Zhao Yongjun did not know the purpose of Zhou Leiyun's meeting with Xia Ruofei. He also looked at Zhou Leiyun when he heard that.
Zhou Leiyun smiled and said, "Actually, it's not a big deal. Yongjun, I bought a football club two years ago for fun. You know about this, right? "
Zhao Yongjun thought about it and said, "I have a little impression. Is it … a club in Spain?"
Zhou Leiyun said with a smile, "I know you don't usually care about football. It is indeed a Spanish football club, but it is not an ordinary club. It is a La Liga club, which is one of the five major leagues in the world! Do you know Messi? The Barcelona team he is in is a La Liga team! "
"Of course I know Messi!" Zhao Yongjun said, "He is the number one player in the world of football!"
Messi was so famous that even people who did not watch football had heard of his name.
"If you say that … Cristiano Ronaldo's fans won't agree!" Zhou Leiyun said with a laugh, "I am a hardcore fan of Cristiano Ronaldo!"
Zhao Yongjun smiled awkwardly and said, "Brother Zhou, I really don't know much about football, but I know Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo …"
Zhou Leiyun nodded and said, "The club I bought is called Real Espanyol. This is the 'royal' title granted by the King of Spain, so there is a crown on the team emblem!"
Xia Ruofei heard that and could not help but smile and say, "General Manager Zhou, as far as I know, there are many Spanish teams with the royal title!"
After that, Xia Ruofei counted with his fingers and said, "Real Madrid, Real Betis, Real Zaragoza, Real Sociedad …"
Zhou Leiyun smiled awkwardly and said, "It seems that Boss Xia knows a lot about football! Although there were many teams in the Spanish football world that were crowned with the royal name, it was still a great honor! And Barcelona, known as the Cosmos, is not a royal team! "
Xia Ruofei laughed and said, "General Manager Zhou seems to get into the role very quickly! As far as I know, Barcelona is the archenemy of Espanyol! Every time there's a Gaatai derby, it's always very exciting! "
Xia Ruofei did know a lot about football. In fact, there were many soldiers in the military who loved football. When Xia Ruofei was in the army, he often played with his comrades. He was faster and had good stamina. His favorite position was the right winger. He often broke through along the right flank and played to his heart's content.
On the weekends, his comrades would also watch football together at the company club.
However, after retiring, he had been busy and the number of times he watched football had decreased significantly.
Even so, Xia Ruofei's understanding of the top league far surpassed Zhao Yongjun's, who was a football novice.
He was familiar with some of the grudges in the five major leagues, such as the double red between Manchester United and Liverpool, the El Clásico between Real Madrid and Barcelona, the Merseyside derby between Liverpool and Everton, and even the Catalan derby between RCD Espanyol and Barcelona.
The enmity between RCD Espanyol and Barcelona had been long-standing. The two teams were full of conflicts at the beginning of the team's establishment. Barcelona was established by the British and other foreigners in the Gaatai region at that time. After Barcelona was established, the local Spaniards in Gaatai also established a club and directly used the name RCD Espanyol. It could be said that they were tit for tat.
In addition, because of the gap in strength, Barcelona had suppressed RCD Espanyol for a long time. After so many years, RCD Espanyol's players and fans were naturally stifled.
Of course, there was a more important reason. Both teams were located in Barcelona. Barcelona was world-famous, while RCD Espanyol's popularity was very small. They were in the same city, and the honor always belonged to Barcelona. When others mentioned the city of Barcelona, they would only know about RCD Espanyol. Many fans might know that RCD Espanyol was also a regular in La Liga, but they did not necessarily know that this team was actually in the same city as the powerful Cosmos team, Barça. In RCD Espanyol's view, this was intolerable.
The so-called archenemy in the same city was probably the case.
Therefore, whether it was in the Copa del Rey or the Premier League, as long as RCD Espanyol met Barça, there was no need to mobilize at all. Each of them was full of fighting spirit. Often, because of this strong spiritual motivation, the players often played beyond their level and occasionally could force a draw or even defeat Barça.
When facing Real Madrid, which was basically at the same level as Barça, RCD Espanyol's victories were very few. It was not an exaggeration to say that RCD Espanyol was a giveaway.
