บท 7: Chapter 7: Premier League Investment Advisor
Yang Huan thought this guy was getting too excited, almost wanting to slap him to wake him up.
Doesn't he consider costs and risks at all?
"Thirty million pounds!" Yang Huan poured cold water directly over Sun Yue's enthusiasm.
Right now, he only had 300 million RMB on hand, which was roughly 30 million pounds.
Sun Yue was dumbfounded. What kind of team can you buy with 30 million pounds?
Even the most bottom-tier teams in the Premier League cost more than that!
On one side, you have high-end clubs like Manchester United and Chelsea, and on the other side, you have obscure and struggling teams.
Good heavens, the gap is too huge!
"Don't be discouraged, don't lose hope!"
Yang Huan walked over and patted Sun Yue's shoulder. "You should understand, taking a 30 million pound team and managing it into a top-tier club is where our true skill lies. What's so impressive about buying Manchester United? That's just having more money. If you rely on money alone, that's for people without real talent. We're not going to do something so technically boring."
After thinking about it, Sun Yue realized it made sense. The challenge is what makes it fun!
If Young Master Huan said he wanted to play, it had to be enjoyable.
"Besides, that's just the budget for acquiring the team. We still have a transfer budget. What's there to worry about?"
Yang Huan's words sparked Sun Yue's interest again. "Young Master Huan, how much is the transfer budget?"
"I'm not sure yet," Yang Huan shrugged.
"But I want to bring in a superstar to make a name for ourselves. Let those Europeans know that while they may have invented football, we're still their ancestors when it comes to playing modern professional football!"
Yang Huan's bold words excited Sun Yue, and he nodded firmly. "Alright, Young Master Huan, I'll follow your lead!"
Zhang Ning, who had been quietly observing the whole situation, suddenly felt the world was a dark place. Another young talent was being dragged into the abyss by this playboy.
"Don't worry, stick with me and I guarantee you won't lose out!"
Yang Huan decided right away, "Triple your salary. When we get to the UK, I'll arrange housing and a car. As long as you do a good job, I'll give you a raise."
When everyone heard this, they were immediately thrilled. These benefits were too good!
Triple the salary, free travel abroad, housing and a car. Oh my god, why didn't this opportunity fall on us? It just landed in this intern's lap!
Although the others didn't get Yang Huan's favor, when they heard he was treating everyone to lunch at Longhai Hotel, their disappointment turned to joy. They all started praising Yang Huan, wishing this generous young master would come every day.
After everyone left, Yang Huan, Zhang Ning, and Sun Yue stayed behind for a meeting in the HR department's conference room.
"Actually, I considered buying a top-tier club, but then I thought about it again and realized it wasn't worth it."
Sun Yue was puzzled. "Young Master Huan, what do you mean?"
"Think about it. Suppose buying Manchester United costs £1.5 billion, but if I don't buy United and use that money to buy a lower-tier team, I could spend £100 million on the transfer market every year for 15 years. I refuse to believe that after 15 years, I couldn't build a top club."
In his previous life, Yang Huan couldn't understand why no tycoon had managed to buy Manchester United.
For example, the Qatari consortium—they were forced to back out because of the price.
Now that he thought about it seriously, the real issue was the uncontrollable cost.
Instead of pouring money into Manchester United, it would make more sense to invest in another team. Plus, spending that kind of money year after year would generate buzz, attract media attention, and win over fans.
Of course, Manchester United has a strong earning potential, but how much can it make in a year?
Either you keep pouring money into new signings, or you adopt a financially healthy management policy, which would cause the team's competitiveness to decline.
That's why Manchester United is tough to sell—it's just not worth it.
"I get it now, Young Master Huan!" Sun Yue finally understood.
Zhang Ning, on the other hand, was looking at Yang Huan with a bit of amazement. The more she interacted with him, the more she couldn't figure him out.
Was he a spendthrift rich kid? Sometimes, he was scarily shrewd.
But if he was smart, there were times when he seemed to be extravagantly wasteful.
What kind of person was he, really?
"Don't look at me with those infatuated eyes; I'm afraid you'll fall in love with me and won't be able to get out!" Yang Huan joked, smiling at Zhang Ning.
