I build a giant in the Premier League

Chapter 204: Recruiting players! Selecting a coach! It's a really good deal! [Subscribe]

All top teams will inevitably face a very realistic problem after developing to a certain level.

Oversupply of talent!

The talent here includes the best talent.

Just like the Chinese in Bayswater, they are constantly training in the youth training, but the young players in the first team are gradually becoming excessive.

After signing Toni Kroos and Kevin De Bruyne, the midfield has Matuidi, Rakitic, Aaron Ramsey, N'Golo Kante, Paul Pogba and others.

Looking at the youth team, the talented teenager Sterling has already emerged and Harry Kane has also become famous.

For the Chinese players in Bayswater, the competition for talent within the team is already very fierce.

It may even turn into vicious competition at any time.

By then, young players will not get the opportunity to play, resulting in their growth not meeting expectations.

This is a loss for Yang Cheng, the club and the players!
Similar situations happen to all top teams.

Manchester United, Real Madrid, Barcelona, ​​Chelsea, Bayern, and many more.

It's a pity to sell the players.

With such great potential, it can definitely be sold at a high price after a few years of cultivation.

The solution proposed by many top teams is: satellite club.

This was not Yang Cheng's first invention, but has always existed.

For example, Real Madrid has close ties with many La Liga teams, including Getafe.

Manchester United has satellite clubs in countries such as Belgium.

There have been rumors before that Chelsea acquired Eredivisie club PSV Eindhoven, and Alex was sent to PSV Eindhoven for training.

But satellite clubs also have many disadvantages.

Yang Cheng has been thinking about this problem over and over again for a long time.

Acquiring a club and operating it as a group is undoubtedly a very good choice.

In the past, including Manchester City's City Group, Udinese, Granada, Watford acquired by the Pozzo family, and several clubs owned by the Red Bull Group, they were undoubtedly all operated as groups.

But they also have some problems.

For example, Manchester City's City Group.

Before Yang Cheng traveled through time, City Group owned 10 clubs, and the tenth was Troyes in France.

The City Group’s actions in Troyes are very interesting.

They promote globalization and group management in a very simple and crude way.

In addition to unified jerseys, for example, they hired executives from Disneyland Paris to run the club.

A group of redundant players were brought in from Manchester City, but none of them could play in the game.

The head coach was even more outrageous. He was directly brought in from Australia and had never coached in Europe.

Even after achieving an "invincible" record of 19 draws and 5 losses in 14 rounds, the fans called for the team to be fired, and the Troyes management responded by saying, "Everything must be done under the command of the group."

The end result was that Troyes was relegated without changing their coach.

This matter between Manchester City and Troyes is actually very worth thinking about.

The advantages of group operations are unquestionable.

For example, the youth training system, scout network and training system that the Chinese in Bayswater are most proud of today are all replicable.

Since it is information-based, it is not difficult to copy all of this.

The Chinese in Bayswater can even arrange personnel to come and "open a branch mine".

After all resources are shared, our club can save a huge amount of investment.

This has been repeatedly verified by the Chinese in Bayswater in the satellite training center of the youth training system.

When youth training systems and scout networks are shared, smaller clubs can gain amazing development advantages.

This is just the competitive level.

On the operational level, Bayswater Chinese has a strong brand appeal, and its investment resources are simply beyond the imagination of small clubs.

Let’s not talk about anything else, just talk about the main sponsor, such as jersey sponsorship.

When the Chinese in Bayswater go to negotiate with giant companies such as Nike, Adidas and Puma, they only need to include their smaller clubs, even if it's just two or three million euros that can seep out from between their fingers.

This is very attractive for clubs like Nice in Ligue 1.

Not to mention, the Chinese in Bayswater have so many resources at their disposal.

By then, will Nice's revenue level still be the same as it is now?
On the other hand, why did the cooperation between Manchester City and Troyes become such a bad situation?
The reason is that Manchester City copied too simply and crudely without considering the local elements of football at all.

For example, isn’t it outrageous to hire an Australian as head coach who has no coaching experience in European football?

The team's performance is already so bad, but no timely adjustments have been made. Isn't it nonsense to follow the group's will in everything?

The biggest difference between the football industry and other industries is that football is full of uncertainty.

Yang Cheng could actually understand the concerns of the City Group.

