Jaime Molina has hailed the work of Atletico Madrid president Enrique Cerez and his football directors, declaring them the modern era's answer to his Valencia.
Former Valencia vice-president Molina admits he's a big fan of the current day Atletico and how they've managed to split the La Liga domination of Real Madrid and Barcelona on more than one occasion over the past decade.
Molina told Tribalfootball.com: "Yes, Atlético Madrid is the modern answer to the Valencia CF of my era. Atlético Madrid have been really intelligent by giving continuation to their manager. Various times, there have been ups and downs with Diego Simeone but the club have stood by him and backed him too and this has helped push the club forward.
"In my time at Valencia CF, we did the same with (Rafa) Benitez in difficult times. We stood by him and it paid dividends in the end."
On the competitiveness of today's La Liga, Molina says there'll be opportunities for clubs with "astute" presidents - something he laments Valencia are currently lacking.
"La Liga is for presidents who are 'listos' (clever, cunning, astute)," Molina continued. "The more astute presidents are demonstrating this with their notable classification positions high up in la Liga table at the moment. Yes, La Liga is competitive for presidents who are clever. However, for a club like ours…with the president we have…we are always going to be one of those mid-table clubs with the fear of relegation breathing down our necks."
Molina worked at Valencia during one of the club's most successful periods, helping build a team that would win the La Liga twice and the UEFA Cup. And he believes his old club needs to revert to it's roots. Molina argues VCF need local owners who understand the club's history and culture.
He said, "Personally, I would be against another foreign investor buying Valencia CF, given what has happened with (Peter) Lim, which has been a really bad experience. For better or for worse, Valencia CF should be run by Valencians or at least Spanish investors. 'We' see football on the pitch… we're not looking at numbers all the time and we also have a 'sentimiento' for the club too. This feeling for a club is something that a president who is not Valencian or Spanish can never really feel. An example of somebody who feels the 'colours of a club' would be the former president of Valencia CF Paco Roig, who is Valencian.
"He was a great president for Valencia CF and had a lot of feeling for the club too, which I believe he still has too actually. He was the one who introduced me to Valencia CF to join as a director and I became a vice-president."
The future of Valencia - and the La Liga in general - inevitably leads to the topic of the European Super League (ESL), which is being largely driven in Spain by Real Madrid and Barcelona. The ESL is again on the agenda for European football with a new board, a new chief executive and a new plan introduced last week.
Molina admits he's no great fan of the concept. And he warns those opposed to the ESL not to ever count out Florentino Perez when he has goal he wants to achieve. Molina says if ever there is an individual to drive through such huge changes in the European game, it will be Florentino.
He said, "Personally, I wouldn't like it… even if Valencia CF were in the position to qualify for the Super League. Amongst ourselves, the Spanish, we understand each other better… and that isn't always easy… (laughs)! With foreign clubs who have a distinctive mentality and language and so on…it would be very difficult to understand one another. It's just not a good idea to have a Super League, in my humble opinion.
"If the president of Real Madrid were not the distinctive figure of Florentino Pérez, I don't think the Super League would become a reality. Knowing what he is like personally and also publicly (in the world of football), I wouldn't write Florentino Pérez off… from pushing for a Super League further down the line again. He has it in him!"
