Valencia insist Peter Lim is not selling club

SINGAPORE – Local billionaire Peter Lim’s only son Kiat Lim will take over from Chan Lay Hoon as the new president of Spanish La Liga team Valencia on March 5.

In a media statement on March 3, Chan said: “I am pleased to pass the baton to Mr Kiat Lim, who is the son of our major shareholder. This appointment is a strong affirmation of the shareholder’s (Peter’s) ongoing commitment to the club and its future.”

Kiat Lim, 31, has been a director at the club since 2022.

The announcement came hours after Peter Lim, 71, refuted recent media reports that he is looking to sell his majority stake in the relegation-threatened team.

In response to queries from The Straits Times about the rumours, Meriton Holdings, the group that holds Lim’s stake, separately issued a brief media statement that said: “Meriton wants to make it clear that such reports are false. Valencia CF is not up for sale and Meriton remains committed to Valencia CF.”

On Feb 27, Spanish radio network Cadena Cope reported that, in his conversation with Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi, Peter Lim acknowledged that Valencia are for sale and the asking price for his majority stake is €400 million (S$564 million).

Since then, there has been talk of potential suitors, including Portuguese football legend Cristiano Ronaldo, who is friends with Peter Lim.

X account Futbol del Sr.Destrangis posted that the Al-Nassr player is planning to take over Valencia with financial backing from Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Consistent with their previous stance, the club, through Meriton, rubbished these rumours.

However, at the last Valencia annual general meeting in December which ended early due to disruptions from the fan base’s representative shareholders, Chan said: “If there is an attractive offer, it will be studied for