The first negotiation with Levi and Lewis ended so unhappily.
But it was not without gain. At least Zhang Yida saw that these two people had the idea of selling the team, and they just wanted to wait for a price.
In a previous life, there was news that Zuckerberg wanted to buy Tottenham Hotspur for 1 billion pounds, but there was no news for a long time, so it was ignored.
According to rumors, it was Lewis, a Jew, who offered a price of 2 billion pounds, which directly scared Zuckerberg away.
It’s not that they can’t afford the money, but no one wants to be taken advantage of. Of course, the exception is the oil tycoons, who spend their money like paper.
In fact, desert tycoons are not stupid. Whether they buy a sports team or invest in the SoftBank Vision Fund, they are all diversifying their investment layout.
Otherwise, one day when the oil is exhausted, tens of thousands of princes from a large family will go to the streets to beg for food.
…
William, a reporter from "The Sun", is a paparazzi who makes a living by secretly photographing senior executives of major Premier League clubs and the private lives of players for a long time.
He has recently set his sights on Tottenham Hotspur as the club plans to build a new £750 million stadium.
But unfortunately, half of it has been built. I heard that there is no money, and we are actively bringing in new investors.
So William was sent by the newspaper to follow Tottenham boss Lewis outside his home, trying to get first-hand news.
William has been staring at it for a week and has gained nothing.
That dead old man Lewis hasn't been home for a week. It is said that he is living on his luxury yacht and really enjoys life.
William cursed a few words and continued to eat the cold bread and drink the mineral water that was so refreshing.
It's true that people with different fates have different fates. Prince William, his namesake, is hugging the princess in a warm bed, but he has to suffer in this cold and biting weather.
After swearing a few English curses, William thought about the various credit card loans that were about to expire, and resisted the thought of leaving, comforting himself that he would definitely gain something.
Hard work paid off, and just when he wanted to give up several times, a turning point came.
Lewis finally returned home, and with him was his loyal henchman Levi.
William continued to wait, and not long after, a convoy headed by a Rolls-Royce appeared at the manor, followed by several accompanying vehicles.
"Fuck, who is that, Beckian?"
William, who was hiding in the woods dozens of meters away and wearing a camouflage uniform, exclaimed and quickly pressed the shutter.
"Who is that oriental man?"
William became confused when he saw Zhang Yida chatting and laughing with Beckham after getting off the car.
No matter what, take the photo first and then talk about it.
William looked carefully at the photo taken, which made him a little regretful. It was too far away and the photo was not very clear. It did not capture the front face, just a side face.
This was unacceptable to the perfectionist William, who was about to continue taking photos, but Beckham and Zhang Yida had already walked into the manor, leaving only their backs.
"Damn it," he cursed, and William could only continue to wait in the woods.
Waiting, waiting, after a few hours, the manor's housekeeper finally sent Beckham and Zhang Yida out.
This time he finally saw the front view, and William pressed the camera shutter quickly and accurately.
Photographed with a telephoto lens, Zhang Yida's face was captured very clearly, and the angle was just right.
You can go back and deliver the mission! Just as William got up and prepared to retreat.
Suddenly, Qin Lin roared and chased into the woods.
Luo Xiaohu and three other bodyguards heard the call and ran towards the forest.
When William saw this, he was startled, threw away his camouflage uniform, and ran out of the woods.
Luo Xiaohu and others are all retired from the elite army, and they did not relax their physical training during their time as bodyguards.
As he ran at top speed, he got closer and closer to William.
William's adrenaline surged, and with the desire to escape, he quickly ran to the road outside the woods.
There was a dilapidated car parked there. William quickly got into the cab, started the engine, and stepped on the accelerator.
The car's engine roared and it suddenly jumped forward.
Under the inertia, William's whole body was thrown forward and he almost hit the windshield. Fortunately, he was wearing a seat belt.
Luo Xiaohu and others were still a step slower. As soon as they caught up, the car drove off.
Not far away, William stuck his head out of the window and laughed: "Goodbye, guys!"
Luo Xiaohu and others have all learned English, roughly understood the meaning, and were about to catch up.
Zhang Yida waved his hand to stop them, "Forget it, stop chasing!"
Luo Xiaohu and others had no choice but to watch the vehicle drive away unwillingly, and the middle finger sticking out of the window made them even more angry.
"Mr. Zhang, if we drive to chase him now, we should be able to catch up." Qin Lin suggested.
Zhang Yida shook his head and said with a smile: "No need, it looks like they are paparazzi."
"Mr. Zhang, I'm sorry, we have failed in our duty." Luo Xiaohu said dejectedly.
Zhang Yida waved his hand and said, "Don't worry about small things."
Then he smiled and sighed: "The British paparazzi are very rampant, and the royal family has been made miserable by them. It's hard to guard against the paparazzi even if you take every precaution!"
"Guys, good job. I think that paparazzi was scared to death by you."
Beckham looked at Zhang Yida's bodyguards, shrugged and said with a smile, "I also hate these paparazzi, and I have hated them since the day I became a professional player.
But there is no way, real life is like this, paparazzi are everywhere."
William returned to the newspaper office, rushed into his superior's office happily, slapped the developed photos on the table, and recounted the thrilling scene he encountered today with added detail.
"John, you don't know how dangerous the scene was...
Those bodyguards were holding nunchucks. If I hadn't run fast, you might never see me again.
I have completed the task so well, you must give me more bonuses."
John directly filtered out the exaggerated part of William, pointed at Zhang Yida in the photo, and asked: "You said that the bodyguards chasing you are also Oriental, or Chinese, like him?"
"Probably...right!" William didn't understand Chinese and was a little confused at this time.
"Okay, I know everything about the situation."
Then, John started driving people away.
"John, don't forget my bonus!"
After William left, John began to activate the information channel of "The Sun" and soon learned Zhang Yida's identity and all his information.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk~ The Chinese tycoons are here for another big purchase!"
John looked at the pile of information in his hand and said with a smile.
…
"Mr. Zhang, we have made a summary of the investments and mergers and acquisitions made by Chinese-funded consortiums in major European football leagues in the past two years.
It contains two parts: the specific investment situation and the club’s operating situation.”
In a conference room at the Hyde Park Cultural Oriental Hotel in London, Kanter, a McKinsey consultant hired by Zhang Yida, submitted a document to him.
Zhang Yida did not come to London alone. For this acquisition, he also specially formed an M&A team.
The team includes consulting company consultants, British legal consultants, auditors, football experts and other talents with different functions.
When Zhang Yida went to meet Lewis and Levi, they were also busy collecting various materials.
In China, Zhang Yida has also heard all the big news about overseas mergers and acquisitions by Chinese-funded consortiums in the past two years. Buying a football team is like buying Chinese cabbage.
After receiving the materials handed over by Kanter, Zhang Yida began to read them carefully.
At the top of the list is Li Yonghong, who acquired 99.93% of AC Milan shares for 740 million euros;
The second place was Chinese Cultural Industry Investment Fund and CITIC Capital, which acquired 13% of the shares of Manchester City’s parent company City Football Group for US$400 million;
The third place is Suning, which acquired 68.5% of Inter Milan’s shares for 270 million euros;
The fourth place is Gao Jisheng, who acquired 80% of the shares of Southampton in the Premier League for 210 million pounds;
The fifth place is IDG Capital, which acquired 20% of French Ligue 1 Lyon for 100 million euros;
Xinghui Interactive invested 60 million euros to control La Liga Espanyol, Ruikang Group fully acquired the British Championship Aston Villa for 76.5 million pounds, Fosun Group fully acquired the British Championship Wolves for 45 million pounds...
As for the sensational deal in the country where Wang, the richest man, bought a 20% stake in Atletico Madrid for 45 million pounds the year before last, it was already very inconspicuous.
In addition to these large transactions, there are many sports investment and mergers worth millions or tens of millions.
The table involves investments and mergers and acquisitions of more than 30 football clubs, with a total transaction value of more than 2 billion euros.
Judging from the leagues where the teams are located, Chinese investment has spread across Serie A, Premier League, French Ligue 1, La Liga, English Championship, Australian Super League, French Second Division, etc.
Zhang Yida took a look and found that except for the Bundesliga, which has restrictions on foreign investment, the other four of the five major leagues have Chinese investment.
At the same time, it can be seen that among all transactions, Chinese capital prefers holding acquisitions. There are only three investments in non-controlling acquisitions: Wanda, Chinese Culture and IDG Capital.
The most aggressive acquisitions must be in Serie A, with both Milan and Milan taking over.
Next is the Premier League. Once Wolves and Aston Villa are upgraded, four of the 20 Premier League teams will have Chinese investors.
From this table, it can also be seen that the Premier League, as the football league with the highest commercial value, also has the highest club valuation.
Tens of millions of pounds can only buy a team in the English Championship. If you want to buy a Premier League team, it will cost at least several hundred million pounds.
Because the annual broadcast fee of the Premier League is more than 2 billion pounds, the worst-ranked team can share almost 100 million pounds.
In terms of broadcasting fees, the Premier League is roughly equal to Serie A and Bundesliga combined.
"Mr. Zhang, as far as I know, your country has listed sports and football clubs as investment-sensitive industries in the second half of last year." Kanter couldn't help but remind him.
"Yes, I know!" Zhang Yida replied lightly.
In early December last year, the heads of the four departments spoke in response to reporters’ questions: They expressed close attention to some recent irrational foreign investment tendencies in real estate, hotels, cinemas, entertainment industries, sports clubs and other fields.
What is irrational foreign investment?
It means that some companies are still buying football clubs overseas despite high debt ratios, which is suspected of asset transfer. These are the original words of Yang Ma.
"Mr. Zhang, you have read the materials. Now I want to ask, did you acquire the football club out of hobby or investment?" Kanter asked again.
"What's the difference between the two?"
Kanter smiled and said: "Of course. If you are interested and have enough financial resources to support it, you will definitely choose to acquire the five major clubs. After all, the attention received is different and the reputation increased is different.
As for investment, the Premier League is too expensive, Serie A's debt ratio is too high, the Bundesliga has foreign investment restrictions, and Ligue 1 has received little attention.
In La Liga, it is not easy to achieve results as Barcelona and Real Madrid take turns beating them.
The English Championship is actually the most valuable to invest in. If you buy it at a low price, your valuation will skyrocket once you are promoted to the Premier League.
Of course, it’s not easy to get started once you’ve just upgraded. You have to stabilize your performance for at least a few years.”
This Kante is still very good. Zhang Yida knows that Fosun did this in his previous life.
Acquisition of Wolves for 45 million pounds, promoted to the Premier League in two years, and finished seventh in the league. Then the valuation increased to 350 million pounds.