The Godfather of Football

From childhood to adulthood, our parents have been teaching us a truth, that is, it is easier to spend money than to make money, so we should be frugal, and it is best to only make money and not spend money.

In the first twenty years of his life, Ye Qiu also believed this. He felt that all the rich people made their careers through frugality, but later, he started his own business and achieved some success, especially after establishing Leaf Technology. His knowledge was obviously higher and broader than before, and he gradually realized that he was wrong.

It’s not that his parents taught him bad things, but he felt that such words were only suitable for the general public and ordinary people.

Now he began to gradually believe in another saying, that people who can make money are not as good as people who can spend money.

His change was not because he had too much money to spend, but because he gradually recognized many things.

Just like Leaf Technology in the United States, don’t think that everything is going smoothly at Leaf Technology because Ye Qiu, Eliza Moon, Sandberg and other executives are awesome, then you are wrong, because this group of executives at Leaf Technology are indeed awesome, but this is definitely not the reason why Leaf Technology has come to where it is today.

Now Leaf Technology has a large amount of cash in its hands, but most of it is outside the United States. The reason is very simple. As long as the money does not return to the United States, Leaf Technology does not have to pay taxes. If it returns to the United States, the taxes that Leaf Technology needs to pay will be astronomical.

Doesn't the government know?

Please, how much does Leaf Technology sell and earn every year, how many R\u0026D centers have you invested in China, and how many talents have you dug to China, the government may not know? Wrong, they know, but no one says it!

Another point is that Leaf Technology has been constantly acquiring over the years, from Nortel Networks to other small and medium-sized companies, constantly acquiring, why can every acquisition be passed smoothly? Do you really think that the US government is Ye Qiu's godfather?

In the United States, there are many lobbying companies, with an estimated number of 20,000 employees. They have basically worked in the federal government and Congress. Even like Leaf Technology's COO Shirley Sandberg, if she didn't work at Leaf Technology, she could be a very high-end lobbying consultant. Any large company lacks talents like her.

The Washington lobbying company hired by Leaf Technology is well-known in the United States. Ye Qiu spends at least 10 million US dollars on lobbying companies every year. He has hired 15 excellent lobbying companies similar to the Washington Lobby Company. There are nearly 100 lobbyists who have served as senior government officials to lobby the government for various issues, such as immigration, patents, taxes, trade, etc.

In the 2008 presidential election between Trump and McCain, Leaf Technology donated nearly 30 million US dollars to Trump's campaign, but at the same time, the donation to McCain also reached 20 million US dollars, which made Leaf Technology, like Apple, Microsoft and other Silicon Valley companies, remain neutral in this election.

If you look at it at first glance, wow, if you count the lobbying and some of the company's donation activities in cooperation with the government, it will cost about 100 million US dollars a year to the government. This money can buy a medium-sized company with great potential in Silicon Valley.

But the problem is, look at it again, after spending so much money and hiring so many lobbyists, some of whom were government executives or party leaders before, with them, Yezi Technology's acquisition of Nortel Networks was approved, and the acquisition of Nuance was approved. Yezi Technology wanted to arrange more Chinese college students to receive training in the United States, and it was approved. Yezi Technology also wanted to arrange its semiconductor headquarters in Xiamen, China, and it was approved.

Even a tax of more than 10 billion US dollars was avoided by Yezi Technology by moving cash flow overseas, and the US government also turned a blind eye. The reason is very simple. Yezi Technology spent money on lobbying.

So, from this perspective, it is useless to know how to make money, you have to know how to spend money.

There is another truth that Yezi has only seen through in recent years, that is, buying and selling transactions.

Many people who do not know how to invest, or junior students in the investment industry, have an illusion that knowing how to buy is important, because only knowing how to buy can make money, but in recent years, Yezi has discovered that knowing how to buy is not important, you have to know how to sell.

There is a saying in the investment field that those who know how to buy are apprentices, and those who know how to sell are masters.

Many people mention Buffett and think that this investment master is very powerful. Then they will give an example, Coca-Cola, and say that Buffett has held Coca-Cola for many years, and has never sold it even when it experienced a crisis. Is it true?

Buffett has indeed never sold Coca-Cola shares. He even said that he regretted not selling it when Coca-Cola's market value was the highest. This makes many people feel that this investment master seems to have suffered a Waterloo.

But in fact, how did he acquire Geico Insurance Company for $2.3 billion in 1995 and General Reinsurance Company for $22 billion in 1998? To put it bluntly, he bought two major insurance companies through business methods without spending a penny, and at the same time reduced his holdings of Coca-Cola shares when Coca-Cola's market value was the highest, and he didn't have to pay huge taxes.

Look, how powerful!

Of course, in the eyes of ordinary people, because of the serious information asymmetry, they will think, wow, Buffett is so awesome, so powerful, he actually knows how to play, but in fact, from Buffett's perspective, he just made a decision that he thinks is relatively normal and rational.

