Chapter 707 Press Conference

……

Although Van der Sar performed very well during his time at Manchester United, and the transfer price was also cheap. But he has one issue that cannot be ignored, and that is age.

Even if the 'Ice Rabbit' is in good shape, he is already thirty-four years old. For a professional footballer, this is the end of his career. In contrast, Petro Cech, who was born in May 1982, is now only 23 years old and has just entered the prime of his career. One can only be used for a few years, and the other can ensure that the team does not need to worry about the goalkeeper position for the next ten years. It's easy to choose.

As for Xavi Alonso, Rongo is known as one of the top midfielders in football. Unparalleled big-picture vision and the ability to control the tempo, accurate long passes, strong lateral interceptions, strong defensive ability, and the ability to shoot from a distance. If there is a disadvantage, I am afraid that the speed is not fast enough, and the ability to plug in the back row is not so conspicuous. But that's not a big problem for the midfielders.

Compared with Brother Long, who can attack and defend well, although Carrick also has outstanding long passes, a cool head, and the ability to control the game, his thin body is destined to not have too strong defensive ability. In the Premier League, where physical confrontation is emphasized, Carrick's physicality limits his play.

'I haven't heard of Petr Cech but Xavi Alonso is a good midfielder. But I prefer another player from Bevan Sports Economics to him. ”

Guo Shouyun's mind flashed, "Yaya Toure?"

Ferguson nodded, "We met Greek side Olympiacos in the group stage of the Champions League last year and Yaya Toure was impressive. Outstanding defensive ability in large areas, aggressive fighting, good big-picture and organizational skills, and apart from his leadership temperament, his abilities are almost exactly the same as Keane's. His presence was able to protect our midfield when Paul stepped in to provide the assist. Yaya Toure is a better fit for our squad than Xavi Alonso!"

Guo Shouyun knows that Paul Scholes is indeed very good, and the organization, forward ability, and accurate long-range shooting of the ginger head make him the most formidable master in the midfield. But he is already 30 years old, and although he still has a few years to go in his prime, along with injuries, ginger head is inevitably going to the end of his career. However, from Ferguson's eyes, he could also see the other party's feelings for his disciple.

After a brief consideration, he smiled and nodded.

"Yaya Toure is really suitable for Manchester United's system, I will inform Bewen Sports Economics and ask them to contact David, but you can negotiate the price yourself, I will not interfere. ”

"I also want to buy Chloe Toure. The old gentleman said slowly.

For this request, Guo Shouyun was not surprised. United's centre-backs Upper Brown, Silvestre and O'Shea are not happy with their quality, and the most important thing is that they are all older and he has to think about the future of the team.

"Alex, I think Spartan Russia's main centre-back, Nemanja Vidic, is a better fit for Manchester United than Kolo Toure!"

Kolo Toure and Nemanja Vidic are among the best centre-backs in football. In terms of ability, they can all be qualified for Manchester United's main position. But compared to Vidic, Kolo Toure also has the shortcomings of African players, such as greed for money, lack of collective pride, poor discipline, infighting, etc.

In the Ivory Coast national team, the infighting between the Drogba gang and the Toure gang has become a laughing stock in world football. And Chloe Toure's doping scandal not only ruined his personal image, but also caused trouble for Arsenal.

In contrast, Vidic is much better. Not only is he a talented person, but he also takes on the responsibility of taking care of his late friend's father.

As the owner of Manchester United, he naturally prefers the latter. In fact, if it weren't for the promise not to interfere with Ferguson's management of the team, he would have preferred Longgo to Yaya Toure.

Seeing the thoughts on Ferguson's face, Guo Shouyun further explained: "Alex, you have coached the team for many years, and I believe that you know better than me about some problems in African players. If there's a centre-back candidate with enough ability, why bother yourself?!"

Lord Fu could feel the respect in the new boss's tone. He didn't want to get into trouble with the new boss because of the player's transfer. After all, Magnier's affair was disgusting enough to have one thing, and he didn't want to come a second time. Moreover, the new owner is not Magnier, and now Manchester United has become the personal favorite of the other side. Even with the previous non-interference agreement between the two sides, the other side has the ability to let him go.

He was reluctant to give up Manchester United, who had worked hard for half his life.

"Well, I'll let Bass take a hard look at it, and if Vidic is fit for United's main position, I'll consider bringing him in!"

