the leaked conversations between Murthy and various third parties are his personal views, and not of Valencia CF. The statement also said that “the board holds the view that a change in leadership is required, in order to regain the trust of the fans and the community and put Valencia CF in a position for success”.

Lim's attention online

With the string of bad press, questionable decisions, and now the denial of Valencia CF's sale, Lim and the club have garnered quite the attention online. According to media intelligence firm CARMA, since the announcement of Kiat Lim as the new president of Valencia CF, conversations about it have been 10.8% positive and 8.7% negative.

However, conversations surrounding Lim since then have been 7.2% positive and 21.6% negative. Most social media users are curious about Kiat Lim and how his leadership will impact Valencia CF, while some fans are expressing their frustration and anger online, circulating that Lim is looking to sell the club.

Prior to Kiat Lim's recent appointment, Valencia CF's word cloud appeared positive and included words such as "winning", "good" and "strong", according to CARMA. However, there was some mention of "change". 

After Kiat Lim's appointment, Valencia CF's word cloud included a few negative terms such as "struggles", "debt" and "relegated". 

In tandem, media intelligence firm Truescope said although majority of the mentions were neutral, fuelled by news sites reporting on the potential sale of Valencia, Lim's denial of the sale, and Kiat Lim's appointment, there were still mixed, negative, and positive sentiments.

Fans expressed frustration over the club’s alleged debts, the sacking of Toral, and perceived disappointing team performances. On the other hand, favourable mentions were due to congratulatory remarks over Kiat Lim's appointment, and suggestion of investing in academy youth players.

However, fans expressed disappointment towards the direction of Valencia CF, with worries about the relegation of the football club in the league and communicating dismay over past events such as the appointment of Gary Neville as head coach. Moreover, some also hoped that Lim would invest in local Singapore football clubs.

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