I build a giant in the Premier League

Chapter 317: Unstoppable! Invest in the Bundesliga! Build an industrial chain! I want to go to Brazil to move gold bricks! [Subscribe]

Is this UEFA decision unexpected?
What's so surprising about this?
This is my third time experiencing this.

Yang Cheng secretly complained in his heart, but on the surface he still smiled and shook hands and hugged Beckenbauer.

This legendary Bayern player is now fading out of Bayern and the Bundesliga.

Before, many people said that he was determined to join FIFA, and even gave up the opportunity to compete with Platini for the UEFA presidency in 2007.

But now it seems that his development in FIFA is not going well.

On the contrary, Platini and Infantino both started as UEFA President and moved on to the throne of FIFA President.

So, sometimes, it’s really hard to choose this thing.

In the face of the tide of the times, who dares to say that what they do is definitely right?

Well, not really, at least Yang Cheng can do it now.

Beckenbauer obviously did not come to talk to Yang Cheng specifically about UEFA's reform.

This is just his entry point.

Yang Cheng declined to comment on whether this decision was good or bad.

Whether it is purely looking at European competition points in the past or the champions of the top seven European leagues now, it is actually not objective enough.

To put it bluntly, the champions of the Russian Super League, the Dutch Eredivisie, and the Belgian First Division are not as good as the top four teams in the Premier League, let alone the top four teams in the Bundesliga, right?

But Platini's move clearly shows that he is still trying to further weaken the top leagues, especially the Premier League.

But as a time traveler, Yang Cheng knew very well that this trick was useless.

Seeing that Yang Cheng didn't react much, Beckenbauer changed the subject appropriately.

"I heard from my friends at Kicker magazine that you have been paying close attention to our German club recently?"

Beckenbauer's words stunned Yang Cheng.

Is there such a thing?

Wasn't that a long time ago?
Not recently.

"The rumors in the outside media are a bit exaggerated." Yang Cheng responded with a faint smile.

When Yang Cheng saw that Beckenbauer didn't seem to believe it, he could only smile bitterly.

You can’t blame him, or the various speculations from the outside media and fans.

Yang Cheng now owns teams in the Premier League, La Liga, Serie A and Ligue 1.

Uh, no, it’s the Spanish Second Division.

This has led many people to turn their attention to the Bundesliga.

In addition, haven't there been rumors in the German football world over the past few years that there is interest in introducing the Bayswater Chinese model?

So many people are saying that Yang Cheng will enter the Bundesliga next.

In this regard, neither Yang Cheng nor Bayswater Chinese have made any clarification to the public.

how to say?

There is contact, but the prospects are unclear and it cannot be pushed forward at the moment.

"I'll be honest with you, Franz, we've been in contact with Hamburg and Hertha Berlin before."

Beckenbauer's eyes lit up and he asked with concern: "How is it going?"

"Very bad." Yang Cheng smiled bitterly and shook his head.

Neither club is a big name, and Hamburg have fallen so far as to be on the verge of relegation from the Bundesliga.

Moreover, both clubs are heavily in debt.

Yang Cheng's team has contacted more than just these two German teams. In addition to several teams from the Bundesliga, there are even teams from the German Second Division.

But these two are the ones with whom I have the most and deepest contact.

"We came into contact with Hamburger around 2012 to 2013. As you know, Hamburger was in a very bad situation in those years. Not only was its financial situation in a mess, but its performance was also very bad."

“To me, this is simply incredible!”

Beckenbauer also nodded helplessly.

This is the current situation in the Bundesliga!

Many people think that the 50+1 policy is a good thing, but what is the reality?
Just like Hamburg, the city's economy is so good, the fans are so enthusiastic, and the match day income and various other incomes are all good.

But they are able to run this club into what it is today.

Not only are they heavily in debt, but their performance is also getting worse and worse, and they almost got relegated last season.

Only burgers?
"I'm telling you the truth, Yang. Many people outside say that Bayern is the most opposed to cancelling the 50+1 policy, but I can tell you very clearly now that, on the contrary, we at Bayern are the most supportive of cancelling the 50+1 policy."

"We have pushed for this internally more than once over the years, but it has not worked because there are too many clubs that are against it."

"You know, clubs like us at Bayern would like to see the Bundesliga break its current shackles and become more international, with a more prosperous league and more powerful opponents, just like the Premier League."

"A league dominated by one player is certainly easy, but it has no development potential, and the 50+1 policy has completely blocked the Bundesliga's path to internationalization!"

Beckenbauer's words surprised Yang Cheng a little.

Because what he had heard in the past was that Bayern was the most opposed to canceling the 50+1 policy and wanted to run the Bundesliga as its own backyard.

Isn't it so?

When Beckenbauer saw Yang Cheng's stunned and surprised expression, he sighed, moved closer, and whispered a secret.

"To be honest, you must have heard of RB Leipzig in the German second division, right?"

Yang Cheng nodded.

This club caused quite a stir and created quite a stir.

"When they bought the Leipzig club, it was me who suggested it to them and recommended it to them."

Yang Cheng looked at Beckenbauer in surprise.

The football emperor smiled and nodded. "In fact, I recommended many clubs and teams, including teams in western Germany, but in the end they chose Leipzig."

This makes sense.

"To be honest, from Bayern's perspective, we really hope that more foreign companies like Red Bull and you, who operate in compliance with regulations, will enter the Bundesliga. This is a good thing for us."

Yang Cheng really believed it now.

"This matter cannot be done." Yang Cheng smiled bitterly and shook his head.

"Take Hamburg for example. They have a debt of more than 1 million euros. Didn't they come up with the so-called HSV Plus in January this year?"

Beckenbauer nodded, and the matter was settled.

The so-called HSVPlus is a joint-stock company that conducts external financing.

"At the beginning, they also mentioned this matter to us. According to them, we are only responsible for investment and holding shares in the club. At the same time, we will arrange for people to enter the club as consultants to help Hamburg carry out reforms in the first team and youth training."

"We Chinese in Bayswater will share scouting resources and training experience with Hamburg."

When Yang Cheng said this, he couldn't help but burst out laughing, "Franz, do you think we are fools?"

Beckenbauer also smiled bitterly.

This is really a lot of self-confidence!
To put it bluntly, why should the Chinese in Bayswater share these capabilities with you in Hamburg?
Not only do I have to share, but I also have to pay money to buy your shares before I am eligible to share?
How big is the face?

The most outrageous thing is that after giving shares, they don’t give decision-making power. What the hell is going on?

In other words, Yang Cheng was only responsible for investing money and had no control over how the money was spent or how the business was managed.

Isn't this just being taken advantage of?

To put it bluntly, if Hamburger's management really had this ability, could they have run Peking King to what it is now?
And what is their shield?
50+1 policy!

The so-called 50+1 policy does not actually restrict foreign investment in acquiring shares in Bundesliga and . Bundesliga clubs.

What do you mean?
It means you can buy whatever you want, it’s okay.

But even if you hold 100% of the shares, it is useless because you only have 49% of the decision-making power at most.

The management team elected by the member fans has 51% of the decision-making power.

Excuse me, what's the point of me spending so much money to buy your club?

Oh, in the final analysis, I just pay the money and don’t do anything else!
"This is the biggest problem now!" Beckenbauer smiled bitterly and shook his head.

"There is no shortage of interested investors in Hamburg. It is said that a local billionaire has invested 1 million euros to support their HSV Plus plan, but he also has his own interests."

There is a clear difference between local wealthy people and foreign investors.

Beckenbauer sighed, "Red Bull encountered these same problems when they were looking for a team in Germany. In the end, they chose a fifth-level team because only in such a low-level league would they have the opportunity to reform the club's membership system."

The model of RB Leipzig is very simple. They choose a club with very few members, and after acquiring it, they persuade all the members to withdraw and then establish a new membership system.

The membership fee is not much, probably only 1000 euros, but there is one more item.

All new members must obtain the consent of old members.

This blocks the entry threshold for members.

Therefore, Leipzig now has very few members, only a dozen or so, and they are all employees of the Red Bull Group.

In theory, RB Leipzig still has a membership system, but the number of its members is very, very small.

Can Yang Cheng play like this too?
Actually it is possible.

But after the precedent of RB Leipzig, the second team to do this will definitely be the target of public criticism.

After careful consideration, Yang Cheng, Xia Qing and Adam Crozier all felt that this was unnecessary.

Especially the closed nature of the Bundesliga.

To put it bluntly, what is the point of entering the Bundesliga if the 50+1 policy is not cancelled?

When this policy is cancelled in the future, will it be necessary to go through so much trouble to acquire a club?

Yang Cheng’s current model is to create a leader first and then work from top to bottom.

Bayswater Chinese are the leader, followed by Nice, Atalanta and Malaga.

In this case, does it make a big difference whether there is a Bundesliga team or not?

"To be honest, after all the trouble I've suffered with Hamburg and Hertha Berlin, I really have no interest in them anymore," Yang Cheng said with a smile.

Beckenbauer also sighed.

In fact, the ones who are most opposed to the cancellation of the 50+1 policy come from clubs in small and medium-sized cities and people like Hamburg’s management. This is their umbrella of protection!
As for German fans, they are also content with the status quo.

The reason is simple: the price of football tickets in Germany is very low.

Everyone feels that once the 50+1 policy is broken and foreign investment is introduced, ticket prices will skyrocket.

This will affect the vital interests of the fans.

What's more, they are also worried that the acquisition will destroy the local football culture.

In the eyes of German fans, a league like the Premier League, which is completely controlled by capital, is not worth learning at all.

But Bayern knows best.

Today's German players are leaving Germany.

The Bundesliga has no advantage in the competition for superstars.

What's even more outrageous is that the 50+1 policy is like a protective umbrella, and all the mid- and lower-level teams under its protection are seriously lacking in competitiveness and market awareness, and cannot keep up with the development of the times.

As for fiscal health, how is that possible?

How do you say this?

This policy does support the lower limit of Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga clubs and maximizes the social attributes of football, but it also sets the upper limit for clubs.

All the clubs seem to be operating slowly in a comfortable safety zone.

Although there are clubs like Hamburg that are in debt of more than 100 million euros, most of them are still honest.

Is this a good thing?
It depends on which angle you look at it from.

In the tide of globalization, where will the Bundesliga go?
Who knows?

……

"What did he come to tell you?"

As soon as Beckenbauer left, Adam Croser came over.

Yang Cheng glanced at him and it was obvious that he had been secretly waiting in the distance for a long time.

"Invite us to invest in the Bundesliga."

"Invest in the Bundesliga?" Adam Crozier also felt strange, "Can we get in?"

Yang Cheng smiled and nodded.

From an investor's perspective, Yang Cheng is not interested in the current Bundesliga.

At least not yet.

As Beckenbauer said, no one, including the Red Bull Group and all investors, would be interested in such an uncontrollable investment.

In Yang Cheng's previous life, the local tycoon who invested 1 million euros in Hamburg and the German tycoon who invested to million euros in Hertha Berlin all ended up being struck out by the management.

There is no need to replicate the experience of RB Leipzig.

With such time and money, Yang Cheng might as well acquire teams from the Portuguese Super League, the Dutch Eredivisie, or the Belgian First Division. Wouldn't that be better?

Besides, if we go to the Bundesliga, the investor Yang Cheng will be a junior.

In other leagues, the rich are the boss.

For example, Brazil.

He is going to Brazil to move gold bricks recently!
In fact, many fans have seriously underestimated the impact of Brazil's disastrous defeat in the 2014 World Cup.

Being beaten like that by Germany at home, and then being completely defeated in the third and fourth place playoffs, it almost blew the sky of the football kingdom.

Therefore, after the World Cup, it can be said that the country of Brazil was almost boiling with public discontent.

The Brazilian Football Association also responded immediately and was determined to launch a vigorous reform.

The first is youth training.

Not long ago, the Brazilian Football Association announced that during the World Cup, each of the 15 states that did not host the games would establish a youth training base that could accommodate 720 players, mainly recruiting young players aged 7 to 14.

As the saying goes in Brazil, this means creating 15 "Clairefontaine" in 15 states.

At the same time, Brazil began to assess and rate the youth training facilities, financial investment, youth training system, etc. of all professional clubs.

This is something we learned from Germany's experience, and the key point is between the ages of 14 and 18.

The next step is to establish the U20 Youth Football Championship for the first time.

In the future, we may establish more youth echelon competitions for more age groups.

But for Yang Cheng, the most important thing is that "the Brazilian Football Association hopes to introduce a typical European football youth training model, combine it with Brazil's national conditions, and explore a youth training path with Brazilian characteristics."

To some extent, Brazil has acknowledged their shortcomings and weaknesses in youth training.

After all, apart from Neymar, Brazil hasn't produced a genius for a long time.

Even, there are fewer and fewer outstanding players.

This is completely different from the past when geniuses continued to emerge like mushrooms after a rain.

They feel the crisis of talent gap!
The reason lies in both internal and external aspects.

Domestically, Brazil's economy is growing rapidly.

The BRICS countries!
Abroad, the era of globalization of football has arrived. Brazil's past free-range, unsystematic youth training has fallen far behind Europe's systematic youth training.

It was in this situation that the Brazilian Football Association approached the Chinese in Bayswater.

They sent delegations to London twice to learn from others, and also visited Nice and Atalanta in Ligue 1 for inspection.

The youth training model of Bayswater Chinese is highly praised, and it is considered to be the most advanced youth training system in professional clubs.

They hope to introduce it to Brazil.

To this end, they were willing to make an exception for the Chinese in Bayswater.

In Brazil today, all clubs are membership-based.

Yang Cheng was allowed to acquire professional clubs in Brazil.

This will be the first foreign investment in history!
As early as the beginning of the century, with the support of Russian oligarchs, Khorabchin's MSI company acquired Corinthians, but only held 51% of the shares.

The logic behind this is actually the same as the Bundesliga's 50+1 policy.

The general meaning is that Corinthians will set up a joint-stock company and sell shares to MSI to pay off debts, but Joorabchian will not directly intervene in the club's management.

At that time, Corinthians also introduced players such as Tevez and Mascherano, which caused a lot of sensation.

But within a few years, Corinthians quickly fell and MSI was soon wiped out.

This time it is different for Yang Cheng. He is allowed to directly acquire clubs in Brazil.

This is also the reason why Yang Cheng doesn't want to go to the Bundesliga at all.

When he goes to Brazil, he is the boss.

If he goes to the Bundesliga, he will be a grandson.

In fact, this is all thanks to the Brazilian national team's disastrous defeat in the World Cup.

Of course, what is more important is that in the past few years, Yang Cheng and his team have successfully trained Brazilian players.

"How's the progress in Brazil?" Yang Cheng asked with concern.

"We have been pushing forward and we finally locked in on two clubs, but their recent results have been poor and both are in the relegation zone of the Brazilian Serie A." Adam Croser smiled bitterly.

As for those wealthy clubs, there is basically no need to think about it.

For example, Cruzeiro, Sao Paulo, Corinthians and Santos are obviously doing quite well.

Unless they are forced into a corner, no club management or fans can accept the club being acquired by foreign capital.

"Which two teams?"

“Palmeiras in Sao Paulo, Botafogo in Rio de Janeiro.”

After hearing this, Yang Cheng smiled bitterly and nodded repeatedly.

"It's really lame, a definite favorite for relegation!"

Botafogo is even the second-to-last team in the Brazilian Serie A.

Although Palmeiras is an old team, it has long lost its former glory. In 12, it was relegated from the Brazilian Serie A and was only promoted this season. It is currently ranked near the relegation zone.

Since it has been granted royal permission and introduced to Brazil as a model by the Brazilian Football Association, Yang Cheng and his team will naturally carefully select high-quality teams with development potential.

Palmeiras and Botafogo each have one stadium.

However, both stadiums were not opened on time due to various reasons.

"You ask them to make the arrangements and we'll fly over there in the next two days to take a look." Yang Cheng said.

Adam Crozier nodded.

Now that the target has been identified, Yang Cheng must go there in person to take a look and check it out. After that, Xia Qing will have to do due diligence and check the other party's debt situation.

There is no club in Brazil today that is not in debt.

Every family is heavily in debt, the only difference is how much.

...Just two days after returning to London from Nyon, Switzerland, Yang Cheng flew to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, accompanied by Xia Qing, Adam Crozier, Omar Berrada, Chris Hunter and others.

Over the past few months, a team from Bayswater Chinese has been visiting and making contacts in Brazil.

Once they were picked up at the airport, the group headed to the city center.

The first stop is Rio's Olympic Stadium.

Before 2012, the stadium was named after FIFA President Havelange and was called the Havelange Olympic Stadium.

But because Havelange was involved in a bribery scandal, it was renamed the Nilton Santos Stadium.

It was originally built for the 2007 Pan American Games.

