The reason why Ron Gourlay has earned his dismissal from Valencia

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La Liga

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CD Alaves Valencia

15/09/26 20:00:00

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The latest news from Valencia CF is dominated by Ron Gourlay, who has been sacked as football CEO after the summer transfer window and a start to the season with one point in five LaLiga matches. The ownership has also let go of their sports structure and has appointed Braulio Vázquez to start a new era at Mestalla.

The decision comes just ten days after Gourlay publicly defended his work. On September 3, the executive stated he had no intention of resigning, endorsed the decisions made during the transfer window, and maintained that the club did not need to hire a sporting director.

👋🏻 RON GOURLAY leaves Paterna after being removed as CEO of @valenciacf. pic.twitter.com/2LnxeLpJZN

— Córner Che🦇 (@Corner_Che) September 13, 2026

Ron Gourlay bears the brunt of Valencia CF's slow market

One of the issues contributing to the departure of Ron Gourlay was the way negotiations were handled during the summer. The CEO was overseeing the final phase of operations, but the club progressed too often in a sequential manner: one negotiation had to be concluded before moving on to the next.

This approach reduced the club's room for maneuver in a market where several operations extended up to the final days. On September 1, Gourlay left the offices two hours before closing time without completing the signing of the forward Marvin Ducksch, one of the deals being worked on on the final day.

The issue was not a lack of analyzed players. The sports structure had assessed footballers for different positions within the financial constraints set by the ownership, but the negotiations did not progress in parallel at the pace demanded by the market.

In November 2025, Gourlay had established a structure with Lisandro Isei, Hans Gillhaus, and Andrés Zamora under his direction. The three were part of the model designed to address the national and international market and have also been left out in the current restructuring.

Braulio Vázquez takes charge of sports management

The response has been to bring in Braulio Vázquez, who returns to the club after nine years at Osasuna. Valencia has paid around 290,000 euros corresponding to his release clause to make him the new head of sports planning.

Vázquez, 54 years old, previously held sports responsibilities at Mestalla between 2011 and 2013. His first task will be to participate in selecting the new coach and to prepare a squad that can be altered once the January transfer window opens.

The situation in LaLiga accelerates all decisions

Gourlay's dismissal cannot be divorced from the results. The team has only gathered one point from the first 15 possible, sits at the bottom of LaLiga, and has also parted ways with Carlos Corberán, the coach Gourlay had publicly supported.

Valencia CF will now face the match against Alavés with Óscar Sánchez as interim coach while they define the new bench. For Ron Gourlay, this exit concludes a chapter that began in May 2025; for Braulio Vázquez, the next step will be to reorganize the sports sector before the January market and address a situation that already has direct consequences in LaLiga.

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, El motivo por el que Ron Gourlay se ha ganado el despido del Valencia