Ground football: Ronaldo thought I was going to assist him

Mansour remained silent.

From the perspective of the UAE's official development strategy, Deng Kai is simply not qualified to cooperate with him.

UAE doesn't need to cooperate with anyone else.

But Mansour's proposal failed to pass.

Now, the only way to push this plan forward is for Mansour to do it himself.

Then, both their network of relationships and their financial resources would be very limited.

Yi Jianlian could directly acquire Premier League teams, while Mansour could only try to acquire League One teams (at this time, there was no Championship).

While the expenses were indeed reduced by ten, the difficulty for the team to achieve various expectations is dozens or even hundreds of times greater.

This ratio is very unfavorable.

Three to five hundred million euros will definitely yield results, while less than one hundred million euros will definitely not yield results. Only a fool would choose the latter.

"I need to think about it." Mansour wanted to consult with his think tank.

Deng Kai nodded: "Of course, but... we need to hurry. It won't be worthwhile to buy them once we get to the later stages of the league."

Mansour indicated that he understood.

Deng Kai then took his leave to attend the team's victory celebration.

Once back in her car, Jiang Yunzhu finally asked Deng Kai, "How do you know so much? It seems like we don't have any plans to acquire the team, do we?"

Deng Kai said, "That's true. If we did that, we would face far more resistance than they would, and acquiring the team wouldn't make much sense for us."

Jiang Yunzhu: "Have you ever thought that he thinks you have official support and are cooperating with you now, but once he finds out that you don't actually have that support... he might kick you out immediately."

Deng Kai shook his head.

Normally, a star player can almost never achieve the same status as the club.

Even if the two superstars who dominated the football world for more than a decade in the future elevated the players' individual status to the extreme, they would still be at a significant disadvantage when facing the club.

Aside from public opinion, their countermeasures are very limited; escaping unscathed is already their greatest success.

Therefore, many top athletes enter management after retiring, trying to become true industry leaders with influence through this channel.

However, there is one special case.

When a team owner urgently needs results in a short period of time, the player who can drive those results will gain the initiative in the collaboration, and may even supersede the team during this period.

Once Mansour's Manchester City plan is launched, as long as Duncan's ability is evident to all, Mansour will definitely give Duncan his full support.

If Duncan is not capable enough to lead the team, he would have stepped down voluntarily without Mansour's intervention.

Accepting the consequences of a bet is a perfectly legitimate strategy.

"Besides, when Mansour agreed to the proposal, he no longer cared about my background." Deng Kai fastened his seatbelt. "Many people worry about their ideas being plagiarized, but in reality, most investors aren't interested in plagiarism."

"Because even after receiving the idea, they lack the professional skills to bring it to fruition. Or rather, it requires a great deal of effort, resulting in a disproportionate return on investment and an unsatisfactory rate of return."

"So they prefer to support those who come up with the ideas, because things that can be done with money are much easier than asking them to use their brains. Or rather, these things aren't worth their time." Jiang Yunzhu has dealt with many financial giants and knows this, but she still has some concerns, "But you're still too young."

"I'm afraid he'll think you're unreliable and will look for a specialized sports management team. Whether it's recruiting from within the European football industry or poaching teams from the mature sports management market in the United States, it's all possible."

"Turn left ahead... It's okay, don't worry about the wipers, just turn on the turn signal again..." Deng Kai replied after directing the female driver to complete the lane change. "Copying is easy, but many investors still insist on using the original creators, not the plagiarists."

"Because ideas are easy to steal, but the details, concepts, persistence, and insights are very difficult to replicate. Using me can't guarantee Mansour's plan will succeed, but using me can increase the chances of success."

"Online games have proven that for wealthy people, as long as the odds can be increased, how much money they spend is a small matter."

After Deng Kai finished speaking, he looked out the window at the sky, where the weather was exceptionally fine.

This encounter with Mansour was a very coincidental event. The proposal to acquire Manchester City was just a casual attempt by Deng Kai, but he didn't expect it to go so smoothly.

However, it cannot be said that Deng Kai was lucky; in fact, it should be said that Mansour was lucky.

Even without Mansour, within three to five years at most, Duncan would find a way to acquire a club and get it up and running.

But it's unlikely to be a Premier League team.

It's very difficult for outsiders—people from the third world—to acquire giants like Manchester United and Liverpool.

Even wealthy individuals from neighboring European countries face restrictions when making moves, leaving only Americans with a real chance to acquire the assets.

While clubs in other leagues can also achieve this, their potential for appreciation is far less than that of the Premier League.

This collaboration saved Mansour three to five years of Deng Kai's time.

However, Deng Kai also saved Mansour three to five years, or even more.

If Manchester City really succeeds, this one card alone will be enough for Mansour to have a unique position in the UAE.

Moreover, the biggest difference is that this is different from success achieved through official support.

This is entirely Mansour's personal success.

Both domestically and internationally, people's opinion of Mansour will rise to a new level.

……

Soon, Deng Kai received another invitation from Mansour, and then had a cordial and friendly meeting with the UAE prince on Mansour's cruise ship.

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The cooperation between the two parties was very pleasant.

The relevant documents will be signed successively thereafter.

Deng Kai symbolically used a few hundred thousand euros of the proceeds from the sale of autographed footballs and jerseys as an investment to express his sentiments, and established a foundation with Mansour.

Of course, Deng Kai's name will not appear in the foundation; it will be held by a designated third party.

The gloves were provided by Mansour. After they acquired Manchester City and completed some transactions, Duncan was able to acquire 35 percent of Manchester City's shares.

Based on the principle of "everyone who sees it gets a share," Mansur generously gave Jiang Yunzhu 10% of the shares.

On the surface, it was said that they were optimistic about the development of "Dongqiudi" and wanted to establish a friendly cooperative alliance.

But actually, they probably valued Jiang Yunzhu's identity and cleared away obstacles for future development in China in advance, striving for a European perspective while also seeking an Eastern perspective.

This equity distribution can be described as very generous.

If this was an official operation by the UAE, then Deng Kai and Jiang Yunzhu combined might not even get five percent.

Mansour is the main investor, owning the most shares, and he has full authority over the acquisition team. He will also be the main investor in the future.

Deng Kai and Jiang Yunzhu essentially got something for nothing.

But Mansour wasn't wrong either; as a sports expert, Duncan's advice at crucial moments was more effective than that of his think tank.

Top-tier operators who help complete such acquisitions often acquire a stake of 10% or even 20% initially. However, there are usually supplementary agreements that allow them to sell the shares back later, completing a share buyback.

Considering that it wasn't explicitly written in the contract, but both parties were aware of it... Deng Kai also sold his future to Manchester City, so this 35% is practically a friendly price that Deng Kai is giving to Mansour.

This shareholding structure was strongly recommended by Mansour's think tank after studying Duncan's words and actions over the past three years and Sporting Lisbon's transfer dealings last year.

They generally believe that Deng Kai's football sense is phenomenal.

Whether it's competitive level or the economics of football, Deng Kai always manages to stay ahead of the market.

Leaving aside the major battles with the Portuguese bookmakers, their accurate predictions of the Ballon d'Or winner, FIFA World Player of the Year, Champions League winner, and European Championship winner for several consecutive years are simply outrageous.

The soaring transfer fees of new signings like Drogba, Barzagli, Pepe, Ibrahimovic, and Terry last year were equally astonishing.

Once or twice, it's just that this person is lucky.

If someone wins nine out of ten bets, it means they might be the bookmaker.

But if someone keeps doing this and isn't afraid of being investigated, then that means they truly have extraordinary talent.

(End of this chapter)

I like playing football on the ground: Ronaldo thought I was going to assist him.