When it was planned in 2003, the budget was only 3 million reais, but when it was completed in 2007, the total cost was nearly 2 million reais.

As a result, in 2013, the building was closed to the public because the roof was unstable during strong winds.

It is currently undergoing renovation and reinforcement work in preparation for the 2016 Rio Olympics.

But what’s funny is that due to funding issues, workers began to strike in April 14 and the operation is currently temporarily suspended.

Therefore, when Yang Cheng and his group arrived outside the stadium, they could only watch from the outside and could not get in at all.

And according to the team's investigation, Botafogo's lease on this stadium is until 2027.

After visiting this unfinished stadium, the group went to another stadium not far away, which is now the San Joaquin Oario Stadium of the Vasco da Gama Club in the Brazilian Second Division.

But the conditions of this stadium are even worse.

Especially when they went to see the nearby Maracanã Stadium, they could hardly bear to watch it.

Maracanã is called a modern football stadium!

Currently, this stadium is used by three Brazilian teams, namely Flamengo, Fluminense and Botafogo.

By the way, Botafogo ranked 4th in the Brazilian Serie A last season, making it a solid team.

But this season is currently ranked last.

This kind of thing is shocking in European football, but it is actually very common in the Brazilian league.

Therefore, for Brazilian clubs, it doesn't make much sense to refer to their results.

Maybe they won the championship last season and were relegated next season.

More consideration should be given to the club's assets and system, as well as its brand value.

The total valuation of Botafogo's first-team players this season is not even 3000 million euros.

That translates to about 1 million reais.

But one good thing is that they don't have much debt.

In comparison, another team, Palmeiras of Sao Paulo, currently has a first-team market value of 4700 million euros, or about 1 million reais.

But the club's debt has exceeded 1 million reais.

As for the training bases of the two clubs, they are basically very bad.

Palmeiras' youth training is relatively better, but also limited.

The biggest advantage of the Sao Paulo team is that they have a brand new stadium, Allianz Park, which has been basically completed and is about to be opened.

The next day, when Yang Cheng and his party arrived at the core area of ​​​​São Paulo's city center and saw the brand new Allianz Park Stadium, it felt so comfortable compared to the other two old stadiums they had seen in Rio de Janeiro!

But this stadium will not entirely belong to Palmeiras for the next 30 years.

This involves a very complicated transaction.

As early as 2008, Palmeiras proposed to build a new stadium, but it had nothing to do with the Brazil World Cup at the time, it was purely because the location here is very good.

Therefore, Palmeiras signed an agreement with WTorre, a Brazilian construction developer, to build a new football stadium here.

After completion, all income from sponsorship, services, box rentals, and various stadium activities for the next 30 years will be given to WTorre, and Palmeiras will only have match-day tickets and operating income.

So, this stadium can be said to belong to Palmeiras, but not completely.

But don’t think that WTorre has made a profit.

Actually, no.

Because when construction started in 2010, their budget for the stadium was 3.3 million reais, or about 1 million euros, and the original plan was to open it before the 2014 World Cup.

This will also allow for some federal funding from the government.

But no one expected that the construction of the stadium would be delayed again and again, and it has not yet been officially opened.

Not only did it fail to catch up with the World Cup wave, but the budget also increased from the original 3.3 million reais to the current 6.3 million reais, almost doubling.

On the contrary, the new stadium of Corinthians next door was built from 2011 to 2014, and successfully caught up with the World Cup. Although it cost 11.5 billion reais, 4 million of it was supported by the Brazilian government.

WTorre mainly deals with industrial real estate, warehouse storage and commercial real estate, but in the past few years, affected by the subprime mortgage crisis and the European debt crisis, Brazil's domestic economy has generally not been ideal.

In addition, the stadium's budget almost doubled, and it failed to be built in time for the Brazil World Cup, missing out on a large amount of federal funding.

Due to the combined effects of multiple factors, the company is currently facing serious debt pressure.

It is now completed, but WTorre itself does not have the ability to attract investment for this kind of sports venue.

The stadium also has an amphitheater that can accommodate 18000 people, 160 VIP boxes and 2000 parking spaces.

For WTorre, they simply do not have the ability to operate such a venue.

Therefore, they must contract out the venue.

"According to the information we have received so far, the joint debt of the construction company and Palmeiras has reached 1.6 million reais. Add to that Palmeiras' own debt, and they simply cannot afford to pay it back!"

