Sevilla President: Real Madrid Would Have To Pay €3m For Monchi
The Andalusians have slapped a substantial price tag on their sporting director amid murmurs of interest from the Bernabeu.
Rumours emerged a few weeks ago that Real Madrid’s presidential hopeful, Florentino Perez, was eager to add Sevilla sporting director Monchi to his star-studded boardroom should he win the elections in June.
But the Andaluz outfit’s charismatic chairman, Jose Maria del Nido, is confident that his under-rated transfer guru will not be looking to leave the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan for Madrid, or any other club.
“I do not believe the stories saying Monchi will end up at Real Madrid next season,” Del Nido said in an interview with El Correo de Andalucia.
“I have an excellent relationship with Florentino and rarely do we go for even two weeks without speaking on the phone. And I doubt that he has made an approach of this sort without consulting me first.
“Besides, if anyone wants Monchi, they would have to buy out his clause, which I think is €3 million. But he would also have to want to leave and I doubt very much that he wants to abandon this project where he has been one of the chief architects all along.”
Del Nido then went on to assess the situation of his own club in the current Primera Division campaign, especially the subject of coach Manolo Jimenez.
“The future of our trainer will be discussed at the end of the season,” he affirmed. “There are fans who support him and there are those who criticise his work, but that is football.
“I do not act based on the opinions of one, two, ten or five thousand fans. Of course, I respect their views, but when we make decisions, we have to make a balanced assessment based on what we value most.
“I am happy with Manolo’s work. I know his daily routine, his capacity, and his efforts. I have also seen the work of Juande Ramos and Joaquin Caparros and I can say that Jimenez is at the same level as any coach who has seen or knows about Spanish football.”
Finally, when asked what the team’s priority is for the remainder of the campaign, Del Nido expectedly replied, “We are not counting our chickens, but we are in a good position to qualify for the Champions League.
“Economically, it would be a disaster if we don’t make it. But in the league, it makes no difference if we finish second or third.”
Sevilla are indeed currently third in La Liga, nine points behind Los Blancos in second, but a healthy 11 points clear of fifth-placed Atletico Madrid, with ten rounds left to play.