I Am a Nobleman in England

"Southampton going bankrupt?"

Arthur's fingers trembled slightly, and he looked at Jerry with a normal expression and asked.

"Yes, since they were relegated to the British Championship in 2005, they have been unable to make ends meet financially. The players either left or were sold off, resulting in serious losses. This year, they were relegated to the League One again due to the club's management reorganization violations. It has reached the brink of bankruptcy. .

We reported it a few days ago, boss, didn't you see it? Jerry explained casually, and asked with some doubts.

"No, I've been so busy these days in London that I don't even have time to read newspapers." Arthur shook his head and asked with a look of doubt: "Isn't it a good black store? Why are you going bankrupt all of a sudden?"

He only pays attention to the financial market. How much time does he have to watch sports reports? Besides, he is not the kind of bastard who would die for football. He can only be regarded as a fake football fan. A few superstars and some wealthy clubs can distinguish between the five major leagues and the Champions League and European Cup. Some detailed knowledge of football is still inherited from the memory of the predecessor.

Southampton Football Club, formerly known as St. Mary's YMA, is a professional football club in Southampton, a port city in Hampshire in southeast England, nicknamed "Saints". It was established in November 1885. Moved to St. Mary's Stadium in 2001.

Of course, Arthur knew about the Southampton Saints club. After all, it was a famous 'black shop', known both at home and abroad for selling its own youth players. . .

Cough cough, of course, if compared with Porto, a synonym for European black shop, then Saints Southampton is definitely a model of the conscience shop in the Premier League, after all, Saints products must be high-quality goods.

Most of the players and coaches who left the Santa Maria Stadium played an important role in the new club. For example, the great Saint Bell who was sold to Tottenham for 14.7 million euros, Arthur clearly remembered that Bell joined Real Madrid with a record transfer fee of 101 million euros.

As we all know, Southampton's youth training may be the best in England, and many talented players have come out of it.

However, the biggest fatal flaw is that they can train people, but they cannot retain them. In fact, this is also a common problem of many small and medium clubs, and Southampton is the same. Faced with the poaching of teams with stronger financial strength such as Manchester United, Liverpool and Tottenham, the Saints may only choose to be a black shop and try to sell players at a good price. This is also the origin of the reputation of the Premier League black shop.

The main reason why Arthur became interested in Southampton is its youth training system.

This is definitely a treasure trove. TV updates the fastest //

"It has been relegated to League One. Players have left and switched to other places. Southampton can't stop it at all. Coupled with the chaos in the management, the current Southampton club is already in chaos."

Jerry shook his head and explained dumbfoundingly, "I heard that the current shareholders of Southampton are looking for buyers who are willing to take over, hoping to get rid of this loss-making black hole. Once bankruptcy is declared, Southampton will be placed under trusteeship. By then , the losses of these shareholders will be even greater.”

Football club financial custody is generally due to the club's board of directors declaring insolvency to repay debts, and there is no new board of directors to take over, the Premier League committee will take over the team and restrict the transfer of such teams.

In this way, the team cannot have any additional expenses. If no one takes over the team at the end of the season, the team will be relegated. In England, it is generally only downgraded by one level. Due to the depreciation of the team due to the team's downgrade, if some players are sold, the debt can be basically repaid, and a new board of directors will take over. Recommended reading TV//

If Southampton, which has already been relegated to League One, is relegated, it may really be over.

Hearing this, Arthur's eyes couldn't help but narrowed slightly, and there was a gleam in his eyes. He looked at Jerry and asked, "Do you know how much they are going to sell?"

After this sentence was asked, everyone at the table couldn't help being slightly stunned, and then turned their eyes to their young boss.

And Jerry, who seemed to have thought of something, looked at Arthur with extremely bright eyes, and said: "There is no definite price, but some shareholders have revealed their intention to sell. However, according to the current situation of Southampton, it must not be too much. Gui, if you have an idea, boss, I will let the reporter from our newspaper office ask about it in private for the interview in the afternoon."

"Hehe, if it's cheap, how about you say I'll buy it?" Arthur looked at everyone with bright eyes and asked with a smile.

"Boss, no matter how cheap it is, it still needs tens of millions of pounds. Moreover, Southampton is still playing in the League One this year. Even if everything goes well, they will be promoted to the Championship next year. Football is a very expensive sport. The ownership of some football clubs is very dangerous. business. Boss, you have to consider the risks here.”

Tom White looked at the young boss who was obviously moved, and hurriedly reminded him.

The global influence of the Premier League is indeed growing, and the copyright of the Premier League has also been sold at sky-high prices. Most people would think that the commercial value of Premier League clubs will also increase. But this kind of thinking is too naive.

In the Premier League, there are not as many super-rich people as you imagine, who burn money like Chelsea's Abramovich. It is becoming more and more difficult to make a lot of money by operating Premier League clubs. In the money-burning football world, investing in Premier League clubs is not a sure-fire business for investors.

What's more, the League One teams that are two levels lower are completely money-losing goods. Without investing money to strengthen their power, it is impossible to reach the Premier League from the lower leagues.

"It doesn't necessarily need so much money, and Southampton's youth training is the best in the Premier League with huge potential. It is definitely a treasure trove of talents. As long as it is given time, even without additional investment, players from the youth training can be promoted back to the Premier League. crown.

And as long as we return to the British Championship, each team's annual basic share will be nearly 3 million pounds, plus box office revenue, player trading, business development, good management, and no rush to hit the Premier League. , and even make a profit. "

Jerry Fuller expressed a completely different opinion from Tom. As the head of the newspaper, his analysis is more professional and in place, and he can better see the potential and value of Southampton.

Of course, if the owner really has the ability to acquire the Southampton club, for the Hampshire-based "Southern Daily Echo", it will undoubtedly get the biggest news source. All of them are of course first-hand news.

Listening to the completely different opinions of the two subordinates, Arthur just smiled lightly. What they both said made sense, but Arthur had his own ideas, and it wasn't just a few words from other people that could change the left and right.

"Hehe, it's too early to say these things. Jerry, you should ask someone to inquire about the club's offer. If the price is too high, even if I intend to buy Southampton, I can't help it."

"Okay, boss." Jerry immediately agreed.

The other people present watched all this in silence, but they had a new understanding of the boss's financial resources. After all, whoever can afford to play football is not worth hundreds of millions.

Many rich people or consortiums like to buy football clubs, and many fans are envious. After all, it must be a very cool thing to be able to play the real version of Football Manager. However, in fact, these rich people or consortiums who buy clubs are not really interested in Football is really love or like these clubs. Of course, making money is the goal of most people, but making money is only the ultimate goal of investing in football. There are different routes to the same goal. The way to make money from football is not the only way, and making money is not the only way in many cases. Purpose.

What Arthur values ​​football is the soft power and personal influence it can bring.

Football is an important way to effectively improve personal soft power. No matter how insignificant and unknown a person was before, as long as he becomes the owner of an old club, it is undoubtedly an important means to improve his personal image.

Especially the topic attribute that comes with football is definitely a marketing tool to increase popularity and influence!

As the football emperor Beckenbauer once said: "It is not football that rolls on the green field, but gold." Don't think that investing in football is all for love, maybe there is, but that is only the most insignificant part .

Fame and wealth, what Arthur, a declining nobleman, needs most, maybe football can easily let him get it, how can he not be tempted, not to mention that although Saints Southampton is now on the street, its fame and history are all important. It's real!