Red Rebels

554 The culprit

"You mean Platini?" Daniel Fletcher asked.

Scarlett nodded and said: "Yes, he thinks that the Premier League and the Red Rebels represent the regression of football development. This seems to be somewhat different from the current mainstream football opinions. Does it mean that he is wiser and takes precautions? Or is he a bit grandstanding? ?”

"Grandstanding!" Fletcher and Rose Willie said at the same time.

As football economists, they all have some influence of their own and must be responsible for what they say. Therefore, even if they are participating in the Red Rebel TV program, they will definitely not say something that is inconsistent with their own ideas and values. If they come up with inconsistent views, it will only harm their own interests.

Therefore, when the audience is watching this program, there is no need to question whether they said these words against their will!

"Everyone knows that football has always been a pyramid game. If one day, Platini becomes the "President" of UEFA, he wants to turn football into a square, or even put all football clubs on the same level. A parallel line, then I can only say that his brain was kicked by a donkey!" Daniel Fletcher unceremoniously defended the Premier League and questioned Platini.

"In my opinion, it is a good thing to increase competition. Football improves and expands its influence in constant competition, but it is definitely not based on suppressing the top of the pyramid, but should be based on supporting the middle and lower levels of the pyramid." Ross Willie is more optimistic Ease.

"For example, if you follow Platini's approach and reduce the quota of mainstream leagues in the Champions League and increase the quota of Eastern European teams, it will be equivalent to weakening the influence and intensity of the Champions League. Why is the level of the UEFA Cup It dropped so fast? It’s because the participating teams are of varying levels.”

"In other words, if we see the Red Rebels play against a Maltese club team in the round of 16, will our fans be interested in continuing to watch the game? All fools know that the Red Rebels will win. This will completely lose the suspense and thus completely lose the appeal.”

"And for a tournament that is not attractive to fans, will it still be worth all the teams competing for? Once top teams such as the Red Rebels, Real Madrid, and Barcelona are disheartened by the Champions League , then sponsors will also be disappointed, and in the end, this event will be completely useless, just like the League Cup in England."

Ross Willie's analysis is quite satisfactory and not biased. It can be said that he analyzes and views this issue from a neutral perspective. After all, everyone knows that Platini's policies are inevitably suspected of being counterproductive.

"His idea is to reduce polarization, which is correct, but the method is wrong. If you want to reduce polarization and avoid damaging the football industry, the best way is to support mid- and lower-tier teams instead of suppressing top teams, but I dare say that UEFA will definitely not be willing to do this!" Xiao Yu said with a smile.

Roswell and Fletcher both laughed after hearing this.

"Why?" Scarlett didn't know whether she really didn't understand or pretended not to understand!

"Today's football is commercial football and professional football. Everything is capital-oriented. Therefore, if we want to support the middle and lower-tier teams and improve their competitiveness with top teams, there are two points to put it bluntly. The financial gap between the rich and the importance of the youth training system, the first point is difficult, but the second point is easier!"

"The youth training system is divided into software and hardware. The second-tier national leagues that Platini attaches great importance to rarely have real youth training systems, especially in clubs. If UEFA can divide each year's income into Give some of it to these clubs as youth training subsidies.

Just like what the Premier League has done, their youth training level will also improve, but are they willing? "

"No, no, no, Daniel, I think it would be more interesting to look at this problem in another direction." Xiao Yu responded to Fletcher's words with a smile.

Fletcher and Rose Willie both looked at Xiao Yu, who organized it in his mind and explained.

"For example, Chelsea brought in Shevchenko from AC Milan. This did cost a lot of money, but we should see that behind this money, there is a complete line of stars. Production line, guess where AC Milan spent their money next?"

"Last season, AC Milan spent 24 million euros to introduce Gilardino from Parma, and 8.5 million euros to introduce Jankulovski from Udinese; this season, AC Milan spent 24 million euros to introduce Gilardino from Rennes, France. The introduction of Gourcuff cost 3 million euros, the introduction of Bonera from Parma cost 3 million euros, and the introduction of Oliveira from Betis cost 15 million euros. It was paid out of the transfer fee Shevchenko received!”

