Saturday, 8th September, 2012
Malaga captain Duda believes that the club’s financial problems have eased, allowing the side’s players to really focus on the job at hand on the pitch.
Manuel Pellegrini’s men finished fourth in La Liga last season and have qualified for the Champions League group stages. But in the summer, the club’s Middle Eastern owner refused to continue to pump any more money in, forcing Malaga to sell top talents.
Santi Cazorla was sold to Arsenal, while prolific striker Salomon Rondon left for Russian side Rubin Kazan and rock solid centre-back Joris Mathijsen headed home to Holland.
Malaga were also prevented from signing any new players for much of the summer, until debts owed to other Spanish clubs were settled.
Now though, with a Champions League group spot booked and some cost cutting done, Duda is confident about the future.
"After a difficult summer, now it is all quiet", the Portuguese winger told A Bola.
"It is important because it allows us to have a greater piece of mind when we are on the pitch", added the 32-year-old.
"Now we have to stick together and achieve our goals."
Once again finishing in La Liga’s top four looks a tough task for Malaga, but the club have retained a number of stars.
Read about Malaga’s financial problems here.
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