Everyone says that professional football is a money-burning game.
As soon as the team's money burning is mentioned, everyone's attention is immediately attracted by the astonishing transfer fees of the stars.
This is of course correct.
But in fact, not all teams burn money like this.
For the vast majority of professional clubs, the hardest hit area where they burn money is not signings.
If you carefully analyze the financial reports of major clubs, it is not difficult to find that salary is the largest expenditure item of a club, and in many cases it even exceeds 80%.
Real Madrid under Florentino has been working hard to control the club's salary structure and keep it at a healthy threshold, which allows Real Madrid to invest a large amount of money in the transfer market every year.
The salary structure is not just about player salaries, but also coaching staff and employees.
Needless to say, the coaching staff. In addition to the coaching staff brought by the head coach of the first team, there will also be other coaches in the first team, as well as coaches from each echelon, as well as team doctors, analysts, scouts and other personnel in different positions.
.
But in fact, these are still in the forefront, and the club has more support staff.
For example, chefs, cleaners, security guards, etc. Even the youth team needs to be equipped with professional teachers and tutors to help children with their homework. These talents are the largest group in the training base.
In addition, there are stadiums like Elland Road, where there are many employees in the stadium maintenance department, as well as employees in the administrative department, and service staff on match days, many of whom are part-time...
All of these form a very large group and provide quite a lot of jobs.
If the team is in a top league and the attendance is guaranteed, it can attract tens of thousands of people every match day. The flow of people and consumption power this brings are very amazing, and the surrounding businesses that provide these supporting facilities
There are also a large number of employees.
According to British statistics, the Premier League provides 20,000 full-time jobs in the UK every year.
Only full-time positions are counted here, not including part-time positions with more people.
And behind this, the club is constantly burning money.
Because in Europe, human resources are the most expensive cost.
It can almost be said that every day at dawn, when you open your eyes, all you see are burning banknotes.
…
"I made a preliminary estimate that at least two million pounds will be invested in hardware, and after the renovation, the operating costs of the training base will at least double." Lucas looked at Gao Shen and said with embarrassment.
Unlike direct investment such as transfer fees, salary expenditure is what a club needs to control most.
This is also the reason why many teams give up signings because it will break the salary structure.
The doubling of training base operating costs means that the team's salary pressure will also increase significantly.
Gao Shen frowned slightly and nodded: "This money must be invested. We would rather cut back on other aspects than be stingy in this aspect. The training base and youth training are our core competitiveness."
As a head coach, no one understands the importance of this area better than Gao Shen.
In a previous life, after the Italian Massimo Cellino took charge of Leeds United, he fired the laundry workers and asked the players to wash their own clothes, fired the chefs, asked the players to bring their own meals, and fired most of the employees at the training base...
These seem to be saving club expenses, but after all, they are not a long-term solution.
Facts have also proved that Leeds United's situation was even worse in those years.
Players are the core competitiveness of the club. High-level training is the only way to ensure that players can achieve better results on the playing field. Cutting off logistics is definitely a short-sighted move.
After Su Qing felt the profound determination, she thought for a while, "Richard Cramer told me that Leeds United's Elland Road Stadium and Thorpe Arch Training Base were sold at a low price, and they were sold for 4.2 million.
Sterling, even if the land at the Fullerton Park site is later added, I think we can try to reduce the price again."
The greatest value of this land at the Fullerton Park site is that it is located in the city center.
Twenty million pounds is the current market assessment price, but it is not necessarily the transaction price.
It's as if Elland Road and Thorpe Arch training ground were sold for just £4.2 million.
"I recently asked someone to do a survey, and I found that Leeds United's jersey sales have always been quite good, even better than some Premier League teams."
"Really?" As soon as Lucas finished speaking, Gao Shen became interested.
"After statistics, when they were promoted to the English Championship last season, Leeds United's jersey sales exceeded 100,000 pieces in a season. Even if it was placed in the Premier League, it would at least rank in the top ten. This also proves the purchasing power of Leeds United fans.
, it’s still very strong.”
This is no surprise, as Leeds itself is one of the most economically dynamic cities in the UK.
"The current live broadcast fee in the English Championship is very low. Each game is about 50,000 pounds. After a season, if you play a full game, it can exceed one million pounds. Plus ranking bonuses and other income, it should still be possible."
"When the time comes, we will strive for jersey sponsorship and chest advertising. I am confident that the income will definitely increase a lot compared to the current state of half-life."