"Then we look at Parma, Udinese and Betis bringing in new stars from lower-level teams, Rennes also bringing in stars from France and other surrounding leagues, and then we can find out, oh, it turns out that UEFA has been What we call for to be done is achieved through such a system!”

"Then I would like to ask Mr. Platini. If he follows his approach and suppresses Chelsea and prevents Abramovich from investing, then Chelsea will not be able to introduce Shevchenko, AC Milan will not be able to introduce Gilardino and others, Parma and Teams such as Udinese cannot bring in other players, and teams in lower leagues cannot bring in players. In the end, the entire football world has become a stagnant water. Is this the progress of football?"

Everyone has to admit that after experiencing the football economic crisis in 2002, when European football was generally in crisis and big-name clubs were having difficulty raising large sums of money to invest in the transfer market, the emergence of Abramovich did bring new life to this lifeless environment. Breath, followed by the Abu Dhabi consortium, and now it is the turn of the Dubai consortium.

Just imagine, without Abramovich's investment, would other teams still have so much money to invest in the transfer market?

"In an increasingly developed society, the mutual influence of football around the world is getting smaller and smaller. If we invest an extra 1 million pounds in England, it is likely that a certain club will cultivate more potential talents in faraway Brazil. Rookies, giving them more motivation, this is the butterfly effect of professional football!"

Fletcher and Rose Willie immediately frowned, thinking about Xiao Yu's words.

They are all experts in football economics. Naturally, they know very well that Xiao Yu's words make sense from a certain perspective. After all, football should be passionate, not lifeless.

If Platini's approach is followed, the financial gap between the clubs will be shortened in the end, which is equivalent to reducing the club's purchasing power. By then, the entire transfer market will become lifeless. If the ideal state is really achieved, , Chelsea and Watford have the same purchasing power, then this football environment will be finished!

"But, Mr. Xiao Yu, I have reservations about your words. After all, what you are talking about is the transfer fee, but what about the salary structure? In the same way, in order to retain a certain player in the team, you Red Rebels , giving an extra 1 million pounds in annual salary, it is likely to cause a certain Brazilian football club to be on the verge of bankruptcy due to rising operating costs!"

Xiao Yu nodded and smiled: "Yes, I admit this possibility, so I have always attached great importance to the salary structure. I have always called for the introduction of salary *** clauses, such as linking the salary structure with the club's revenue. , the salary structure of our Red Rebels has always been controlled at the ideal 50%. Currently, more and more Premier League teams, such as Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool and other teams are following suit, but I cannot guarantee that other teams , other leagues will follow suit!”

"To put it bluntly, natural selection means the survival of the fittest and the survival of the unfit. Professional football is so cruel! If they don't even understand this principle, then I can only say that they are not suitable for this circle at all."

"But we should also see that teams such as Chelsea and Manchester City are out of control in terms of salary!" Fletcher raised his doubts again.

"But, Daniel, I must clarify that these two clubs have no debt and are very healthy!" Xiao Yu said with a smile.

Why no debt?

The Premier League stipulates that private owners are only allowed to inject capital into the club in the form of purchasing more shares, rather than lending money to the club. This makes Abramovich, Al Fahim and others, if they decide to inject capital into Chelsea and Manchester City, they can only purchase more shares. Manchester City takes the form of shares rather than debt.

To give an example, suppose Chelsea now has total assets of 500 million pounds and no liabilities, but Abramovich wants to buy a star, which will cost 50 million pounds. If he chooses to buy shares, then after buying the player, Chelsea’s total assets will be 50 million pounds. Assets have reached 550 million pounds, and there are still no debts.

However, if you choose to inject capital through loans, Chelsea's total assets will still be 550 million pounds, but there will be an additional liability of 50 million pounds, which is equivalent to increasing the club's financial burden.

So, what is the difference between the two methods of capital injection?

It's very simple. Suppose Chelsea goes bankrupt and liquidates one day, then Chelsea's assets must first be used to repay debts, and the rest can be given to shareholders. Therefore, at this time, borrowing and capital injection can recover most of the funds with the right of debt recovery, but purchasing shares will It is possible to have nothing.

