New Valencia striker Rafa Mir slams former club Sevilla – 'The ship is destabilized at the top'
One of the longest transfer sagas in Spain has finally ended before this summer, as Rafa Mir left Sevilla and joined Valencia, initially on loan but with an option to buy. The 27-year-old had little good to say about the management at his parent club.
He explained during an interview with DAZN, as quoted by Brandthat Sevilla continued to change the terms of his exit, which led him to stay at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan against his will.
“In the summer (2023) I told him that I wanted to leave, change the scenery and go to Valencia. The club had also played me. Seville they set some conditions and at the last minute they want to change, “no, not now”. I told him (Victor Orta) that he had given me his word, that he had given me his hand and that now he will let me decide. And he told me that I was going to be a very important player. I came home resigned (to my fate).
On another occasion, he said that Sevilla have also pulled the rug out from under a deal to bring him to AC Milan.
“I was waiting at home with my suitcase ready to take the plane to Milan. And they told me that they couldn't find a substitute, a substitute, and that's why they wouldn't let me go. And the next day that the market closed, they announced another colleague (Marianu) and I was surprised”.
After that, the manager Quique Sanchez Flores told him that he was not part of his plans, and Mir was left out of his teams on a consistent basis. Mir kept quiet about his frustration.
“It was not the time to destabilize the ship. The ship is already destabilized from above. And the last thing I wanted was to disturb the work of my colleagues, because they had already informed me of the situation.”
“I have a great relationship with Navas, with Ramos and Rakitic and nobody understood the situation. They didn't understand that they didn't let me leave and that at this moment that the team needed a goal and character, he didn't count on me.
He also appealed to Sevilla fans not to think badly of him, and claimed that the media have framed him in a certain light because of what they have been told by the hierarchy.
“I hope that the fans of Sevilla, after this documentary, will feel the affection that I feel for them. I think that they have been misinformed until now, they have been contaminated with information that was not real and I am very sorry that we had disagreements for a long time. I have a huge affection for all Sevilla fans.”
Mir has returned to his boyhood club in Valencia, after spending three years in Sevilla. He had made a move from Wolves for 16 million euros. Just 24 goals in 105 appearances speak to a tough spell for Mir, however, where maintaining a starting spot has been difficult. After the incident where the legend of the club Jesus Navas almost left Sevilla due to the lack of communication from the club, this also illustrates the disorganization behind the scenes in Sevilla, although obviously there are two sides in every story.
