Chapter 201 – Crossing the River by Feeling Arsenal Out! The Crazy Chinese from Bayswater!
After playing the last match of the season, Yang Cheng still didn't have time to rest.
The whole of Europe—especially the UK—was immersed in anticipation for two upcoming finals.
One was the FA Cup Final, held at Wembley Stadium in London.
Chelsea and Manchester City were both in intense preparation for it.
The other was the Champions League Final, to be played at the Santiago Bernabéu in Madrid.
Ferguson and Wenger, these two long-standing rivals, were finally meeting on the Champions League stage.
Who would come out on top? The entire world of football fans was watching closely.
In contrast, Yang Cheng felt a bit left out.
While other teams were still competing, the Chinese from Bayswater had already finished their matches. It was a bit hard to get used to, honestly.
In recent years, it had always been them—the Bayswater Chinese—grinding through endless fixtures.
The night they won the title, the team partied all night long and disbanded the next day.
Whether or not players were heading to the World Cup, the national teams were all entering a busy period of fixtures—mostly friendlies.
Even the youth teams had a packed schedule ahead.
As a side note, this year's UEFA European Under-17 Championship was being held in Liechtenstein.
Bayswater Chinese had three players taking part: Harry Kane, Raheem Sterling, and Paul Pogba.
Of the three, Sterling surprised Yang Cheng the most.
Harry Kane and Paul Pogba were both age-appropriate for this level of competition.
But Raheem Sterling, born in December 1994, being selected meant he was playing a year above his age group.
Still, no one questioned Sterling's talent.
As early as 2009, he was already playing up an age group in England's U16s. In just a few matches, he earned widespread praise.
There were even rumors that numerous big-name clubs—including Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester United, Manchester City, and Chelsea—were all trying to poach Sterling.
That alone showed just how extraordinary his potential was.
In Yang Cheng's previous life, this was also the time when Arsenal, Liverpool, and Manchester United were all fighting to sign Sterling.
At the time, he was playing for Queens Park Rangers.
Now, after years of training in the Bayswater Chinese academy, Sterling had become even more refined in technique compared to his past self.
On top of that, he was incredibly fast.
After the U16 games in 2009, British media began calling Sterling the "English Messi," because both stood at 1.70 meters tall.
Plenty of people were already looking forward to his future.
Harry Kane and Sterling were currently the core players of this England U17 squad.
Paul Pogba, meanwhile, was representing France U17.
Yang Cheng made a point to take a closer look at the current England U17 team but wasn't especially impressed by many players.
He did take note of Ravel Morrison from Manchester United and Nick Powell from Crewe.
Nick Powell, in particular, was attracting attention from several Premier League giants.
As for France, aside from Pogba, they also had talents like Samuel Umtiti, Geoffrey Kondogbia, and Yaya Sanogo.
Spain, meanwhile, had a golden generation: Álvaro Morata, Isco, Pablo Sarabia, Koke, and Juan Bernat, among others.
From the U17 Euros, you could already see the direction European football was heading in terms of youth development.
Spain wasn't just a tournament favorite—it was a powerhouse of youth training.
The Bayswater Chinese placed heavy emphasis on the U17 Euros. Gary Worthington, head of the scouting department, personally led a team to Liechtenstein to assess the young talents.
The tournament took place in mid-May, which meant he missed the club's end-of-season executive summit.
…
Every year, Yang Cheng found this annual meeting fascinating.
Over the past few years, the Bayswater Chinese offices had grown more complex, with more departments and staff than ever.
Managing it all was a huge headache.
At this year's executive summit, held in their brand-new headquarters next to Grosvenor Square in London's Soho district, all department heads attended—except for Gary Worthington.
The new headquarters had just recently been opened.
Currently, the club was still operating from two locations, but all departments would gradually move in.
By the start of the new season, the Bayswater Chinese were expected to be fully based there.
The annual summit was held there on purpose this year.
As always, it was presided over by club CEO Adam Crozier.
Just like in previous years, Crozier began by reporting on the club's accomplishments this past season.
On the competitive side, the results spoke for themselves.
League title and League Cup—double champions. Community Shield, UEFA Super Cup, and Club World Cup—all secured.
While the team was eliminated from the FA Cup and the Champions League, they still made it to the semifinals in both.
All in all, a very impressive season.
After all, no team could say with certainty they would win every single title each year.
