The Godfather of Football

Proactive means proactive in English, or it can be translated as foresight and preemptive.

But if you look for it on the London stock market, you will find that this is a company, a very special company!

What you absolutely cannot imagine is that this company once caused quite a stir.

In May 2001, the company was successfully listed in London. At that time, the analysis report of the London Stock Exchange clearly indicated that they were optimistic and favored this company, believing that such a company would soon replace those deformed listed football clubs and become the investment direction of the new sports economy.

At that time, Internet technology concept stocks were in dire straits, and the stock market needed new stimulation. In the UK, where football is regarded as a belief, football-related listing projects have always been highly anticipated. Even those shares of listed football clubs that are considered deformed are not lacking in people holding them, let alone this kind of football-related stocks that can lead profits.

In the company's business forecast, the company also gave a very authoritative data, that is, the player's salary will continue to soar day and night, and for companies like them engaged in football brokerage and marketing, the soaring player's salary will also lead to a surge in their income.

Yes, this company called Proactive is the largest sports group in England, and its boss Paul Stretford is the best and most famous one among the 170 professional agents in England.

At that time, not only the football circle was waiting for the listing of this company, expecting it to create a new situation, but even investors in the stock market were full of confidence in it, because not long after the company went public, Arsenal introduced Sol Campbell from their arch-rival Tottenham Hotspur, with a weekly salary of 99,000 pounds!

This was a shocking contract at the time, but it also made everyone realize that Stretford's words when the company went public, and the forward-looking remarks that predicted that the player's salary would continue to soar day and night, were all fully reflected in this contract.

No one knows whether Campbell's transfer is related to Stretford, because the former's agent is not Stretford, but it is obvious that Sol Campbell's sky-high contract made Proactive's stock hot, and many people even believed that the agency would completely replace the position of football clubs in the stock market.

Undoubtedly, that was Stretford's peak moment. That year, his company had 270 players on hand, including Beckham, Keane, Owen, Anelka, Neville brothers, Andy Cole and other famous Premier League top stars, but the company's real core assets are obviously not just these.

One thing must be explained here. A player's agent is actually not just one person. In many cases, authorization is adopted. For example, Ronaldinho's agent is his brother Assis, but in fact, Assis is only responsible for contracts and salaries. Other aspects such as image marketing and commercial cooperation are all authorized to Eliza Moon.

Another situation is that people like Robben, Van der Vaart and Sneijder authorized Eliza Moon, who then arranged an agent to take charge of their business through the company. Therefore, in many news media reports, the name of the agent in charge of the business may appear, and no one knows who they authorized.

This is a very complicated relationship. It can be said that without an agent, the players and the club will become opposites that cannot be tolerated, so many things must be handed over to the agent to buffer.

For this sports marketing company in Stretford, the core asset is not the players, but the shareholders.

When the industrial and commercial department investigated the Premier League black gold case, it once investigated this company and announced the shareholders and specific shares of this company: Bobby Robson 100,000 shares, Souness 400,000 shares, Martin O'Neill 172,000 shares, Wilkinson 48,000 shares, Keegan 200,000 shares, Allardyce 80,000 shares

Not only the head coach, but also the club's management, the most famous of which is Everton's CEO Donford.

At that time, the most controversial and media-focused transactions were two transactions. After Sunderland coach Reid held 125,000 shares of Proactive, he introduced American midfielder Reina from Glasgow Rangers for 5 million pounds.

And Donford bought 40,000 shares of the company. A week later, Rooney announced that he refused to sign a contract with his agent and switched to Stretford. Both transactions caused considerable controversy at the time.

However, people living in modern times are always particularly forgetful. Even after the black gold case was a hot topic, not long after, all the people affected were safe and sound. Whatever happened, those coaches still held shares in the company. Who would say anything to them?

The most impressive thing about Stretford was what he said to Aston Villa chairman Ellis. The chairman who fired coach John Gregory because of his close relationship with Stretford invited Graham Taylor, but he was still a partner of Stretford.

At that time, Stretford told this guy who couldn't tell the reality in a relaxed tone that no matter who they replaced, everyone was the same!

Stretford's most famous theory was that when Blackburn was on the verge of relegation and had a tight financial situation, Souness insisted on introducing Manchester United striker Andy Cole for 8 million pounds, for which Stretford and Souness received a 5% commission.

When he was later questioned by the BBC, he defended himself, "No one cares what you have done. For Blackburn's management and fans, the most important thing is that Andy Cole scored a lot of goals after joining, helping Blackburn to successfully avoid relegation and rank tenth. This is more important than anything else."