The biggest problem with Leeds United now is that major shareholder Ken Bates has basically given up the idea, which has led to Leeds United doing a very bad job in this regard. The current chest advertisement is a betting company, or the one jointly sponsored by many clubs in the English Championship.
Income is very low.
The income from the English Championship is of course nothing.
Just like the single-game broadcast fee, in the Premier League, it is at least ten times more. Coupled with ranking bonuses and so on, the broadcast rights income alone is enough to double Leeds United's income several times.
This is why teams with even the slightest ambition want to enter the Premier League.
When Gao Shen heard this, he nodded repeatedly. Fernando Lucas did not disappoint him, so he raised his head and looked at Rudolf Borrell, because he found that this guy had never said anything.
Feeling Gao Shen's gaze, Borrell smiled bitterly.
"I know that the current situation is very serious and the financial pressure is great. When I speak, I basically spend money, so..."
Gao Shen and others all laughed.
Youth training does cost money.
"Tell me about it, I'm mentally prepared and can still handle it," Gao Shen encouraged.
Borrell thought for a while and said: "I did some research and found that there are currently only eleven people in the youth team. Sometimes the starting lineup is not enough for U23 games. Therefore, I personally want to start with U23 and U18.
After the age group teams are captured and put into operation, we will expand when the club enters the Premier League and becomes financially comfortable."
Just maintaining the operation of the youth teams of the two age groups requires a lot of funds.
Borrell's idea is also based on profound considerations, maturity and prudentness.
Gao Shen thought for a while and it seemed that this was the only way.
Don't think that Leeds United's situation is a stretch.
In fact, after in-depth understanding, in the second tier of the four major European leagues, there are still many clubs that are worse than Leeds United, and they are basically struggling to maintain and support themselves.
"Everyone, you should already know the general situation now. We will take over a club that can be said to be starting from scratch. This will be a brand new challenge for us."
Whether it is Su Qing, Lucas, or Borrell, they all agree with Gao Shen's words.
"Here, I want to make a statement. I am very anxious to bring the team into the Premier League, but I hope everyone can understand that it is also crucial to lay a good foundation for the team. Entering the Premier League and laying the foundation,
There is no contradiction. The former can greatly increase our income, and the latter can help us improve our competitiveness bit by bit."
"If we want to stay in the Premier League, we must lay a solid foundation. The foundation is the lower limit of our competitiveness, the training base, the youth training system, the scouting system, the logistics team... all of these are our foundation."
This is destined to be a completely different path from Manchester City.
Manchester City's route is ***, the purpose is to achieve the best results in the shortest time, quickly open up the situation, and at the same time slowly lay a solid foundation, and this requires huge investment.
But Leeds United can't do it. He must accumulate slowly and come out step by step.
Of course, on this road, Gao Shen is the shortcut for Leeds United.
He will give full play to his advantages as a time traveler and his connections in European football to protect Leeds United to the maximum extent so that the team can be promoted to the Premier League as soon as possible and gain a firm foothold in the Premier League.
But behind this, there must be no shortage of internal skills and foundations to lay.
…
After talking about the general situation of Leeds United, the topic came to the next key point, which is due diligence.
The purpose of so-called due diligence is to have a general idea of the current operating status and future development of the company.
This requires studying the employment contracts that have been signed, not only for the players, but also for all employees of the company.
Also analyze every tax bill, lease contract, intellectual property, transfer contract, sponsorship contract, trade contract, etc.
It is also important to understand every debt and claim the club has.
All in all, this is a very complex and tedious process.
Su Qing has attached great importance to it from the beginning, because she has worked in ministries, so she knows that disasters and risks are often not blatantly presented in front of you, but are hidden in the details.
Due diligence itself is a deterrent to shareholders such as Ken Bates, and it is also a protection for Gao Shen.
"Richard Cramer said that it would take at least two months, and the best law firm in the magic circle would be responsible for such speed. If it were other law firms, including theirs, it might not take half a year.
It’s over.”
Gao Shen calculated it and found that it was mid-March now, two months before it was May.
"Almost, we should hurry up on time." Gao Shen warned.
He wants to take over the team around June and start summer transfer operations.
Otherwise, I'm afraid it will be too late and another year will be wasted.
"In the next period of time, I will definitely be busy with Manchester City affairs and games, so the negotiations with Leeds United will be fully entrusted to you. If I am too busy, let Fernando leave his job early to help you."
"I have no problem." Lucas agreed readily.
The transformation from analyst and intelligence expert to club CEO is also a new challenge for him.
Su Qing also knew it well.
Please remember the first domain name of this book:. Mobile version reading URL:
