"I met Roman by chance. About a year ago, two of my friends in the United States were trapped in Russia. I looked for channels to rescue them and learned that there was a person like Roman in the Kremlin. It was beyond my expectation.
As expected, he lends a helping hand without expecting anything in return
Later, when I learned about his wealth, I realized that people like him should not care about material rewards. Through that incident, we became friends. Although we had no contact in business, we really became partners in private. Christmas
Our two families spent time together in Dubai."
On the rooftop of the castle, the brothers smoked and chatted with their backs against the edge of the fence. Barnett gave up on the idea of Aldridge quitting the football industry.
Aldrich thought about it carefully after hearing what he said.
More than a year ago, Russia was at the beginning of a period of change.
When Putin came to power, there was bound to be chaos, but what followed was Russia's renaissance, which was the beginning of the decade of "Putin's resurgence."
It is expected that Barnett's two friends are Americans and businessmen. With Putin's violent economic methods since he came to power, it is possible that these two Americans have some shady deals in Russia.
Although the United States and Russia were the leaders of the Cold War camps at that time, the exchanges between the two sides, especially the United States' attitude towards Russia, were by no means an inseparable attitude.
We must know that Russia's privatization failed before Putin came to power, leading to a bad situation in which oligarchs controlled the country's economic lifeline. The initial policy blueprint for public ownership to privatization was developed by two American economic experts. The Russians hoped to turn state-owned industries into
Publicly held international companies like those in the United States have allowed oligarchs to take advantage of the loopholes, and the people have become dissatisfied. Chaos requires great governance. The rise of strongman Putin is the prelude to a new era in Russia.
Those two American businessmen must have been unlucky, and they encountered Putin's campaign to scare the monkeys. Unexpectedly, fate would lead to Barnett and Abu forming a "friendship".
"Do you understand the political situation over there in Russia?"
Barnett sighed and asked leisurely.
Aldrich nodded, then shook his head.
He should understand the general situation, but he is not interested in paying attention to the specific content, even though a lot of information can be known by watching TV. Because the Western media is highly free and open, although it is not without secrets.
At this stage, Putin is focusing on suppressing oligarchs and catering to the people's mentality of killing the rich and helping the poor. The Russian people's hatred of the rich is very serious. Even if Putin has been described as a tyrant by the international media, the Russian people will still think that Putin is soft-hearted towards the oligarchs.
"Berezovsky is the noble man in Roman's life. Without him, Roman would not be what he is today. However, Berezovsky came to the UK to take refuge last year, which made Roman feel a deep sense of crisis."
Barnett's words made Aldrich couldn't help but curl his lips and say: "Retribution!"
What is an oligarch?
To put it bluntly, it means embezzling the property of the people of the country and putting the wealth belonging to the people into their own pockets.
This is true for Berezovsky, and so is Abramovich.
If he was a Chelsea fan in his previous life, he must like Abramovich and have no reason to hate him, because without Abramovich, Chelsea would be finished. As for the negative impact brought about by Abramovich's involvement in the team, as a fan, he must understand and accept it, because compared to the club
Bankruptcy and liquidation. Like Leeds United falling into the abyss, Chelsea's fate couldn't be better.
But as an ordinary person, Aldrich couldn't like Abu, because you wouldn't want to have such an oligarch around you who plundered the public's interests and became rich.
Berezovsky came to the UK to seek refuge last year, and news reports have been circulating for a while. Aldrich knew that this kind of asylum was miserable. To put it bluntly, he meant spending his old age in a comfortable cell. Berezovsky lived in seclusion in England.
What are you afraid of? Of course, you are afraid of the agents Putin sends out to arrest wanted criminals all over the world. Is it like a movie plot? No, this is what happened in reality.
Abramovich is now a popular figure in the Kremlin, but it does not mean that he will always be so in the future. He has a sense of crisis, which is normal. Oligarchs with similar backgrounds to him have been dismissed one after another. He is truly a companion to Putin.
Accompany the tiger.
"One day, Roman asked me, what can create the most influence and attention in the UK? I naturally said: football. This interests him deeply. In fact, I know that he is not a fan himself. The key point is influence and attention.
Spend."
Aldrich nodded in agreement.
Such good stories as how Abramovich fell in love with football after watching a game and flew over the Thames River to Stamford Bridge in a plane. It's okay to listen to it, but don't take it seriously.
Not to mention how big his investment is, just because of his sensitive identity and his love for football, he came to the UK to spend a lot of money?
"He has started to acquire football clubs in Russia, but he found that his investment in football clubs in Eastern Europe had no influence at all, so he wanted to come to the UK to have a look. It happened that my brother had a team called Millwall.