Yang Cheng's team is directly led by Xia Qing, so naturally they would not act without a purpose.

The projects that can be submitted to Yang Cheng must have been carefully selected, and they are considered to have the greatest potential and the most value.

Otherwise, with Yang Cheng's current busyness, how would he have the time to slowly investigate?

Besides, he himself is not good at it.

1.6 million reais may seem scary, but is it really so?
Less than £4 million.

But if you add Palmeiras' debt and acquire the ownership of Allianz Park from the real estate company, it will be a huge amount.

……

"How much money would it take to acquire Palmeiras now?"

After returning to the hotel, Yang Cheng asked Xia Qing with concern.

"From the current perspective, the most valuable thing is still this stadium, which is worth 6.3 million reais, which is about 1.9 million euros, but based on the current valuation, it should be around this price," Xia Qing analyzed.

"But the company is in a difficult situation right now, and I'm not sure if I can negotiate the price down a bit."

Everyone nodded.

"It's probably going to be a difficult negotiation. The value of Brazil's assets has been rising in recent years. Even if the other party is in financial trouble now, they may not be willing to sell at a low price." Chris Hunter obviously did some work.

The value of the BRICS countries is still quite high.

Moreover, Sao Paulo is the largest city in Brazil and the economic center of South America. This stadium is located in a prime location in Sao Paulo and its value is indeed very high.

"As for the club, Palmeiras is currently valued at around 1 million euros, mainly because their training base is right next to this stadium and has only three standard fields."

Not only Palmeiras, but Sao Paulo's training base is also nearby. The two teams are next to each other, right on the banks of the Tiete River.

"I did a preliminary calculation and the total price is 3 million euros."

The value estimated by Xia Qing should be relatively accurate.

"In addition, we have also conducted relevant research. According to the current market assessment of the core area of ​​Sao Paulo, the return rate of this stadium, excluding the ticket revenue and operating income on match days, is about 10%, which is about 2000 million euros per year."

"This includes venue rental, VIP boxes, etc., and also the naming rights of the stadium. Since 2013, we have signed a 20-year naming rights agreement with Allianz Insurance, with a total value of 3 million reais, which was 1.06 million euros at the exchange rate at the time."

"Palmeiras will only get 20% of the total, which is about 2100 million euros."

Allianz's sponsorship fee will definitely not be paid in one lump sum, but will be paid before the due date each year.

Once the acquisition is completed, the money will naturally be handed over to Yang Cheng.

According to current research, a 10% return rate, plus ticket and match day operations, plus stadium naming, is generally quite good.

"I can provide the 3 million euros in funding. You should mainly consider the competitive issues." Xia Qing looked at Yang Cheng.

She really doesn't understand anything about football.

Yang Cheng had no doubt that Xia Qing could now mobilize such a large sum of funds.

You know, the Chinese in Bayswater are really like money printing machines now.

"We now own four teams in Europe's top leagues. If we acquire a Brazilian club, it will be like opening up the entire industrial chain of professional football."

"From the transfers of players like Neymar, Oscar and Lucas Moura, we can see that the Pele Law will have an increasingly greater impact on Brazilian football, and the value of outstanding Brazilian players will continue to rise in the future."

How high is it?
Needless to say, Neymar's price is close to 9000 million euros.

Lucas Moura moved from Sao Paulo to Paris Saint-Germain for 4000 million euros.

Oscar also transferred from Internacional to Chelsea for 3200 million euros.

This in itself proves that the transfer fees of Brazilian players are constantly rising.

In a few years, Vinicius and Rodrygo will both be worth 4500 million euros, and Enderrick will be worth 4750 million euros.

Among them, Enderique is from Palmeiras.

Also, Jesus, who is currently in the Palmeiras youth training camp, transferred to Manchester City for 2016 million euros in 3200.

To some extent, Brazilian players are no longer cheap and good quality.

The value of truly high-level Brazilian players will only become more and more expensive.

In this case, if Yang Cheng's team can first own a club in Brazil that specializes in youth training, it will be able to provide European teams with a steady supply of talent.

The entire industrial chain will also be more complete.

But more importantly, whether it is Vinicius or Rodrigo, the age at which they are spotted by European giants is getting lower and lower.