Her face flushed red, and she turned her head away without saying a word.
Sun Yue wanted to laugh but didn't dare, silently wondering what exactly was going on between Young Master Huan and Miss Zhang.
...
Kash Harris, chairman of Seymour Pierce Investment Bank in London's financial district, was one of the most renowned investment advisors in the European professional sports market. The other was young Rothschild, the heir to the Rothschild family.
In the early 2000s, Premier League teams were the most sought-after, and Kash Harris was involved in almost every transaction, such as Roman Abramovich's acquisition of Chelsea, former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's purchase of Manchester City, and its eventual sale.
Almost all the major Premier League deals had Kash Harris's involvement.
However, in recent years, with the economic crisis, the frenzy for investing in the Premier League had waned. Even in the oil-rich Middle East, there was no longer the same enthusiasm for football investments.
Although Premier League broadcasting fees continued to rise, the financial situation of the clubs had deteriorated, accumulating massive debt and becoming the most indebted league in Europe, scaring off potential investors.
Despite holding agency agreements for five or six Premier League teams and authorization for several lower-tier English clubs, Kash Harris had no luck selling any of them.
China, however, stood out as one of the brightest spots during the global economic crisis.
Kash Harris had considered China many times, even inviting some Chinese tycoons to England for football investment forums. He had also traveled to China multiple times to promote these deals, but to no avail.
Perhaps the Chinese simply didn't care about football. They were only interested in making money.
And football was never a profitable business!
Just when Kash Harris was feeling disheartened, he received a phone call from China.
This afternoon, he was at Heathrow Airport in southwest London, waiting for a flight from China.
His Chinese friend told him that this time, the person interested in football investment was named Yang Huan, the only son of a Chinese hidden billionaire. If the deal went through, the reward would be substantial.
This made him excited.
"Boss, they're here!" Harris's assistant tugged at his sleeve.
Harris snapped out of his daze, looking toward the gate as a crowd of people poured out.
"Hold up the sign. I heard there are four of them."
At Harris's command, his assistant raised the prepared sign, which had two words awkwardly written in Chinese.
"Yang Huan!"
"Master Huan."
As soon as Yang Huan walked out of the gate, Sun Yue spotted the sign held by someone in the crowd waiting for them. It served as a reminder, and he quickly took Zhang Ning's hand and walked towards the two people holding the sign.
Three people accompanied Yang Huan on this trip to London. Aside from Zhang Ning and Sun Yue, there was another person whom Grandpa Yang Baoping had found from somewhere—a bodyguard named Long Wu, reportedly an elite guard from Zhongnanhai. However, this guy seemed to be glued to his mobile phone, playing games the entire time. He looked like a disheveled young man in his early twenties, completely absorbed in mobile gaming.
Have you ever seen a bodyguard addicted to mobile games?
In any case, Sun Yue was quite dissatisfied with Long Wu.
"Hello, are you Mr. Harris?" Zhang Ning, who spoke the best English among the four, took the lead as the interpreter.
It was amusing in a way—among the four, Zhang Ning's English was the strongest, Sun Yue's was passable, Yang Huan's was poor, and Long Wu couldn't speak a word of it.
If you told someone that a group like this was coming to do business in England, they'd probably laugh their heads off.
"Hello, Master Yang Huan, I am Cash Harris!" To their surprise, Cash Harris greeted Yang Huan in Chinese.
"You can speak Chinese?" Yang Huan immediately warmed up to the chubby investment consultant.
Cash Harris chuckled. "If you want to do business with the Chinese, you have to learn Chinese."
"Well said!" Yang Huan shook his hand enthusiastically. The more he looked at this little fat guy, the more he liked him.
He then turned his head to glance at Zhang Ning again.
He turned his head again and glanced at Zhang Ning.
"See, sister? You were just saying that if you don't speak English fluently, you won't get by abroad. Yet here I am, doing just fine without it!
The real skill isn't us learning English to do business with the British. It's making the British learn Chinese to do business with us!"
Zhang Ning felt a bit helpless, often finding herself out of her depth when Yang Huan was around.
