Team Spirit

Chapter 179 (Seeking Monthly Tickets!) Three Hundred Million Euros! The Path to a Wealthy Family Begins

Soon, the European Championship awards ceremony began.

The individual player awards were presented first.

Rooney won the Best Newcomer award.

After treating his injury, Lu Xiaopang returned to the team to continue playing alongside his teammates.

His agent told him that no matter how far the team went, he was likely to win an award, so he might as well come and make his presence felt.

The agent was right after all.

Of course, if England hadn't won the title, the award might have gone to Baroš of the Czech Republic.

Baroš won the Golden Boot with five goals, taking the lead.

Real Madrid, Barcelona and other teams have shown interest in him after his outstanding performance at the European Championship.

In fact, Baros should have left Liverpool immediately. He hadn't gotten many opportunities at Anfield, but he chose to stay.

Ultimately, he still failed to secure a starting position at Liverpool.

This fully illustrates a point: being a sycophant has no future.

Even if you're the perfect "white moonlight" (ideal love), if she still doesn't like you after a period of effort, don't force it; quickly "change your mind."

Rooney, Lu Kai, and Van Nistelrooy all scored four goals and won the Silver Boot.

Greece's Charisteas, Denmark's Tomasson, and France's Zidane all won the bronze boot for their goals.

The best player of the 2004 European Championship was undoubtedly Lu Kai, who played all seven games and scored four goals and provided two assists.

In his award presentation speech, UEFA President Johansson bluntly stated: "What you're about to say will shock the whole world, because when I saw it, I thought you were joking with me."

"But upon closer reflection, this is indeed the best depiction of reality."

"He has undoubtedly become one of the best players in the world. Let's welcome the best player of the European Championship to the stage and shout his name with me... Luuuuu!"

There was thunderous applause.

Lu Kai!

A man who walks ahead of public opinion.

While people were still debating whether he had talent, he had already beaten the most talented players.

Just as people were beginning to recognize his talent, he was already a contender for the best player of the year!
The Greek team then went on stage to receive their runner-up medals.

The England team applauded.

This European Championship has two myths.

Greek mythology and Inge Green mythology.

They all created miracles.

Finally, the England team went up on stage to receive their medals.

Lu Kai walked at the back, accepted the Henri Delaunay Cup, and went to the middle of the players.

He handed the trophy to Beckham.

But Beckham smiled and shook his head, saying, "If I steal your moment of victory, all the fans of 'My Love Diary in Asan Green' will scold me."

"The clips of you holding the trophy in the movie are my kids' favorite."

Beckham has a high EQ.

Before the autumn winds blow, the cicadas are already aware of the coming of autumn; last year's Confederations Cup saw a star-studded England team emerge victorious.

People thought it was just an accident, after all, the opponents weren't very strong.

But this year's European Championship, which is said to be the weakest in history, actually has all the strong teams that should participate. So where is the weakest?
It's just that the teams that made it to the finals weren't the ones everyone expected.

This year's Greece is stronger than other teams.

This year, England is the king of Europe.

Especially in the last three games, the team was short of players; but the fewer veterans there were, the better they played.

Beckham's most impressive performance in this match was his excellent throw-in.

How could this not terrify the 29-year-old Beckham?

England's complete "landification" is now an unstoppable trend.

Going against the tide will cause even the most popular person to be abandoned by everyone.

Only by going with the flow can one achieve longevity.

Lu Kai didn't just lift a trophy; he lifted the team authority that Beckham had "passed on" to him!

Lu Kai accepted the trophy, looked at Beckham and said, "Thank you, Captain, you will always be our captain!"

Beckham breathed a sigh of relief and was in a good mood.

This highlights the importance of finding a successor.

Whether an "old-timer" is effective or not depends entirely on whether the young people in power remember your past favors.

Lu Kai's words were undoubtedly a promise that he would not lay a hand on Beckham's captain's armband.

In this way, as long as Beckham is still in the national team, he will always be the captain of England on the surface.

They will not encounter the embarrassing situation of having their captain's armband removed.

The status and influence of the locker room will also be preserved.