Giving too much autonomy to each club can easily lead to each club becoming independent.

This is actually a big problem in modern enterprise management.

City groups are in a phase of blind and rapid expansion and have no time to consider these issues.

In fact, the localization of football is a very critical link.

Not to mention the City Group, after Paris Saint-Germain and Monaco were first acquired by foreign capital, although they brought in a large number of high-level foreign players and greatly enhanced the influence of Ligue 1, why do their reputations remain so bad?

Because they didn't give back to Ligue 1!

All the transfer fees were spent on other leagues, what did the French Ligue 1 teams get?
How much benefit can these French Ligue 1 teams, which are almost going crazy due to debt, get from teams like Paris Saint-Germain and Monaco?
Later, Paris Saint-Germain and Monaco adjusted their strategies in time and began to increase their efforts to recruit players in Ligue 1.

Precisely because he understood these things in his previous life, Yang Cheng’s current idea is to adhere to the development of local characteristics under the overall context of group operations.

Nice, for example.

From a competitive perspective, the club has the support of France's youth training system and a huge talent pool in Africa, so it must insist on youth training and talent cultivation.

The next step for Bayswater Chinese is to gradually build themselves into a top club.

Under such circumstances, Nice will have to take on more tasks in youth training and talent development.

As for how to balance the two, we need to continue exploring in the subsequent operations.

Therefore, Yang Cheng will not learn from Manchester City's City Group and will not expand blindly and quickly, but will proceed steadily.

First run a branch well, develop a set of mature management experience, and then expand it gradually.

French Ligue 1 club Nice is the first branch chosen by Yang Cheng.

Why Nice?

In addition to what Yang Cheng said before, that Nice is cheap, Yang Cheng has many other considerations.

Behind the cheapness lies investment.

For example, a training center and a youth training center, this is what must be done after taking over.

This investment is not small.

Yang Cheng chose Ligue 2011 as his first stop. An important reason is that in , with the acquisition of Paris Saint-Germain and Monaco by the Qatari and Russian consortiums, Ligue will usher in a new era.

With the continuous influx of foreign capital, Ligue 1 will also rise accordingly.

Now it is 2010, and it is undoubtedly a very suitable time to start early.

Secondly, it is really a great deal to buy Nice now.

Why did Yang Cheng wait until this year?

In fact, he had already been looking for a league and a team.

But it was not until May 5 this year, when France officially won the right to host the 28 European Cup, that Yang Cheng began to focus on Nice.

why?
After obtaining the right to host the European Cup, France will begin to select the host city for the European Cup.

As the fifth largest city in France and the most beautiful international business card besides Paris, Nice will also be one of the host cities of the European Cup.

But Nice's current municipal stadium facilities are too old and have too small capacity.

So, in Yang Cheng’s previous life, in 2011, the French government and the Nice City Government jointly built a brand new football stadium.

The stadium has a capacity of 3 people, more than twice the current municipal stadium used in Nice.

Moreover, various facilities are more complete and more advanced.

Although the ownership still does not belong to the club, the club can learn from Manchester City's case of renting the City Stadium and directly obtain the long-term lease rights, which is not much different from owning it.

Xia Qing has done a survey. With the current ticket prices in Nice, if the seats are fully occupied, there will be an additional 2 tickets sold each year. This means an additional 60 euros per game and more than million euros per season.

After comprehensively considering various factors, Yang Cheng believes that taking over Nice now is definitely a very cost-effective deal.

And be able to establish a flag in France, a treasure trove of football talent.

Yang Cheng believes that the Chinese in Bayswater today have sufficient capabilities, resources and experience to support a French Ligue 1 team that focuses on training young players!
……

Lin Zhongqiu is a very cautious person.

Although Yang Cheng concealed a lot of information he had obtained in his previous life, after listening to Yang Cheng's long-term plan, Lin Zhongqiu still felt very hopeful and felt that this business could really be done.

But why should the Yang Group do it?
When Yang Cheng heard this question, he laughed.

"It's very simple. UEFA has a rule that two clubs under the same owner cannot participate in the same competition."

Lin Zhongqiu was a little confused when he heard it at first.

What do you mean?
If the Yang Group acquires Nice, won’t it still be the same owner as the Chinese in Bayswater?

Isn't this obvious?

"If you want to say that, it's not wrong, but let's look at it from a legal perspective, what is the relationship between the two clubs?"

Yang Cheng asked back.

"Bayswater Chinese is mine now. It has nothing to do with my father or the Yang Group."

"The most that can be said is that China Umbro, a subsidiary of the Yang Group, sponsored our jersey sleeve advertisements, that's all."

"Then what does Yang's Group's acquisition of Nice have to do with me? I don't work for Yang's Group."

"In fact, I asked the Yang Group to come forward because I wanted to help my father advertise and let the Yang Group show its face again."

"If not, I can still operate it through various methods such as trust holding and entrusted holding."

There is really nothing wrong with what Yang Cheng said.

With UEFA's capabilities, they have no way to regulate in the capital field.

For example, the Red Bull Group and the Pozzo family in Yang Cheng’s previous life.

In addition, companies like Volkswagen, Audi, and Adidas can actually influence many clubs at the same time, especially Bundesliga clubs.

Can UEFA do anything about this?
Everyone knows that in the face of capital operations, this clause cannot be said to be meaningless, but it really has little practical significance.

If Yang Cheng really acquired the French Ligue 1 club Nice, and the whole of Europe knew that he was the actual controller of Bayswater Chinese and Nice, so what?

As long as there is no relationship between the two in terms of legality and equity, there will be no problem.

family?

Then go watch La Liga.

Is there any case of two brothers owning two top league clubs and playing in the Champions League at the same time?
Just like Red Bull Group's acquisition of RB Leipzig.

The whole world knows that it is owned by the Red Bull Group and has the same owner as Salzburg Red Bull.

But legally, RB Leipzig is a member-owned club and its funds come from commercial sponsorship. Isn't this illegal?
It’s just that all the members holding shares are from the Red Bull Group.

What's going on?
Any problem?

This is also the Bundesliga, which is known as the league with the most stringent entry requirements!
If Yang Cheng becomes interested in a Bundesliga team someday, he will replicate this operation.

This is called: taking Red Bull’s path and leaving Red Bull with no way to go.

As long as there are regulations, there will always be loopholes.

This is impossible to guard against!
Yang Cheng didn't worry about these at all.

"So how much do you plan to pay to acquire this club?" Lin Zhongqiu asked with concern.

"What do you think?" Yang Cheng asked instead of answering.

"The other party asked for 1000 million euros, and I thought it would be 800 million euros."

Yang Cheng nodded with a smile, "Then let's get in touch with them first and do some due diligence first."

Only after due diligence can we clearly understand Nice’s financial situation and assets.

But for Yang Cheng, he felt that the price of 800 million euros was still too expensive.

The most important thing is that Nice does not have many fixed assets.

Yang Cheng had a reference in his mind.

In his previous life, Marseille, a French Ligue 2016 giant, was only sold for 4500 million euros in .

You have to know that that was the price paid after Paris Saint-Germain and Monaco spent a lot of money and Ligue 1 successfully hosted the European Cup.

In 2011, the Qatari consortium acquired 70% of the shares of Paris Saint-Germain, the capital's team, for only 5000 million euros, of which 2000 million euros were used to repay debts.

Also in 2011, Russian billionaire Rebolovlev acquired Monaco, which had been relegated to the French Ligue 1, for a symbolic sum of euro.

Of course, whether it is the American consortium acquiring Marseille or Rebolovlev acquiring Monaco, they have promised to invest a certain amount of money in the next few years to ensure the competitiveness of the team.

But it can be seen from these acquisitions that Ligue 1 teams are now a hot potato.

Let’s leave other teams aside and talk about Nice.

Nice was first acquired in 1990 by Milan Mandaric, a wealthy man with dual Serbian and American citizenship.

Maybe many people are not familiar with this person, but he is a speculator who specializes in buying and selling clubs.

Nice made him his first fortune, and he sold it for cash in 95.

He bought Portsmouth in 98 and sold it for cash in 07.

After selling the Pompey Legion, he turned around and bought Leicester City.

He is now the chairman of Leicester City.

In Yang Cheng’s previous life, in December 2010, he sold Leicester City and bought Sheffield Wednesday.

After being passed around for a while, Nice fell into the hands of Maurice Cohen, a wealthy man with dual French and Israeli citizenship, in 02.

