5 football projects that fell through
Football fans around the world are usually elated when news of a possible takeover at the club they support surfaces. The excitement is huge if the takeover is done by rich owners from the Middle East or Russia.This is understandable considering how successful clubs like Chelsea, Manchester City and PSG have been since they were fed with money by their rich owners.However, such scenarios don’t work out perfectly for all the clubs who get rich owners. Many clubs have been left in the dark due to their owners and have gone through a lot of ordeals because of the same.Take for example the case of Cardiff City who reached the Premier League thanks to the money provided by Vincent Tan. Cardiff fans were frustrated by many actions taken by their owner. Tan isn't the worst to be honest as there are bigger examples of clubs left in deep water because of inept management. Such stories are rarely given enough attention.
#1 Malaga
Spanish club Malaga were one of the teams that played in the quarter-final of the UEFA Champions League in 2013 and were only knocked out by a very late goal from eventual finalists Borussia Dortmund.
There is a lot to say about the club’s fortunes before and after their incredible season in the Champions League back in 2012-13.
Malaga were relegated in the mid-2000s and returned to La Liga for the 2008-09 season. However, due to financial problems, the then club president Fernando Sanz found investors from Qatar. Finally in June 2010, Sheikh Abdullah be Nasser Al Thani became the club’s new owner and president.
Significant changes were made to the Malaga squad under their new management. Over the years, the club signed prominent players like Nacho Monreal, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Jeremy Toulalan, Isco, Joaquin, Salomon Rondon, Eliseu, Martin Demichelis, Julio Baptista and the club’s most expensive signing – Santi Cazorla.
The changes gave the desired result as Malaga qualified for the 2012-13 Champions League after finishing fourth in the league in 2011-12.
Following their heartbreak in the Champions League in the next season, things got worse for the club. For the subsequent season, the club was banned from European competitions for failure to pay wages and tax bills on time.
Malaga had lost Cazorla and Monreal to Arsenal during the 2012-13 season and in the summer of 2013, they lost Isco to Real Madrid, Joaquin to Fiorentina, Toulalan to Monaco and Demichelis to Atletico Madrid.