One of the longest-running transfer sagas in Spain finally came to end earlier this summer, as Rafa Mir left Sevilla and joined Valencia, initially on loan but with an option to buy. The 27-year-old had little good to say about the management at his parent club.
He explained during an interview with DAZN, as quoted by Marca, that Sevilla continued to change the terms of his exit, which led to him staying at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan against his will.
“In the summer (2023) I told them that I wanted to leave, change scenery and go to Valencia. The club had also gambled on me. Sevilla set some conditions and at the last minute they want to change them, ‘no, not now.’ I told him [Victor Orta] that he had given me his word, that he had given me his hand and that now he would let me decide. And he told me that I was going to be a very important player. I came home resigned [to my fate].”
On another occasion, he said that Sevilla also pulled the rug out from under a deal to take him to AC Milan.
“I was waiting at home with my suitcase ready to take the plane to Milan. And they told me that they couldn’t find a substitute, a replacement, and that for that reason they wouldn’t let me leave. And the day after the market closed, they announced another colleague (Mariano) and I was surprised.”
After that, manager Quique Sanchez Flores told him that he was not part of his plans, and Mir was left out of his squads on a consistent basis. Mir kept silent about his frustration though.
“It was no time to destabilise the ship. The ship is already destabilised from above. And the last thing I wanted was to disturb the work of my colleagues, because they had already informed me of the situation.”
“I have a great relationship with Navas, with Ramos and Rakitic and none of them understood the situation. They didn’t understand that they didn’t let me leave and that at this moment when the team needed a goal and character, they didn’t count on me.”
He also appealed to the Sevilla fans not to think poorly of him, and claimed that the media framed him in a certain light due to what they were told by the hierarchy.
“I hope that the Sevilla fans, after this documentary, feel the affection that I feel for them. I think that they have been misinformed so far, they have been contaminated with information that was not real and I am very sorry that we have had disagreements for a long time. I have enormous affection for all the Sevilla fans.”
Mir is back at his boyhood club in Valencia, having spent three years at Sevilla. He had made a move from Wolves for €16m. Just 24 goals in 105 appearances speak to a tough spell for Mir though, where holding down a starting spot proved tricky. After the incident where club legend Jesus Navas nearly left Sevilla due to the lack of communication from the club, this further illustrates the disorganisation behind the scenes at Sevilla although obviously there are two sides to every story.
