Valencia's ownership under Meriton has developed an unusual and costly habit: renewing a head coach's contract only to dismiss him within months, triggering expensive severance payments that have repeatedly strained the club's Financial Fair Play position.
Corberán, who signed a new deal running to June 2028 as recently as July, now finds himself facing exactly that scenario after a difficult run of results has left sporting director Ron Gourlay's faith in him under scrutiny for the first time.
The pattern stretches back over a decade. Nuno Espírito Santo was the first coach of the Meriton era to fall into it, arriving in 2014 and earning a two-year contract extension before being sacked within months, in November 2015.
Pako Ayestarán followed a similar arc: promoted from Gary Neville's coaching staff in 2016, he earned a renewal at the end of that season, only to be dismissed after four straight defeats to start the following campaign.
Marcelino García Toral suffered the same fate on a larger scale. He arrived in 2017 and led Valencia to Copa del Rey success, earning a contract renewal before the end of the 2018/19 season, but disagreements with ownership led to his abrupt sacking by Peter Lim on September 11, 2019, just three matchdays into the new campaign.
Rubén Baraja was the most recent coach to fall into the cycle, arriving in February 2023 with the club in the relegation zone and steering them to safety. Having signed for a year and a half, he was rewarded with a two-year extension, only to be dismissed in December 2024, several months after that renewal was announced.
Corberán's current situation carries echoes of all four cases. Gourlay has consistently backed him as the right man for the project alongside ownership, but the mood around the club has shifted markedly following recent results, and the same tension that preceded previous dismissals is now visible around the Mestalla dugout.
Whether Corberán becomes the fifth coach in this cycle remains to be seen, but the club's history under Meriton offers little reassurance that a recent contract renewal guarantees any real security.