It is the most watched team in the world. Although it is a bit expensive, as long as you are willing to sell it, he will definitely buy it. The sensational nature of this transaction alone may bring him unparalleled attention and influence."
Aldrich recalled carefully. If he remembered correctly, Abramovich should also be the owner of CSKA Moscow. After acquiring Chelsea, he turned from being a public presence to being a covert person. Otherwise, UEFA would not have intervened, but he would have turned to sponsorship instead of being a public presence in the later period.
The owner of.
Abramovich needs attention and influence. Investing in football can bring these, but investing in football in Moscow is basically ineffective. The first is the market environment, the second is news dissemination, and the third is the attraction of the team itself.
Even if he spends 1 billion in Moscow, it will still be
It’s useless. The competitiveness of the Russian football league itself is there, and the overall situation is not improved. The development of a super giant also has limitations. Even in a mainstream league like the Bundesliga, when Bayern Munich is the dominant team, the media just jokingly said: It’s just a team.
The rooster ate the bugs one by one.
First of all, the political environment in the United Kingdom is not as tit-for-tat as that of the United States and Russia. Secondly, the United Kingdom is the European news center. Finally, the influence of British football is far ahead of other countries' football based on its spread. This is not equated with football strength.
.
As for Aldridge, if the base price is 800 million pounds and he asks for 1 billion pounds, will Abramovich buy it?
Aldrich felt that there was a 70% chance that the other party would buy it.
Think about how much he spent to buy Chelsea? 150 million for the acquisition, plus 80 million for debt repayment, which is 230 million pounds. At that time, Chelsea's commercial value was negligible, and the strength of the team's lineup was also very limited. Plus the value of the stadium
, business chain, team hardware construction, including all aspects of youth training and training base
, Millwall has everything ready-made, and it is the best level. More importantly, Millwall has a basket of championships. Chelsea won the league championship almost half a century ago, which is invisible.
Influence, one is the sky, the other is the earth. If it is sold for 1 billion pounds, Aldridge thinks it is cheap.
But outsiders estimate Millwall is still worth £600 million.
This kind of valuation is not enough as a reference, unless the club owner takes the initiative to sell it, because the reality is very simple: if you are given 600 million pounds, can you build a Millwall comparable to the current one? Not to mention the team's honors over the years, just
With the new stadium and the lineup, it is estimated that even the 600 million pounds will not be achieved!
"Haha, he wants to be a carefree rich man who loses his mind by playing with things. Indeed, here, anything related to football can become news and last for a long time."
Aldridge flicked the ashes of his cigarette and casually said that he was like the old pervert Edwards, the owner of Manchester United. He disguised himself to go to the women's restroom and was caught peeping. This will be a hot news for a long time. Right or wrong is not important. In the football circle
People can create extraordinary topics and influence.
Barnett laughed it off and said nothing more.
Putin's sanctions against the oligarchs, in addition to establishing their authority and appeasing the people, also have a fatal factor. The oligarchs are trying to unite to influence the political situation in Russia. This can be regarded as seeking their own death.
Abramovich broke with the oligarchs and sided with Putin, but he also had to be prepared for danger in times of peace. He came to the UK to make himself a celebrity. At the same time, he also sent a signal to Russia: I am not interested in politics, but I am more interested in football.
,I am not a threat to anyone!
No matter what Abramovich thinks, Aldridge has no idea of selling the club.
He even thought that one day he would be old and have nothing to do, just like Arthur, who would appear in the stands of Millwall games as usual every week as a fixed activity of daily life.
Although he could have sold the club, he still felt that a very important feeling would be missing, which should be an emotional connection deep within his heart.
"Aldridge, Roman just needs influence and attention. He has no intention to be hostile to anyone. If, if one day he comes to the UK, for example, he buys Manchester United, then please don't regard him as an enemy.
, help him as much as possible, after all, he helped me."
Before leaving, Barnett spoke to Aldrich in a serious voice.
Aldridge said: "He just needs influence? Well, I can help him. In front of the media, if he is a person in the football circle and I list him as an enemy, it will bring him influence. I scold him."
With just two sentences, he can be on the news headlines for a week."
Barnett was stunned when he heard this, and then smiled bitterly and said: "It's up to you. You have more experience in this area than me. You deal with the media every day. Anyway, I don't think there can be much hatred in the football circle. Verbal exchanges are not worth it."
Mention it."
In his eyes, only financial interests can lead to mortal enmity. In the football world, where the sun rises in the east and rains in the west, how can there be any undying hatred?
Even if it is a feud like West Ham United and Millwall, so what?
Can West Ham prevent Millwall from functioning? Can Millwall in turn make West Ham die?
No, there is only competition in football, not a real battle of life and death.
Aldrich drove home and quickly forgot about his meeting with Abramovich.
