Chapter 395: Chapter 394: Supervisor Kai of the Small Broken City Arrives
Mansour fell silent.
From the perspective of the UAE’s official development strategy, Deng Kai was simply not qualified to cooperate with him.
The UAE didn’t need to collaborate with anyone else either.
But Mansour’s proposal hadn’t been approved, had it?
Now, to push the scheme forward, it could only rely on Mansour himself.
Whether in terms of connections or financial resources, this was extremely limited.
The UAE could directly acquire Premier League teams, whereas Mansour could only attempt to buy teams in the English Third Division (there was no Championship at that time).
Indeed, the expenses had decreased by a factor of ten, but the difficulty for the team to meet various expectations had increased by several dozen or even a hundred times.
This proportion was a bad deal.
Three to five hundred million euros would certainly yield results; less than a hundred million euros would surely not. Only a fool would choose the latter.
"I need to think about it," Mansour said, intending to consult his think tank for analysis.
Deng Kai nodded, "Of course, but... we must hurry. Once we get into the later stages of the season, it won’t be cost-effective to buy then."
Mansour acknowledged this.
Then Deng Kai took his leave, as he needed to attend the team’s celebration banquet.
Only when he was back in his car did Jiang Yunzhu ask Deng Kai, "How do you know so much? It doesn’t seem like our government has plans to buy a football team, does it?"
Deng Kai replied, "Indeed. If we were to do so, we would face far more resistance than they would, and acquiring a football team wouldn’t be very meaningful for us."
Jiang Yunzhu said, "Have you ever considered that he now believes the government supports you and is willing to cooperate with you because of this, but once he realizes you don’t actually have that support... he might kick you out immediately?"
Deng Kai shook his head.
Normally, a football star would almost never be able to attain a status equal to that of a club.
Even future football legends who dominated the sport for over a decade, raising the individual status of players to the extreme, would still be at a disadvantage when facing a club.
Besides public opinion, their means of retaliation were very limited; to emerge unscathed was already considered a great success.
That’s why many top football stars, after retirement, would join the management ranks, trying to become real industry heavyweights through this channel, the kind with influence and say in matters.
But there was a special circumstance.
When a team owner urgently needed to produce results in a short period, players who could lead to those results would gain the initiative in cooperation, even surpassing the club in that timeframe.
Once Mansour’s Manchester City plan kicked off, as long as Deng Kai’s ability was evident to all, Mansour would undoubtedly support Deng Kai with all his might.
If Deng Kai’s ability wasn’t enough to lead the team, he would withdraw voluntarily without needing Mansour to say so.
They were willing to accept the outcome of a bet; it was all a part of open strategy.
"Besides, when Mansour agrees to this proposal, he would have already stopped caring whether I have any other backing," Deng Kai buckled his seatbelt, "Many are worried that their ideas will be stolen by others, but in truth, most investors aren’t interested in stealing ideas."
"Because even with a great idea, they lack the professional capability to realize it. Or to put it another way, the effort required doesn’t justify the input and the returns wouldn’t satisfy them."
"So they’d rather support the original proposers of ideas because paying money to get things done is far easier for them than thinking. Or to put it simply, it’s not worth their time to think about these things." Jiang Yunzhu had dealt with enough capital moguls to understand this, but she remained concerned, "But after all, you’re too young."
"I’m afraid he might consider you unreliable and opt for a professional sports management team. Whether he gathers them from within the European football industry or digs into the United States’ mature sports management market to find a team, it’s quite possible."
"Turn left ahead... don’t worry about the windscreen wipers, switch the turn signal back on first..." Deng Kai directed the female driver to change lanes before responding, "Copying is easy, but there’s still a large number of investors who stick with the originators, not the copycats."
"Ideas can be stolen easily, but replicating the nuances, the philosophy, the dedication, and the insight is incredibly difficult. Employing me might not guarantee Mansour’s plan will succeed, but it can increase the likelihood of success."
"Online gaming has already proven that for the wealthy, spending any amount of money for better odds is no big deal."