Nice experienced good development during this period and was sold to Gilbert Strado, a dual Italian-French citizen, in 09.

In Yang Cheng's previous life, Strado did not manage Nice well, so it was transferred to Jean-Pierre Rivière in 2011.

Jean-Pierre Rivière was a capable man, and during the years he was in charge, Nice established a complete youth training system.

Not only did they build a new training base, but they also reached an agreement with the Nice City Government on a new stadium.

It wasn't until 2016 that Chinese and American investors bought 80% of Nice's shares for 2000 million euros.

The Chinese investor is the owner of the 40 Days Inn chain. He acquired % of the shares and became the largest single shareholder.

But later the business did not perform well and Nice was sold again.

From this point, we can see how much Nice is worth.

Jean-Pierre Riviere moved to a new stadium, built a training base, and developed youth training, and 80% of the shares were sold for only 2000 million euros.

So how much is Nice worth now that it has nothing?
The biggest headache when acquiring a football club, especially a club in Ligue 1, is not the money required to buy the club.

It’s the investment in running the club!

Why would a giant club like Marseille only sell it for 4500 million euros?
Because in the years before the sale, Marseille invested a total of more than 2 million euros.

Note that it was the shareholders who invested 2 million euros.

This does not include the club's debts.

……

The day after Yang Cheng arrived in Nice, he welcomed a special visitor.

Emmanuel Perrin, Bayswater Chinese's head of scouting in France.

Dan Ashworth spoke highly of the scout, believing that he is extremely capable and very familiar with the French football market.

Over the past few years, Emmanuel has helped Bayswater Chinese to sign many players in France.

For example, Paul Pogba, N'Golo Kante, etc. were all recommended by him.

When Yang Cheng told Dan Ashworth and Mike Rigg that he wanted to acquire a French Ligue 1 team, Dan Ashworth strongly recommended Emmanuel Perrin.

Most importantly, he was very familiar with the Chinese business in Bayswater and had visited London many times to train on the business.

Emmanuel had already received news about Yang Cheng from Dan Ashworth, and he also realized that this would be a very good opportunity for his personal career.

What future is there in always working as a scout?
Therefore, he has made sufficient preparations during this period of time.

Yang Cheng hopes that he can cooperate with Lin Zhongqiu to complete the acquisition of Nice.

As a native Frenchman, Emmanuel is Yang Cheng's step towards localization under group management.

Emmanuel did not disappoint Yang Cheng.

After arriving in Nice, he communicated with Yang Cheng and Lin Zhongqiu, and then went directly to Nice to contact Gilbert Strado.

Both sides have very clear intentions.

The first gift Emmanuel brought to Yang Cheng was to buy French Ligue 500 Nice from Gilbert Strado for million euros.

By making concessions on the purchase price, Gilbert Strado got what he wanted.

Since due diligence would be carried out next, Yang Cheng allowed him to sell two players, Remy and Modeste, during this period.

Don't underestimate these two players. They can at least bring Gilbert Strado a transfer fee of 2000 million euros.

Of course, Yang Cheng will get a clean, debt-free Nice club.

As for the acquisition of Nice, Yang Cheng asked Emmanuel Perrin and Lin Zhongqiu to negotiate with the government and the French Football Association.

Yang Cheng promised that after the acquisition was completed, he would build a new training base for Nice and create a complete youth training system.

With Bayswater Chinese backing this up, I believe no one will doubt it.

After all, today's Bayswater Chinese are famous for training young players!
In addition, the Chinese in Bayswater have promised to invest no less than 5 million euros in the next five years.

"5000 million euros?" Lin Zhongqiu jumped up and down again.

How come it's been so many years, he still jumps so easily?

"Ah Cheng, are you sure?"

Yang Cheng nodded solemnly, "A training center is estimated to cost several million, or even tens of millions of euros, and then I plan to sell Matuidi and N'Golo Kante to Nice."

Yang Cheng emphasized one word: sell!

Based on the current market value of these two players, especially Matuidi, it is at least 2000 million euros.

So is it not too much to "sell" Bayswater to the Chinese for 3000 million euros?

At that time, Yang Cheng will just buy a few people.

Look, isn't that it?

Does Nice require payment?

No, just keep a record!
Just owe it to me first!
After the players are sold in the future, I will pay back the principal and interest together!

Lin Zhongqiu's eyes widened when he heard this.

