Chapter 872 Magic Flute
He is used to controlling the team and hates others interfering with his team, especially his lineup.
But when the words reached his lips, he swallowed them again.
Xu Liang is the big boss of the team, so he still needs to be given face.
And the two players he recommended, Peter Cech, solved Manchester United's dilemma of lacking good goals since Schuscher retired.
The other is Xabi Alonso of Real Sociedad.
Because he didn't like outsiders getting involved in the team, he refused directly.
After the opponent moved to Liverpool in 2004, he directly shouldered the burden of Liverpool's defensive midfielder. He performed very well and was one of the biggest contributors to the Miracle in Istanbul.
The old gentleman admitted in his heart that he had been reckless.
Because of a moment of frustration, he let go of the best candidate to solve Manchester United's weak waist.
So this time he decided to carefully examine it before deciding whether to reject it.
"In Peter's case, I'd love to hear your advice."
Xu Liang smiled and said: "This person's name is Luka Modric. He was born in 1985, 20 years old, and plays as a defensive midfielder. He is currently at Dinamo Zagreb Kroos.
He has plenty of physical fitness, good left and right feet, and has an excellent overall perspective. My friends told me that he is better than Barcelona's Xavi and AC Milan's Pirlo. "
The old prince smiled, subconsciously feeling uncomfortable.
Xavi and Pirlo are the top midfielders in football now.
Those who can compare with them can only be counted in the palm of a hand in the whole world.
Looking at the old master's expression, Xu Liang also knew that he didn't believe it.
But the 'Magic Flute' is the top midfielder in the post-Meiro era, directly ending the two's 10-year monopoly on the 'World Footballer' award.
Helped Real Madrid win the Champions League for six consecutive years.
It even single-handedly sent the Croatian team to the Russian World Cup finals.
Such a player only comes out in decades.
After remembering the name, the old gentleman nodded.
"We will immediately send staff to contact Dinamo Zagreb."
Xu Liang also heard the insincerity in the old man's words.
He didn't say much.
With Sir Alex Ferguson's perspective on players, you can instantly understand the value of this player just by watching the video of the Magic Flute game.
So I'm not afraid that he won't fall for it.
"BOSS, we are also planning to introduce some players this year..."
Xu Liang interrupted Ferguson.
"Alex, you are the team's coach and have the most say in the team's lineup, so you don't have to tell me, a layman.
I only look at the results. "
He has just recommended a player, and if he continues to dictate the team's lineup, the proud and hot-tempered Sir Alex will probably rebel.
Simply give him trust and respect without even asking, to reassure him.
As he thought.
After listening to this, the old prince looked obviously relaxed.
Most of the wariness in his eyes dissipated.
Secretly made up his mind.
Even if the guy named Modric is a big parallel importer, he can still buy it first and then rent it out in the worst case, which will give the big boss face.
If he is really as capable as Cech, that would be great.
Dinamo Zagreb players don't cost much either.
Everyone came to the office chatting.
After everyone sat down.
"David, the team's performance this year has been good, and the income has reached a new high. You and Alex have contributed a lot to it." Xu Liang said with a smile.
When he acquired Manchester United in 2002, Manchester United's total revenue was only 153 million pounds and operating profit was 35.78 million pounds.
Three years later, in 2005, Manchester United's total revenue exceeded 224 million pounds, second only to Real Madrid's 353 million euros (equivalent to 235 million pounds based on the 2005 pound-to-euro exchange rate).
Manchester United's revenue comes from four major sources.
Manchester United Football Club, Manchester United Commercial, Manchester United Catering and Manchester United Television.
The club's income mainly comes from match day ticket sales, league broadcasting shares, Champions League broadcasting shares, etc.
In the Premier League, each club receives £13.7 million from domestic television broadcasts and £18.7 million from overseas rights. There are also "ranking awards" and "broadcast awards".
The "ranking award" is an additional 756,000 for every one place you move up in the Premier League standings.
The "broadcast award" means that if a game is broadcast live by the copyright owner, the team will receive 582,000 pounds in income. Even if the team is broadcast for less than 10 games in a single season, it will still receive a guaranteed minimum of 5.82 million pounds.
Manchester United's revenue from Premier League broadcasts alone is close to 40 million pounds.
Then there’s the Champions League.
The Champions League is not just about broadcasting shares, but also bonuses.
Bonuses are divided into participation bonuses and competition bonuses.
Teams that advance to the top 32 of the Champions League will automatically receive a basic bonus of 15.25 million euros;
In the group stage, a win will result in 2.7 million euros, and a draw will result in 900,000 euros.
Qualified in the group stage, reached the top 16 and received 9.5 million euros.
10.5 million euros for advancing to the top 8.
12 million euros for advancing to the semi-finals.
The Champions League runner-up will receive 15.5 million euros, and the winning team will receive an additional 4 million euros.
So every event is a feast for capital.
In the 2004-05 season, Manchester United stopped in the semi-finals and earned 25.25 million euros. Including broadcasting shares, they earned a total of about 40 million euros, which is roughly equivalent to 28 million pounds based on the euro-pound exchange rate.
In addition to broadcasting shares, there is also a global tour.
