Villarreal's financial and competitive miracle: 100 million euros of surplus in the last decade

It was an open secret, but finally Chukwueze headed for Milan to lighten the wage bill at Villarreal and maintain the idea that Fernando Roig has about the team to sustain “a sustainable project”. An exit that marks a historic milestone for the yellow team and makes it the club with the most sales profits in Spain not only this year, but also in the last decade.

Samu Chukweze for 20 million (plus 10 in variables) is the fifth departure this summer for the yellow submarine after the departures of Nico Jackson to Chelsea (38 million), Pau Torres to Aston Villa (35 million), Boulayé Dia to Salernitana (12 million) and the transfer of Arnaut Danjuma to Everton (three million). Villarreal's income so far amounts to 118 million euros (if the Nigerian striker's variables are met) only in this market.

Without counting the last 10 years, the yellow team also accumulates a positive balance (purchases and sales) of 96 million euros, the highest figure of the decade above Athletic Bilbao, with 93 million euros, and Real Sociedad , with 76 million euros, according to data extracted from Transfermarkt, the portal specialized in player valuation and in the international transfer market.

The positive balance in La Cerámica as a whole is based, mainly, on the revaluation of players and on the great promotion of the talents of the quarry. The sales of Pau Torres and Jackson, for example, are almost net income, if we exclude training costs, since they are players coming from the lower categories (Jackson came from Senegal directly to the youth team).

If we talk about increases in value, we must highlight the sales of Eric Bailly, in 2016, and Cédric Bakambu, in 2018, with a profit of up to 600% in both operations. Bailly came to Villarreal from Espanyol for 5.7 million and left Manchester United, just a year later, for another 40 million, of which Villarreal would keep 30.

Logically, a football team cannot base its growth purely on the advantages of the market, it has to go hand in hand with good sporting results.. And Villarreal, in that case, is also one of the teams that rebuilds itself best. Only in the 2018/19 season, with Javi Calleja in charge of the bench, the team did not compete at an outstanding level, and finished fourteenth in the league championship.

In addition, the yellow team has slipped into the Champions League twice in the last decade, one of them as the winner of the Europa League. In the 2021/22 season, the team led by Unai Emery reached the semifinals of the top European competition after eliminating teams like Juventus or Bayern Munich. That classification meant an extra 84 million euros for the coffers of the Castellón club.

transfers

To date, Villarreal have only paid money for two players. The most recent has been Sorloth, which was taken from Real Sociedad, although it belonged to German Leipzig, for just eight million euros and two more in variables. Before the Norwegian striker, Ramón Terrats, a midfielder from Girona, had arrived for 2.5 million euros. Gabbia is on loan from Milan. Brereton, Denis Suárez, Akhomach and Comesaña have arrived for free.

Strategy, vision, good scouting and a defined bet on the quarry are some of the methods of success for this surplus team. A bet that is difficult to maintain in the most difficult moments, but which has managed to make Villarreal a sustainable business model in the world of football. Something very complicated in this bubble that football is experiencing, especially due to the incidence of the Premier and the sudden appearance of Saudi Arabia as a new rival.