Perhaps some people are puzzled by the fact that the Premier League black gold case was finally left unresolved, but if they knew clearly that when goalkeeper Schmeichel transferred from Aston Villa to Manchester City in 2002, the Danish Football Association realized that there was a conflict of interest in the transfer and wrote to the English Football Association. As a result, the English Football Association refused to investigate the matter. Later, the Danish Football Association transferred it to UEFA. The English Football Association was forced to respond under pressure from UEFA and issued a written statement stating that there were no problems in the process of the transfer.

This is the English Football Association's protection of Stretford, because when they encounter problems, the first thing they consider is face.

But sometimes, many things are dominated by fate. Stretford's plans and strategies were originally very smart, and he even had the opportunity to become bigger and stronger, but in the end he did not expect one thing, that is, he escaped the black gold storm and was safe and sound, but investors in the stock market also abandoned him.

The single share price of 25 pence when it was listed fell all the way to 7.5 pence during the black gold case, and now it has fallen to the bottom, but all the coaches and football practitioners who hold shares in this company have not sold them. They are obviously trapped.

And all this has formed the interest pattern of the entire Premier League!

It can be said that as long as these shareholders exist, as long as they are still in the Premier League, Stretford will not fall!

But in the past few years, with the continuous influx of foreign funds into the Premier League, with more and more foreign coaches entering the Premier League, it is inevitable that more competitors will come to share this increasingly tempting big cake with Stretford.

Among all the competitors, there are actually only two people who can enter Stretford's eyes. One is Pini Zahavi, a Jew from Israel, and the other is Eliza Moon from France.

The former is the most popular agent in the Premier League in recent years. Although he has few player resources and his connections are not good, he has done what Stretford has wanted to do for many years, that is, to engage in club transactions and further root his influence deeply in the club's power structure.

Perhaps, this can be described by a Chinese saying, those who steal hooks will be executed, and those who steal countries will be marquises. They all want to be the latter.

Eliza Moon is the fastest rising agent in recent years. Her previous network was mainly in the Netherlands, but after Ye Qiu came to the Premier League, she quickly expanded her network to the Premier League. In addition, a group of players from Ajax, Feyenoord and Eindhoven played in the four major leagues, which made her influence rapidly expand.

Eliza Moon does not have many players. Compared with his 270 players, Eliza Moon only has 40 to 50 players, but each player is a famous star in today's football world, and each transfer is a surprising number. The most shocking one is that Ajax Samsung transferred to Real Madrid not long ago, and it is said that the transfer fee is over 100 million euros.

You can imagine that according to the general 10% commission, that is 10 million, and if it is not good, it is 5%, that is 5 million.

In addition, a large part of the recent group of players in Chelsea have been assigned to Eliza Moon. Stretford has not seen this woman in person, but he knows very well that she has an extraordinary relationship with Ye Qiu. Some people even speculate that Ye Qiu is a shareholder of this agency company, but who knows about this kind of thing?

Compared to the low-key Eliza Moon, Stretford hates Pini Zahavi the most. The latter is his top competitor in the Premier League. Moreover, this shrewd Israeli seems to covet his agent empire. Many head coaches, including Souness, are now closely related to him.

What is even more hateful is that Rooney's former agent McShekin suddenly jumped out to wreak havoc in front of the media. Stretford was under pressure and had to fight back, but he didn't expect that the plot would take a turn.

Originally, he just wanted to accuse McShekin and others of malicious rumors and slander, but he didn't expect that the other party seemed to be well prepared. Not only did they provide a series of evidence showing that they had installed eavesdropping devices on McShekin and others in the past, preparing to use this as a bargaining chip for blackmail and intimidation, but they also planned to bribe McShekin with 250,000 pounds in cash, but they failed in the end.

Although this unsolved case has been a hot topic so far, it will take a long time to come to a conclusion. However, it will cause huge damage to his business and reputation. More importantly, the police have found a very key witness, his former assistant Lindfield, who knows all these things clearly.

It can be said that at this point, Stretford is very likely to lose the case, unless he is willing to take the initiative to ask for mercy.

Stretford also knew clearly what the price of begging for mercy was.

Therefore, during this period of time, he did not go anywhere, but stayed in the company office in Wilmslow, Cheshire, secretly planning a counterattack strategy, because he already knew very clearly in his heart who was behind the scenes. Hit him up.

While Stretford was waiting anxiously, an assistant knocked on his office door.

"Boss, this is what you want!" The assistant placed a thick stack of documents on Stretford's desk.

Stretford flipped through a few pages casually, but he read them seriously, and a smile gradually appeared on his face, but there was a bit of chilling sinisterness in the smile, "Humph, that damn thing The Jew thinks he is very smart and everyone else is a fool. I will let him know this time that he is not very smart either!”