Manchester United is the football club with the most fans in the world, with about 354 million fans worldwide.
The appearance fee for each game of Manchester United's commercial tour is around 500,000 euros. After 6 games, Manchester United's appearance fee alone is 3 million euros.
And that's not all.
There are also ticket revenues and sponsorship fees from sponsors.
In the 2004-2005 season, Manchester United played against FC Tokyo in Tokyo. The Tokyo National Stadium, which can accommodate 68,000 people, was packed, and the ticket revenue exceeded 5 million US dollars.
It's a total profit.
In the 2004-2005 season, the tour brought Manchester United tens of millions of pounds in revenue.
Then there is Manchester United Commercial Company.
It is mainly responsible for managing Manchester United's commercial endorsements and Manchester United member stores.
Among them, advertising sponsorship is particularly generous.
Just for the chest advertisement, the telecommunications giant Vodafone gave 30 million pounds for six years of sponsorship.
There are 34 other advertising sponsors of all sizes.
Especially after Xu Liang moved in, Manchester United had many more Chinese sponsors, which also led to a rapid increase in Manchester United's advertising endorsement income. In the 2004-2005 season alone, Manchester United earned 25 million pounds.
In comparison, Liverpool and Arsenal, which are also giants, only have half of Manchester United's advertising sponsorship fees.
However, the fastest growing is Manchester United's membership store.
Xu Liang may not know much about football, but he knows business.
Before he took over, Manchester United's membership store only had two in Manchester and two in London, and the products sold were only sports goods such as jerseys, sneakers, and hats.
But after Xu Liang took over, Manchester United's membership store expanded rapidly, from Manchester and London to thirteen cities including Paris, New York, Los Angeles, Tokyo, Seoul, and Shanghai.
The products sold also expanded from sports goods to nearly two hundred kinds including water cups, key chains, pencil cases, etc.
As long as it can be printed with the Manchester United logo and can be sold, it will be stuffed in.
It is basically the same routine as operating a boutique department store.
Moreover, Manchester United's products are basically provided by Huaxia Taihua Boutique Department Store.
The purchase price is low, but after adding the word Manchester United, the profit increases by dozens of times.
This alone has caused Manchester United's business income to soar from 15 million pounds when Xu Liang just acquired it in 2002 to 35 million pounds now.
In just one season, 1.4 million jerseys were sold, and the profit from this alone exceeded 10 million pounds.
In addition to Manchester United Member Store, Manchester United Catering Company has been vigorously developed with the support of Xu Liang.
Manchester United Catering Company is divided into two brands.
Manchester United Bar and Manchester United Restaurant.
Bars are essential social places in Europe and the United States. They are basically everywhere and the market is huge.
Manchester United Restaurant focuses on Western food.
But Xu Liang also knows that restaurants have a low threshold and fierce competition. If you want to expand, you must have your own characteristics, or selling points.
It just so happens that Manchester United's characteristics are very obvious.
In addition to normal Western food, ordinary people can also experience the nutritious meals eaten by Manchester United superstars.
Ordinary people look at stars with filters.
Out of curiosity, I can't help but try it.
In two years, Manchester United has opened 21 bars and restaurants in the Five Eyes Alliance, China, Japan, South Korea, and Greater China.
The latest monthly income has exceeded 620,000 pounds.
"David, Manchester United Commercial Company and Manchester United Catering, have you made the development plan for next season?"
"Boss, we plan to expand the number of Manchester United member stores from 13 to 18 in the new season, adding five new stores in Delhi, Mumbai, India, Tianjin, China, Sydney, Australia, and Houston, USA.
Manchester United bars and Manchester United restaurants will grow from 21 to 30 each."
David Gill handed over a document.
Xu Liang simply flipped through it.
This plan is a bit conservative.
However, Manchester United bars and restaurants are different from ordinary stores. They have too strong a sports flavor, so it is better to be more stable and conservative.
"How is the Manchester United hotel project going?" Xu Liang asked.
Now that Manchester United, a high-quality IP, has been caught, it is necessary to grab it as much as possible.
How to grab it?
Food, clothing, housing and transportation.
OK, he has not thought of any good way for the time being.
Clothes are available, Manchester United membership stores.
Not only jerseys, but also a full set of sportswear in cooperation with Adidas, including shoes, jackets, knee pads, wrist guards, etc.
There are also various jackets, T-shirts, hats, etc. with Manchester United player portraits and Manchester United team logos.
Food is available. Manchester United Bar and Man Face Catering are blooming all over the world, especially in the Five Eyes Alliance, East Asian countries and Commonwealth countries that love football.
Then there is accommodation, which is the Manchester United Hotel that is currently under development.
"According to your requirements, we have inspected many hotels in Manchester and London and finally left six."
David Gill handed over a document.
Xu Liang took it and took a look.
His requirements for the Manchester United Hotel are very simple, the location is prosperous, the transportation is convenient, the room number is kept at 200~300, it doesn't need to be too luxurious, an economy hotel is enough.
In order to save time, acquisition is the main focus.
Xu Liang simply flipped through it and found that the six projects were similar.
Then put it aside.
"You decide for yourself, leave one in each city, mainly for leasing, and no property is required."