Any club with real foresight wants to get in early and establish its presence in a growing market.
A small investment today can turn into enormous returns in the future, and this phenomenon has already appeared across many industries.
In the 1980s, China's automobile market was still modest—annual sales were only 165,000 units.
By 1990, it surpassed half a million.
By 2000, it had reached two million. Meanwhile, countries like Germany, Japan, and the United States had achieved similar production levels decades earlier and had long-established automotive ecosystems.
But starting in 2008, China's market expanded rapidly, eventually becoming the world's largest automobile producer and consumer.
By 2020, annual sales continued to exceed 27 million.
This explosive growth benefited the international brands that had invested early.
When a market reaches tens of millions of units a year, even a small share represents massive returns.
And many consumers still favor long-standing foreign brands largely because of the reputation and trust built over years of early presence.
There's even a car show called the ABV Dual-Car Durability Test, which conducts 40,000-kilometer stress tests to examine long-term issues.
Across various brands—whether BMW, Mercedes, Tesla, Toyota, or Honda—cars typically begin showing problems at certain mileage points.
But in the latest season, the two domestic models performed so consistently that filming became difficult simply because there wasn't much to highlight or compare.
Given these developments, it's hard to understand why some still assume domestic spending power—especially in sports—is weak or unimportant.
The truth is that the market is large, active, and influential, and dismissing it undervalues both its present and future potential.
Bringing top athletes on China tours or selling international brands here isn't just about marketing—it's also an exchange of respect and recognition for an important audience and consumer base.
Companies like Apple and Nvidia remain highly influential partly because their products fill essential needs for many users.
But as domestic technology—whether in chips or graphics processors—continues to advance, even the biggest companies will need to maintain a respectful attitude toward the market if they want to retain long-term relevance.
Su Hang can't control global trends, but he can control his own choices.
He refuses to help any company or brand establish influence in the domestic market for free.
If they want his endorsement, recognition, or presence, then they need to value the market properly.
And in the business world, respect is expressed through genuine investment and fair compensation.
Whether Su Hang personally profits is one thing. The other is that only when others invest heavily in the domestic market will they truly respect it.
If they haven't invested, then the moment a trade war hits—bam—they ban you instantly.
A problem arises—they cut ties immediately.
But if their investment is huge and the chain of interests is long, they'll publicly announce a ban while secretly trying every possible way to get their products into your hands.
Their leaders say "stop cooperating," and everyone below is scrambling to keep cooperating. They're contradicting themselves.
It's no different from a club spending money to sign a player.
If they paid for you, you're their treasure. If you can't play left wing, they'll try you at right wing. If that doesn't work, maybe center forward or attacking midfield—whatever it takes. They'll give you chances.
But those who joined on their own dime? If they're good, they might get rotation minutes. If not, straight to the bench—no loss either way.
Fabregas: Who exactly are you slandering here?
"I understand. You'll receive a 50% share of your image rights, just like Beckham," Calderón said generously. He had long known Su Hang was aiming for this.
After all, the Su family were Spanish commercial giants. With the same percentage, they could monetize far more.
"No, no—you misunderstood," Su Hang replied. "I think a ninety-ten split is perfect."
Calderón: ???
Su Hang said cheerfully, "The club works hard. It's only right they take their share as compensation!"
"What?!" Calderón practically jumped eight feet high.
A ninety-ten split?
One for the club, nine for the player?
That's outrageous!
Are you treating the club like slaves?
Su Hang: Huh? Doesn't that basically imply that those ordinary players on a ten-ninety split are being treated as slaves by their clubs? Figo, Zidane, Ronaldo—you guys have really suffered!
And whether it counts as slavery?
Hard to argue otherwise.
What does 90% of a top player's image rights even mean?
In two or three years, they could practically buy themselves.
Rumor has it that in the season Real Madrid signed Figo, the club recouped the entire investment through various channels.
Zidane's first season brought in €125 million for Real Madrid—enough to buy him and Figo together.
"Absolutely impossible. This is not up for discussion!" Calderón finally snapped.
Su Hang didn't argue. He nodded calmly. "This is my final condition. If you agree, we sign immediately and announce it right away."
"But since you don't agree, feel free to call Chelsea's Abramovich now. Sixty million, seventy million, eighty million—name whatever price pleases you."
"I'll cooperate fully. I guarantee Real Madrid won't lose a single euro. I won't say a single bad word about you to the media, and I'll do everything I can to calm the fans."
Calderón's face, flushed moments ago, turned ghostly pale.
A transfer if the contract isn't renewed?
Was Su Hang really this firm?
Full cooperation?
You're already pushing your luck just renegotiating a contract—if things really fall apart, you'll cooperate?
You'll appease the fans?
You won't badmouth me?
I'd be lucky if you didn't try to destroy me outright!
If Calderón had already been in office for half a year, he would have gone all out—exposing Su Hang as a greedy devil and dragging him down even if it meant mutual destruction.
But right now, he couldn't.
Starting a war now meant immediate removal from office.
Weak foundations—one shake and everything collapses.
Su Hang had seized the perfect timing.
If some clubs are fortunate enough to catch this kind of break and earn super-premium transfer fees…
Then Su Hang is using that same opportunity to secure a super-premium contract.
Once Calderón nods, this contract becomes the highest-valued deal in world football.
Su Hang's annual income will instantly jump to No. 1 in the sport.
Ronaldinho's €23 million? Beckham's €18 million? They'll have to step aside.
With a World Cup and a club treble behind him, Real Madrid could easily burn through €100 million this year.
But now, that €100 million… a huge portion is about to land in Su Hang's pocket.
No matter what Real Madrid does, Su Hang will pocket at least €40–50 million.
Even peak Ronaldinho last year couldn't touch that number.