The La Liga, for more than a decade, has witnessed the overwhelming dominance of Barcelona and Real Madrid. Yet, Sevilla have been able to carve out a special place.

It is mainly due to their buy low-sell high strategy which sets them apart.

Sevilla are among those clubs that have been hugely successful in the transfer market. But things weren’t so easy in the past, recalled the club’s football general manager Ramon Rodriguez Verdejo, aka Monchi.

“When I took over the sports management at Sevilla, almost two decades back, the team was in the second division and our economy was very weak.

“At that time, I understood that we had to do something different, because we couldn’t aspire to sign proven players from a great championship. We did something that no one else had ever done before — going to the South American and World Under-20 Championships.

“In one of those competitions we discovered Dani Alves. That was the beginning. Now all U-20 or U-19 tournaments are full of scouts,” Monchi told The Telegraph.

Elaborating on how difficult it is to maintain such a strategy in the transfer market, Monchi explained: “The key to the success of Sevilla in the 21st century has been to skilfully execute the philosophy of selling.

“In 2004 we sold Jose Antonio Reyes to Arsenal. It was a decision that brought us a lot of criticism from our fans. But thanks to that sale, we were able to invest in players who gave us a jump in quality.

“The following summer we sold Julio Baptista and Sergio Ramos. With those two operations, we bought the likes of Luis Fabiano, (Frederic) Kanoute, Andres Palop and Julien Escude... This way we made a champion team.

“The key is to know how to invest well. It’s complicated, yes, but we’ve been working on this formula for many years and the truth is that the regularity of the results is there.

“Nevertheless, I have to admit that this season we have made an important investment in sport management by creating a department of investigation and development. We want to generate a system of treatment of data that’s different from the rest, enabling us to scout important players who are not yet in the first level.”

The current situation because of the pandemic has made the transfer market scenario tougher for all clubs, but Sevilla are “not afraid.”

“We predict it will be a market where prudence will prevail. Now, we are not afraid because last year we made an important restructuring in the squad, bringing a lot of young players who are giving a great performance and fundamentally, because we have a great quarry.” Monchi emphasised.