Can this still be done?

……

While Emmanuel Perrin and Lin Zhongqiu went to contact and negotiate with all parties and Xia Qing hired a professional company to conduct due diligence on Nice, Yang Cheng flew from Nice to Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

He made an appointment to meet someone here.

Ronald Koeman!
This is a very talented Dutch coach.

But it was also a fateful one.

Regardless of past and present lives, Yang Cheng admires Ronald Koeman's football very much, and feels sorry for the situation of the Dutch head coach. He always chooses the wrong team at the wrong time!
Or rather, he had no choice!
Not all head coaches have as much choice as famous coaches.

Just like Ronald Koeman.

The early stage of his coaching career was very smooth. He transformed from a legendary star to a head coach. He first served as an assistant to Hiddink in the Dutch national team, and then went to Barcelona to study under Van Gaal. He was also a colleague of Mourinho.

In his first time as coach of Vitesse, he achieved impressive coaching results, and then took over Ajax.

In Amsterdam, he became a well-known young coach in European football!

After that, he achieved good coaching results both at Benfica and Eindhoven.

But at the most crucial leap, when he coached the La Liga powerhouse Valencia, he suffered a tragic Waterloo.

The reasons for his disastrous end in Valencia's coaching career, in addition to the club's debt and management turmoil, were also Ronald Koeman's failure to control the Valencia locker room.

Especially the handling of several veteran players of the team at that time, Albelda, Cañizares and Angulo.

Coupled with his tactical conflicts with Villa, Joaquin and others, he eventually left Valencia in disgrace.

From taking over in mid-November to leaving the team in late April, he led Valencia from 11th in the league to 4th, almost falling into the relegation zone.

It can be said that Ronald Koeman completely ruined his coaching career in Valencia.

This Waterloo kept Ronald Koeman dormant for more than a year until the summer of 1, when he took over Alkmaar left by Van Gaal.

Chef Van left AZ to coach Bayern Munich.

But by December, defending champions Alkmaar ranked seventh in the Eredivisie and Ronald Koeman was sacked again.

At this point, no one cares about Ronald Koeman.

Yang Cheng admires this head coach very much.

There is no problem with his coaching ability, but he has a bad temper.

A very important point about Ronald Koeman's failure in Valencia is that he wanted to establish his authority from the very beginning, but failed!
In addition, Valencia was in turmoil and heavily in debt at the time, and Ronald Koeman was powerless to turn the situation around.

Yang Cheng knew this very well, so when he was choosing the head coach for Nice, he carefully selected and chose Ronald Koeman.

Because he was sure that the Dutch needed a coaching opportunity to rise again!

Moreover, his current annual salary is not very expensive.

Up to 150 million euros.

Before tax.

……

Yang Cheng's visit surprised Ronald Koeman.

The status of the two people is very different.

Yang Chenggui is one of the world's top coaches, and Ronald Koeman is now at the lowest point in his coaching career.

What do the two of them have to talk about?

Ronald Koeman was particularly shocked when Yang Cheng extended an olive branch to him.

At first he thought it was a Bayswater Chinese.

This is not a team he can control now.

When Yang Cheng mentioned Nice in Ligue 1, his first reaction was to refuse.

Although he is at the lowest point in his coaching career, he is a legendary Dutch star after all, has successful coaching experience and a very impressive resume. Why would he coach a team like Nice in Ligue 1?

"Don't be too quick to say no, Ronald."

Yang Cheng smiled and comforted Ronald Koeman, not giving him the chance to refuse.

Because once the words are spoken, they cannot be taken back.

"You and I both know very well that your current coaching situation is very bad. You can either continue to wait for an opportunity that you don't know when it will come, and it may not be a good opportunity."

"If it was a good opportunity, why would they change the coach?"

"Or, you can choose a better team and prove your coaching ability again, just like Van Gaal chose Alkmaar!"

Yang Cheng mentioned Van Gaal, which was still very stimulating to Ronald Koeman.

As early as when Koeman coached Ajax, he had a conflict with Van Gaal.

There are even rumors that Koeman took action against Van Gaal.

But Van Gaal's coaching experience is worth learning from for Ronald Koeman.

Why can Chef Fan coach Bayern?
Because after experiencing consecutive failures at Barcelona and the collapse of Ajax, he went to Alkmaar and took a few years to lead the team to the Eredivisie championship.

