Royal Emirates Group have finally completed their purchase of Primera Liga side Getafe.
Royal Emirates Group complete purchase of Spanish club
Royal Emirates Group have finally completed their purchase of Primera Liga side Getafe.
The deal was confirmed by the Dubai-based group in an open letter by their managing director Dr Kaiser Rafiq on the club's official website.
There had been speculation and confusion last week over the deal and reports that the club would be renamed 'Team Dubai' as part of the takeover deal.
But both parties confirmed on Easter Monday that their identity will remain unchanged.
Dr Rafiq wrote: "From the first moment we started to discuss our decision to buy Getafe CF, we had a clear vision of the goal we wanted for the future of the club. We clearly respect the identity, traditions, culture and history of the club and have no intention of changing any of these.
"We hope that all football fans in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates and the Middle East share this heritage and offer support. Our goal is to globalise the Getafe brand and create strong links between the two regions in which Getafe CF will be the perfect ambassador.
Tradition
"We support the club's football tradition and will use the experience of Getafe CF to train our young people. The proximity of the Qatar World Cup 2022 means football will have still more significance in our region.
"We feel a great harmony with people and fans of Getafe and pledge to continue supporting the progress of this great club to reach the highest levels in the league."
Getafe are languishing in 14th in the Spanish top flight, where they have played since 2004.
They are four points above the relegation zone and club president Angel Torres admits the accompanying financial pressure forced the sale.
"The decision to sell the club is because, logically, the more years that you are in the first division, the greater the risk of getting into debt. It is difficult to compete in this league," he said.
"Each year that you are in the first division you get into more debt. We could not put in more money and the banks were not lending to us, so we had to go out and look for investors."
