Roig, 76, the owner of Spain’s leading supermarket chain Mercadona with an estimated net worth of US$9.9 billion according to Forbesaddressed the subject while presenting the company’s 2025 financial results.
As the owner of the basketball club Valencia Basket and a prominent backer of sports in the city, he is frequently cited by fans as the ideal alternative owner for Valencia CF, AS reported.
Roig compared his experiences leading a massive retail corporation to managing a sports club. He admitted that running Valencia Basket takes a greater toll on him than overseeing Mercadona, emphasizing that managing a sports club “operates in an entirely different galaxy”.
Despite constant inquiries from the public regarding a potential takeover of the Mestalla club, Roig made it clear that his current commitments are more than enough.
“You have asked me about Valencia CF and you have unsettled me,” Roig told The Spynol. “The typical answer is that we are not in this sports business. But I will tell you something. It is harder for me to manage Valencia Basket than Mercadona. People do not believe it, but it is harder for me. A sports club is another galaxy. I do not contemplate a purchase at all. Many people ask me, but with Valencia Basket I have enough.”
Roig’s connection to Valencia CF runs deep, particularly during the 1990s when his brother, Paco Roig, served as the club’s president. Today, as the president of Mercadona, the patron of Valencia Basket, and the driving force behind the Maratón Valencia Trinidad Alfonso run, Juan Roig is deeply embedded in the city’s sporting culture.
Fans frequently draw comparisons between the Roig Arena and the stalled development of Valencia CF’s new Mestalla stadium.
Valencia CF supporters have protested for years against Lim’s management since he took over in 2014, demanding that he sell his shares and leave the club. However, finding a viable buyer remains a significant challenge, as very few Valencian business figures possess the financial capacity to finance a bid.
Lim, 72, a business magnate and private investor, has a net worth of $1.9 billion as of 2026, according to Forbes.
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