On top of the sporting success, the club also saw major progress in its business operations.
Adam Crozier proudly announced, "In the 09/10 season, we achieved an astonishing 30% revenue growth!"
With that one sentence, everyone in the room—except Yang Cheng and Xia Qing, who already knew—was utterly stunned.
Thirty percent growth!
That was insane!
To put things into perspective, in the 08/09 season, Bayswater Chinese had already caught up to Manchester United in revenue.
In fact, in many rankings by financial institutions, Bayswater Chinese and Manchester United were neck and neck.
That meant the two clubs were very close in earnings—almost equal.
Above them were only Real Madrid and Barcelona.
And once you reached that tier, increasing revenue significantly became extremely difficult.
Manchester United's year-on-year revenue growth was usually around 6%.
Real Madrid had projected their growth this season at about 8–9%.
Barcelona had just proudly announced an 11% increase.
Even that was considered a massive achievement.
Spanish media had been singing Barcelona's praises nonstop for it.
Now Adam Crozier was saying that Bayswater Chinese had grown 30%.
If that wasn't madness, what was?
In the spacious and bright conference room, everyone was whispering, stunned and amazed.
Clearly, Crozier's numbers had shocked them to the core.
A 30% growth rate meant Bayswater Chinese's revenue would definitely surpass Manchester United's this season.
Maybe even Barcelona's.
So, what were the exact figures?
Adam Crozier quickly provided the answer.
£350 million!
At the current exchange rate of 1.225, that was roughly €430 million.
The conference room fell silent for a moment—eerily so—before erupting into loud applause.
It was truly jaw-dropping!
Bayswater Chinese had not only surpassed Manchester United in revenue—they had overtaken Barcelona!
Unbelievable!
How had they done it?
Adam Crozier then began listing the detailed breakdown of the club's three main revenue streams.
In the just-concluded 09/10 season, Bayswater Chinese had an average home attendance of 89,000.
That was just an estimate—the reality was that every match was practically sold out.
Only a few contingency seats were left unsold.
That gave the club the highest average attendance rate in Premier League history: 99%.
Crozier announced that Bayswater Chinese was the first Premier League club in history to surpass £100 million in ticket sales—and they did it this season.
Even more impressively, this was achieved without raising ticket prices.
He broke it down: average attendance of 89,000, average ticket price of £45, 25 home matches in the Premier League and Champions League.
That alone brought in over £100 million.
In just this area, Bayswater Chinese was already showing tremendous growth momentum.
Even the VIP suites at Wembley Stadium brought in £30 million in revenue this past season.
That was a 50% increase compared to last season's £20 million.
Additionally, Matchday Retail Revenue Rose—from £20 Million to £25 Million!
Matchday retail was actually the area with the smallest growth rate.
The main reason was that the infrastructure at Wembley Stadium placed a cap on potential revenue.
The Fan Services Department received the most complaints about poor service standards across the shops, stalls, and bars around Wembley before and after matches—especially the lackluster hospitality.
Many fans wanted to buy merchandise but couldn't even get through the lines.
It was outrageous.
But there was no helping it.
Wembley Stadium had been built by the FA and had never been properly planned from a commercial standpoint.
Still, over £150 million in matchday revenue this season was more than enough to earn the respect of all clubs.
"Even the FA has come to us multiple times to discuss how we operate Wembley," Adam Crozier said, filled with pride.
Under his leadership, the Bayswater Chinese had achieved rapid growth year after year.
Matchday revenue was one of the cornerstones of that growth.
Back when Yang Cheng decided to lease Wembley, he had opened up an entirely new world for Crozier and his team.
With Xia Qing's strong backing, the Bayswater Chinese started using the Net Promoter Score (NPS) as an indicator of fan experience at home matches and commissioned a third-party firm to conduct research.
In the NPS system, scores from 0–6 are detractors, 7–8 are neutral, and 9–10 are promoters.
The Bayswater Chinese had a Net Promoter Score of 7.6—higher than any other team in the Premier League, or even Europe.
Adam Crozier cited this data to support his claim that home fans showed exceptional loyalty and satisfaction—though he also noted there was still significant room for improvement.
That would be his next area of focus.
However, VIP suite clients had an even higher score: 8.8—making them the best in the UK.
This was a testament to Crozier's success in managing high-end clientele.
