Victor Valdes wanted to join Monaco to clear off debts; fails a medical at club instead
Victor Valdes was one of those Barcelona players last season who had pretty much expressed their plans to move out of the Catalan club, and it was money what goalkeeper wanted.
A free-agent now, Valdes was poised to a move to Ligue 1 side AS Monaco, a club based in Monaco where a term like <personal income tax in the principality has never been in existence.
However, the deal between the two has been called off now as Valdes had failed to clear his medical on Friday with the club’s sporting director Vadim Vasyliev blaming it on his injury, "He is an injured player and will not play here.”
Vaysliev may not have mentioned the exact injury he was talking about, however, it is being speculated that Valdes is still suffering from the knee injury, despite undergoing surgery in Germany three months ago. The 32-year-old tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee while playing for his former club, Barcelona during their 3-0 win over Celta Vigo on March 26.
Now, this might have come as a shock for Valdes, his agent Ginés Carvajal was adamant that a contract has already been signed. Speaking to Spanish daily AS, he said, "We have a four-year contract signed with Monaco and it will be upheld."
So why is this move so important for Victor Valdes?
Reports around Spain are that the Spaniard has lost most of his career earnings in a bad investment made by his father José Manuel Valdés and his brothers, and now has a debt amounting up to €7.3 million, as confirmed by Spanish website Diario Gol. Valdes and his family owned six real estate companies and a sport agent firm called Rivial Inversiones SL which had Valdes’ father, José Manuel as their main executive. According to many sources, none of these investments bore any fruit, leaving them with a large debt.
The situation has worsened for Valdes to so much extent that he had to put his beach-house at Gava up for sale, even ever its construction was completed.
Knowing the portfolio of players Monaco has on its pay slip, Valdes was keen on moving to the club where he could have been offered a large chunk of money in terms of salary, which would have come as an aid to his debt-ridden family.
Monaco is one of those places on Earth where they have no income tax, and thrived as a tax haven for Valdes to make quick money as well.
What are Monaco’s options?
Mexican goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa has captured everyone’s attention this summer after his string of brilliant performances in the ongoing FIFA World Cup tournament, and is also one of the most sought-out goalkeepers as he is available for free after his contract with Ligue 1 side Ajaccio expired on June 30.
His agent, Jorge Berlanga has already declared that quite a few European clubs have expressed their desire to sign the Mexican goalkeeper.
"Many clubs are interested in my client, but we still have not received any concrete offers,” he told AS. "Now it is normal that many clubs will be interested in him after he played so well at the World Cup."
Monaco is now rumoured to be looking at Ochoa as a viable option, and the player’s desire to get a French citizenship could be a catalyst in making this deal a possibility. Being a non-European player has its disadvantages in Europe, and holding a EU passport is what any player in Ochoa’s boots will be looking for.