Guo Shouyun nodded, "Of course, you have the final say on the introduction of the team." ”

After a pause, "By the way, I have brought in a new commercial director for the team, and he will be in charge of the team's sponsorship in the future." ”

When the words fell, Guo Shouyun waved his hand, and Wang Jue, who knew about it, took out his mobile phone, and after making a call, a middle-aged man with a round face and a beard walked in.

"Let me introduce you to Ed Woodward, Manchester United's trusted deputy general manager and commercial director. … Ed, this is Manchester United general manager David Gill, this is the team's manager Sir Alex Ferguson. ”

Seeing the three of them shaking hands with each other and saying hello, Guo Shouyun had a smile on his face. Although his acquisition of Manchester United is more to fulfill his dream of watching football in his last life. However, since it has been acquired, it is natural to be responsible for the team's performance and revenue.

Ed Woodward, affectionately known as the 'Three Virtues' by Chinese fans, is the biggest contributor to Manchester United's poor performance and can't even participate in the Champions Cup, but still beats Real Madrid to keep Manchester United No. 1 in football in terms of income and commercial value, and is known as 'Ronaldo of club CEOs'. Such a talent naturally cannot be let go.

In addition, in order to ensure his influence on Manchester United, it is also necessary to install a few of his own people.

"The next three will be the heart of Manchester United and I hope you can support each other and take Manchester United to new heights together!"

……

After dealing with Manchester United, Guo Shouyun rushed back to London from Manchester, and after half a month, the negotiations between Red Star Automobile Group and Rover, as well as Rover's creditors, were almost underway.

"Under our agreements with creditors such as HSBC, Royal Bank of Scotland and Barclays, we issued a US$7 billion, 3.25% 10-year fixed rate bond to cover all of our previous debt. The bond does not have to pay principal and interest for the first three years, and the interest is paid every six months from the fourth year onwards, and the principal is paid after maturity. ”

Guo Shouyun nodded, the interest rate of 3.25% is not high, which is more than half cheaper than ordinary commercial bonds. Moreover, Bo Ruituo also won an additional $2 billion in liquidity from creditors such as HSBC and the Royal Bank of Scotland to support Rover's development, which can be said to be very generous.

"Can we continue talking?"

Bo Ruituo shook his head, "If it weren't for their fear that after Rover went bankrupt, the early investment would not be recovered." Coupled with the fact that the boss is escorting the Red Star Automobile Group behind his back, I am afraid that they will not agree to such conditions. ”

Guo Shouyun understood. In fact, he initially thought that if the concessions of creditors such as HSBC and Barclays were not big enough, he would let the Bruce Foundation buy up the debt of Rover Motors. But after thinking about it later, he gave up sensibly.

If he can't use the insights of his previous life to turn Rover Motors into a profit, wouldn't he have to pay off the huge debt of more than $5 billion?

Moreover, Phoenix Financial Group has agreed to his request to sell him a stake in Scottish Power. If that were the case, a takeover of the British power giant would be a possibility. And to win this power giant, which has one-fifth of the population of Britain who are its customers, it will need at least 7 billion pounds after deducting debts! According to the current exchange rate of 1.83 between the pound and the dollar, it is 12.8 billion US dollars. Such a large sum of money, combined with the nearly 800 million pounds to buy Manchester United, also consumed most of the money earned from selling Yahoo and eBay shares. There is no room to buy Rover's debts anymore.

"So be it! It just so happened that the Phoenix side also agreed to our terms. Guo Shouyun said.

Bo Ruituo nodded, "If you don't have any other questions, I'll officially sign the contract tomorrow morning?"

"Hmm!"

"Are you still participating?"

"Of course! This is a big day for Red Star Motors. ”

……

The reception room at the headquarters of the London branch of Phoenix Bank. Guo Shouyun met with Paul Anderson, Chairman of the Board and CEO of Phoenix International Group.

After both parties signed each other's names on the contract, "Mr. Guo, you have purchased an asset with unlimited potential. If it weren't for the mistake of Phoenix Group buying Rover Motors, we wouldn't have sold this stake. ”

After handing over the contract to Wang Jue for collection, Guo Shouyun said with a smile: "It should be Mr. Anderson who made a good deal." Not only did it get rid of nearly $5 billion in debt from Rover Motors, but it also made a fortune from a stake in Scottish Power. ”

"We just sold 22.4% of Scottish Power to Mr. Guo at the market price, but there is no premium!"