Don't underestimate the humiliation a player feels when they are stripped of their captain's armband. The older the player, the harder it is for them to accept the words "You're too old" or "You're no longer good enough."

Even if they voluntarily give up their captain's armbands, they won't feel good about it.

Lu Kai has the strong support of the head coach, and his position in the team is very stable even without the captain's armband, unlike many successors who need the captain's armband to guarantee their status.

Finally, the entire England team chanted:
"we are the champion!"

Lu Kai raised the trophy.

Golden flowers filled the sky, and cannons roared in unison.

The scene was filled with jubilation!
……

Dongqiudi - Sichuan Edition: "Seven to one, a record-breaking victory! England's new European Championship king! Engrossed in organization and defense, he scored four goals and provided two assists without anyone noticing!"

Sky Sports: "England wins the European Championship, finally crowned champions! Lu Kai's club and national team both reach the top, kings of kings!"

BBC: "Datford's seven-man starting lineup is not football corruption, it's transplanting championship genes to make the opponents all go to hell!"

Gazzetta dello Sport: "Seven Green Gunners, Six-Time Champion: Lu Kai Reaches the Pinnacle of Individual Honors!"

France Football: "To avoid unnecessary controversy, the Ballon d'Or official website has announced in advance that Lu Kai will be included in this year's shortlist!"

Marca: "Last year, Lu Kai was criticized for not being nominated for the FIFA World Player of the Year award, but after winning the European Championship, his management hinted that Lu Kai has been included in the shortlist!"

The Times: "How will England split the €18 million prize money after winning the European Championship?"

Where money is, there is love, and there is traffic.

The European Championship and the World Cup both offer huge rewards.

The Football Association quickly announced a preliminary distribution mechanism, stating that they were willing to give 50 percent to the teams for distribution.

In addition, 10% will be allocated separately to the coaching staff.

Stanley and the other coaches each received five percent, while Alfred received five percent all by himself.

Alfred transferred half of his earnings to one of Lu Kai's accounts, never keeping it all for himself.

He even gives half of his endorsement deals to Lu Kai.

Nothing more than being grateful.

With these traits, he and Lu Kai will never have a falling out.

Ninety-nine percent of those couples who went through thick and thin together eventually fell apart because of money. Things like status, feelings, or the other person changing are all superficial.

A team's 50% percentage is actually very high.

Most national teams only receive 30% of the prize money after winning a championship.

As for more than 50%... that's definitely not possible.

After all, how many people are on your team?
But how many people does the English Football Association have?
We're waiting to cook this rice.

Regarding team distribution, the FA's opinion is to distribute according to merit.

Based on this calculation, Lu Kai will receive the largest bonus in the entire team, exceeding one million euros!
The remaining twenty-four people were allocated the remaining less than eight million euros.

But Lu Kai rejected the proposal.

Lu Kai: "I have always believed that we are a team. We won the championship together. Our roles are different and our contributions are different, but we are all an indispensable part of this honor."

"Therefore, I suggest splitting the prize money equally."

"Of course, this is just a suggestion, and I will absolutely not force anyone. If the final decision is still to distribute the prize money based on merit, then I will distribute all of my bonuses to the teammates who received less."

One million euros is basically the earnings of a top star in a quarter, which is a lot.

But Lu Kai is more than just a player.

He is also the club owner.

He considered this amount of money to be very small.

Why take such a small amount of money only to be criticized by teammates, the media, and fans?
Being separated from the team will further solidify his position in the England squad.

The money was well spent just for the "friendly teammate relationship".

For people who don't have much money, they don't care about a harsh environment if they can earn more.

But for wealthy people, it's worth spending a little money to make the environment more friendly and thus maintain a sense of well-being.

Moreover, once word of Lu Kai's good deed spreads, it will have an intangible positive effect on his personal image and the Green Guns' team culture.

Consider it advertising revenue.

Since Lu Kai was willing to split it equally, no one else could say anything.

After all, those big stars and key players are often injured or suspended, so if the pay is distributed according to their contributions, they won't get much more.

So the twenty-five people each received nine million euros.

The average is 360,000 euros per person.

Players who haven't played a single game are getting a huge advantage.

