VÍCTOR ORTA: "MONEY TALKS, BUT WE FEEL WE HAVE IMPROVED IN ALL AREAS"

Víctor Orta, sporting director of Sevilla FC, fielded questions during Sergio Ramos's presentation to the media. Orta began by stressing that he "wanted to thank Sergio for his patience and ability to hold out until the end. He had a vision and it has been fulfilled. When I arrived at Sevilla I said that the centre-back position was well-stocked because it was covered with Badé, Gattoni, Gudelj, as well as Marcao and Nianzou.... Then we went through a period in the transfer window where players were leaving due to salary limit issues and our first statements about Sergio's return were not untrue. When the market moves forward we want to have all our players registered and we arrived at the first matchday with all of our business settled. Our stance on centre-backs still hadn't changed when the president made comments in Athens. On the 1st of September we found ourselves with just 26 players, having lost three games and the added blow of an injury to one of our centre-backs. At that moment we use our intuition and the coach asked us to reinforce the midfield and the attacking midfield. The transfer window closed and José María [Castro] called me to assess available centre-back options. The doubts I had about this signing made me reflect but I had the right to rectify and change my mind.

We spoke on the morning of the match in Madrid and agreed that the best choice was Sergio Ramos. We were confident in this decision and didn't want to keep anyone waiting. We feel guilty for making Sergio wait and in hindsight apologise for some of our statements, Sergio, but we fight for the same badge, which is more important than us all. What we want is to achieve our common goal of success. 

Orta responded to questions about the conditions of Nianzou and Marcao: "Nianzou will be able to join the group in two or three weeks. Marcao is undergoing an exhaustive treatment for all his muscular problems to find the reason for his relapses. We want to reintegrate him as soon as possible but in the best condition. We left him out of the Champions League squad for these reasons, I called him to explain the situation and he understood. I want to thank him for accepting that because it's not pleasant. 

"This season has only just begun and hopefully we can do well and finish in the Champions League, which I think is everyone's aim"

"I told the media the other day that I am very happy. We have lowered the salary cap by 20 million and only lost one player from our starting line-up, Bono. Money talks and he can make whatever decisions he wants, but we are happy because everyone here has worked hard to improve the team in a complicated situation. The best efforts have been made and when you do that you can't ask for much more."

Orta highlighted that "we have a large squad because we have three competitions. This season has only just begun and hopefully we can do well and finish in the Champions League, which I think is everyone's aim."