It is difficult for Ronald Koeman to coach a top club directly.

But if he wants to return to coach in the four major leagues, he must prove himself again.

The best is the Eredivisie which he is familiar with.

But Ligue 1 is undoubtedly also suitable.

At least the league is more competitive than the Eredivisie.

It’s just that if Ronald Koeman is in the Eredivisie, he will have the opportunity to coach giants like Ajax, PSV Eindhoven or Feyenoord in the future.

Nice is just a small team in Ligue 1.

"I know what you're worried about, Ronald, but I can build a competitive lineup for you."

As Yang Cheng spoke, he clearly felt Ronald Koeman's eyes shining.

When a head coach encounters a suitable lineup, he can often burst out with strong competitiveness and is more likely to achieve results.

"For example, Graziano Pelle from AZ Alkmaar."

Ronald Koeman's hands trembled noticeably. He raised his head in disbelief and looked at Yang Cheng.

"This player should fit your tactics very well. How do you think of building a lineup for you with him as the center?"

Ronald Koeman looked at Yang Cheng in disbelief.

He couldn't believe it.

Because he really admires Pelle.

As early as the summer of 09, when he coached Alkmaar, he was already interested in a center forward like Pelle.

But Pellet was never a main player during his coaching and his performance was not ideal.

"How do you know Pelle?" Ronald Koeman was shocked.

He knew Yang Cheng, but had never had any in-depth contact with him.

Rumor has it that Yang Cheng has the ability to turn stone into gold, and any player that Yang Cheng takes a fancy to can basically become successful.

Ronald Koeman didn't believe it before.

But now, he had some doubts.

"Feeling!" Yang Cheng said with a smile, "I have studied the few games you coached Alkmaar. You have always tried to use Pelle, but because there were more stable strikers in the team at the time, Pelle was not experienced enough."

"More importantly, his performances were not very good after he came on as a substitute a few times, and you really couldn't find a reason. Am I right?"

Ronald Koeman sighed deeply.

"In fact, if there hadn't been a red card in the first game, Pelle's fate would have been different now."

Yang Cheng didn't say anything else.

At this time, his best role is to be a listener.

"My first game as coach of AZ Alkmaar was away to Almelo Hercules. Hercules' Brazilian left-winger Everton performed very well and scored a goal in the first 8 minutes."

"We attacked throughout the first half with no results, so I brought on Pelle at half-time."

"As a result, we conceded a goal in three minutes after the start of the second half, and another goal in the 3st minute. We were completely stunned."

"But soon Pellet played his part and scored a goal for the team in the 77th minute."

"Then we scored another goal and it was 2-3."

"Both sides were very angry and the situation was a bit out of control, especially our players, who kept attacking at the end of the game. There was a fierce physical conflict between the two sides at the end of the game, and Pelle and Sweets were sent off."

"We lost 2-3 and Pelle was given a red card and banned for five games."

Yang Cheng felt the same way.

This is often the case in football games.

The fate of a player and the head coach sometimes just depends on a single thought.

"He is now in Alkmaar and doesn't get any chance at all. I will bring him to Nice and you will coach him. The Chinese from Bayswater and I will build a competitive squad for you."

Ronald Koeman raised his head, looked at Yang Cheng, and asked, "Who can you give me?"

"Matuidi and N'Golo Kante!"

Ronald Koeman is very familiar with the players of the Chinese team in Bayswater and he knows the strength of Matuidi.

N'Golo Kante also made a few appearances last season and performed well.

The Dutch were also secretly calculating in their hearts.

With Nice's Ligue 1 team, although they sold two or three core players such as Remy, their overall strength is good.

Plus Pelle, Matuidi and N'Golo Kante.

It’s still good to play in Ligue 1 in the new season.

More importantly, Ronald Koeman was attracted by Bayswater Chinese's scouting network, youth training resources and Yang Cheng's eye for selection.

He also longs to return to coach in the four major leagues!

……

The negotiations between Emmanuel Perrin and Lin Zhongqiu in France went very smoothly.

Both the French Football Federation and the Nice City Government are very satisfied with the conditions offered by the Chinese consortium.

These days, there are very few financial groups willing to invest in French football.

What's more, it is backed by a top club like Bayswater Chinese.