Alan Smith and Curtis Davis earned almost a year's salary in just three days (the latter was overjoyed).

Once this news spread, it was praised throughout Europe, with many calling Lu Kai a man of noble character.

Praise poured in.

This one-sided praise made some media outlets and fans very uncomfortable.

Mundo Deportivo: "Lu Kai, who scored four goals in seven games in the European Championship, is certainly excellent, but Adriano, the Copa America champion, is even more invincible with seven goals in seven games!"

Diario Sport: "Lu Kai, European Championship winner, best player, silver boot; Adriano, Copa America winner, best player, golden boot! The winner is decided!"

Honestly, this move has made the fans of Adriano's team, Inter Milan, a little uneasy.

The term "cross-dressing as a hater" didn't exist back then.

Therefore, they couldn't find any adjectives to describe these two bizarre media outlets.

Iniesta: Do you know how much pain I'm in?

Ronaldinho: Thank you for helping me with all of this, Adriano!

In fact, Adriano's performance in this Copa America was absolutely phenomenal.

Seven goals in seven games, especially the last-minute equalizer in the final, made a huge contribution to winning the championship.

But how can the Copa America be compared to the European Championship?
These days, South American powerhouses send their second-string teams to the Copa America.

It has a lower gold content than the Confederations Cup.

Not all tournaments like the Copa America, Asian Cup, and Africa Cup of Nations can be compared to the European Cup.

After the World Cup comes the European Championship, and after that there are no more tournaments... The influence and prestige of these tournaments have declined dramatically.

Even without comparing his achievements to Lu Kai's, Adriano is one of the best strikers this summer and even this year.

But compared to Lu Kai, Ade is just so ordinary.

This also indirectly makes people realize that Lu Kai seems to have a bit of a breakout year.

The key issue during this period was that some domestic journalists who didn't understand the landscape of football were constantly seeking out this kind of foreign-worshipping information and taking some ignorant foreign media as their guiding principles.

Football News - A certain long-haired, unprofessional commentator: "You guys have absolutely no idea. Lu Kai is nowhere near a superstar; he's far from it!"

"Adriano is the real world superstar; those seven goals in the Copa America were all deadly. Lu Kai's four goals were nothing special."

"The public opinion environment in our country is terrible. There are too many people who don't understand football. As soon as they see that Lu Kai is a Chinese, they support him and say he's awesome. If he were really that awesome, would the UK not give him a green card? Even if the UK didn't give it to him, the US would have to. Does he have one? He doesn't, but I do!"

"We fans can't even read the most basic stats. Isn't seven greater than four? Lu Kai is clearly inferior to Adriano!"

"Honor? Championships are a lot of an inflated concept. Greece was the runner-up in the European Championship, but does anyone think they were the second strongest team in Europe? Impossible!"

"Don't underestimate Adriano just because he hasn't won many championships. His skill and potential are top-notch!"

It is reported that this commentator often expresses opinions contrary to those of the general public, including but not limited to statements such as "the United States has the greatest respect for its soldiers," "India has many slums but a very low crime rate," "the Republic of China was the best era," and "Hanfu is just a tree leaf."

Lin Tao, editor-in-chief of Dongqiudi, could no longer tolerate it and posted Lu Kai's personal statistics for this season: "Come on, let's compare stats, huh? Well, you've really walked into a trap!"

"In the past season, Lu Kai scored 43 goals and provided 37 assists in all competitions."

"How many goals did Adriano have? Twenty-one goals and four assists for the club, seven goals and two assists for the national team, for a total of twenty-eight goals and six assists."

"Come on, compare your data with mine. How did you conclude that Lu Kai is insignificant and Adriano is invincible globally?"

"You think the English First Division has no prestige? Fine, fine, then let's remove the twelve goals and fifteen assists from the English First Division, leaving thirty-one goals and twenty-two assists. Tell me, isn't that on par with Adriano?"

"Let alone Adriano, even Henry, who is recognized as having unbeatable statistics this year and is the European Golden Boot winner, has 39 goals and 18 assists in all competitions. He is slightly better than Lu Kai without considering the league, but slightly weaker than Lu Kai with the league."