The market value of Coca-Cola in 1998 was so high, it was simply too outrageous. Everyone knows how to sell. Buffett is not stupid, how could he not understand? It's just that he didn't sell on the surface, but reduced his holdings through a series of capital operation methods.

So, knowing how to buy is not important, knowing how to sell is the key!

Ye Qiu is not familiar with the twists and turns of the capital market operation, and he is also strengthening his knowledge in these aspects, but he knows very clearly that those people who are regarded as gods by ordinary people, including Buffett, Bill Gates, and some other awesome people, to be frank, they are not so magical, but ordinary people don't understand the environment they are in, the consultation and information they have, and have some deification of them.

The capital market is like this, and the football market is not the same?

However, relatively speaking, the capital market faces cold money figures, while the football market has an extra layer of concerns, that is, the players, a living person who has been with you for a long time!

Ever since Ye Qiu realized that spending money is more important than making money, and ** buying is more important, he has been thinking and re-determining some of his business philosophies and ideas. At Tottenham Hotspur, he insisted that there is no player that cannot be sold, it depends on whether you can give a price, so this time he can even sell Messi.

And at Leaf Technology, he gives some high-quality employees and some capable executives higher salaries, as well as better working environment and opportunities, because from his point of view, it doesn’t matter if you spend this little money, the most important thing is to be able to retain talents, and he believes that talents can bring higher and richer benefits to Leaf Technology in the future.

The salaries of Leaf Technology’s employees and senior executives are the best in Silicon Valley, and the working environment and treatment are also the best, so there is a saying in Silicon Valley that the two most difficult companies to poach in the world are Google and Leaf Technology.

There is also a saying in European football that the hardest to poach are Tottenham Hotspur employees and players, including Ye Qiu's core coaching staff, because they have the opportunity to display their talents in Tottenham Hotspur, and they also receive generous remuneration, and the same is true for the players.

Sometimes Ye Qiu feels that some of Florentino's ideas are actually correct. For example, he said that things that can be bought with money are often the cheapest. If you stand at a higher angle and look down on this issue, you will find that it is right.

Driving south from the Theobald Training Base, passing through the London Olympic Park, which is under construction in full swing. By the way, because the Olympic Park is surrounded by urban areas, when designing the skyscraper Zhenhua Building, the data cloud of Yezi Technology, and the London Bowl, it was decided to build a parking lot underground that can accommodate 15,000 vehicles. This will be the largest underground parking lot in Europe.

And at that time, in conjunction with the characteristics of the small island on the ground, the highway will be directly introduced into the underground parking lot, and intelligent management methods will be adopted to avoid congestion during games or when there is heavy traffic.

Because of this additional design, the progress of both the London Bowl and Zhenhua Building is still at the underground parking stage. However, once this foundation is laid, the construction progress will be faster and faster.

Tottenham Hotspur has already paid 100 million euros in 2009 to the London Olympic Organizing Committee in advance. In this way, 200 million of the 300 million euros have been paid so far, and 100 million is left. However, Tottenham Hotspur is not without money, but it is not planning to pay for the time being.

After all, with 100 million in funds in hand, let alone other things, just talk about bank interest, how much money is that?

Moreover, the London Olympics is short of money now, and the organizing committee and the municipal government will inevitably come to the door. By then, with the money in hand, the benefits will be greater. Why rush?

After passing the Olympic Park, Ye Qiu drove into the financial district and came to the core area of ​​the financial district, Canary Wharf.

In the past year, Huangtian Group has acquired two large real estate development projects in excellent areas of London's financial district, such as the Thames River. On the other hand, they have also bought two office buildings with more than ten floors in the financial district. They are all in good locations, convenient transportation, and have great appreciation potential.

Tottenham Hotspur also acquired a six-story office building in South Wharf, which is located on the pedestrian bridge connecting the south bank and the north bank of the South Wharf in the financial district. The other side of the bridge is the subway exit of the financial district. The geographical location and transportation are also very convenient. This six-story office building is rented out above, with shops below, a parking lot at the back, and a hotel opposite.

Because this office building is a bit dilapidated, Tottenham Hotspur renovated the exterior wall after buying it. At present, there are iron frames outside, and the surroundings are a bit messy.

Ye Qiu parked the car, walked to the front, and walked into an Argentine restaurant downstairs.

The logo of this Argentine restaurant is a logo that looks like the letter M, but from the front, it seems to be a pair of eyes that are squinting but bright. However, if you have seen Transformers, you will think that this logo is very similar to the Decepticon logo. In fact, this logo belongs to Messi, which is his personal logo.

Tottenham Hotspur's business department specially invited professionals to design this logo. Even before, the team was planning that if Messi and the team continue with their current development momentum, they might persuade Adidas or some other clothing brands to launch a brand dedicated to Messi's logo in the future.

