CASTRO: "HOW COULD I TURN DOWN A WORLD CHAMPION WHO IS ONE OF OUR OWN?"

José Castro, president of Sevilla FC, was present alongside Víctor Orta at the presentation of Sergio Ramos to the media. Before taking questions, Castro said of Sergio Ramos that "he has made a significant financial effort to be with us today in this complicated world, and I want to thank him publicly." 

The president began the press conference by saying that "we are not afraid of anything. We have lived through a lot, good and bad, at this club. We are not afraid of anything or anyone. As Víctor has said, football is not what it used to be. There is an economic regime, we have to sell players to buy others... we have an approach that Víctor Orta has spelt out clearly. Yet, how could I turn down a world champion who came from own academy? He rejected a lot of money to be here and continue pushing himself. He has conducted himself brilliantly and what he says is also true, that the people who made this deal did so in accordance with the club's objectives. Our only interest is to serve our community. Sometimes things go wrong and for those we apologise, but we do what we have to do for the club." 

"We have been in discussions for more than 20 days with three different sponsors, with negotiations moving well with one in particular"

"It has been a very complicated market, with many players that the coach did not feel he could count on, and in some cases it has been difficult to get them out. It is only fair to recognise Víctor's work. I don't agree with how harshly Víctor has been criticised; he has done an extraordinary job. I see it every day. It's a job well done. I hope that everything runs smoothly for here onwards because we have a very good squad to achieve our objectives," he continued.

On the arrival of the sponsor: "We have been in discussions for more than 20 days with three different sponsors, with negotiations moving well with one in particular. We don't want to put pressure on ourselves, but we have our expectations and we will not sell ourselves short. We are all working to try to complete the deal as soon as possible.

"The economic bonus that the Champions League gives you helps growth, which is something we have achieved for the last four years for the first time in history. We fight on all fronts and that is how we've achieved all that we have," he concluded.