"Is it still a competition?"

The commentator fell silent at that moment.

Whether he has any problems as a person is unknown, but he receives his information from mainstream media in Europe and America, and these media have long been extremely biased in their reporting on China and Guo.

This is also why Lu Kai successively established media organizations such as "Green Gun Voice" and "Dongqiudi".

Without these media outlets, Lin Tao might have had a hard time finding Lu Kai's complete season statistics, making it difficult to refute some obviously idiotic statements.

However, the data Lin Tao presented also revealed a "flaw".

Mundo Deportivo: "The data reflects Lu Kai's declining form, which is an indisputable fact! The former 100-goal prodigy has now only been involved in 80 goals in a single season!"

《每日体育报》：“100、87、84、80，陆凯新赛季进球助攻总和必然低于八十，后继乏力！8、9、8、15，罗纳尔迪尼奥联赛数据迎来大爆发，还不封王？”

abstract!

At this moment, the concept of abstraction was taken to its extreme by "two bodies".

Ronaldinho has unilaterally blacklisted both media outlets.

He swore he was really not bad; he was one of the best players this year, even better than Adriano.

But when these two media outlets compared him to Lu Kaiyi, he was ridiculously bad.

Why bother?
Why do you have to belittle Lu Kai?

Everyone who has faced him knows his skill level; he is definitely the most troublesome opponent.

Oh, so you guys got paid to smear him? Five cents per post?

That makes sense.

But could we send another player next time to "crush" Lu Kai?
My life, Ronaldinho's life, is also a life!
Following the Copa America, this year's Asian Cup is also coming to an end.

The Zhongguo team swept through the competition and made it to the finals.

Their opponent was none other than the Japanese team.

Before the match, the football leaders were confident of victory and even appeared on CCYV5's special program "Ground Football".

It's not wrong to release a documentary praising the team before the competition.

But the player interviews and highlights of the game combined don't even last a third of the time in this leader's interview. Isn't that a bit excessive?
In an interview, the leader confidently stated, "The final is foolproof; we will lift that precious Asian Cup on our home turf."

"Last year when Lu Kai won the Chinese Footballer of the Year and Asian Footballer of the Year awards, many people felt sorry for him. But if we win the title on home soil this year, then we should apologize to Lu Kai first!"

"Even if he won the European Championship, or even the World Cup, the Chinese Footballer of the Year and the Asian Footballer of the Year will still only belong to our Chinese team!"

"Facts have proven that the Zhongguo team can win the championship even without Lu Kai! But the England team cannot do without Lu Kai, nor can they do without our Zhongguo players."

"It is now clear who is stronger and who is weaker!"

"So this once again proves the correctness of our football rules. We insist that Lu Kai must play in the Chinese Super League for two years before allowing him to join Guo's team, precisely to ensure our fighting strength."

"Of course, the door to the Guo team is still open to Lu Kai. As long as he retires from the England team, according to international practice, he can play for the Chinese national team after eight years of inactivity!"

"At that time, he was only 26 years old, in his prime, and should have been able to play as a starter in our league and Guo's team."

???

This tactic of using the opponent's force against them is truly ingenious.

Zhang Fei fought Yue Fei, sending them flying all over the sky.

Even the host had no idea what the leader was talking about.

During the editing process, he even asked the leader several times whether some content needed to be cut.

However, the shoe company's leader was very confident, saying that he had a very fluent tongue and would not cut anything, giving everyone the most authentic experience.

As a result, this episode of "Ground Football" became a hit.

The fans and the leaders of the football industry seem to live in completely different worlds; their differences in perception are so great that they surpass the differences in perception between humans and dogs.

Upon learning of the other party's statement, Lu Kai only said one sentence: "Football doesn't need to apologize to me. You should first think about how you should apologize to the fans and the Guo family if you lose to the Japanese in the final on home soil." Soon, Lu Kai's words came true.

Japan's Benoit team won the championship of this Asian Cup.

The referee's "misjudgment" that favored the Japanese team during the match was one of the reasons for the Chinese team's loss.

When their rivals won the title on their home turf, Chinese football fans were devastated and largely withdrew from the domestic football market, turning instead to Dartford and becoming Premier League enthusiasts.