This is a bold attempt by Tottenham Hotspur, because Beckham himself is launching a brand, and Tottenham Hotspur hopes to launch a brand for its top stars.

The store is still under renovation, and the sound of carpentry construction can be heard everywhere. After Ye Qiu walked in, Messi's father Jorge quickly came to greet him.

"It's a bit messy, let's sit inside!" Jorge was very polite to Ye Qiu.

Ye Qiu rented this shop to Jorge's family at a relatively low price, so that Rodrigo Messi could come to London to open his own Argentine restaurant. This was also an investment of Jorge, but without Ye Qiu's support, Jorge would not have been able to get the lease at all, because anything from Ye Qiu or Tottenham Hotspur was in great demand.

After walking in, Ye Qiu found that not only Messi was there, but also his girlfriend and Fabregas, but the atmosphere was obviously not so harmonious, or in other words, a little bit of gunpowder.

This reminded Ye Qiu of what Peter Kenyon had said before, that Messi had a big fight with his father.

"I'm sorry to bother you again, Mr. Ye Qiu!" Jorge apologized directly with apologetic expression.

Ye Qiu smiled and found a place to sit down, "It's okay, what's the problem?" He couldn't guess why he was looking for him, or what the situation was.

Logically speaking, Messi's transfer to Manchester City only needs his signature. Is it possible that at this time...

"I don't want to go to Manchester City!" Messi raised his head and looked at Ye Qiu with a firm tone.

Ye Qiu didn't say anything, his expression was still relatively calm. He glanced at Jorge, who was obviously at his wit's end. It is estimated that the father has used all the methods and people he can think of to convince his son, but now it seems that he has failed!

Perhaps because he has known Jorge for many years, in Ye Qiu's eyes, Jorge has never been a very greedy person. Maybe he is eager for money, but he rarely does things that agents or some players' families would do, which would make the club furious, so in general, he is a very good person.

After all, who in this world is not greedy for money?

"What do you think?" Ye Qiu seemed calm on the surface, but he was thinking in his heart, especially when he saw Fabregas, he had an ominous premonition. Could it be that Messi was persuaded by Barcelona's emotional offensive?

From Tottenham's perspective, both are transfers, but transfers to Manchester City and transfers to Barcelona are two completely different results. The former can pay Tottenham a transfer fee of 150 million euros, but can Barcelona? It's good enough to give 50 million euros!

Previously, Laporta said in an interview with the media that Tottenham should let Messi transfer to Barcelona for free. The reason is very simple. It was Ye Qiu who brought Messi to the Premier League, and Barcelona did not ask Ye Qiu and Chelsea for high compensation at that time. Now Ye Qiu should give Barcelona a return.

Ye Qiu has always been dismissive of such remarks. After all, when Messi and Fabregas were waiting for opportunities in Chelsea and wanted to return to Barcelona, ​​Barcelona closed the door to them. But now they have made a name for themselves from Tottenham and played at a high level, and Barcelona wants to call them back?

Sometimes Ye Qiu really wants to dig into Fabregas's head and ask clearly why he always favors Barcelona?

However, sometimes Ye Qiu is also very clear that players have been influenced by what they have seen and heard since they were young. If the club intervenes too much in this regard, the effect will be bad, because it will cause the players to be disgusted.

Ye Qiu had a conversation with Fabregas before. As long as he is still in Tottenham Hotspur, he should abide by the rules of the team. If one day Barcelona is willing to pay a suitable transfer fee for him, Ye Qiu will agree to let him leave, but the premise is that he had better cooperate with the club and not help Barcelona to put pressure on him.

Ye Qiu did not say what would happen otherwise, because in his opinion, the communication between him and Fabregas was friendly, but he knew very well that Fabregas must know the result, which is to break up, and no one will benefit at that time.

So in the past two years, Fabregas continued to renew his contract with the team, and basically did not mention his desire to return to Barcelona. This also made Ye Qiu more or less relieved, but now, hearing that Messi did not want to go to Manchester City, Ye Qiu’s first reaction was, could he want to go to Barcelona?

"When I was walking with Cesc today, I suddenly wanted to go back to West Drayton," Messi said.

West Drayton? Ye Qiu had vaguely heard of this place name, but he didn't remember it. It seemed to be a certain district in London, probably in West London.

"We met Mrs. Boyd."

Ye Qiu frowned slightly. He didn't know this person and had no impression of her at all.

"Our landlord when we first arrived in London." Messi explained after seeing Ye Qiu's expression, "Their family and their neighbors, Cesc's landlord, are all Tottenham Hotspur fans, but they don't live in Tottenham, and they are also our fans now."

Ye Qiu was a little confused and didn't understand what he wanted to say, "What do you mean?"

"I don't want to go to Manchester City, I want to stay, I hope to stay in Tottenham Hotspur!"