Just imagine, if Vinicius and Rodrygo were sold to European clubs when they were both 18 years old, how much would they be worth?
What smart European clubs do is to make an offer to buy players when they are just starting to show their potential, and then rent them back to Brazilian clubs to continue their training.

If the Bayswater Chinese have their own club, wouldn't that be equivalent to internal training within the group?
Can't Rafinha and Gabriel, who are on loan at Avai, be transferred directly to Palmeiras?

In fact, Yang Cheng can take advantage of this opportunity to recruit people from all over Brazil.

Other European teams have to wait until players turn 18, but Yang Cheng doesn’t, they can just poach them directly.

After being recruited, he will be placed in Palmeiras for training for a few years, and then sent to Europe after he has made a name for himself.

Palmeiras' youth training is considered quite good in Brazil.

In this way, doesn't it mean that we have a channel to obtain high-quality and low-cost Brazilian players?

Thinking back to 2022, City Group acquired 90% of the shares of Bahia, a Brazilian Serie B team at the time, for 1.33 million euros.

It is actually quite cost-effective to spend this money to acquire Palmeiras now.

After all, Brazilian football just completed its shareholding reform in 2022, but it is still nowhere to be seen, so the value is still at a relatively low point.

After realizing this, Yang Cheng no longer hesitated.

……

Before Yang Cheng left Brazil, he met with the 46-year-old chairman of Palmeiras, Paulo Nobre, and the club's first vice president Mauricio Garriott and had a meal with them.

The current situation of Palmeiras is something that no one wants to see.

This traditional strong team finally made it back to the Brazilian Serie A, but now it’s going to be relegated again?
But the current situation in the Brazilian league is indeed very bad.

Problems such as debt and unpaid wages are endless.

These are old problems in the Brazilian league.

Some even say that if there is a team in Brazil that does not owe wages, that is the team that all players are eager to join.

When we have money to pay salaries, we can strive for the championship. When we have no money and delay paying salaries, we may have to avoid relegation.

This is the chaotic Brazilian league!

The Chinese in Bayswater also run a scouting network in Brazil, as well as some connections and channels, so they are aware of this.

When Yang Cheng met with Nobre and Garriott, the point he mentioned most was that he would operate and regulate Palmeiras according to the standards of European clubs.

No salary arrears, no bonus arrears, this is the most basic thing!
But in the Brazilian league, this is obviously a very favorable condition.

Nobre was elected president of Palmeiras in January 2013, making him the second youngest president in the club's history.

The term is only 2 years, so it expires this year.

On November 11, Palmeiras will hold a presidential election.

But Nobre told Yang Cheng that this presidential election will be directly voted on, and a total of more than 4000 Palmeiras members will participate in the voting to decide whether to accept Yang Cheng's acquisition.

"So, in the next month or so, I hope your people can work with us and try their best to do the work of these members and strive to get more votes of approval!"

From a procedural perspective, in order to acquire Palmeiras, Palmeiras must first complete its shareholding reform.

Members become shareholders.

Only after completing the shareholding reform can Yang Cheng purchase the club from the shareholders.

Mauricio Garriotte is of Italian descent, only 45 years old this year. He graduated from the Catholic University of São Paulo with a degree in Business Administration and a postgraduate degree in Marketing from FAAP-SP.

He received youth training at Palmeiras since he was a child, but failed to develop in professional football. He started working for Palmeiras at the age of 35 and rose through the ranks all the way until last year when he joined forces with Nobre to run for election. He is currently the first vice president.

Yang Cheng didn't have much impression of Paul Nobre.

But Yang Cheng did remember this Mauricio Garriott.

He is very capable. He took over from Nobre as the chairman of Palmeiras in 2016 and quickly transformed this declining traditional giant into a top giant in Brazil, with its revenue also skyrocketing year by year.

How outrageous is that?
From 2016 to before the mask incident, Palmeiras' annual revenue was soaring by 40%.

However, in 2020, after the sudden mask incident, Palmeiras had spread its business too wide and quickly became the most indebted club in Brazil and was almost bankrupt.

So, at the end of 2021, he stepped down.

After meeting with Palmeiras and the other man, Yang Cheng gave instructions to Xia Qing, Adam Crozier and Chris Hunter when he came out.

"From his words and actions, I think Mauricio Garriott is quite capable. And you guys have said before that he has a great influence among the fans. Let's ask him to stay as CEO."