Although Shao Jiayi, Zhao Junzhe, Zheng Zhi, and Li Weifeng were selected for the Asian Cup All-Star Team, one more than Japan, are they even useful?

As a result, football's status as the crown prince of sports in China was abolished, and from higher-level government agencies to lower-level primary and secondary schools, football instantly went from being a popular sport to being unpopular.

The only purpose of a football field is for running laps.

Basketball has become a new favorite among sports fans in mainland China. Having successfully won the bid, it carries the hopes of fans and strives to become the world's number one!

In addition, the leaders of the footwear industry who had traveled around during the previous training trip to Europe were held accountable by their superiors, and many of them lost their jobs.

……

After the European Championship, Lu Kai personally followed up on the Drogba deal.

Real Madrid, Juventus, Barcelona, ​​Inter Milan, and Bayern Munich are all vying for this player.

Once they secure the position, they might trade away some of their existing players to secure funding and playing time.

Compared to Gilardino, Drogba not only scored goals in large numbers, but his tactical contributions were also highly praised by those in the know.

Of the two, Gilardino can be used anywhere, but only Drogba can exist as the tactical cornerstone of the team.

However, these clubs can only offer around 30 million euros.

The reasons for the price reduction varied, but they had reached a certain tacit understanding.

Dartford have made too much money this summer.

Losing a little on this deal should be acceptable.

That's why they say rich people are smart.

In fact, without Chelsea, their combined pressure would have been successful.

But unfortunately...

"Hey Abramovich, why hasn't Chelsea made an offer for Drogba yet? If you're not going to buy him, then I'll give him to Real Madrid, okay?" Lu Kai called Abramovich.

The laughter of young models could be heard coming from Abu's side.

Abramovich sighed: "Lu, I really don't want Drogba. Mourinho values ​​him too much; he's the first player on his transfer list."

He's worried that if Drogba really makes it at Chelsea, Mourinho will be even less willing to buy Shevchenko.

This purchase also means that he should start in the starting lineup, after all, you can't expect Shevchenko to be a substitute after he arrives.

At times like these, the more Lu Kai praised Drogba, the less Abramovich wanted to buy him.

So Lu Kaijian took a different approach: "Actually, Drogba has a fatal problem... he is a bit prone to minor injuries."

Abramovich became visibly excited: "Huh? Is that so? But Drogba hasn't been injured much at Green Gunners this season, and I haven't heard of him being hospitalized or anything..."

Lu Kai nodded: "Of course not the kind of serious injury that makes someone with fragile skin suffer. He often has minor ailments that last three to five days or a week, such as slight strains and so on."

"I feel it's related to his playing style; he's too physical and head-on."

“I’ve seen how Mourinho uses strikers, and I guess he wants players with this kind of tough style.”

“Our team focuses on rotation, which avoids this problem. But Mourinho likes to use the first team, so Drogba’s minor injuries will frequently affect his lineup.”

"When he gets annoyed, won't he want to bring in other strikers? And even if he doesn't like Shevchenko, he can't deny that Shevchenko is the best striker on the market."

"For example, Robben was brought in because Mourinho felt Duff had too many injuries, right?"

While Robben is good at the moment, Duff is actually stronger.

Abramovich clapped his hands repeatedly: "You're amazing! You even knew that? Buy! I'm definitely buying Drogba!"

“But Lu… since Drogba has a problem, isn’t your price…”

Lu Kai laughed: "Abu, don't be like that. When did you start caring about the price? Does it make a difference to you whether it's thirty or forty million?"

"I know you just don't want people to think you're a rich fool who's trying to extort money from you, right?"

"Then, Drogba, you can buy whatever you want."

"Within two years, if you want to sell, Green Gun will take over."

Abramovich isn't stupid: "Lu, that's not fair of you. You sell to us at a high price, and then we sell back to you at a low price? We're not Inter Milan or Real Madrid."

Lu Kai pretended to be sad: "Abu, you actually think this way about me? This hurts me a lot. I thought we would have the trust between friends."

"Don't worry, I'll buy it back at 80% of the Drogba deal price. How about that?"

