Chapter 1272 Are sports and business a paradox?

In the last 10 minutes of the first half, Liverpool launched a counterattack, with wave after wave of offensive.

Finally, in the 39th minute, Liverpool scored a goal through a corner kick.

The score became 2:1.

In the final stage of the game in the first half, Liverpool showed extremely strong strength, which calmed down the atmosphere at Old Trafford. This is a tough battle. Manchester United has not won yet, and there is still a lot of suspense.

During the intermission, I stopped messing around and honestly went back to the reception room to drink a glass of red wine and rest.

Not just them.

There is a cafe in Old Trafford, the price is very expensive, usually tourists and fans come to drink, and then watch the highlights of the first half through the TV in the cafe.

In the No. 2 reception room, Sir Bobby Charlton was very emotional, saying that Ronaldinho's performance in the first half was too eye-catching, and both goals were related to him.

Moreover, on the 2nd of next month, the Golden Globe winners selected by this year's "French Football" will be announced. Last season, Manchester United was the champion of the Premier League and the Champions League. As the team's top card, Ronaldinho won the Ballon d'Or without any suspense. Also includes the next World Footballer of the Year award.

It is such a pity to let such an important player go to Real Madrid.

David Gill was also very helpless, "It seems that he can't stop it, his ambition is very firm."

Megan Fox didn't quite understand, "Why? Why did he leave Manchester United? Is the salary not high enough?"

"Well……"

David Gill glanced at Zhou Buqi.

Zhou Buqi said in a deep voice: "Manchester United must have great ambitions and stronger competitiveness. In terms of remuneration, they must not be in debt. How much is Ronaldinho's salary?"

David Gill said: "Seven million pounds."

"so much!"

Megan Fox exclaimed.

Zhou Buqi frowned slightly, "7 million pounds after tax, not much..."

Ahem, David Gill was almost frightened, "It's before tax."

In the football circle, different countries have different habits. When talking about salary in the Premier League and Bundesliga, the pre-tax salary is generally discussed. When it comes to salary in La Liga, Serie A, and Ligue 1, it is generally said that it is after-tax salary.

"It's only 7 million pounds before tax? Then there's not even 4 million pounds after tax? That's too little!" Zhou Buqi was shocked by the low salary level of Manchester United. "Such salary is indeed uncompetitive."

David Gill's eyes widened, "To change the salary system?"

Zhou Buqi said decisively: "It must be changed, and a more attractive salary structure must be used to retain outstanding players and attract more outstanding players to join. For example, Ronaldinho, at his level, the salary after tax is not high. It should be less than 10 million pounds. Rooney, Scholes, Ferdinand, etc., the after-tax salary should reach 5 million pounds."

David Gill frowned, "Manchester United's current total salary is 90 million pounds. If so, the salary system will be raised by 30%-40%. An additional 30 million pounds will be spent every year."

Zhou Buqi was amused.

A mere 30 million pounds, is it difficult to do this?

No wonder Manchester United's performance is so good and their competitiveness in the market is so poor.

This David Gill is indeed a manager in the traditional football industry, and his thinking is too rigid. For a great company, it is never achieved by reducing expenditure, but by finding more open source channels.

San Dezi is a confidant, he understands the mind of the new boss very well, and immediately listed several sets of data, "Today's football, the highest income is Beckham, with an annual income of more than 76 million U.S. dollars. Followed by Ronaldinho , the annual income has reached 70 million US dollars. However, Beckham has been sold by Real Madrid to play in the United States, and Ronaldinho has also been sold by Barcelona to Serie A for retirement. Their salary income is less than 10 million Dollars. Well, it’s all pre-tax figures.”

These words really reached Zhou Buqi's heart, his eyes lit up, "Yes! Continue!"

San Dezi went on to say: "The top three stars in today's football are Barcelona's Messi, Milan's Kaka and our Ronaldinho. Messi is a newcomer, I haven't seen the statistics. But Kaka and Ronaldinho's income is too low. Their salary is about the same as Beckham's, but the sponsorship income is too low."

"how much?"

"Ronaldo's sponsorship income is 12 million US dollars, Kaka's sponsorship income is 15 million US dollars. But Beckham's sponsorship income is 65 million US dollars!"

"It's down to the root!"

Zhou Buqi felt that San Dezi's level was too high, which was completely in line with his own thinking, and he had a feeling of cooperating with Zhang Yiming and He Yang in Ziweixing.

This topic is purely about money, which makes many famous Manchester United footballers very unhappy. They were all old men, and they all left shaking their heads.

It seems ashamed to associate with them.

It's all in the eyes of money!

This seems to go against the true meaning of football.

Even David Gill frowned slightly. He didn't like this topic, and said reluctantly: "Professional players should put all their attention on the court. If they participate in too many commercial activities and do too many product endorsements, It's going to distract them, it's going to affect their performance on the pitch."

This time, Zhou Buqi had a feeling that the truth had come to light.

Here is the crux!

These football people are too sanctified football when they engage in football, and they are doing it as a belief. This will inhibit commercialization to a certain extent, and the ability to make money will become worse.

On the contrary, Florentino was born as a businessman. When he ran to become the chairman of the Real Madrid club, Real Madrid was facing a debt crisis and was on the verge of bankruptcy. He played a series of beautiful business methods, not only revived Real Madrid with full blood, but also led Real Madrid to rise rapidly. In three years, he surpassed Manchester United, which has been the most profitable club in the world for eight consecutive years, and became the most profitable club in the world. money making club.