Zhou Leiyun said, "Of course! Although our strength is not as good as theirs on paper, it doesn't matter! Let's just do it! "
Xia Ruofei could not help but laugh when he heard that. He did not have any preference. To put it bluntly, he did not have a die-hard team. He liked high-level teams, whether it was Barça or Real Madrid. He also admired top star players, such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. However, Zhou Leiyun's words were very much in line with his temper.
Xia Ruofei then asked, "General Manager Zhou, we have been talking about football for a long time. You haven't told me why you are looking for me!"
Zhou Leiyun said with a smile, "After saying so much, of course, it has something to do with football! I want to ask Boss Xia and Yongjun, are you interested in investing in a football club? I can give up some of my shares in RCD Espanyol. Let's invest some money together and have some fun! "
Zhao Yongjun could not help but raise his eyebrows when he heard that.
Although he did not know much about football, as a friend of Zhou Leiyun, he had an impression of the original acquisition.
Zhao Yongjun asked, "Brother Zhou, if I remember correctly, your shares in that team are only more than 50%, right?"
Zhou Leiyun said with a smile, "Yes, I spent more than 60 million euros to get about 54% of the shares!"
Zhao Yongjun could not help but ask, "That just crossed the controlling line! If you give up some of your shares, won't you lose the absolute controlling stake? Don't tell me that Shengshi Group is short of money! That's not funny at all … "
For the scale of Shengshi Group, tens of millions of euros was just a drizzle. If the group really had financial difficulties, even if they sold all of RCD Espanyol's shares, it would probably be a drop in the bucket. It would not be enough at all.
Zhou Leiyun said with a smile, "We're all on the same side. What's the difference between giving you the shares and leaving them in my hands? Besides, we can sign an agreement to act in concert! Or if you trust me, you can give me all the voting rights. I can still have the absolute controlling stake! "
"That's true …" Zhao Yongjun said with a shrug, "But I'm not interested in this matter! I don't know much about football, and after investing in the Taoyuan Club, my funds are tight. Investing in a football club is not a good idea. You can ask Ruofei, this guy is also a small local tycoon! "
Zhou Leiyun himself did not care too much about this small investment project. He made this suggestion just to get closer to Zhao Yongjun and Xia Ruofei. At the same time, he also wanted to make up for the rift that Zhou Yuan had created.
Therefore, Zhou Leiyun said without hesitation, "It's okay if you don't have money for the time being! I'll give you some shares … "
"No, no, no!" Zhao Yongjun waved his hand and said, "Brother Zhou, I've never done things that don't cost anything, and I'm really not interested."
Although Zhao Yongjun did not watch football much, he also knew that investing in football was slow, and he needed to continue burning money. In addition, if he did not invest money, he would just take shares. It was not in line with his principles, so he firmly refused.
Xia Ruofei also did not show much interest, but since Zhou Leiyun was so enthusiastic, he could not refuse too directly, so he asked, "Director Zhou, how many shares are you going to give away?"
Zhou Leiyun smiled and said, "That depends on Boss Xia's interest. Since Yongjun is not interested, we can split it half and half. Of course, if Boss Xia wants less, that's fine too. Anyway, it's just investing some money for fun."
Xia Ruofei showed a hesitant expression. He did not want to refuse too quickly, and he also had to think about the wording to decline Zhou Leiyun's proposal.
At this moment, Zhou Leiyun showed a hint of mystery and said, "Boss Xia, investing in RCD Espanyol now is not a bad idea! We will make a big move in the transfer market soon! "
"Oh?" Xia Ruofei also showed a curious expression and asked with a smile, "Director Zhou, are you interested in a world-class football player? Is RCD Espanyol preparing to make a big move in the winter transfer window? "
Zhou Leiyun said with a smile, "There are no world-class football players. My philosophy of running this team is not to burn money. I still want to play steadily and make a long-term profit. However, the sensational effect of this transfer in Huaxia may not be less than buying a superstar player! "
"Is that so?" Xia Ruofei raised his eyebrows and said, "So … Director Zhou is trying to get a Huaxia player to join?"
Since it was not one of those hot superstars, and at the same time, it could cause a sensation in Huaxia, then the answer was obvious. He was most likely going to bring in a Huaxia player!