Abu was stunned.

This……

That's really kind of you.

There's almost no such thing as buying back players at 80% of their original value, because if a player is a flop, their market value is often halved. Chelsea, on the other hand, buys players at a premium, so it's considered good if a player's market value is reduced to 30%.

Abramovich said happily, "You're a good friend, I like it! So, our final offer for Drogba was originally 50 million euros, but since you dare to buy him back at 20% of the original price, I can't be too stingy."

"How about 60 million euros?"

Lu Kai almost blurted out, "It's a deal!"

Abu even knows the idiom: "A dead horse cannot be caught!"

Soon, this mega-deal that would shake the world was born.

Sky Sports: "The Premier League's record signing! Didier Drogba joins Chelsea for a record €60 million!"

BBC: "Mourinho beams with joy, declaring that the best player is already in the squad!"

Manchester Evening News: "Drogba is the most important player in Mourinho's signings, but money can't buy championships!"

The Echo: "The crazy Abramovich! He promised Mourinho a transfer fee of €150 million, but Chelsea's final spending on transfers reached €170 million! But money can't buy heritage!"

"The Voice of Green Gun": "World's most expensive signing, Green Gun made! Wishing Drogba all the best in helping Chelsea win their first-ever Premier League title!"

What is five-star service?
After selling out Green Gun, he still said nice things. If you were Abu, would you be happy?
This experience, worth 60 million euros, is totally worth it!

Just as this record-breaking deal concluded, Daniel, who had been lingering in Brazil, finally returned home.

He is not alone.

He brought back two players.

One of them is Cicero João de Cézare, a substitute right-back for São Paulo, who was acquired for 2.5 million euros.

His teammates usually call him Cicinho. He is 24 years old, 1.71 meters tall, has excellent footwork, and is extremely good at assisting. He is known as Cafu's successor.

One is Cruzeiro's right-back Maicon Douglas Cicenando, who was acquired for three million euros.

Twenty-three years old, 1.84 meters tall, with excellent speed, strength, technique, offense and defense, he is also Cafu's successor.

These days, Brazil's right-backs are all considered Cafu's successors, and their left-backs are all considered Carlos's successors.

Monaco in Ligue 1 also want Maicon, and Daniel's long delay is just a battle of wits with the other side.

The ownership structure of South American players is complex.

There are significant obstacles to introducing technology through formal channels.

Daniel used his connections in nightclubs and pulled off a series of shady moves, along with Lu Kai's promise of a starting position, to finally secure Maicon's services.

Maicon has met the required number of appearances for the Brazilian national team this year, which will qualify him for a UK work permit.

This is also thanks to the fact that Brazilian national team players are naturally playful and never work overtime. The key players don't want to play in any matches other than the World Cup, giving plenty of opportunities to newcomers.

Cicinho, on the other hand, could only obtain a work permit through the Special Talent Act.

However, Lu Kai and Cicinho did not attend the hearing this time because the relevant departments approved the application at lightning speed after it was submitted.

There will be no hearing.

They don't need to hear "I'm a European Cup champion, what champion are you?" again.
Thus, Dartford's trading window came to a perfect close.

The players brought in include:

Loaned player Scott Carson.

Kane, a player from the younger age group youth training program.

Giroud, Mertens, and Bonucci are youth academy players who participate in first-team training.

First-team official players: Diego Forlán, Pepe, Arshavin, Southgate, Carrick, Maicon, Cicinho, Cannavaro.

Total transfer spending: 19.7 million euros.

Moratti didn't even factor in the cost of Inter Milan helping to bring in Bonucci; he essentially gave him away for free, since Bonucci was just a low-level, trashy youth academy product and not worth much anyway.

The proceeds from the sale would be quite substantial.

Didier Drogba (€60 million), Essien (€45 million), Gilardino (€40 million), Lescott (€35 million), Valbuena (€30 million), Duff (€21 million), Kasper (€20 million), Lee Fowler (€14 million), Murray (€10 million), Williams (€8 million), and Jefferson (€7 million).

Totaling 290 million euros.

It's a pity they couldn't break 3.