With the green light all the way, the acquisition went very smoothly.

All that’s left is for Xia Qing to complete the due diligence.

Emmanuel handed over all the French affairs to Lin Zhongqiu, and went to Amsterdam himself. Under the witness of Yang Cheng, he formally signed a coaching contract with Ronald Koeman.

Nice's former head coach Eric Roy was originally the club's football director and took over the team midway in March.

Although he successfully led the team to avoid relegation, Yang Cheng still decided not to renew his contract.

The acquisition of French Ligue 1 club Nice by a Chinese consortium has caused quite a stir in France.

It quickly spread to Europe and even the whole world.

Because behind this consortium are Yang Cheng and Bayswater Chinese!

At the beginning, people just thought that the two clubs were closely related.

After all, isn’t Yang Group the property of Yang Cheng’s family?
Then, as the media dug deeper, more and more news came out.

For example, many of Nice's top executives are Chinese from Bayswater.

Although they are all very low-key.

The football director Emmanuel Perrin, who frequently appears in the newspapers, is the scouting director of the French area of ​​Bayswater Chinese.

Everything is laid out very clearly before the world.

Nice is Yang Cheng’s property.

When asked by media reporters, both the French Football Association and UEFA said they would pay attention and supervise.

But the entire acquisition was legal.

When it entered July, Nice officially announced that it had signed Matuidi and N'Golo Kante from Bayswater Chinese for a total transfer fee of 7 million euros.

This has attracted strong attention in Ligue 1.

At the same time, Emmanuel Perin officially announced that the team appointed Dutch coach Ronald Koeman as the team's head coach for the new season.

As soon as the two transactions and appointments were announced, they immediately aroused heated discussions among French media and fans.

Since the club had previously sold its main striker Remy to Marseille for 1550 million euros, Emmanuel announced that he had signed Italian center forward Graziano Pelle from Eredivisie club Alkmaar for 100 million euros.

Subsequently, Emmanuel announced again that he had signed the 19-year-old Dutch central defender Virgil van Dijk from Willem II of the Netherlands on a free transfer.

Signed centre-back Mehdi Benatia from French Ligue 2 side Clermont-Ferrand on a free transfer.

The 23-year-old central defender came from Marseille's youth training and was selected for the French U19 national team.

But in the summer of 06, he was loaned to Toulouse in the French Ligue , and then to Lorient.

But it was in Lorient that Benatia, who had no chances, suffered a serious knee ligament tear.

After his contract expired in 08, he moved to Clermont-Ferrand in the French Ligue on a free transfer.

In the past two seasons, he has been a starter at Clermont-Ferrand, but his performance has been mediocre.

So, Nice didn't even have to spend a penny to sign Benatia from Clermont-Ferrand.

In addition, Nice also signed Riyad Mahrez, a player with dual French and Algerian citizenship, from Quimper in the fourth tier of French football on a free transfer.

The 19-year-old made 27 appearances in the fourth tier last season, scoring once.

After carrying out a number of transfers in succession, Nice has no intention of stopping.

Emmanuel then signed 18-year-old Sadio Mane from the famous Generations academy in Dakar, Senegal.

Subsequently, Nice signed Mohamed Salah from Egypt's Mokolumne for a transfer fee of 50 euros.

Since players from the ACP group are not considered foreign players in Ligue 1, Sadio Mane is not considered a foreign player, but Egypt does not belong to the ACP group, and Salah is a Ligue 1 foreign player.

Continuous signings have made Nice's first team very bloated and full of redundant players.

But Yang Cheng did not continue to participate in the club's cleansing work, but handed over the task of selecting players to Emmanuel Perin and the new head coach Ronald Koeman.

This can also be regarded as helping Ronald Koeman establish his authority.

The Dutchman is the biggest name in Nice, but he also needs more prestige to control the locker room.

The transfer fees from the sale of some of the players can be used as operating funds for Nice.

At the same time, the Chinese in Bayswater also arranged personnel to come to Nice to help Nice build a youth training system and reorganize the youth training team.

From now on, Nice's first team and youth team will fully compete against Bayswater Chinese.

This is very attractive to French players.

After all, Bayswater Chinese is the most famous team in European football today!

To reorganize the youth training team, Emmanuel went north personally.