Yang Cheng definitely cannot let go of such a talent.

Xia Qing and the others were a little confused.

How come they didn't realize during the meal together that Mauricio Garriotte was a talented person?
He doesn't talk much.

On the contrary, Paul Nobre is quite active. It is said that he used to be a rally driver and is also doing some investments.

However, since Yang Cheng said so, they will definitely pay more attention.

……

October 10th, afternoon, Prudential Arena, London.

In the 8th round of the Premier League, Bayswater Chinese faced Liverpool at home.

The Chinese in Bayswater are distracted by the Champions League next Wednesday, while Liverpool are affected by the national team.

Sturridge was injured and Suarez made the long journey back to South America to play.

All these have seriously dragged down Liverpool's performance.

Just four minutes into the game, Hazard dribbled the ball inside the frontcourt and suddenly made a straight pass to the left side of the penalty area.

Harry Kane made a quick diagonal run and shot with his left foot without stopping the ball.

Buffon calmly saved the close-range shot.

Liverpool then held off Bayswater’s Chinese opening attack.

But in the 11th minute, the Chinese players in Bayswater intercepted the ball and quickly launched a counterattack.

Harry Kane retreated to a deep position, stopped the ball, turned around, and passed the ball to Sterling on the left.

Sterling dribbled forward along the left side and was jointly attacked by Glen Johnson and Gerrard.

But just when everyone thought that it would be difficult for Sterling to break through the double-team of two defensive players, the young Chinese player from Bayswater suddenly made a fake move and passed the ball through Glen Johnson's crotch.

Sterling, who is short in stature but extremely fast, slipped between Glen Johnson and Gerrard like a loach, received the ball behind Liverpool's right-back, and dribbled into the left side of the penalty area.

Sterling did not choose to shoot himself, but instead made a cross pass to the back post.

Gareth Bale rushed over and calmly put the ball into the goal.

Buffon had no way to deal with this close shot.

1 is better than 0!

After taking the lead, the game soon fell into a stalemate again.

But just before the end of the first half, Bayswater Chinese once again launched an attack on the left.

Luke Shaw comes forward to support Sterling.

Sterling tried to dribble the ball to the flank but failed, and passed it back to the left side outside the penalty area.

Luke Shaw quickly moved forward and kicked the ball towards the bottom line before Glen Johnson. He accelerated to catch up and kicked the ball to the front point with his left foot.

Harry Kane rushed forward quickly, and under Lovren's defense, with no shooting angle, Harry Kane chose to head the ball, which touched the ball and fell to the back point.

Gareth Bale, who was lying in ambush on the right side of the penalty area, quickly rushed towards the small penalty area, met the ball passed by Harry Kane, dived forward and headed the ball, and rushed into the goal guarded by Buffon with the ball.

2 is better than 0!

Scored twice!

"Another double goal!"

"After two rounds without scoring, the Welsh winger once again showed his excellent competitive form!"

"But for these two goals, he should thank Sterling's selflessness and Harry Kane's wonderful header."

"Anyway, 8 goals in 10 games, Gareth Bale's performance is simply unstoppable!"

“The Chinese players from Bayswater also showed excellent competitive form in this game!”

In the second half, in the 71st minute, Gareth Bale's offensive obviously slowed down, while Sterling became more active.

De Bruyne passed the ball directly behind Liverpool's defense, outside the top of the arc.

Sterling quickly cut in from the left rib, received the ball and rushed into the right side of Liverpool's penalty area, where he first shot.

As a result, the shot was blocked by Skrtel's body.

Sterling reacted faster and took control of the ball first.

But Liverpool's defense had already reached its target, and there was no shooting angle even if they wanted to shoot again.

But at this moment, Sterling suddenly turned around on the right side of the penalty area and knocked the ball back to the penalty spot.

Harry Kane, who came from the back row, caught up and calmly shot the ball into the bottom of Liverpool's goal again.

3 is better than 0!

The entire Prudential Arena was boiling again!
All the fans were cheering and shouting wildly.

Yang Cheng also clenched his fist with confidence.

In the end, the game ended with a score of 3-0, with Bayswater Chinese defeating Liverpool at home.

Yang Cheng and his team won 8 consecutive victories, which can be said to be unstoppable!
But the same may not be true for the other four teams in the Big 6.

(End of this chapter)