The main reasons were that Lu Kai retained Yaya Touré, refused to sell Vidic and Ribery at low prices, Amorim received no interest, and Li Weifeng was unwilling to return to the Chinese Super League.

Otherwise, even 3.5 points would be something I dare to dream of.

The top three signings this summer were all made by Chelsea, with Rooney and Gilardino tied for third.

Seven of the top eleven transfers were for players who were already playing for other players.

Although the transaction price for Caspar is 20 million euros, the real value is over 30 million euros.

It's important to understand that these past two years haven't really been a bull market.

Apart from these few record-breaking deals, other transactions of 20 million euros would be considered "super heavyweights," such as Carvalho at 2,500 euros, Eto'o at 2,400 euros, and Deco at 2,100 euros.

With both domestic and international transfer activity, Dartford's net profit during the transfer window reached €270 million.

That's equivalent to 180 million pounds sterling.

scare someone to death.

Everyone thought Dartford had been dismantled last summer.

In retrospect, last year was just selling blood, but this year it's more like selling organs.

In addition, Dartford's net profit last season, after deducting operating costs and other expenses, was six million pounds.

With the delivery of the new stadium, this revenue could surge next year.

But even at this current number, don't think it's low.

This is net profit.

Teams like Manchester United and Arsenal sometimes don't even have this much net profit in a year.

Aside from big spenders like Chelsea, most of the top ten Premier League teams are actually losing money.

Where did the money go?
Don't ask, the answer is no, we don't make money.

No matter how much they earn each season, these clubs always manage to go into deficit.

Football is ultimately just a tool for making money.

The same goes for Dartford. Despite having huge sums of money on their books, they still have a significant funding gap once Lu Kai's project is completed.

Aside from season revenue, Dartford's biggest source of income comes from the championship bonus clauses of their shirt sponsor, Betfair.

Community Shield: £100,000; League Cup: £200,000; League One and FA Cup: £500,000 each; UEFA Cup: £1 million.

The total is £2.3 million.

Of course, Lu Kai's personal championship rewards with Umbro are separate. His various honors plus the European Cup exceed more than half of his annual endorsement fees!

But Umbro also benefited, because the England team they sponsored really made a name for themselves this time, the brand was revived, and revenue improved significantly.

This bet on Lu Kai and Green Gun saved their entire brand.

The new season's chest sponsorship is worth 5 million euros, the jersey sponsorship is worth 5 million euros, the armband sponsorship is worth 1.6 million euros, and the remaining advertising revenue is 1 million euros.

Regarding salary expenditures, although the team's overall salary has increased since being promoted to the Premier League.

However, most of the high-salary players signed last year were sold this summer, and among the new players, only Cannavaro has a relatively high salary level.

Therefore, the team's salary expenditure is actually slightly lower than last year, remaining at around five million pounds.

In comparison, the other teams in the Premier League are incredibly expensive.

Both Liverpool and Arsenal have spent a total of £60 million on player wages this year.

Manchester United's investment reached a staggering £80 million.

But Chelsea is the most impressive. After spending hundreds of millions in the transfer market, their total salary this year has soared to £117 million.

In fact, Dartford's million-dollar salary is unlikely to last.

If they remain in the Premier League next season, their salaries will reach the £10 million level no matter how much they are reduced, but that will still be considered the lowest tier.

Manchester City, which was promoted to the Premier League two years ago, now has a total salary of nearly 40 million pounds, as does London team Tottenham Hotspur.

There's nothing we can do about it.

Because Dartford is still in a tax-advantaged period, its tax rate is incredibly low, falling into the Horgos category.

So after deducting various expenses and taxes for the new season, there are still £200 million on the books.

But the money was soon gone.

News Broadcast: "The main structure of the Dartford Stadium project built by our Guo Zhongjian Group in London, England, has been completed and handed over, marking the full completion of Phase I."

"Dartford Stadium has a 35,000-seat capacity across three sides, with room for future expansion."

"Datford, known as the Kings of London, will play their home games here in the new season."

"At the same time, the second phase of the stadium project, including the renovation of the old stands, has also been put on the agenda. It is expected to be completed in one year and involves refurbishing the interior decoration, adding seats, renovating the exterior facade, and partially rebuilding the structure."