He first went to Bondy, a small town 11 kilometers northeast of Paris, and successfully brought Kylian Mbappe.

Then they signed 13-year-old Ousmane Dembele from Evreux, a suburb west of Paris.

These two players are the focus of attention in Bayswater Chinese youth training system.

Among them, Ousmane Dembele also faces competition from Rennes.

Emmanuel was previously in charge of the French area and his base is in Paris. He is very familiar with the areas around Paris and has already had contact with Mbappe and Dembélé.

But they and their families have no intention of playing football abroad for the time being.

But this time, Emmanuel invited them to go south to Nice, and they did not refuse.

There is no need to mention Mbappe. The Rennes where Dembele almost went is completely different from the youth training of the Chinese in Bayswater.

Yang Cheng stayed in Nice and felt relieved after receiving a call from Emmanuel Perrin.

As long as they can grab these two French talents, acquiring Nice will be a good deal with huge profits!
Not to mention, there are Sadio Mane, Mahrez and Salah.

It’s exciting just to think about it!
Of course, it is impossible for all such a large number of talents to be employed by the Chinese in Bayswater.

Yang Cheng’s positioning for Nice is very simple, which is to train young players.

Because of this, in his instructions to Emmanuel Perrin, Yang Cheng told him very clearly that the purge of redundant staff was imperative.

Especially those who are older and have higher salaries, basically all have to be sold.

The next step for Nice is to generate revenue.

The current jersey sponsor is Italy's Leto, whose annual sponsorship fee is pitifully small, and much of it is offset by in-kind subsidies.

The contract runs until 2011.

As for the chest advertisement of the jersey, sorry, there is none.

By the way, Nice's home jersey for the new season is a red and black striped shirt, a bit like AC Milan.

The away jersey is white, but there are two ribbons, one red and one white, from the left shoulder to the right waist.

The second away jersey is made of plaid fabric with black, white and grey interwoven together, and is a very special shirt-type jersey.

It is definitely too late to change sponsors now.

But next, Yang Cheng plans to put Bayswater Chinese together with Nice’s main sponsor.

It is even possible to unify the jerseys of the two teams.

It all depends on how well the fans accept it.

The new training center and youth training base should be put on the agenda as soon as possible, and this requires communication and coordination with the Nice City Government.

What Yang Cheng meant was that they could discuss the conditions appropriately.

In the huge city of Nice, there is only one professional club.

So there are still many things that can be discussed.

As for raising funds, Xia Qing has already considered it carefully and will directly apply for a bank loan when the time comes.

The EU loan interest rate is very low now, so it is still very cost-effective.

Adam Crozier, Omar Berrada and others will also come to Nice in the near future to inspect and communicate on the next stage of actions of both clubs.

From now on, Bayswater Chinese and Nice will be managed and operated as a group.

……

Because of Yang Cheng's relationship with the Chinese in Bayswater, the Nice acquisition attracted a lot of attention.

But news in professional football comes quickly and goes even faster.

Football fans are quickly drawn to news on the European transfer market and the upcoming new season.

Especially this summer's first International Champions Cup, which has been gaining momentum.

Before the Chinese team at Bayswater started their summer training, Yang Cheng made a point to meet with several players in advance.

Including three new players: Courtois, De Bruyne and Toni Kroos.

They are all settled in London.

The new players are very satisfied with the club's logistical support.

Yang Cheng told them clearly that there would be no shortage of playing opportunities in the new season.

But the prerequisite is that they must put in a convincing performance.

Even for Toni Kroos, who was personally chosen by Yang Cheng, Yang Cheng told the German that he could not support him to become the main player of the team as soon as he arrived.

Because Rakitic and Aaron Ramsey both performed very well.

Toni Kroos expressed confidence that he is never afraid of competition and challenges.

With the plan and blueprint that Yang Cheng had outlined for him, Toni Kroos was very confident that he would succeed at Bayswater Chinese.

With Nice in Ligue 1 in a state of disrepair and the Chinese players at Bayswater gearing up for the new season, Yang Cheng and his players once again set out on the journey of the new season.

According to the plan, the team will train in London for two weeks and then go to the east coast of the United States to participate in the International Champions Cup.

This is the first time for 12 top teams to participate in the competition and they all take it very seriously.

Even UEFA and FIFA are closely following every move of the International Champions Cup.

(End of this chapter)