That said, Crozier admitted that generating further revenue from Wembley was now exceedingly difficult.
The stadium's capacity was fixed, the suites were nearly all leased, and the only area with a bit of growth potential left was matchday retail—which would require optimizing commercial space further.
Even then, the growth wouldn't be dramatic.
That's the nature of matchday income—it has a ceiling but is very stable.
As long as the fundamentals were solid, it wouldn't fluctuate much even with changes in team performance.
In a sense, it was like guaranteed income—rain or shine.
Crozier had previously discussed with Yang Cheng, Xia Qing, Omar Berrada, Chris Hunter, and the Fan Services Department the possibility of raising ticket prices.
Don't think the idea of the Bayswater Chinese considering ticket hikes is outrageous.
In recent years, Manchester United raised their ticket prices twice.
When Arsenal moved into the Emirates Stadium, their prices surged.
Chelsea did it once too.
Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United—London clubs across the board—had all raised their prices.
The Bayswater Chinese? Not once.
Since Yang Cheng took over in 2003, the lowest ticket price remained £30.
The average rose to £45 only because of Wembley's massive capacity.
But even that wasn't considered high in the Premier League.
Within London specifically, it was mid-tier.
Yet the Bayswater Chinese were now a top-tier European club, famous continent-wide.
To assess this, Xia Qing even commissioned a third-party firm to conduct a comprehensive cost-benefit analysis.
The main concern was that the Bayswater Chinese still had a relatively weak fan base.
If prices were raised rashly, it could negatively impact ticket sales and tarnish the club's image.
In the end, Yang Cheng made the final call: "Cross the river by feeling out Arsenal."
What did that mean?
In 2006, when Arsenal moved from Highbury to the Emirates Stadium, they drastically raised ticket prices, triggering outrage and backlash from fans.
Eventually, the Gunners had to compromise.
For example, they kept prices flat in the least desirable sections—behind the goals—for hardcore Arsenal fans, but increased them elsewhere.
Over the years, Arsenal still raised prices quietly, bit by bit, like slicing meat with a dull blade.
Nowadays, even their cheapest tickets were significantly more expensive than they were at Highbury.
The Bayswater Chinese had made no such promises to fans and had no such burden.
So, Yang Cheng and Xia Qing believed it was better to wait until the new stadium opened before making a one-time price adjustment—rather than stirring unrest now.
Especially considering the advanced features planned for the new stadium.
For example, full-stadium Wi-Fi and heated seating in the fan stands—both of which would incur service fees.
As long as the club prepared expectations and guided public opinion before implementing the price hike, the situation could be managed.
Besides, there were still two years to go.
The Bayswater Chinese's focus for now was on growing their fanbase.
By the time the new stadium opened, even if they lost some low-spending fans, others would quickly replace them.
That would help keep the ticket market stable.
So, without raising ticket prices, it would be difficult for matchday income at Wembley to continue growing rapidly.
…
Aside from the surge in matchday revenue, the club also saw exciting growth in commercial sponsorships this past season—reaching £83 million.
This was mainly thanks to expansion in the Middle Eastern market.
Adam Crozier revealed that commercial sponsorships would be the biggest growth area for the Bayswater Chinese in the coming years.
"Our goal is to become a global sports club, and there's still a massive amount of untapped potential in that market."
Crozier listed several major future growth targets.
For example, shirt sponsorship. Puma's current deal was only worth £10 million a year—which was no longer fitting for a club of the Bayswater Chinese's stature.
That deal was set to expire in 2011.
Over the past year, the two sides had been negotiating a renewal, but hadn't reached an agreement.
Nike and Adidas were circling like vultures.
They all knew that the Bayswater Chinese were a top-tier team with strong influence in Asia and North America.
Then there was Prudential Insurance.
"Not long ago, my team and I had in-depth talks with Prudential's CEO about expanding our partnership. Nothing is finalized yet, but it's progressing."
"Everyone knows that our new stadium will be completed in 2012.
Whether in terms of location, impact, or future value, it will be one of the premier venues in global football."
Virtually everyone agreed—it would become a new landmark in London.
Especially after the Bayswater Chinese successively signed major deals with Bvlgari Hotel, Peninsula Hotel, Apple, and others, the redevelopment of Queen's Road and Bayswater had been utterly transformed.