So why does the Premier League make such a rule?

The purpose is very clear, that is to ensure the interests of the club and force those private owners to be truly willing to spend money instead of lending it to the club.

Not only that, the Premier League has begun to thoroughly investigate the club's debt problem. Many Premier League teams, including Manchester United, will likely be ordered to be relegated if they cannot solve the debt problem within the deadline. This will force the Glazer family to A decision must be made, whether to bear the debt on oneself or continue to hang the debt on Manchester United.

If it is the former, once the Glazer family goes bankrupt, Manchester United will not be damaged at all. If it is the latter, if the Glazer family goes bankrupt, Manchester United will also go bankrupt. This is something the Premier League does not want to see, so it is likely to impose severe penalties.

"In addition, Daniel, don't forget that even Chelsea and Manchester City are gradually paying attention to the problem of salary structure. I believe that this problem will be solved soon in a few years!" Xiao Yu responded to this Very confident.

There is really no way to argue with what Fletcher and Ross Willie said about Xiao Yu. Maybe you can say that Chelsea and Manchester City are irresponsible and raise their salaries significantly in order to poach stars, but all football clubs are irresponsible. Even when FIFA and UEFA are irresponsible, who can ask these two clubs to take responsibility?

"Platini is ridiculous. He said that in the same week that Manchester City signed Buffon, the Manchester City Council announced layoffs. He used this to criticize Manchester City's policy of buying big-name stars. According to his understanding, it seems that as long as Manchester City does not buy By joining Buffon, Manchester City Council will not lay off staff, and the jobs of those 2,000 people will be saved. Such logic is really ridiculous!"

Xiao Yu has shown mercy, otherwise, he would not hesitate to attack Platini's hypocrisy. As a politician, hypocrisy is an indispensable skill for him, but he should not attack the Red Rebels or the Premier League. for weapons.

"He believes that youth training should be valued. However, the Premier League, as the league that attaches the most importance to youth training among the five major European leagues, has become the target of his most denouncement. I doubt this. Could it be said that the Premier League has paid little attention to youth training in recent years? Isn’t the investment enough? Our Red Rebels invest 10 million pounds in youth training every year. I can boldly ask, Mr. Platini, is there any football club in the world that can be like us?"

Xiao Yu sneered and issued his own provocation. He was not afraid of Platini. Although his opponent had already raised a challenge, although he was unwilling to let the club face him head-on, he was happy to compete with Platini in private.

"I understand Platini's eagerness. He hopes to get support from Eastern Europe and disadvantaged groups. Those are his bread and butter, but this cannot be the reason for him to attack the Premier League and the Red Rebels. He should reflect on himself. He should reflect on his governing strategy and see whether the idealism in his heart can be implemented in reality!"

Killing oligarchs is beneficial to a professional sport. Xiao Yu knows this very well. For example, F1 has proposed various rules all day long to terminate Ferrari and Schumacher, and the International Table Tennis Association has always proposed various rules. Rules are used to prevent China from becoming a dominant player. For UEFA's "presidential" candidates, Platini's governance is understandable.

But as the Red Rebels, Xiao Yu wants to do everything possible to help the club achieve better results. This is also understandable. And as the boss of the Red Rebels, Xiao Yu uses the Red Rebels and the Premier League as negative teaching materials for Platini. I feel contempt for the means!

If it were the Premier League in the previous life, Xiao Yu would think that Platini did the right thing, but under the influence and promotion of Xiao Yu, the Premier League in this life has begun to embark on a rational development trend ahead of schedule. If this time If he failed because of Platini's attack, then Xiao Yu dared to say that Platini was the culprit!

"He said that letting the Red Rebels win the Champions League is a step backwards, letting the Red Rebels win the Champions League for a second time is sad, and letting the Red Rebels win the Champions League for three consecutive years is a disaster for the football world. Then I really want to tell Prati Mr. Ni, our Red Rebels still have only one goal this season, the championship, all championships!"