"You may dislike England, even loathe it, but you cannot deny that it is the center of Europe!"
—Victor Hugo (France)
After securing the UEFA license for "Goal!", Golden Dawn Entertainment Group immediately shifted its focus to football clubs.
Looking back after the 21st century, why are super-rich individuals from India, Thailand, and china so keen on investing overseas, particularly in football clubs?
The reason is simple!
Because in Europe, football is the most popular sport. Buying a football club can effectively expand into the European market, enhance the group's influence, and achieve twice the results with half the effort in other commercial investment projects.
Target locked — Premier League!
Alexander, the director of the chairman's office and chief assistant of Golden Dawn Entertainment Group, arrived in the UK on July 3rd, leading a 12-person acquisition team, shouldering an important mission.
To be precise, it was Southampton, Hampshire, UK.
Speaking of Southampton, people outside the UK might be unfamiliar with it, but when you mention the movie "Titanic," many people will exclaim "Oh" because it was from this port city that the great ship officially set sail.
Target: Acquire the Premier League team — Southampton Club.
"What?!"
Club owner Lewis Kook was astonished: "You want to acquire my team? What a joke!"
"Yes, our boss, Mr. Kyle Page, I wonder if you've heard of him?" Alexander said seriously.
"I know. The newly rich super-tycoon in America, the youngest person with over a billion dollars in assets," Lewis Kook replied.
Alexander smiled: "As everyone knows, our boss, Mr. Page, is very young, and he particularly loves football, which is why he initiated this acquisition."
"Hmph!"
Lewis Kook snorted coldly: "He can like it all he wants, but do I have to sell the team?! Tell your boss he's dreaming; I will absolutely not sell the team."
Hearing this, Alexander didn't get angry.
He said calmly: "As far as I know, Southampton Club is one of the founding teams after the Premier League reform in 92-93, but your club's performance in recent years seems to have been less than satisfactory, constantly hovering at the bottom. Last season, it almost got relegated to the Championship. Furthermore, several star players have been poached by other teams."
It's a fact that Southampton Club's performance isn't good, and its presence in the Premier League isn't strong.
And in the 05-06 season, they were relegated to the Championship;
In the 08-09 season, they were even directly relegated to League One (the third-tier league);
Even under these circumstances, club owner Lewis Kook refused to sell the club until his own company faced a financial crisis, at which point he reluctantly sold it to the Swiss Marcus Lieb;
With heavy investment from the new Swiss owner, Marcus Lieb, Southampton Club achieved a triple jump, returning to the Premier League in 2012;
In 2017, the Chinese capital, the Gao Jisheng family, acquired the parent company of Southampton Club, Lander Sports Development Co., Ltd., for £210 million, officially taking over Southampton Club.
"Mr. Alexander, I reiterate, I will absolutely not sell the team. Please be sure to convey this message to Mr. Page. I will not lose the honor of a British citizen and grovel to an American!"
Club owner Lewis Kook's words left no room for Kyle to save face.
Alexander stood up and smiled at Lewis Kook: "I will convey it to my boss."
After speaking, the acquisition team led by Alexander quickly left Southampton Club.
Evening.
"Boss, everything is as we expected. Lewis Kook resolutely rejected our acquisition."
Alexander called Kyle from England, informing him, "However, his words contained much disdain, and even slander, regarding your identity as an American tycoon."
Kyle didn't get angry; he just laughed into the phone: "Isn't this exactly what we hoped for?"
After chatting for a while, the two finally ended the call.
"Kyle, what's going on?" Lima, his young girlfriend sitting nearby, asked, puzzled.
The acquisition didn't succeed?!
Why was Kyle so calm?
And what was this "hope" all about?
"Lima, my target team was never Southampton from the beginning!" Kyle said mysteriously.
As his words fell, Lima felt even more confused.
Before Lima could ask, Kyle interrupted: "Alright, you don't need to be involved in these matters. You just need to know that I'm orchestrating a grand play. And this play will definitely be extremely exciting."
...The next day.
Starting early in the morning, several local sports and economic media in Hampshire, UK, broke the news about Golden Dawn Entertainment Group's attempt to acquire the Southampton team.
The Hampshire Gazette stated: "Another invasion of American capital!"
And in the article, it claimed: "As everyone knows, Southampton is one of our country's important port cities, and in the field of foreign trade economy, it holds a significant position across Europe. And Southampton Football Club, with its century-long history, is even more...the pride of our city of Southampton and Hampshire!"
"But now, an American entertainment mogul wants to acquire our pride?!"
"Can we all agree to this?"
"No!"
"This is a war of capital!"
"As the former British Empire, we absolutely will not allow ourselves to yield!"
...The Southampton City Journal, as the largest regional newspaper in the Southampton area and a media partner of Southampton Football Club, was even more sharply critical, directly pointing its finger at Kyle and cursing him.
The Southampton City Journal ran the headline — "Daydreaming" in four large characters.
"Damn American, go to hell!"
"What's another name for Southampton Club? It's the Saints! Therefore, we absolutely cannot allow capital to defile it!"
"Entertainment mogul Kyle Page? Does he understand football? He doesn't understand a thing!"
"Our sacred ground, our pride, must never be defeated by the Americans!"
Local residents, upon hearing the news, were even more unreserved in their curses.
As for the notoriously rowdy football hooligans, a common sight in the UK, they gathered and surrounded the hotel where Alexander and the acquisition team were staying.
Their hooliganism was evident!
"Mr. Alexander, these British blokes are too hateful. We are engaging in normal business, but judging by their reaction, did we kill their parents or burn their houses?" one of the acquisition team members said indignantly.
"Exactly!"
Another team member echoed: "These football hooligans, no wonder UEFA and FIFA always target them. Now it seems, they're still too lenient; they should be banned from attending matches more often."
The rest of the team also looked furious.
"Calm down, guys!"
Alexander smiled: "Wasn't this already within our expectations? Nickson, call the local police station and ask them to disperse the crowd. Later, we still have to go to Southampton Club and have a good chat with them again."
"Yes!"
Everyone nodded in agreement.
"Let's get moving; this grand play has just begun," Alexander said, smiling.