As London Mayor Ken Livingstone said in his 2010 New Year's address:
"The influence and momentum brought by this key project will make Bayswater and Queen's Road one of the city's most exciting growth zones."
That so-called "key project" was the new stadium for the Bayswater Chinese.
According to the plans from Adam Crozier and Omar Berrada, the new stadium would seek a naming rights partner—just like Arsenal's Emirates Stadium.
Typically, companies interested in stadium naming rights are consumer-facing businesses.
Airlines, banks, insurance companies, and the like.
You could see this trend clearly in countries like the U.S. and Germany, where stadium naming deals were common.
Given the prime location, naming the new Bayswater Chinese stadium would be like slapping a massive billboard in the heart of London.
So what would that be worth?
Even the Club Itself Can't Quite Figure It Out Yet
Previously, Qatar Airways had offered £15 million per year for naming rights.
They wanted to sign a 10-year deal all at once.
But Yang Cheng, Xia Qing, and Adam Crozier all felt that was an undervaluation.
Currently, the Bayswater Chinese are commissioning an assessment to determine the actual value of the naming rights and the potential for future growth.
Prudential Insurance is also interested in the naming rights.
In recent years, the UK's largest insurance company has faced increasing pressure from foreign competitors.
However, the company's past collaborations with the Bayswater Chinese in Asia had all gone exceptionally well.
Allianz Insurance is also keen.
But Yang Cheng and Adam Crozier both believe that since Allianz already owns naming rights to a stadium in Munich, doing the same with the Bayswater Chinese could lead to brand confusion.
Which Allianz Arena would people be referring to?
AXA Insurance and several banks have also shown interest, and talks are ongoing.
The main issue is that the Bayswater Chinese haven't set a clear benchmark for their asking price, making negotiations difficult.
Still, during the meeting, Adam Crozier confidently assured everyone that the club's commercial income would continue its rapid growth in the coming years.
He was personally full of confidence.
Many sponsors from Asia have already expressed interest in renewing their contracts with the club.
And renewals now come with a price hike.
For instance, Hankook Tire from South Korea became the club's official global tire partner—paying £5 million a year, with no discounts.
These are all future growth drivers.
…
As for broadcasting rights and prize money this season, even though the team didn't reach the Champions League final, revenue still saw a significant boost.
The Premier League remains the league with the highest Champions League revenue.
This was due to a new broadcasting deal between Sky Sports and UEFA from 2009 to 2012, which increased fees by 25%, expanding the prize pool for English clubs.
This season, the Bayswater Chinese, though stopped in the semi-finals, are projected to earn over £38 million from Champions League prize money.
Manchester United and Arsenal, both in the final, would receive even more.
In other words, Premier League clubs are basically monopolizing the top three spots in Champions League earnings.
This has made other leagues quite envious.
But what can they do? British fans are just more willing to spend money.
Sky Sports not only pays top dollar for domestic Premier League rights but also spends heavily on Champions League coverage.
Premier League clubs benefit across the board.
According to the current overseas broadcasting deal, each club earns roughly £10 million per season, not including domestic rights.
This season, the Premier League champions—the Bayswater Chinese—will receive over £50 million from broadcasting revenue.
And that's just for now.
According to public data from the Premier League, from 2010 to 2013, overseas broadcasting income is expected to jump from £625 million over three years to £1.44 billion.
This means that from overseas rights alone, each club could earn about £24 million per season.
That's more than the total domestic broadcasting share for most Serie A, La Liga, and Bundesliga clubs!
When combining broadcasting income from the Premier League, Champions League, League Cup, and FA Cup, the Bayswater Chinese are expected to earn over £90 million this season.
Of the club's three major revenue streams, matchday revenue is still the highest, though it's nearing its cap.
Broadcasting income has more room to grow, but because the Premier League sells rights as a package and performance varies, it's not entirely within the club's control.
So this revenue stream sits in the middle.
Despite the sharp increase in commercial revenue, it still trails behind the other two.
Which is why Adam Crozier said commercial income holds the most potential for future growth.
…
After Adam Crozier's presentation, everyone in the meeting room was stunned.
The Bayswater Chinese now resembled a money-making juggernaut, constantly generating revenue.
Of course, behind this aggressive revenue stream, the club's expenses are also significant.
Take matchday income, for example—record highs each year, but costs are also constantly rising.
More fans mean more spending on services, security, and other operational areas.