If anyone could see these open pages at this time, they would definitely be surprised, because they include a series of transfers that Pini Zahavi has handled in the Premier League in recent years, including many outsiders. The transfer has always been very confusing, but it is recorded very clearly and detailedly in these reports.

The commissions recorded in the report for each of Pini Zahavi's transactions are very clear. The highlight is that the commissions for 15 transfers exceed the player's annual salary for one year, and one of them is The amount of the transfer is very scary.

In this transfer, Pini Zahavi moved an Eastern European player to the Premier League and sold it for 5 million pounds. However, in fact, the actual value of the player was only 2 million pounds. The remaining 3 million pounds, Pini Zahavi Ni Zahavi accounted for 2.5 million pounds, while the Eastern European club received 500,000 more.

This is the most typical broker operation method and the most profitable operation method for brokers.

"Are you all here?" Stretford asked with a smile. He now felt as if he had obtained the token of life and death. He could let whoever he wanted die die. The feeling of life and death was so satisfying.

"All right!" The assistant was a little afraid of him and nodded in reply.

Stretford took another deep look at the stack of documents in his hand. He found that it was a bit heavy, but he gritted his teeth in his heart and handed it out, "Send it to the BBC TV station. Haven't they been asking for it recently?" News? Just give them something hot!”

The assistant took the stack of documents and put them in his hand, seeming to feel heavy, "Boss, don't think about it again?"

Although this stack of documents is aimed at Pini Zahavi, in fact everyone knows that once it is announced to the public, it will not only be Pini Zahavi involved in the case, but the black gold case of that year will also attract attention again. , when the time comes, it will not only involve Pini Zahavi, but will even radiate to all agents.

Stretford's actions will inevitably make him a public enemy in this circle, and he will no longer be able to gain a foothold in the company or in the football circle, because no one will forgive this person who destroyed everyone's jobs and money. Road guy.

Stretford closed his eyes, waved his hand, and signaled his assistant to go out quickly. It seemed a bit like he was afraid that he would regret it, but the character of retribution in his bones made him absolutely unwilling to let go. Over Pini Zahavi.

As for the company he worked so hard to create, it sounds good, but in fact, only he knows best that it is no longer as popular as it was three years ago. At that time, he would be shaken if he stomped his feet in the Premier League, but he knew it best. Now, he no longer has that kind of influence, so even people like Pini Zahavi dare to challenge him.

There is a saying that goes well. Clay Man is still angry. Stretford has long been increasingly dissatisfied with Proactive's performance. There are more and more shareholders, and most of the profits have gone to them. See for yourself. It seems like they have built a platform and gained some benefits. It seems that they are tied up through the company, but in fact they are tied up by them.

Over the years, he has made enough money. He has long had the idea of ​​giving up and transforming, but he still can't let it go. But this time, he is determined to fight Pini Zahavi to the end. Even if it's a fight to the death, this cunning Jew must pay the heaviest price.

As for Maxkin, is it still a matter in Stretford's eyes that a few hundred thousand pounds can be solved?

What he is fighting for now is not profit, but breath!

At this time, McShkin was insignificant in his eyes. What he wanted to fight was Pini Zahavi.

Besides, everyone is afraid of losing his job, but he is not afraid, because even if he loses the company and everything, his relationships are still there, and he has so many connections where he has shared interests, and he can do it wherever he goes. He can get away with it, and he doesn't need to worry so much anymore. If he finds a top star like Beckham, Irving, and Gerrard to guard him, he will have nothing to worry about for the rest of his life.

Ye Qiu obviously didn't know that a storm was happening in Cheshire, far away from Liverpool, which would cause a huge earthquake in English football. He never cared about Pini Zahavi and Stretford. What happened to the lawsuit? He is now concerned about his team and has never been able to score Liverpool's goal at Anfield.

Not only that, the Reds almost scored a goal. If it weren't for Pongler's cross pass and Traore's low shot being miraculously saved by Van der Sar, Chelsea would have been in a passive state of falling behind at this moment.

The score of 0:0 was obviously not what Ye Qiu was pursuing. Standing in front of the visiting team's coaching bench at Anfield, he was thinking hard about how to break the cage from Benítez. The targeted tactics of this Spaniard are definitely the best in the world. Even Ye Qiu likes to study his tactical ideas very much in the study room.

But in addition to pre-match preparation, Benítez's tactics also rely on on-the-spot command, so even if you are very familiar with his tactics, it's useless. He will keep adjusting during the game to restrain you.

Ye Qiu turned around and glanced at the players on the bench, and finally fell on one person.

It's you!