Two years of a historic sale

On Tuesday, August 2, 2019, at 9:50 p.m., Almería formalized the historic sale, which today celebrates two years. Alfonso García finally sold all of his shareholding package, with Sheikh Turki Al-Sheikh being the new owner of Almería, a news that impacted the entire Almeria society. Not in vain, García had been president of the UDA for 16 years, after taking over from Guillermo Blanes in 2003, in charge of making Almería a reality in 1989. The Saudi turned 38 springs that week and gave himself a football club with the aim of taking him to the Spanish elite, without ruling out European companies in the not too distant future.

The sale was carried out with the utmost discretion. Alfonso García had been without enthusiasm for a while, but he was not satisfied with any of the proposals, with the name of Pablo Cortacero as one of the most popular. There was even the occasional meeting on Swiss soil to sell all of their shares (96% of the club's total). At the end of July 2019, the history of football in Almería was going to change, with the interest of an Arab businessman, reaching an agreement with García for 18 million euros, debt included.

All with the greatest of secrets by an Alfonso García who in his day took over the Indálico club for 285 million pesetas (135 + 150) and that not even his closest circle did he mention that Arab hands were going to lead that Almería in which he had worked so hard. In fact, the squad, with Óscar Fernández as the new coach (he has now returned to take over the subsidiary) and footballers acquired that same summer, were training in Marbella. Until the bomb came out of the sale of the club and the rojiblanca expedition returned to Almería to clarify the future of the different components. The new property asked for tranquility, although that same month of August there was a revolution on the campus, including a change of technician: Pedro Emanuel.

Hours before, Alfonso García finished closing his last business. That Arab businessman did not end up appearing, but Turki Al-Sheikh did, both parties settling in a law firm in the capital of Almería: 26 million euros (20 and six in debt) and the future of Almería that began to change from one day to the next despite the fact that it has not yet achieved that goal of 100% shares. From the outset there was talk of an ambitious project, being presented the same ten days later. On September 13, 2019, the general director of Almería and Al-Sheikh's right-hand man, Mohamed El Assy, explained the project itself, divided the project itself into three fields: sports, infrastructure and social. In the last bit, the Saudi can be reproached, who after a concert that he organized for free, he had quite a few plausible gestures, highlighting his donation of 1.2 million euros to the province of Almería to mitigate the effects of the pandemic. In addition, he sought to put the hobby in his pocket from the outset, with numerous gifts, such as cars.

Regarding the infrastructures, Mohamed El Assy himself acknowledged last week that when they landed in Almería they were unaware of Spanish law, believing that it would be less complicated to develop what they had planned, highlighting the construction of the Academy. However, the first step is the remodeling of the Mediterranean Games Stadium, with a pharaonic project presented last October. Spanish legislation and the delays inherent to the current socio-health situation They have hurt the intentions of the Sheikh, who today has taken an important step with the concession of the Stadium by the Almeria town hall.

For its part, the club's objective at the sporting level was to be in the First Division in the 22-23 season at the latest.. The fact that Pedro Emanuel's Almería started like a shot (he did not drop from fourth position throughout the season) caused expectations to be even higher, and he was eagerly seeking promotion that same course. A small run of results cost the Portuguese coach his job, being the mediatic Gutiérrez and once Guti the new tenant of a bench, who returned to change owners that same course: Mário Silva and José Gomes, Almería being eliminated in the semifinals of the promotion for promotion by Francisco's Girona, the same luck as the following season, with Rubi in command of the rojiblancos after replacing Gomes also in the middle of the season.

After the usual rookie mistakes, see not being able to sign in the way the property would have liked due to the salary cap (Jabier Tebas has already hit the sheikh on more than one occasion for this issue), Almería is finally looking for promotion to the First Division to reach higher levels, such as settle in the highest category and aspire for the first time in its history to European competitions. All this under the watchful eye of a Turki Al-Sheikh who has barely visited Almeria lands on three occasions. He did it to sign the agreement with Alfonso García and a month later to appear before the media; As well as in February 2020 stopping over from New York, where he underwent medical treatment fighting against a harsh disease, from which he seems to be recovering. And all this with a continuous revolution in the squad, with young players who have already broken economic records, in the case of Arvin Appiah, who became the most expensive ticket in Second Division history after paying 8'8 million the Almeria entity to Nottingham Forest in 2019, or Darwin Núñez, the most expensive transfer in the silver category, after Benfica paid 24 kilos for the Uruguayan, a figure that he can now beat in a march that will also make people talk.