Chapter 894: Only by Unit ing Can We Achieve Victory

French media Footmercato: PP Bond, a company held by TY, has acquired the French third-division club Dunkirk for a reported 4.5 million euros.

Official announcement: United Academy Group (UAG) has signed an agency contract with the Chinese Super League club Shandong Taishan; UAG will handle all agency work for young players from the Shandong Luneng Football School, including those in the Shandong Luneng youth academy.

When news broke of the collaboration between UAG and Gen. G, many fans assumed Tang Ye was abandoning football to pivot into esports management, but after much twisting and turning, it turned out the core goal remained football.

As the first Chinese Super League club to partner with UAG, Shandong Taishan's management undoubtedly bore tremendous pressure; knowing they had to choose between Tang Ye and the Football Association, and believing Tang Ye could succeed, they decided to board early as a gesture of currying favor.

In recent years, Tang Ye's attention has been fixed on Guangzhou FC, leaving Shandong Taishan, his former club, greatly embarrassed.

The bomb-laden vehicle of Golden Football 2.0—let Taishan board it first for a test ride!

……

The Sun: Poppy Bond plans a secondary listing on the Hong Kong Jiaoyisuo this June, while UAG aims to complete its IPO preparations before 2025.

Domestic sources reveal: Tang Ye plans to send Shandong Luneng Football School players from U13 to U15 in batches to France for training at the youth academy base of Dunkirk in the French third division.

"Dunkirk was acquired by PP Bond, UAG's parent company, as early as May 10; furthermore, transportation for the Shandong Luneng Football School is sponsored by PP Bond's partner, TAP Air Portugal, making this player export initiative a 'highly cost-effective' plan."

"Nevertheless, due to the extremely large number of eligible players at Shandong Luneng Football School, the total budget for this event will be no less than 3 million RMB, with Shandong Taishan Club required to contribute no funds whatsoever."

【Tang Ye? Master Tang! Master Tang is truly generous!】

【This feels genuinely comfortable; now I understand why Taishan is opposing the Football Association—riding this Golden Football train is truly comfortable.】

【Can Tang Tang Qiuwang please look at my Guangzhou FC? We're going bankrupt, boo-hoo-hoo, can you buy us?】

【Guangzhou fans should just wash up and go to sleep; my Tang Tang Qiuwang definitely won't pay several billion; if it were several tens of millions, maybe... but several billion is just f***ing too much.】

【Not gonna lie, this UAG is truly awesome; playing both football and esports, if they pull off this transnational youth training, they'll really become a unicorn enterprise.】

Fans were excited, but beyond the excitement, they still needed to calm down and think.

Tang Ye no longer supports the national team player overseas subsidy plan from a few years ago, which also signifies that he and the Football Association have officially parted ways due to differing opinions.

Abandoning financial support for national team players and instead focusing directly on youth training means that the time required for Chinese football to truly rise is no longer as simple as waiting four years or a single World Cup cycle.

Fans must have sufficient patience, for only with patience can one wait for miracles to occur.

……

Guangzhou Youth: The Guangdong provincial government hopes to persuade local banks to provide Poppy Bond Company with a loan exceeding 5 billion RMB; they hope Poppy Bond will step forward to acquire the Evergrande Football School, and if funds are sufficient, the Guangdong government is willing to support Poppy Bond in buying Guangzhou FC to complete the asset separation between Guangzhou FC and Evergrande.

In recent years, the development speed of Chinese football has been excessively rapid; although possessing an eight-time champion team, Guangdong actually enjoyed no real benefits during the Golden Football era.

Now, with a World Cup third-place finish and Golden Football 2.0 poised to begin, watching the Chinese Super League's viewership skyrocket while Guangzhou FC has suffered relegation, the Guangdong provincial government feels an intense sense of deprivation.

If this were a few years ago, Guangzhou FC's collapse would have been acceptable.

But now, that is impossible!

Guangzhou FC must survive!

And if looking for someone to take over, Poppy Bond Company is naturally the most suitable candidate, given its reputation for being willing to spend money.

However, the most critical issue here is that Guangzhou FC has been relegated and no longer belongs to the Chinese Super League, which will inevitably weaken Poppy Bond's interest in this club.

Sources indicate: Poppy Bond hopes to purchase the Evergrande Football School at 80% of its value; if acquiring Guangzhou FC simultaneously, they must receive a discount exceeding 40%, meaning they would acquire 100% equity in Guangzhou FC by assuming debts at only 60% of their value.

Regardless of the circumstances, Poppy Bond must purchase the Evergrande Football School, as this is the first and most crucial step in launching their football youth training program.

Moreover, acquiring the Evergrande Football School offers another advantage: possessing a primary entity for loan collateral.

If they spend 3 billion RMB to acquire the massive Evergrande Football School, Poppy Bond can use it as their base to start football youth training while simultaneously mortgaging it to banks to secure another loan exceeding 3 billion RMB, achieving lift-off by stepping on their own foot.

Hard assets like land are still very effective in China!

As for whether to save Guangzhou FC, that depends on the situation at the time, after all, Poppy Bond's money does not fall from the sky.

……

On May 20, Manchester United defeated Inter Milan, becoming the first team to advance to the final.

Tomorrow is the match between Real Madrid and Mancheng, a game closely watched by many new Manchester United fans, since the winner between Real Madrid and Mancheng will become Manchester United's opponent in the final.

So why are only the new Manchester United fans paying attention to this match?

Because the old Manchester United fans are too experienced, to the point where their confidence in their own team has reached an indescribable level.

"What Champions League semi-final? In my view, it's just a toy selection tournament for Manchester United!" (London accent)

Li Li Laoba made bold claims on Bilibili: "To put it plainly, whether it's Real Madrid or Mancheng, coming to the final just means getting beaten badly by Manchester United, so what's the point? Isn't the semi-final just Manchester United's toy selection tournament? There truly are no teams left that can beat Manchester United."

"Do you know how to beat this Manchester United now?"

Li Li Laoba pointed at the camera: "Have Mbappé go to Mancheng to play as a winger; that might give you a slight chance, or, just as Real Madrid said, directly buy Tang Ye over, which would indeed solve the problem."

"Brother Ba, do you think Tang Ye will leave Manchester United to go to Saudi Arabia..."

"Hiss, that's a question."

Seeing the danmu comments, Li Li Laoba's expression turned serious.

"Actually, I started watching Tang Ye's matches around 2015. Hey, don't think I'm blowing smoke; by 2015, I already knew quite a lot about Tang Ye as a person; yes, back then he hadn't even played in the top five leagues yet. I remember the Ball King was relatively lazy as a child, so I feel the probability of him going to Saudi Arabia for early retirement is actually quite high; he might just not want to play anymore."

"Not playing in the Premier League anymore?"

Feng Feng Xuejuan looked at Li Li Laoba beside her.

"That shows you don't understand football."

Li Li Laoba pointed at Feng Feng Xuejuan, then looked back at the camera: "What Tang Ye wants now isn't more club honors; haven't you seen the news? Chinese football is a complete mess right now; what Tang Ye wants is to lift Chinese football up."

"But doesn't he himself need to persist for China to rise?" Feng Feng Xuejuan pressed.