"That being said, Scotland Electric's share price has increased by 56.8% compared to when Phoenix Financial Group invested six years ago, plus the dividends you've received over the years. You didn't lose anything about this deal. In contrast, we are in danger. If I can't revitalize Rover Motors, I will have to pay back the $5 billion loss. ”

"Mr. Guo is serious. Since Mr. Guo founded LinkedIn in 2000, no matter what industry he enters, he has no disadvantage. LinkedIn, Google, Matrix, Phoenix, Pacific have become industry giants under your leadership. Pacific Power & Gas, which was once on the verge of collapse, and Enron, the much larger company, have all been restored to your business. So, if there is anyone in the world who can lead Rover out of this predicament, there is no one more suitable than you, Mr. Guo!"

"I am glad to receive such praise from Mr. Anderson. If I invite Phoenix Investment Group to become a shareholder of Red Star Automobile, would you be willing?" said Guo Shouyun with a smile.

"Haha, of course I do. It's just that the company's board of directors has approved another investment plan, so we don't have extra funds to invest in Red Star for the time being. Paul Anderson's face changed slightly, and then he smiled, "Of course, if we have more funds in the future, and Mr. Guo also needs it, we are very happy to invest in Red Star Automobile Group." ”

Guo Shouyun pouted secretly in his heart. This guy is a really good idea. If you wait until the financial income of Red Star Auto is good and the company recovers to profitability, you will still need to invest?

Of course, in this case, he is just thinking about it in his heart. On the surface, it's still hello, I'm good, everyone. Phoenix Financial Group has a lot of high-quality assets in its hands, and it may be necessary to cooperate with each other when it comes. It's important to be kind to your face!

After getting Paul Anderson and letting Wang Jue send him away, Guo Shouyun quickly came to the conference room of Phoenix Bank. Signed a debt restructuring contract with Rover Motors' creditors.

So far, Rover Motors has completely fallen into the hands of Guo Shouyun.

The next day, as the CEO of Red Star Motors, Bo Ruituo presided over the press conference on the acquisition of Rover Motors. Guo Shouyun didn't like this kind of flashing time, so he just stayed at home and watched the live broadcast on YouTube.

"Mr. Bo Ruituo, as the CEO of Huaxia Automobile Company, how confident can you save a British automobile company like Rover from bankruptcy?"

"Our confidence stems from our full understanding of the automotive industry, as well as the confidence of Red Star Automotive Group in the future development of the automotive industry and the determination of Red Star Auto management. ”

"Can you elaborate on that?"

"Of course... Rover Motors has built up a deep technical foundation and brand recognition over the past 100 years, which is the most valuable asset of an automotive company. In addition, China's economy is developing rapidly, and the rapidly wealthy people have a growing demand for automobiles. According to our survey, from 1994 to the present, Huaxia's annual car sales have increased by 6 times, and it is still growing rapidly at a rate of 40% per year. We expect the annual sales of Huaxia Automobile Market to exceed 10 million in the next five years, and it will become the world's largest automobile consumer market in the next ten years. If we connect Rover's technology and brand with China's growing automotive market, then we will create a great automobile manufacturer. ”

"Mr. Bo Ruituo, do you mean to move Rover's production line to Huaxia and only keep the R&D department in the UK?"

"No, Rover's production line and R&D department will all stay in the UK. Although we are optimistic about the future of the Chinese automobile market, we will not give up on the UK and Europe either. We are confident that Rover will regain its position as one of the best-selling car brands in Europe. ”

"Mr. Rayto, as far as I know, you were previously the CEO of Beverages Americas. Do you think your success in selling beer can also be applied to the automotive industry?"

However, Bo Ruituo has worked hard in the business world for many years, and he has encountered more tricky and ugly problems, so naturally he will not lose his mentality because of this.

"Beer and cars are two very different products, but I think there are a lot of similarities between the two. And I always believe that whether it is beer or car, as long as we always stand in the perspective of consumers, carefully polish products, improve our sales system and after-sales service, and treat each of our consumers with an honest, serious and trustworthy attitude. I think we'll be successful in the automotive industry as well!"

"Mr. Bo Ruituo, as far as I know, the Red Star Automobile Group was established on the basis of a loss-making automobile company in China, and you have never had experience in producing family cars, let alone the market and technology. So, what gives you such confidence that you will succeed in the automotive industry?"

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