In the past few years, Real Madrid's ability to make money has always been the world's number one.

What's even more frightening is that Barcelona, ​​as the sworn enemy of Real Madrid, has also learned how to play business operations, and has become the second in the world in one fell swoop in the past two years, squeezing Manchester United to the third position.

Still, he said a fair word to the Hollywood actress Megan Fox who is by Zhou Buqi's side, "Aren't the players playing football just to make money?"

Seeing David Gill's discoloration, she hastily added: "I'm not saying that honor is not important, but making money is also important. Just like us actors, we also hope to become queens and be able to make classic films that will be handed down from generation to generation. But who doesn’t want to live a good life? Many people win awards because they can get higher pay. Even Tom Hanks, if the pay is not enough, he can’t shoot Spielberg Or a Scorsese movie."

Zhou Buqi shook his head slightly, "A player is not the same as an actor. An actor can act for a lifetime, but a player's career is very short. Players want to have a higher income, which is human."

San Dezi took advantage of the situation and said: "The influence of football is world-class. There are countless merchants and sponsors all over the world, hoping to use top players to endorse their products, but this behavior is restricted by many clubs. For example, Baker Ham. When he was at Manchester United, his annual sponsorship income was less than 10 million US dollars. In this way, he was scolded by Ferguson for participating in too many commercial activities. When he went to Real Madrid, his sponsorship income in the first year It’s more than 45 million US dollars. And Real Madrid owns 50% of his portrait rights, and got half of it. When Real Madrid bought Beckham, it cost 35 million euros. Only relying on this 50% portrait rights, less than two years It’s all earned back.”

Zhou Buqi sighed, "Yeah, Real Madrid has changed the business philosophy of football... Well, what about Ronaldinho? What's wrong with him?"

Beckham is very charming and handsome.

It is normal for him to get a lot of advertising endorsements.

But what happened to Ronaldinho, an ugly monster?

How can he also earn over $70 million a year?

San Dezi said: "Because of Barcelona, ​​after the success of Real Madrid's business model, they quickly followed up and got 50% of Ronaldinho's portrait rights. Then, through their own influence, Barcelona actively contributed to the It’s for commercial promotion. Well... although his image is not as good as Beckham’s, his achievements and honors are higher, and his football style is more sought after.”

Zhou Buqi glanced at David Gill, and said meaningfully: "It's no wonder that Real Madrid and Barcelona have surpassed Manchester United in terms of commercial income."

David Gill was very dissatisfied, "Excessive commercialization will affect football performance. In the past few years, Real Madrid could not even make it to the top 16 in the Champions League. Barcelona also quickly fell to the bottom, and excessive commercialization has affected football performance. Ronaldinho’s state means that he can only leave Barcelona to retire in Serie A at a young age. Beckham is not very old, and he can only play in the American Major League. Football is a sport, and commercialization There are irreconcilable contradictions between them!"

"Well, it makes sense!" Zhou Buqi felt that he was losing his temper, so he hurriedly followed him, and then said earnestly to San Dezi: "Business must follow competition, this is the first principle of football clubs!"

Having said that, I deeply disapproved in my heart.

In the past few years, Real Madrid's depression is because they are the first to eat crabs, and they will inevitably go astray. Barcelona's slump is entirely due to Ronaldinho, a Brazilian who is not self-disciplined. He stays up late every day, goes to nightclubs, does not train seriously, his body is out of shape, and his game state has seriously declined.

Wait a few years and see?

Under the leadership of Messi, Barcelona has achieved an unprecedented cosmic team, which can be called the strongest team in history.

Florentino is the "second entry into the palace". He learned the lessons of the first period and made the best balance between business and competition. He created the legend of the Champions League three consecutive championships and reached the commercial record in the history of football. and competitive double peaks.

These two La Liga giants have turned European football into a duo. While vigorously developing business, if you have money, you can keep buying, buying, and buying the best players. Then use the best players to drive the further development of competition and business, and further consolidate its own influence.

How poor La Liga is, the overseas market is also very limited, and the conditions in all aspects are far inferior to the Premier League. But through the success of their business model, they have trampled all the Premier League giants under their feet.

In later generations, the Premier League also saw the success of the top two in La Liga, and gradually explored the road to commercialization, and slowly caught up. Among them, Manchester United under the leadership of San Dezi has gone the furthest. It's a pity that he doesn't know much about football, and he pays too much attention to business and neglects the development of competition.

For Zhou Buqi, it is not enough to rely on San Dezi alone, but to rely on David Gill to grasp the competition.

Take your time.

If there is no butterfly effect, this season's UEFA Champions League Manchester United will reach the final again. The opponent in the final is Barcelona, ​​which is very commercialized, and then they are completely defeated by their opponents.

This is the most vivid example.

Ronaldo earned so little at Manchester United, his heart flew to Real Madrid. Then ask him to focus more on football, don't think about making money, have faith, and work hard for honor... Isn't this moral kidnapping?

Dreams can be pursued slowly, first of all you have to earn money and improve your life first.

After taking over Manchester United, Zhou Buqi believes that the first thing he has to do is to change the club's traditional football concept from top to bottom through the success of the "cosmic team" Barcelona this season.

Only by earning enough money can you buy the best players, pay the players the most wages, and improve the competitiveness of the team. Otherwise, even a top superstar like Ronaldo wants to leave the team, how can Manchester United build its own top brand?

No shame in making money!