Valencia aim to ‘compete for top honours’ with former Chelsea CEO Ron Gourlay at the helm

Valencia CF president Kiat Lim (centre) with newly hired chief executive officer Ron Gourlay (right) and coach Carlos Corberan. PHOTO: VALENCIA CF

David Lee

UPDATED May 30, 2025, 05:00 AM

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SINGAPORE – After overcoming an early threat of relegation and turning things around to remain in the La Liga, Singaporean-owned Valencia are aiming to compete for honours and “return to the top tier of European football” with the hiring of former Chelsea chief executive officer Ron Gourlay.

Valencia president Kiat Lim, the son of owner Peter Lim, said in a statement that they are building for the future, with a foundation that is “sustainable, ambitious and worthy of our proud history”.

The 31-year-old, who was appointed in March, added: “In Ron Gourlay, we have a senior and very experienced sporting CEO who understands the complexities of modern football and the demands of a top-tier club to lead the project.”

The 63-year-old Briton comes with considerable pedigree, having held senior executive roles at English clubs Manchester United, Chelsea, Reading, West Bromwich Albion (WBA) and Saudi Arabia’s Al-Ahli.

Most notably, he was with Chelsea from 2009 to 2014, during which he oversaw one of the most successful periods in the Blues’ history as they won an English Premier League title, two FA Cups and their first Champions League and Europa League titles.

He led strategic and operational transformations at Championship sides Reading and WBA, before joining Al-Ahli, who won the AFC Champions League Elite title in May.

While Valencia’s recent business model has been largely “sell, replace, repeat” with an emphasis on blooding youth academy players and picking up loan and free transfers – they spent just €24.25 million (S$35.5 million) on transfers in the last three seasons – Gourlay hinted their approach may change.

He said: “With Kiat’s leadership at the helm, we have a shared ambition to restore Valencia to where it belongs – competing for top honours, with a squad that reflects the club’s identity and future.”

His first order of transfer business appears to be replacing Liverpool-bound goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili, with Celta Vigo’s 38-year-old Vicente Guaita touted to return to Valencia, as well as filling the gap left behind by defensive midfielder Enzo Barrenechea, who returns to Aston Villa following his impressive loan spell.

Gourlay, who called it a “privilege to join Valencia at such a pivotal time”, added that he is thrilled to reunite with coach Carlos Corberan, whom he appointed at WBA as the duo worked to help the struggling club challenge for a play-off position.

It has been a similar story at Valencia, where Corberan, 42, engineered a remarkable turnaround after signing a three-year deal with his boyhood club in December.

During that time, Los Che were second from bottom with just 12 points from 17 matches, but the Spaniard managed to get an underperforming team to step up and earn 34 points from the next 21 games, including a 2-1 win at Real Madrid, to finish 12th.

Corberan is looking forward to working with Gourlay again, saying: “Ron’s arrival is a tremendous boost for all of us. We’ve shared a very productive journey before, and I know how much value he brings – from his strategic mindset to his ability to make decisive moves in critical moments.

“Having him here gives me great confidence, and together with Kiat’s unwavering support, I believe we have the right team in place to take Valencia to the next level.”

David Lee is senior sports correspondent at The Straits Times focusing on aquatics, badminton, basketball, cue sports, football and table tennis.

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