For instance, the fees paid to the London Metropolitan Police keep hitting new records.
"We're now the Premier League club paying the most to the police for matchday protection!" Adam Crozier complained.
Fees are paid not just around Wembley Stadium but also in Central London.
Why?
Because on matchdays, fans move around en masse, and the police are needed to maintain order.
And in a capitalist country, that means everything gets billed.
Meanwhile, the Bayswater Chinese's youth development program has reached new heights.
Each year, the youth teams win more and more trophies—but the investment is also growing.
The club now has 10 satellite training centers.
Apparently, other clubs like Chelsea and Arsenal have also started catching on and are preparing to invest in satellite centers too.
But the Bayswater Chinese have already completed their setup across Greater London, with their youth academy coverage extending even into nearby cities.
On top of that, as the team performs better, player salaries rise accordingly.
Adam Crozier revealed that the club had already finalized contract extensions with Luka Modrić, Pepe, and Thiago Silva.
Modrić and Pepe now earn the club's highest wage—£120,000 per week.
Thiago Silva is on £100,000 per week.
Gareth Bale, Ángel Di María, and Theo Walcott have also signed new deals, though their weekly wages are at £80,000.
Next in line are Robert Lewandowski and Manuel Neuer—whose negotiations have entered substantive stages.
Xia Qing and the finance department have set their salaries at around £100,000 per week.
The club's wage structure remains largely consistent with previous years.
In addition to higher salaries, bonuses will also increase significantly.
So the Bayswater Chinese's total spending is also skyrocketing.
Over the past few years, the club has been expanding staff across offices, training centers, and youth academies.
Wages and bonuses have all gone up.
And with ongoing investments in software and hardware, total spending reaches new highs every year.
But the biggest money pit, by far, is the new stadium project.
No matter how fast the Bayswater Chinese rake in money, it can't keep up with the stadium's burn rate.
Even Yang Cheng finds it nerve-racking.
No wonder nearly every club that builds a new stadium ends up teetering on the edge of collapse!
…
After the executive summit concluded, Yang Cheng held a closed-door meeting with Xia Qing, Adam Crozier, and other senior staff to discuss the club's next steps.
During that meeting, Yang Cheng revealed for the first time his intention to sign Toni Kroos—the Bayern Munich midfielder currently on loan at Bayer Leverkusen.
He also voiced his concerns.
"You can't be the one to approach them," Adam Crozier said, fully understanding Yang Cheng's situation.
In recent years, the Bayswater Chinese's success had made Yang Cheng's name too famous.
Every time he showed interest in a player, their value skyrocketed.
In fact, the transfer market often invoked Yang Cheng's name just to hype players up.
Yang Cheng himself was a helpless victim of this phenomenon.
"Your thinking is right—we can't be the ones to initiate.
If Bayern catches wind that we're interested, not only will they refuse to sell, they'll value Toni Kroos even more."
"So the key is—how do we get Bayern to bring it up first?"
Yang Cheng laid out some of his ideas and discussed possible strategies with Adam Crozier.
But nothing could be decided for now—it would all have to be improvised when the time came.
Regarding the Summer Transfer Window, Yang Cheng Made It Clear There Would Be No Drastic Moves
If they could secure Toni Kroos, then they'd evaluate the situation further.
After all, plenty of clubs were eyeing players from the Bayswater Chinese. As long as Yang Cheng gave the green light, offloading surplus squad members wouldn't be a problem.
But if the deal for Kroos didn't go through, Yang Cheng likely wouldn't buy or sell anyone.
He simply couldn't think of any player the team still needed.
Ever since orchestrating the transfer of Andy Carroll, the Bayswater Chinese had entered a new phase.
True giants don't constantly sell their players.
Of course, Yang Cheng had contingency plans.
If Toni Kroos didn't come to the Bayswater Chinese, then Yang Cheng absolutely wouldn't let Neuer go to Bayern.
Should the deal go through, Yang Cheng had already prepared a plan to sign a new goalkeeper.
He left the specifics of how to approach and execute the deal to Adam Crozier, Dan Ashworth, and Mike Rigg.
After the club's executive meetings, Yang Cheng attended another for Onefootball.
Thanks to Yang Cheng and the club's influence, the Onefootball app had been growing rapidly.
They'd even struck a partnership with the International Champions Cup, and their momentum was only accelerating.