After finishing his thoughts, Deng Kai looked out at the sky; the weather was exceptionally good.
Meeting Mansour was a fortuitous event, and proposing to acquire Manchester City was just a casual move by Deng Kai, unexpectedly going smoothly.
But it wouldn’t be right to say Deng Kai was lucky; in fact, it should be said that Mansour was fortunate.
Even without Mansour, it would have taken Deng Kai at most three to five years to find a way to acquire a club and then get it up and running.
But it would be hard for it to be a Premier League team.
For outsiders... that is, people from the third world, it would be very difficult to take over clubs like Manchester United and Liverpool, those big names.
Even wealthy individuals from neighboring European countries would face restrictions, and only Americans really have a chance to complete such acquisitions.
Although it’s possible to buy clubs from other leagues, their appreciation potential pales in comparison to that of the Premier League.
This collaboration saved Deng Kai three to five years of time.
And likewise, Deng Kai also saved Mansour three to maybe even more years of time.
If they were really to build up Manchester City, just this move alone would be enough for Mansour to secure a unique position in the UAE.
Moreover, the biggest difference is that this success is not like the kind gained from official support.
This success belongs solely to Mansour as an individual.
Whether domestically or internationally, people’s regard for Mansour will rise to a new level.
...
Soon after, Deng Kai received another invitation from Mansour and had a cordial and friendly meeting with the prince on his yacht.
The two sides worked together very pleasantly.
The related documents would be signed one after another in the time to follow.
Deng Kai made a symbolic investment of a few hundred thousand Euros from the proceeds of selling signed footballs and jerseys to establish a foundation with Mansour, as a gesture of goodwill.
Of course, Deng Kai’s name wouldn’t appear in the foundation, as a nominee would hold it on his behalf.
The nominee was found by Mansour, and after they acquired Manchester City and completed certain operations, Deng Kai would acquire a thirty-five percent stake in the club.
Acting on the principle of ’those present have a share’, Mansour also generously gave Jiang Yunzhu a ten percent stake.
On the surface, it was expressed as optimism for the development of "Soccer Emperor" and to form a friendly cooperation pact.
But in reality, it was probably Jiang Yunzhu’s status they were interested in, preemptively clearing any future domestic obstacles for development while seeking to gain a foothold in the European market without neglecting the Eastern perspective.
This allocation of shares can be said to be quite generous.
If this deal had been managed by the UAE officials, Deng Kai and Jiang Yunzhu combined might not even have been able to secure five percent.
Mansour was the main financier, holding the largest share, and he also fully arranged the acquisition team. Future primary investments would mostly be his responsibility.
Deng Kai and Jiang Yunzhu were essentially getting something for nothing.
But Mansour wasn’t making a bad deal either. As a sports expert, Deng Kai’s advice was more effective at critical moments than that of Mansour’s think tank.
Top operators who assist in completing such acquisitions often get the chance to obtain shares of ten to even twenty percent initially. Usually, however, there are supplemental agreements that require them to sell their shares back later, completing a share repurchase.
Considering that there was nothing explicitly stated in the contract, but both sides were well aware... Deng Kai was essentially selling his future to Manchester City, so this thirty-five percent was practically a family and friends discount from Deng Kai to Mansour.
This share structure was strongly recommended by Mansour’s think tank after they researched Deng Kai’s actions and speech over the last three years and the transfer dealings of Sporting Lisbon from the previous year.
They widely believed Deng Kai’s instincts in the football world were of a phenomenal level.
Whether it was the competitive level or football economics, Deng Kai always seemed to be ahead of the market.
Defeating the Portuguese bookmakers aside, his consecutive predictions over the years for the Golden Ball winner, World Footballer of the Year, the Champions League champion, and the European Championship winner, were outrageous.
And the soaring transfer value of last year’s new signings like Drogba, Barzagli, Pepe, Ibrahimovic, and Terry was equally astonishing.
Once or twice, it could be said the person was lucky.
Winning nine times out of ten suggests the person may be a bookmaker.
But always winning, without fear of investigation, means this person truly has a heaven-defying talent.