When the group of four left Heathrow Airport, an extended Bentley was already waiting outside.
"Master Yang Huan, we've booked a hotel for you in London with two double deluxe rooms as you requested."
Once they were in the car, the Bentley headed out of Heathrow, and Harris continued to engage with Yang Huan.
However, he was puzzled. Why did three men and one woman need two double rooms?
"Thank you, Mr. Harris!" Yang Huan smiled as he expressed his thanks.
The drive from Heathrow Airport to Hyde Park was spent discussing the sights and attractions of London. While Yang Huan chatted with Cash Harris, he was more interested in asking about fun places in London and didn't bring up the football team acquisition.
Cash Harris felt a bit helpless but didn't dare offend this reportedly incredibly wealthy young man. He kept enthusiastically answering Yang Huan's questions.
After arriving at the hotel and checking in, the group enjoyed a luxurious dinner there.
Finally, Cash Harris decided it was time to get down to business.
Back in the room, he presented an investment report and got straight to the point.
"Master Yang Huan, this report contains detailed information on several Premier League teams I currently represent. Please take a look and let me know if any of them interest you."
Yang Huan glanced at the report, which listed Liverpool, Blackburn, Everton, West Ham United, and Newcastle United, which had been promoted to the Premier League this season. He then handed it to Zhang Ning.
Zhang Ning examined the report thoroughly and seriously, as she was now Yang Huan's personal secretary.
Zhang Ning carefully and seriously reviewed the report, as she was now Yang Huan's personal secretary.
"If I'm not mistaken, Liverpool, Blackburn, and Everton are all located in northern cities of England, which are relatively less developed economically, correct?" Zhang Ning shook her head and rejected the idea.
The most economically developed areas in England are around London, in the southern part of the country. The northern cities were once industrial hubs, but in recent years, they have largely declined, including Manchester, where both Manchester United and Manchester City are based.
With the economy underdeveloped and a lower per capita income, it is difficult for teams from these cities to form a strong commercial model. Take Liverpool, for example: though it's a long-standing Premier League giant, it has largely survived on financial support from its owners.
Cash Harris was well aware of this issue—the economy was a natural disadvantage for these professional teams.
"Newcastle and West Ham United are not bad," Cash Harris continued his pitch.
Newcastle is the core city of northern England, and West Ham United is located in London, though in the eastern part of the city.
After hearing this, Zhang Ning smiled sweetly but still shook her head.
Her smile was beautiful and captivating, but to Cash Harris, it felt merciless.
"Newcastle is indeed not bad, but do you think a newly promoted Premier League team without star players, without valuable assets, and with a financial hole nearing one hundred million pounds, can really sell for three hundred million pounds?"
Seeing that Cash Harris had nothing to say, Zhang Ning continued her analysis: "As for West Ham United, it's situated in the poor eastern part of London. The purpose of the London Olympics was to develop the east, but it has nothing to do with West Ham United. The Olympic Park is quite a distance from West Ham's home ground, Upton Park. I don't see how West Ham United can be worth 250 million pounds."
As Cash Harris listened to Zhang Ning's analysis, he wiped his forehead and realized he was sweating.
This beautiful Eastern woman had clearly done her homework thoroughly on these matters.
The reason why Cash Harris couldn't sell these teams wasn't without cause. Either the asking prices were too high, with no one willing to pay, or the teams were located in economically underdeveloped areas where investors had little interest.
In such a situation, it would be really tough to sell these teams. After all, each deal involved potentially over a hundred million pounds—no one could afford to be careless.
"Mr. Harris," Yang Huan spoke up when he felt the time was right, "don't doubt my sincerity in investing in a football team, but don't doubt my intelligence either. What I want are quality assets, not some leftovers that others didn't want."
"Do you understand what I mean?" Yang Huan asked clearly, staring at Harris.
"I understand, of course I understand!" Cash Harris knew well that the City of London was full of investment advisors, and if he upset this wealthy young master, Yang Huan had plenty of other choices. He needed to quickly present an option that would interest him.
After racking his brain for a moment, he finally thought of a team that was a real bargain.
"Young Master Yang, actually I have another team for sale, but… it's just in a lower league."
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