Espanyol chairman Alan Pace admitted in an interview that when he went to Spain last year to take over the Catalan club, he "was absolutely overwhelmed." He has officially been at the helm of the club since November 25, 2025.
Pace said on the podcast "For All the Saints" that he was taken aback at one point: "Thousands of people surrounded me in a very positive way, something I had never experienced in anything I had ever done. I didn't know how to react."
He said that this enthusiasm also added pressure on him. "It also scared me because I was thinking, will I let these people down? Why are they so happy? Because at that time I hadn't actually done anything yet."
Pace then reiterated a phrase he often uses: "Don't just look at what I say, look at what I do. If I do what I think is right and responsible, they should be happy, but not because of me, but because of what we are all doing together."
When asked about the negative aspects of English football, Alan Pace also mentioned that he is chairman of Burnley, a Championship club. However, he believes this issue is not unique to English football but exists throughout the football world.
Alan Pace explained that football has likely become an "outlet for anger and frustration" for some people. "If you vent that way, that's fine, but I'd prefer people to find other ways to express their frustrations without negativity."
A key point of this conversation was the comparison of churches and stadiums as gathering spaces. Pace explained that in a city like Burnley, the club plays a vital community role: "We are fortunate to be in a city where there is only one team, only one stadium, and one primary way for people to gather." In his view, football in England and Europe fosters a strong sense of belonging, similar to American college sports rather than North American professional sports.
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