Who is Peter Lim and why do Valencia fans hate their controversial owner?

Peter Lim’s unpopular tenure as the owner of Valencia is back in the spotlight after a Spanish couple were held in Singapore for protesting against the billionaire.

Valencia fan Dani Cuesta and his partner Mireia Saez were stopped while trying to leave the country after posting photos on social media holding a banner criticising Lim outside of the business magnate’s home.

Singapore has strict rules on public assembly, though it is unclear what charges the pair might face.

“We’re working to get this resolved as soon as possible,” Pilar Bernabe, the Spanish government’s delegate in the Valencia region, said on Monday. “We have to allow the situation to proceed. Things will be clearer within a few days.

“They are doing OK, the family are aware of the situation and have consular support. They are being accompanied through the whole process. We are working intensely so that it can be resolved as soon as possible.”

Protests against Lim have become commonplace in Valencia since he took over the club a decade ago. Yellow banners saying “Lim go home” are regularly sighted at La Liga games at the Mestalla.

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The son of a fishmonger in Singapore, Lim studied at the University of Western Australia in Perth before achieving his first financial success as a stockbroker in the 1980s. He quite the brokerage business to become a private investor in 1996.

In 2010, the billionaire submitted a bid to buy Liverpool, but was unsuccesful, with attempts to invest in Rangers and Atletico Madrid also failing to progress. In 2014, though, he completed a takeover at Valencia and also joined the ownership group of Salford City, extending his business partnership with Gary Neville.

The first foreign owner of Valencia, Lim made immediate changes at the club, installing Nuno Espirito Santo as head coach and sacking Juan Antonio Pizzi. Nuno is a client of agent Jorge Mendes, who is reportedly close to Lim, a relationship that has been criticised by sections of the club’s fans.

Nuno stepped down little more than a year later after guiding the club into the Champions League, resulting in the appointment of Neville. The former Manchester United right-back’s stint proved a disaster, ending after just three wins in 16 games.

It precipitated a wider decline in the clubs fortunes on the pitch. While Valencia finished fourth in three of the first five seasons after Lim’s purchase, the five seasons since have seen them placed firmly in mid-table. The Singaporean has, however, worked to clear significant debts left by the previous owners — even if a replacement stadium project, the Nou Mestalla, is still some way from being completed.

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“Valencia CF, in relation to the news published about the situation of two of the club’s supporters in Singapore, wish that it is all resolved as quickly and well as possible,” read a club statement released on Tuesday. “Valencia CF and La Liga are in contact with the Spanish embassy in Singapore, who have assured us that both are being advised and assisted in everything necessary with the objective of this being resolved as quickly as possible.”