"Southampton FC is going bankrupt?"

Arthur's fingers trembled slightly, and he asked as he looked at Jerry as usual.

"Yes, since they were relegated to the Championship in 05, the finances have been unable to make ends meet, the players have either left or been sold, and the losses are serious, and this year they have been relegated to League One again because of the club's management restructuring violations, and they have reached the brink of bankruptcy.

We reported it a few days ago, boss, didn't you see it?" Jerry explained casually, asking with some confusion.

"No, I've been so busy in London these days that I don't even have time to read the newspaper. Arthur shook his head directly and said, pretending to be puzzled and asked, "Isn't it doing a good job as a black shop, why is it suddenly going bankrupt?"

He only pays attention to the financial market, what effort does he have to read sports reports, besides, he is not the kind of second goods who can die for football in his predecessor, he can only be regarded as a pseudo-fan of football, knowing a few superstars and some big clubs, and can distinguish between the five major leagues and the Champions League and the European Cup. Some detailed knowledge of football is inherited from the memories of its predecessors.

Southampton Football Club, formerly known as St Mary's YMA, is a professional football club in Southampton, a port city in Hampshire, southeast England, nicknamed "The Saints", founded in November 1885 as the home stadium of Little Valley Stadium, which was relocated to St Mary's in 2001 after more than 100 years of use.

For the Saints Southampton Club, Arthur certainly knows, after all, it is a famous 'black shop', famous for selling his own academy players at home and abroad...

Ahem, of course, if you compare it with Porto, which is synonymous with European black stores, then Saints Southampton is definitely a model of conscience in the Premier League, after all, Saints must be a boutique.

Most of the players and coaches who have left the Stadio de Santa Maria have played an important role in their new clubs. For example, the big saint Bale who was sold to Tottenham for 14.7 million euros, Arthur clearly remembers that Bale later joined Real Madrid for a record transfer fee of 100.1 million euros.

As we all know, Southampton's academy is probably the best in all of England, with many talented players coming out of here.

However, the biggest fatal flaw is that it can cultivate people, but it can't retain people, in fact, this is also a common problem of many small and medium-sized clubs, and the same is true for Southampton. Faced with more financially powerful teams such as Manchester United, Liverpool and Tottenham, the Saints may have no choice but to make a black shop and try to sell players for a good price, which is also the origin of the Premier League's reputation for black shops.

And the main reason why Arthur became interested in Southampton is its youth system, which is definitely a treasure trove. TV updates the fastest //

"It's been relegated to League One, the players are leaving for other places, Southampton can't stop it, and with the chaos in the management, Southampton is already in chaos right now. ”

Jerry shook his head and explained with a smile, "I heard that the current shareholders of Southampton are looking for buyers who are willing to take over, hoping to get rid of this black hole of loss, once bankruptcy is declared, Southampton will be held in escrow, and at that time, the losses of these shareholders will be even greater." ”

A football club's financial trusteeship is generally due to the club's board of directors declaring it unable to pay its debts and there is no new board to take over, the Premier League committee will take over the team and restrict the transfer of such teams.

In this way, this team cannot have any additional expenses. If there is still no one to take over the team at the end of the season, the team will be relegated. In England, there is generally only a relegation, because the team is relegated and the team is devalued, and if you sell some players, you can basically pay off the debt, and a new board will take over. Recommended ReadingTV//

Southampton, who have been relegated to League One, may really be relegated if they are relegated again.

Hearing this, Arthur's eyes couldn't help but narrow slightly, and there was a flash of color in his eyes, he looked at Jerry and asked, "Do you know how much they are going to sell?"

After this sentence was asked, everyone at the table couldn't help but be slightly flustered, and then turned their eyes to their young boss.

And Jerry, who seemed to have thought of something, looked at Arthur with extremely bright eyes, and said: "There is no clear price, but some shareholders have revealed the intention of selling, but according to the current situation in Southampton, it will definitely not be too expensive, if the boss has any ideas, in the afternoon interview, I will ask the reporter of our newspaper to inquire privately." ”

"Hehe, if it's cheap, you say I'll buy it, how about it?" Arthur asked with a smile as he looked at everyone with bright eyes.

"Boss, no matter how cheap it is, it also needs tens of millions of pounds, and Southampton is still playing in League One this year, even if everything goes well, they will only be promoted to the Championship next year, football is a very money-burning sport, and the ownership of some football clubs is a very dangerous business. Boss, you need to think about the risks. ”

Tom White looked at the young boss who was obviously moved, and hurriedly reminded.

The influence of the Premier League in the world is indeed getting bigger and bigger, and the rights of the Premier League have been sold at sky-high prices, and most people will think that the commercial value of Premier League clubs will be higher and higher. But this idea is naïve.

In the Premier League, there aren't as many super-rich people as you might think, like Chelsea's Abramou who burn money like crazy. It is becoming more and more difficult to make a lot of money by running a Premier League club. In the money-burning football world, injecting capital into Premier League clubs is not a surefire deal for investors.

What's more, the League One teams that are two levels lower are completely money-losers, and it is impossible to enter the Premier League from the lower leagues without investing money to strengthen their forces.

'You don't necessarily need that much money, and Southampton's academy is the best in the Premier League, with a lot of potential, it's definitely a treasure trove of talent, and if you give it time, you can get back into the Championship with its academy players, even if you don't have to invest more.

As long as it returns to the Championship, each team's annual base share is nearly 3 million pounds of broadcast shares, plus box office revenue, trading players, commercial development, and good management, and there is no rush to impact the Premier League, it can completely break even, and even make a profit. ”

Jerry Fuller, however, expressed a completely different opinion from Tom, as the head of the newspaper, his analysis was more professional and in place, and he could better see the potential and value of Southampton.

Of course, if the owner really has the ability to buy the Southampton club, it will undoubtedly get the largest news source for the Hampshire-based "Southern Daily Echo", which is the owner's industry, and naturally gets first-hand news.

Listening to the completely different opinions of the two subordinates, Arthur just smiled indifferently, what they said made sense, but Arthur had his own ideas, and it was not that others could change the left and right by saying a few words.

"Hehe, it's a bit early to say this, Jerry, you better ask someone to inquire about the club's offer, if the price is too high, even if I am interested in buying Southampton, I can't help it. ”

"Okay, boss. Jerry immediately agreed.

The other people present were silent and watched all this, but they had a new understanding of the boss's financial resources, after all, who can afford to play football is not worth billions.

Many rich people or consortia like to buy football clubs, many fans are envious, after all, it must be a very cool thing to play the realistic version of the football manager, but, in fact, these rich people or consortia who buy clubs are not really for football and true love or like these clubs, of course, making money is the purpose of most people, but making money is only the ultimate purpose of investing in football, the same way, the way to make money with football is not the only way, and many times making money is not the only purpose。

And what Arthur values about football is the soft power and personal impact it can bring.

Football is an important way to effectively improve one's soft power, no matter how insignificant and unknown the figure was before, as long as he becomes the owner of an established club, it is undoubtedly an important means to enhance one's personal image.

In particular, the topic attribute of football is definitely a marketing and promotion tool to increase popularity and enhance influence!

As the football emperor Beckenbauer once said: "It is not football that rolls on the green field, but gold." "Don't think it's all about love, maybe, but that's only the most insignificant part.

Fame and fortune, Arthur, a declining aristocrat, what he needs most, football may be easy for him to get, how can he not be tempted, not to mention that although the Saints Southampton is now on the streets, its fame and history are real!