Getafe sold to Royal Emirates Group - again - but from 2012

Getafe president Ángel Torres today announced that the sale of the Madrid club to the Royal Emirates Group of Dubai will take place only in July 2012.

In the latest in a long line of confusing statements to emanate from the Coliseum Alfonso Pérez and the Arabian Gulf, Torres said, "Since we don't want to go into debt and we want to be different, we have to seek investment.

"The Royal Emirates are the new owners of the team, because they hold 99.3% of the shares."

How REG can own Torres' shares yet not actually effect their purchase until 2012 is not immediately apparent.

Torres further added that he will remain in charge of the club for "four to six years", during which there will be a "culture change", and the two organisations will "grow together."

The president did work to allay fans' fears by declaring that the club crest and blue colour will not be changed, amidst rumours of a 'Team Dubai' rebranding.

The exact status of Getafe CF, then, remains unclear, although slightly less unclear than this time last week.

Getafe sold to Royal Emirates Group

Ángel Torres has effected the sale of Getafe CF to the Royal Emirates Group of Dubai. REG managing director Kaiser Rafiq signed the papers along with the Geta president mid-afternoon local time in the Gulf emirate, meaning that the Azulones are the third Liga outfit to have Asian ownership after Racing Santander and Málaga.

What this means for Getafe and its future is uncertain. Whether or not the team's name will change, how much investment there will be in the playing staff, even if Torres retains his position - none of this is yet known.

Geta are yet to make a formal announcement about the sale, but it is expected to weigh in at a €90m transaction. REG have promised to bring "new blood" to the club and to promote it throughout the Middle East.

Getafe "Team Dubai" closer to fruition - Angel Torres expected to sell to Arab consortium

Worrying and exciting times lie ahead for Getafe fans. According to Reuters, it seems that the sale of the club to the Royal Emirates Group is set to go ahead, although what this means for Geta's name and tradition is very much uncertain.

The REG announced earlier in the week the acquisition of a Spanish club for around €90m - an extraordinary sum, if it applies to Getafe - and the desire to re-brand it to "Team Dubai."

Club president Angel Torres and captain Manu del Moral are in Dubai and will be present at the formal announcement on Thursday.

Meanwhile fans look on with growing concern at what could happen to the symbols of their club and city, mixed with a smaller measure of excitement at the prospect of investment.

Getafe Team Dubai? No clarity around Middle Eastern investment

Angel Torres is in Dubai, flanked by Getafe captain Manu del Moral. The club president is seeking investment - at least, that's what he says. Per Marca:

"I haven't sold the club to anyone. I'm working as other clubs do - Atlético Madrid, Hércules...

"[We're in Dubai] only to find solutions for next season... I've come with the idea of meeting to gain sponsors to improve the image of Getafe and get a new name for the stadium."

Meanwhile, a spokesman for the Royal Emirates Group Kaiser Rafiq of the Royal Emirates Group tells AP that his company had purchased a Spanish football team. AP later cites Rafiq as saying that jerseys, stadium and other merchandise would be branded with Team Dubai - but not the club's name itself.

Earlier it was thought that Real Zaragoza were the club to be bought out. Now it's less clear. Have Getafe been bought? Have they been invested in?

Above all, is this real?

Apparently all will be revealed on Thursday... but for now it's worth noting that the logo above was only last modified this morning, that the domain name was only registered today, April 19th, and that it's hosted by Bluehost, based out of Utah, USA, as opposed to a hosting company in Spain or the Middle East. Not that this is anywhere near conclusive, of course.

Getafe-Real Madrid reactions: Ángel Torres says it wasn't a penalty, José Mourinho cagey, Dani Parejo argues Geta could have equalised

Ángel Torres: "Madrid didn't deserve this result. An error made the difference between us and them, but, well, this isn't our league, and we gave a good account of ourselves.

"Di María's penalty wasn't a penalty. If that merited a whistle you'd see 20 every day. Referees are human and make mistakes. Now we need to think ahead to Thursday and the Copa del Rey knockout stages.

"Dani Parejo? Madrid's idea is to recover, but we have to speak later."

Dani Parejo: "We had opportunities to level the game. We came out strongly, as this is a match that always motivates you to play well. Against Real Madrid we wanted to do our best to avoid what happened last year.

"Despite losing we played well. We had a positive mindset at all times: despite going two-nil down early on it was an open match. We gave Real Madrid some dangerous moments and the coach congratulated us despite our loss."

"The penalty? It was doubtful.

José Mourinho: "Penalties, I've only seen on TV, like that of weeks ago at Osasuna and Cristiano Ronaldo's at Camp Nou. From the bench it was difficult to see today's.

"It was a strange game: at the beginning it could have been a thrashing, but at the end of the first half it felt like we'd lost control and had to change focus. In the second half we started well and that calmed us, but Arbeloa's red card and the Getafe goal made us suffer untol the last second.

"Kaká is back and that's fantastic news for Real Madrid and the world of football."

Míchel's Job Not In Danger - Angel Torres

Spanish sports daily Marca reported on Saturday that anything other than a win for Getafe against Zaragoza could spell the end for coach Míchel, but prior to tonight's fixture club president Angel Torres dismissed these rumours.

"We are pleased with Míchel," he said. "Last season he did well and we finished sixth. This year we can't expect to enter the Champions League and win the Copa del Rey.

"Míchel is under contract and will remain with us."

Valverde Un-Close To Getafe

After Ernesto Valverde quit Espanyol yesterday, he added that he's looking to stay in Spain. That's significant: clubs in Greece - and allegedly Turkey - have shown an interest in him, but if he's looking to stay in his homeland then one obvious choice presents itself: Getafe.

I think that Valverde would be a good, stabilising influence ahead of what's set to be a season of transition, and I hope that he is appointed.

Scratch all that. He's joined Olympiacos. Ah, well.

Elsewhere, Angel Torres has been out and about saying that he hopes to hold onto Esteban Granero for another season.

Squad For AEK, And More

Against the odds, the club seems to be wheeling out the big guns for the trip to Athens.

With Liga survival still nowhere near assured, I thought it likely that they'd rotate heavily, but the 18-man convocatoria speaks for itself:

Goalkeepers: 1.Ustari; 13. Pato.

Defenders: 2. Contra; 3. Cata Díaz; 4. Belenguer; 5. Mario; 12. Licht; 19. Signorino; 21. D. Cortés;

Midfielders: 6. Celestini; 8. Gavilán; 10. De la Red; 22. J. Casquero; 24. Pablo Hernández.

Forwards: 9. Braulio; 14. Manu; 16. Albín; 18. Uche.

Well, I suppose it remains to be seen who actually starts, but in any case, confidence is low, as this team isn't half of what it could be with Esteban Granero. We miss you, pirate guy.

In any case, things are still lurching along as usual in the Liga. Three defeats, two wins and a draw since the turn of the year is survival form at best, but who knows, maybe we can get another backdoor European ticket via the Copa. Racing are struggling, so the semi-final could go our way.

Angel Torres, the Real Madrid-supporting chairman, has said that he'll stand down in a year or two. Whether or not this is a good thing is too early to say, but it's remarkable the progress that we've made under him, and he'll always be remembered for that.