Yang Cheng merely gave broad directives.
For instance, while consolidating development on the Apple platform, they should now invest more effort into Android.
At present, Onefootball had acquired broadcasting rights for all five major European leagues, and had launched a fan forum, drawing in an increasing number of users.
This year, they would ride the wave of the South African World Cup to boost promotion efforts even more.
Yang Cheng believed that in the future, Onefootball wouldn't just be a news platform—the fan forums would become a valuable asset.
He also instructed Kranach to release versions in other languages—especially Chinese.
Now that Kranach owned 10% of Onefootball, he was full of motivation.
After all, he had once been thoroughly defeated by Yang Cheng in competition.
Now that Yang Cheng had granted him equity, Kranach was overjoyed.
Combined with the company's explosive growth, his respect and confidence in Yang Cheng had only grown.
Yang Cheng, for his part, didn't interfere too much in the company's operations.
On one hand, he didn't want to expose himself too early—this was meant to be a future media mouthpiece.
On the other hand, he trusted Kranach's capabilities.
Beyond Onefootball, Yang Cheng also met with David Pensell and Richard Masters from the International Champions Cup to discuss the tournament's preparations.
Europe already had mature support systems in the football industry.
Pensell and Masters had spent the past year working tirelessly on logistics and partner selection for the event.
They were both confident in this summer's inaugural International Champions Cup.
Meanwhile, the organizers of the World Football Challenge in the U.S. were observing closely.
If the International Champions Cup, which had gathered 12 of Europe's top clubs, became an instant hit, there would be no need for the World Football Challenge to continue.
But if it failed, the entire market would be cast into doubt and require reevaluation.
That would hurt Yang Cheng significantly, but it wouldn't guarantee success for other investors trying to break into the space either.
Notably, the ICC had three regional formats, each with different competition structures.
For example, the Asia section would feature four teams in a round-robin to determine a champion and full rankings.
The U.S. East and West groups would use a similar group stage format, but with the added element of a final—played between the two group winners.
This format better fit the nature of a cup competition.
Yang Cheng took a hands-off approach and let Pensell and Masters manage the whole operation.
But in truth, the number of things to deal with was overwhelming.
Venue rentals, scheduling, pitch maintenance, sponsor recruitment, promotional campaigns…
All these tasks were stacking up fast, keeping both men frantic and overloaded.
As a side note, Xia Qing used her connection through Xia Xi to reach China's CCTV Sports channel, facilitating a broadcast agreement for the ICC's inaugural edition in China.
The rights were sold at a token price—essentially a giveaway.
All matches across North America and Asia, totaling 10 games, were sold for just $1 million.
That was ridiculously cheap!
But Yang Cheng and Xia Qing had already walked Adam Crozier, David Pensell, and others through the numbers.
At this stage, the ICC's top priority was to break into the market and establish a foothold, and that meant maximizing exposure.
Television broadcasting was undoubtedly the fastest way to build influence.
So they didn't care about making money on broadcast fees—just getting on air made commercial sponsorships easier to negotiate.
This was the same logic Yang Cheng had once explained to Premier League CEO Richard Scudamore.
The Premier League shouldn't be charging exorbitant broadcasting fees in China.
With such a massive population, why rush to profit?
They should take a page from the NBA's playbook.
Once the brand was established and the audience grew, any revenue lost from cheap broadcasting rights could be recouped many times over through commercial deals and sponsorships.
Yang Cheng couldn't control what the Premier League decided to do, but with the ICC, this was the strategy he was set on.
…
On the afternoon of May 15, Yang Cheng, accompanied by Brian Kidd and others, appeared at Wembley Stadium to watch the FA Cup Final between Chelsea and Manchester City.
Guus Hiddink stuck to his 4-3-3 formation, with Drogba leading the line.
From the lineup, it was clear Chelsea were still relying on defense and counterattack.
Carlo Ancelotti, on the other hand, clearly intended to take the initiative.
But his lineup was a bit odd.
The defense didn't warrant much comment, but in midfield, he went with a trio of Gareth Barry, Andrea Pirlo, and Yaya Touré as holding midfielders.
Up front were Robinho and Kaká, with Carlos Tevez as the lone striker.
This was the new Christmas tree formation Ancelotti had been working on all season.
Rather than a traditional 4-3-2-1, it resembled a modified 4-4-2 diamond.
