The God of Football Starts With Passive Skills

"The most important thing in professional sports is suspense. It needs to be thrilling, full of twists and turns. What’s the point of a seven-game series? The NFL’s Super Bowl is so much better!"

Gazidis smiled to the side but didn’t respond.

In truth, Gazidis wasn’t much of an expert on the NFL or the NBA.

But the Kroenke Family owned teams in both major sports leagues.

Josh Kroenke himself currently owned the NBA’s Denver Nuggets and the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche.

This time, after Gazidis had gone to the United States, met with Old Kroenke, and conveyed Wenger’s thoughts and opinions, Old Kroenke had Little Kroenke accompany him back to Europe to evaluate the club.

It seemed that once Old Kroenke sorted out the Arsenal Board of Directors in the future, he might hand the club over to Little Kroenke to manage.

"That 2006 Champions League final is Wenger’s greatest obsession. It was also the beginning of Arsenal’s decline from its peak!"

What Gazidis said was the consensus within Arsenal.

Many people felt that if Arsenal had reached the summit and won the Champions League that year, perhaps many things would have turned out completely differently.

"So, he wants to make a huge gamble," Josh Kroenke said with a smiling nod.

From his tone, it seemed he understood Wenger.

"Yes, it hasn’t been easy for him these past few years," Gazidis said, following the young boss’s lead.

But the American suddenly changed his tune. "But why should all of us have to foot the bill for his dream, for his regret?"

Gazidis froze for a moment.

’He had thought Josh Kroenke was on board with Wenger.’

"Let me be blunt. He’s just a head coach. So he’s been in charge for a long time—does he really think he can control everything at the club? Who does Arsenal belong to, anyway?"

Gazidis was stunned.

This was exactly what Wenger had warned him about.

This was an investment proposal, not emotional blackmail.

No one, especially not a major owner like Kroenke, would want to be blackmailed or held hostage by their employees.

Not even if that person was Wenger, or even Ferguson!

"Actually... Josh, Wenger’s plan doesn’t require any capital investment from the shareholders."

Josh Kroenke’s expression softened slightly. "Does Arsenal have money? From what I’ve seen, the news is filled with stories about how Arsenal is too poor to buy anyone."

"It’s just that those old fossils on the board refuse to cooperate. Back then, over a measly 5,000 British Pounds, they went so far as to sell Wenger’s favorite player, Ashley Cole, who was the world’s best left-back at the time."

"The truth is, for all these years, Wenger has never had full control over the team’s transfers. He’s just been putting up a front."

"I see. So that’s why he needs our support!" Josh Kroenke said.

Gazidis nodded. "According to our preliminary estimates, for the ’10/’11 season, our revenue will exceed 250 million euros, ranking us 5th in the European Football Scene, behind only Real Madrid, Barça, Manchester United, and Bayern."

"As of now, according to the latest data, our cash and bank balance is 160 million British Pounds."

"That much?" Little Kroenke was surprised.

"There’s a reason for that. May is always when season tickets are renewed, so our cash flow is relatively more robust right now. By the end of the year, it will be lower, probably around 130 million British Pounds."

"What about the other Premier League teams?"

"Even the wealthiest, Manchester United, doesn’t have half of what we do."

At this, Gazidis added with no small amount of pride, "Our cash flow is almost equal to the sum of the other 19 Premier League clubs combined."

Josh Kroenke was astonished, and then he burst out laughing on the spot.

"So... this is the ’no money’ Arsenal that everyone on the outside keeps talking about?"

Gazidis looked a bit embarrassed himself.

For the past few years, the whole world had been saying that Arsenal had no money.

But was that really the case?

The construction of Emirates Stadium was an extremely profitable investment for Arsenal.

How could it possibly lose money?

The Highbury Stadium property development project?

That project did indeed lose money, but by selling off the properties slowly over the past few years, most have been sold, and the capital has gradually been recouped.

The reason Arsenal hadn’t invested heavily in the transfer market was, ultimately, twofold: on one hand, the constraints imposed by those old fossils on the board, and on the other, a genuine lack of stars in the transfer market who truly caught Wenger’s eye.

Or perhaps, it would be more accurate to say that the stars who did catch his eye were all far beyond what Wenger was willing to pay.

They were too expensive!

But this time, Wenger was resolute.

"Wenger’s preliminary estimate is that the total investment for Wang Shuo’s transfer would be around 100 million British Pounds. He can raise the funds through the transfer market by selling some players, and the wage space that frees up would be perfect for Wang Shuo."

"In the past few years, we’ve lacked influential superstars, which is why we’ve fallen far behind top clubs like Manchester United, Bayern, and Real Madrid in terms of commercial development. But our influence has always been there."

"If we sign Wang Shuo, we’re confident we can achieve significant growth on the commercial side."

Hearing this, Josh Kroenke laughed on the spot.

"At the beginning of this year, the Denver Nuggets traded our star player, Anthony, to the New York Knicks, which caused a huge uproar. I got absolutely roasted by countless fans."

"The Nuggets’ situation is actually very similar to Arsenal’s right now. Anthony was facing contract renewal issues, and Arsenal now has a group of players facing the same. Rather than let that play out, it’s better to just tear it all down and rebuild!"

As he said this, Josh Kroenke gave a grand wave of his hand, looking incredibly decisive.

"Wang Shuo is like a 20-year-old LeBron James, and what’s more..."

Gazidis pointed down at Wembley Stadium below.