Huaxia's football had just gone through a dark age and could be said to have suffered a great loss. In recent years, because some big companies entered the circle and started burning money, the popularity of Huaxia's Premier League began to slowly recover. The broadcasting rights of Huaxia's Premier League also became more and more popular. Naturally, everyone's attention to football also increased.
However, the impact of those dark years on Huaxia's football was long-term. The problem of football talent was very serious. In recent years, the ability of Huaxia's players was obviously not as good as the players who made it to the World Cup in 2002. Moreover, it had been a long time since a Huaxia player had a firm foothold in the five major leagues — excluding those who worked at water coolers and sold cars.
If they could seriously bring in a strong Huaxia player who could maintain a certain number of appearances, it would undoubtedly cause a sensation.
Huaxia's football market was quite large, and its fan base was also coveted by teams from small European countries. If a Huaxia player really entered the RCD Espanyol team, then RCD Espanyol would undoubtedly become the La Liga team with the number of Huaxia fans, second only to Barcelona and Real Madrid.
It was even possible to surpass Barcelona and Real Madrid to become the most popular team in La Liga.
This would be a great boost to the team's popularity and subsequent commercial development.
Zhou Leiyun said with a smile, "Boss Xia is really quick-witted! He guessed the main point immediately! "
Xia Ruofei asked with great interest, "Director Zhou, is it convenient to reveal which Huaxia player you are going to bring in?"
Before the transfer was completed, all operations were confidential. However, Zhou Leiyun did not intend to hide. He said directly, "You should know Wu Lei, right?"
Xia Ruofei nodded and said, "Of course, he's the best striker in the Chinese Super League!"
Zhou Leiyun laughed and said, "It seems that Boss Xia has not watched the Chinese Super League for a while … This season, the words' local 'can be removed. It shouldn't be a problem for him to be the best striker in the Chinese Super League!"
"Oh? Is that so? "Xia Ruofei showed a surprised expression." Is he in such a good condition? Those big-name foreign players can't beat him? "
After the Huaxia Super League started to burn money, many big star players in their prime changed teams to come to Huaxia. Because of the limited number of foreign players, teams generally gave priority to bringing in players in the middle and front field. The goal efficiency of these players was much higher than the local Huaxia players.
This also led to many domestic strikers slowly beginning to change positions. They were either pulled to the side to become a striker, or simply changed to play in the backfield.
Wu Lei's physical condition was not particularly outstanding, but he was able to stand firm in the front field, which was full of strong players. This was not easy in itself. No one expected him to be able to beat so many popular star players with annual salaries of more than ten million euros this season and become the best striker in the entire league.
Zhou Leiyun said with a smile, "Yes! Wu Lei's characteristics are very clear. That is, he is very smart when it comes to positioning and is quite sensitive in front of goal. With so many excellent foreign players feeding him the ball, his goal efficiency must be much higher! "
Xia Ruofei could not help but laugh when he heard that. He said, "His positioning is first-class, but his final kick seems to be a little lacking!"
Wu Lei was often criticized for missing one-on-one shots, especially when he was in the national team. The support from the backfield was not as good as the club's, so his goal efficiency was reduced a lot.
Zhou Leiyun also knew that Xia Ruofei was teasing Wu Lei about his frequent one-on-one shots. He showed a wry smile and said, "No one is perfect! Even Messi can't guarantee that his one-on-one shots will definitely go in! Moreover, he can miss so many one-on-one shots. First of all, it shows that his positioning is very good! And his nose in front of goal is very sensitive. Otherwise, why don't you see others getting so many one-on-one shots? "
"That's true …" Xia Ruofei said with a smile. "Regardless of whether Wu Lei is a one-on-one player or not, at least among the domestic players, he is really quite good. And his characteristics are quite suitable for playing in La Liga! After all, La Liga is more technical. It's not a big problem that the physical confrontation is a little worse! "
"Great minds think alike!" Zhou Leiyun said happily.
When Xia Ruofei heard that Wu Lei might join RCD Espanyol, he had originally planned to reject Zhou Leiyun, but now he was really a little tempted.
So Xia Ruofei asked, "General Manager Zhou, can you tell me how likely this transfer is to succeed?"
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