Former Valencia president Anil Murthy on his exit, Peter Lim and 'Audio-gate'

"I am not insane," former Valencia president Anil Murthy told The Straits Times on Friday (June 24) as he defended his record at the Spanish La Liga club and insisted that he had not been sacked.

Widespread media reports earlier this month had claimed that he had been axed by the club following the release of audio recordings in which he allegedly made unsavoury remarks about Valencia owner Peter Lim, players and English cities Liverpool and Newcastle.

But Murthy told ST that he had resigned over fears for his family's safety, and that "Audio-gate" had nothing to do with the decision.

On May 16, Spanish newspaper Superdeporte published the recordings from a dinner attended by Murthy and a few businessmen to discuss fundraising for charities. In the clips, he apparently labelled Liverpool and Newcastle "shit" cities, called Lim an amateur, and threatened to kill Carlos Soler and Jose Gaya if they ever wanted to leave the club.

Claiming he was set up, he called the leak a "hack job" and insisted the recordings were edited and taken out of context.

Murthy said: "I am not insane. What I said was that if cities like Liverpool and Newcastle, which are cold and grey, can have such fervent support and be a global brand, why can't a sunny city like Valencia be the same? We have to build on our advantage to become a true football destination."

Lost in translation

He added that the remarks about Lim were misinterpreted as he used the Spanish term "un aficionado" which can be taken to mean amateur, when what he meant to say was that Lim was a big football fan.

He also maintained that he never threatened to kill his players and they are still on talking terms.

Death threats

The 49-year-old former diplomat said that he had decided to step down earlier in the year and return home with his wife and youngest son after a five-year tenure.

He had received his first death threat three years ago but soldiered on by employing an armed guard. But the final straw was when he received similar messages directed at his youngest son, who is nine, through his mailbox this year.

"I made police reports, and they told me these are empty threats. I can accept them as empty threats for myself, but I cannot take the same risk for my family," he said.

"People know where I live, and while I can rationalise that most adults are sane, there's nothing to stop a less reasonable teenager from doing something irreversible. I started having nightmares that something bad was going to happen to my son, and enough was enough."

His eldest son, 18, is in Singapore, while his second son, 15, was sent to a boarding school in Scotland following harassment at a Valencia school because of Murthy's role at the La Liga club.

His decision was reaffirmed by another incident in March when his car was mobbed by fans and denied entry into the Mestalla Stadium ahead of the second leg of the King's Cup semi-final against Athletic Bilbao.

No hard feelings

While there have been so many inconveniences because of his time at Valencia, Murthy does not regret accepting Lim's invitation in 2017.

He quipped: "How many Singaporeans can claim to have run a top European club?"

He readily accepted the apprehension over his lack of football experience prior to taking over, and admitted it was a disadvantage.

But he also took the effort to learn and communicate in Spanish, and felt he had contributed to the modernisation of the club, the reduction of bank debts and team costs to achieve better financial stability, and noted how its academy is ranked sixth in Europe by the CIES Football Observatory.

"Everybody is an expert in football, but nobody knows everything. I talk to people, exchange views and learn," said Murthy.

On criticisms over the high turnover of coaches - Valencia had five managers in Murthy's five seasons at the club - and players, he felt the player transfers were necessary business dealings, but that they had bad luck with managers.

"Marcelino delivered the King's Cup, but ultimately, he over-reached by criticising the management, something he has had a history of doing at his previous clubs, and we had to let him go," he said.

But why do Valencianistas harbour so much animosity towards Lim and his Singaporean leadership since his takeover in 2014 saved the club from bankruptcy?

Murthy felt that Valencians are "more fiery than most by nature". He added: "They are happy when the team win, and upset when the ball doesn't go in. Jaime Orti was the Valencia president when they won two league titles, and still there were people who protested against him."

Murthy said he has no hard feelings towards the club, is sure of his good relationship with Lim, and is now focused on spending quality time with his family, after "not having had any holidays in six years".

But he reserved fiery words for the "vocal minority who have specific interests and want in for free".

He said: "These are the same people who ran the club to the ground before Peter came in, and now they are back. How can Valencia grow in such an atmosphere where there are people damaging the image of the club and the city with death threats? How are you ever going to have stability with these crazy guys around?

"These people deserve the exactly the club they have. I just feel sad for the real fans because they just want to watch and enjoy football, but now they are suffering."