Robinho and Tevez roamed between the front line and wings, while Kaká played the advanced No.10 role.
This setup had clearly affected Emmanuel Adebayor's place in the squad.
Tactically, Manchester City's attacking game was very well executed—both in build-up and execution, they looked sharp.
In the 14th and 22nd minutes, they came close to scoring twice.
Yang Cheng noted that Petr Čech wasn't just heroic against the Bayswater Chinese—he was just as formidable against City.
Twice, the Czech keeper came up with world-class saves.
In the 27th minute, Leighton Baines whipped in a cross from the left, and Robinho's shot struck the crossbar.
Shortly after, John Terry had a header from a free kick that also hit the bar.
Both sides were this close to scoring.
Then in the 39th and 42nd minutes, Drogba struck the post twice.
The Ivorian was so frustrated he looked like he wanted to channel Lu Zhishen and uproot Wembley's goalposts—er, no, maybe pull up the weeping willow.
Drogba's two chances came from a long-range free kick and a close-range effort inside the box.
"He's deliberately avoiding Lucio today, targeting Lescott instead," Yang Cheng observed.
He was sure Ancelotti had noticed too.
But just minutes into the second half, Lescott fouled Drogba while defending, gifting Chelsea a free kick about 23 meters from goal.
The Ivorian stepped up again and unleashed a brilliant strike that sailed past Joe Hart into the net.
Ancelotti immediately reacted, subbing off Robinho for Adebayor.
And it worked—the threat level in attack surged.
But it was a bit late.
With the lead, Chelsea sat back and looked to counter.
City's back line wasn't up to the task.
In the 63rd Minute, Chelsea Counterattacked—Sneijder Played a Through Ball, and Eto'o Almost Scored Again After Breaking into the Right Side of the Box
Both teams made substitutions shortly after, but Manchester City still couldn't break down Chelsea's defensive structure.
It had to be said—Hiddink really had a unique talent for organizing defenses.
His counterattacking system was a real headache to deal with!
In the end, Chelsea held on to their 1-0 lead thanks to Drogba's goal and won the FA Cup!
The victory sent Chelsea fans in the stadium into a frenzy.
After repeatedly missing out on Champions League qualification, lifting the FA Cup was at least a form of consolation for the supporters.
But Manchester City?
Ancelotti's side still had plenty of issues.
"Sure, teams like Barcelona and Roma are using false nine systems now, but a proper center-forward is still indispensable when it comes to breaking down set defenses."
False nine tactics are often a compromise.
Take Guardiola for example—if he truly preferred a striker-less system, why would he have brought in Ibrahimović?
The truth was—he didn't have a proper center-forward who fit his style.
Give him someone like Kluivert, and see if he still puts Messi in the middle.
But make no mistake—taking Messi out of the middle doesn't mean he stops being Messi.
In fact, with a player like Kluivert in the team, Messi would probably play even better!
That thought got Yang Cheng thinking—maybe Manchester City really should consider Ibrahimović.
The Swede had clashes over ball dominance with Messi, Xavi, and Iniesta—but with Kaká at City, that wouldn't be an issue.
Interestingly, many clubs were rumored to be interested in Ibrahimović, but the only real reported contact was with Chelsea.
Spain's Mundo Deportivo reported that Chelsea had been in touch with Zlatan's agent, Mino Raiola, to discuss a possible transfer.
Earlier, the same paper had reported that Barcelona had been quietly offering Ibrahimović to several Premier League clubs.
That included Liverpool, newly acquired by a Saudi consortium.
But supposedly, Liverpool—already with Torres—weren't very interested in Zlatan.
Manchester United and Chelsea, on the other hand, were.
Ferguson was said to be unhappy with Berbatov, but the catch was: could he really keep a fiery personality like Ibrahimović in check?
As for Chelsea, they were looking because Drogba was getting older, and Carroll hadn't performed well since joining six months ago.
Interestingly, there were no rumors linking Ibrahimović to Manchester City.
…
After watching the FA Cup final, Yang Cheng had no plans to fly to Madrid for the Champions League Final.
But that didn't stop him from following the match closely.
On May 19th, both Arsenal and Manchester United set out for Madrid.
Yang Cheng sent text messages to Ferguson and Wenger, wishing them both the best.
Both had invited him to attend the final in person.
