Hicks didn't talk much, and it was mainly Gillette who spoke. Gillette told Benitez: "The first thing I did after buying Liverpool was to come and see you, and in my opinion, you are the soul of Liverpool and the key to Liverpool's dominance in the Premier League and Europe. ”

Benitez waved his hand and said, "Mr. Gillette has won the award, I am just an ordinary member of Liverpool, doing my job well and getting a salary." ”

Gillette said: "Don't be modest, Rafa, I know your role better than anyone else, and if you are not qualified, the first thing I will do today is to fire you." You don't have to doubt it, I'm not a sports outsider, my business mainly consists of sports marketing and meat processing. ”

Gillette is right, neither he nor Hicks are outsiders in the sports world, and Gillette mined the first pot of gold from the National Football League.

Gillette's acquisition of the Miami Dolphins came by accident, when he called Football League Commissioner Pete Roselle to seek an opportunity, who mistook him for a member of the Gillette family. In 1972, he successfully acquired a 22 percent stake in the Miami Dolphins, which had just won the first championship in franchise history before the acquisition. In the second year after Gillette's acquisition, the Dolphins successfully defended their title.

In 1966, Abel Sapelstein, the founder of the Harlem Goodwill basketball team in New York, died. The following year, Gillette and German Johann Kluger (former chairman of Metro TV) and another partner bought the legendary basketball team. In 1976, he sold the team. In 1979, he bought three small television stations from Gillette Communications and three years later WSM in Tennessee. By 1984, Gillette, who had made his fortune in the media industry, owned eight television stations, 22 newspapers and a number of estates. In the years that followed, due to the potential of his residence to develop ice and snow sports, he made a big move on ice and snow sports and entered this new field with a smooth path.

In the early 90s, Gillette suffered the first setback in his business career, with a value of up to 3. After a failed $2.5 billion investment in Florida television networks, his company's shares were suspended on the New York Stock Exchange and subsequently declared bankruptcy. A few years later, he made a comeback, not only managed to reclaim several companies he once owned, but also started a meat processing business. After painstaking management, his fortune grew to $1.4 billion.

Gillette knows that sport is a new source of economic growth and one of the best ways to gather wealth. Pat Bowlen is a key partner for him, and he is the CEO of the Denver Broncos of the NFL. It is for this reason that Gillette has been able to continue his foray into the world of sports. In 2000, he and Bolen and John Elway (a former American football player) bought the NBA team Denver Nuggets, the Denver Avalanche of the Hockey League, and Pepsi Center. On January 2 of the same year, he again won with 1. $8.5 billion bought an 80 percent stake in Montreal's Canadian hockey team, as well as the team's home court, Bell Center.

Compared to Gillette, the 61-year-old Hicks is much less famous in the United States. The Dallas businessman, a graduate of Thomas Jefferson University, is the owner of the American Southwest Sports Group, which owns the Texas Rovers baseball team and the Dallas Star Ice Hockey team. It is worth mentioning that this baseball team was purchased by Hicks from the current President of the United States, George W. Bush. In the 80s, Hicks invested in films. In 2004, in order to spend more time with his family and his sports club, he chose to leave the film industry and join Gillette in football.

Benitez said calmly: "I understand your brilliance in the sports world, but football is different from other sports, England is also different from the United States and Canada, in addition to money and management, fans are also an important factor, and other sports will not have as many die-hard football loyalists." ”

Gillette smiled, "I bought the hockey club in Canada: the Montreal Canadians. Like Anfield right now, the Canadians fans don't welcome me, they doubt my nationality and their concerns about how I run the team. But it didn't take long for the fans to find out that I was leading the club to the best path. I'm focused on working hard for the team. I had a conversation with Mr. McKenna of Shankly's Soul when I came to Melwood, and we had a great time, and I'm sure he likes our presence right now. ”

Benitez said: "Liverpool is a club that can improve and grow, and we have to have some ideas to make us stronger and make the improvements that we need. For example, how many fan stores do we have in the world? We have to develop our market in Asia, even in Spain, where we are popular. In terms of business, we have a little difference from Real Madrid, where the people of Madrid are not only able to sell their shirts, but also to increase the value of Real Madrid as a commercial brand. Maybe we didn't succeed better off the pitch than Real Madrid, but we can learn from them and become the best club we can one day. ”

Gillette smiled: "Thank you for your construction, you are Spaniard, I believe in your understanding of Spanish football, I have always been impressed by your vision, but we are not going to make the whole strategy of the club public, we prefer Liverpool to develop in their own way, rather than simply repeating the path that Manchester United have taken." Whether it's Manchester United or Chelsea, their success isn't just based on spending a lot of money. Transfers are an important part of the club's operations, but they are never the whole story. Of course, if we do have a chance to bring in those great players, then the club will definitely give it their all. We're here to support you. ”

Hicks added: "We want to improve the team in our own way, and of course we know that it's not enough to spend a lot of money, but it's essential to add fresh blood to the team, and buying new players to improve the efficiency of training will go a long way in ensuring that we are on track to win." It's your job to get the right players when you find them, and we're going to support them financially. We're buying high-quality, dedicated players, so to speak, and we don't have a cap on the budget. Good players are Liverpool's lifeblood and their arrival can help to continue the team's winning tradition. I can boldly say that Liverpool's next goal is to win as many trophies as possible in the Premier League and Europe. ”

This is what Benitez likes to hear the most, Benitez's biggest pain before is that there are too many good players in the transfer market, and he has too little pound in his hand, he believes that the reason why Liverpool can't win the league is because of the lack of enough good players, in a long season, only you have two groups of equally good players to ensure a stable record, and now the two American owners although they did not give the media said 1. 200 million pounds or 1. £500 million, but the attitude is clear, he will not be short of money in the summer transfer market, and players like Alves, who he has his eye on, will no longer give up just over £10 million.