This news broadcast ran ten minutes overtime, which is unprecedented.

The main reason was that Dartford was given fifteen minutes.

These fifteen minutes were not just a report on the handover of the Green Guns Stadium and a brief account of the rise of the Green Guns legend, but also a third part... a new chapter for the Green Guns.

"Datford is more than just a football club, more than just a local way of life; it has become a belief that transcends football."

"To inspire more people with the spirit of the Green Gun and to bring more joy to everyone, Dartford launched the 'Green Gun Playground' project."

"The project has been approved and won by a joint venture between Barry, London's largest real estate company, Window, a well-known American real estate, hotel and resort industry group, and my country's Zhongjian Group."

"Europe's largest Chinese mythology-themed amusement park will be built next to Green Gun Stadium and the Thames River, tentatively named Green Gun Mythology Park."

"Including amusement park areas, the Myth Hotel, Green Gun Apartments, and many other components, it aims to create a new landmark complex in London. It is also the largest, most invested, and most influential non-governmental project in which my country has participated in mainstream international society to date... and another landmark event in the overseas expansion of my country's traditional culture..."

"Green Gun Myth Park, Europe's own Disneyland - Dartford!"

Add the retroflex ending to the character “特” and pronounce “德” with a light tone; this is how you pronounce it in the authentic London Union Jack accent.

The Green Gun Myth theme park has a total cost of over £500 million and is expected to be fully completed in five years.

Once completed, it will generate substantial revenue and will be independent of Dartford's football market.

In other words, even if Dartford no longer exists, the amusement park industry might still thrive, and they could even open branches in other countries in the future.

Ultimately, a team's performance is what matters. Even a team as strong as Manchester United has faced financial difficulties after several years of poor results.

But Green Gun Myth Park is a stable cash cow.

Moreover, these types of industries are extremely resilient to risks, preserve value, and require minimal effort; you can simply leave them there. Unlike some industries that require constant monitoring, which offer high returns but also high investment and risk.

From a footballing perspective, the "Green Gun Myth Park" is essential for Dartford's rise to the top.

Dartford has no shortage of traffic, attention, or even honors.

But the foundation of one's character is something that money can't buy in a short time.

Because a solid foundation is mainly built up over time.

Using money wisely can accelerate this process.

What does it mean to make reasonable use of resources?
Spending lavishly on players is an unreasonable use of resources. It took Abramovich over a decade to turn Chelsea into a powerhouse using this method.

Because players are constantly changing, in the long run, a player's value will eventually drop to zero, meaning players are consumer goods.

You can't become a wealthy person by buying consumer goods.

You need to accumulate something that won't easily disappear, otherwise you might become a powerhouse today, only to fall back to being a formidable opponent tomorrow—just a shooting star.

Building wonders is actually the most cost-effective approach.

Green Gun Myth Park is one such wonder.

Many building and strategy games have a similar setting, where you can only advance to a certain level after constructing certain buildings.

Many of the logics in the game exist in the real world, including experience, leveling up, job change, and so on.

Therefore, many powerful forces build wonders simply to demonstrate their status, but the wonders themselves do not have much practical use.

The Green Gun Myth Park, on the other hand, is capable of generating revenue, which is much better than a mere spectacle.
It can be said that once this complex is completed, Dartford will achieve another outstanding performance and rise to prominence a second time.

Then they will become a super-rich family that rises in the first decade of the 21st century.

Earlier, faster, and more consistent than Chelsea!
Chelsea and Manchester City in the second decade, and Paris Saint-Germain in the third decade, were all just latecomers.

The media outside are talking about it, saying that Dartford's "side business" is too big and could easily drag the team down.

In reality, no media outlet saw through Dartford's true ambitions.

They don't want to be like Leeds United and Newcastle United in the Premier League, like Deportivo La Coruña, Valencia, and Villarreal in La Liga, or like those vanished members of the Serie A Seven Sisters.

They aspire to be the Manchester United of the Premier League, Real Madrid of La Liga, Bayern Munich of the Bundesliga, and Juventus of Serie A.

(End of this chapter)