Instead, Yang Cheng was in his office at the Brent Training Center, browsing the internet.
He logged into a forum called Bitcoin Talk and registered an account.
Then, he aimlessly began scrolling through posts.
That's when he stumbled across one that had just been posted the day before:
"I'll trade 10,000 bitcoins for two large pizzas."
He clicked in. The post included specific details:
"I like onions, peppers, sausage, mushrooms, tomatoes, and Italian salami."
"I also like plain cheese pizza."
"If you're interested, let me know and we can make a deal."
"Thanks, Laszlo."
Yang Cheng burst out laughing as he read it.
The replies underneath were a mix of mockery and skepticism.
Some people laughed at Laszlo, saying no one would buy pizza for him—this was a ridiculous dream.
Others did the math: 10,000 bitcoins were worth about $30, but two large pizzas would cost $40.
Plenty of replies, but clearly, no one was biting.
Yang Cheng thought for a moment and replied:
"I live in London and am a die-hard Premier League fan. To celebrate the two legendary managers, Ferguson and Wenger, meeting in the Champions League Final, I'm willing to fulfill your request."
"Here's to an exciting final on the 21st!"
After posting his reply, Yang Cheng continued to browse the forum and read the news while waiting for a response.
It wasn't until later that evening that Laszlo finally sent him a private message.
He said he was a programmer in Florida, had just finished working late, and was starving—hoping they could close the deal quickly.
Yang Cheng didn't say much. He simply ordered two large pizzas online and had them delivered to Laszlo's address.
During this time, Yang Cheng, curious, asked Laszlo more about Bitcoin.
Laszlo was incredibly patient, teaching Yang Cheng everything—how to trade, how to store, and so on.
To Yang Cheng's surprise, Laszlo also revealed that he was mining over a thousand bitcoins a day.
Aside from the 10,000 he spent on pizza, he'd saved up quite a few more.
Yang Cheng told him he'd learned a lot from him.
"If there's anything else you want, just let me know. I'd be happy to help."
"Really?" Laszlo replied, clearly surprised.
Yang Cheng figured the guy wasn't looking to take advantage—he was just genuinely excited that someone was actually willing to use Bitcoin in a real transaction.
"Of course! My favorite coach is playing in the Champions League Final. I want to bring him good luck!"
Laszlo believed him.
He thought this guy from London really loved football and just wanted to wish his idol well.
He saw Yang Cheng as a kindred spirit.
So, Laszlo went on to make two more trades with him through the forum—buying some basic household items.
In total, across all three trades, Yang Cheng ended up receiving 35,000 bitcoins.
What Yang Cheng hadn't anticipated was how active Laszlo was on the forum.
Once the transactions were completed, the forum buzzed with discussion, and even more programmers started messaging Yang Cheng, asking if he wanted to keep trading.
Clearly, they were sitting on more Bitcoin than they knew what to do with.
Yang Cheng thought it over and made a decision:
"The Champions League Final is on the 21st. Until then, I'll take as much as I can get!"
"It's all to bring luck to Ferguson!"
The forum members were ecstatic.
To them, this wasn't about money—it was a game.
Many even declared that because Yang Cheng was willing to trade for Bitcoin, they'd watch the Champions League Final and cheer for Manchester United!
In just two short days, Yang Cheng collected over 100,000 bitcoins.
Then, on May 21st, after the Champions League Final at the Bernabéu—where Ferguson's Manchester United beat Wenger's Arsenal 2–1 thanks to goals from Scholes and Vidić—Yang Cheng jumped back on the forum and posted in celebration:
"Thank you all!"
"My favorite manager has won the Champions League. It's unbelievable!"
"I want to thank everyone here!"
"To show my gratitude, from now on, I'm willing to trade with anyone.
You can use your bitcoins to get anything you want from me."
That one post set off another frenzy in the forum.
Everyone believed now—Yang Cheng was truly a die-hard Ferguson fan.
Soon, even more people started messaging him to initiate trades.
Yang Cheng didn't turn anyone down.
He was even mentally prepared—just in case he got exposed in the future for owning so much Bitcoin, he had a perfect explanation ready.
It's all because I love Ferguson!
Believe it or not—I believe it!
Thank you for the support, friends. If you want to read more chapters in advance, go to my Patreon.
Read 40 Chapters In Advance: patreon.com/Canserbero10