Chapter 586 Am I That Kind of Person? (Part 2)

“Haha, not every team can afford Erling.”

“Of course. Erling’s a genius, so naturally, only a top club is fit for him!”

“Alf, trust me. With that Chinese owner around, Arsenal’s future will be just as bright as any top club’s.”

…

Arsenal’s blockbuster announcement sent the entire fanbase into a frenzy.

Haaland, the super-talent that every major club in Europe had their eyes on, was snapped up by Arsenal for a hefty 55 million British pounds.

The fans sang the new owner’s praises endlessly. After all, the Chinese boss was just too incredible.

Compared to the tight-fisted Kroenke, the new owner from China, Jin Ying, was unbelievably generous.

Even more unbelievable for many Arsenal fans was that the team’s transfer activity wasn’t over yet.

Argentinian forward Alvarez joined Arsenal for 15 million British pounds.

West Ham United’s defensive midfielder, Rice, joined Arsenal for 50 million British pounds.

Rennes’s defensive midfielder, Camavinga, joined Arsenal for 15 million British pounds.

Monaco’s defensive midfielder, Tchouameni, was also purchased by Jin Ying for 35 million British pounds.

For the defensive midfield position alone, Arsenal had spent a full one hundred million British pounds.

The defense was also reinforced with new signings.

25 million British pounds secured center-back Gabriel from Ligue 1’s Troyes.

15 million British pounds secured Croatian center-back Gvardiol.

For the goalkeeper position, they bought Ramsdale for 27 million British pounds and Raya for 13 million.

Arsenal’s spending in this summer transfer window reached an astonishing 360 million British pounds!

Factoring in agent commissions and player signing bonuses…

Arsenal had burned through a full 400 million British pounds.

The joy of such wanton spending left many Arsenal fans in a state of blissful disbelief.

The Chinese owner’s spending spree was even more ferocious than when Ah Bu first took over Chelsea.

A look at Arsenal’s new signings revealed they were all young players with outstanding potential in today’s football world, with an average age of no more than 23.

With new players coming in, there were naturally players going out.

Zaka was sold to Bayer Leverkusen for 20 million British pounds, and Pepe transferred to Riyadh Crescent for 10 million.

However, most of the players on Arsenal’s squad who could be sold off weren’t worth much.

All told, they barely managed to recoup 100 million British pounds.

Many high-wage players were unwilling to leave, so the only option was to buy out their contracts to make room.

Jin Ying amortized the specific expenditures over five years.

This was to avoid issues with the Financial Fair Play review down the line, which Arsenal might otherwise struggle to pass.

The actual net transfer spending exceeded 300 million British pounds.

It couldn’t be helped. Every club knew Arsenal was rich and wanted to rip them off.

It was only thanks to Jin Ying’s excellent negotiating skills that the transfer fees were kept more or less in line with the players’ market values.

But for Qi Sheng, what was an extra hundred million pounds?

With Arteta’s current abilities, plus this roster that could be considered the gold standard for years to come… if he still couldn’t win the Premier League title, he could just get the sack.

It wasn’t quite at the level where a dog on a leash could win the title, but any competent manager should be able to get good results.

While Qi Sheng was on his shopping spree, Ah Bu wasn’t sitting idle either.

Lukaku, Havertz, Sancho, Grealish, Werner, Chilwell, Ziyech, Ben White, Mendi.

Chelsea’s net transfer spending also reached 300 million British pounds.

After his own shopping spree, Ah Bu even called Qi Sheng specifically to show off.

“Qi, interested in playing a friendly?”

“A friendly?”

“You pick the venue. I’ll contact a few more teams. We can treat it as a test of our eye for talent.”

“Hmm… I’ll get Inter Milan on board. If we pull in one more team, there’ll be no shortage of hype.”

“I’ll contact Florentino. I’m sure Real Madrid will be interested.”

Qi Sheng hung up and couldn’t help but shake his head.

Ah Bu might be in his fifties, but when it came to football, he was still a big kid.

The Premier League was set to start in August, but there was no way Ah Bu could wait that long.

He was dying to have a real-life game of Football Manager against Qi Sheng.

With Ah Bu acting as the middleman, Real Madrid readily accepted the invitation.

As for Inter Milan, Zhang Kangyang wouldn’t dare refuse Qi Sheng’s request.

Qi Sheng was their creditor, after all, so he had to oblige on such a small matter.

Zhang Kangyang promised without hesitation that all of Inter Milan’s starters would play.

As the host, Qi Sheng generously offered to cover all travel and accommodation expenses for the entire friendly tournament.

Of course, Qi Sheng wasn’t doing it for nothing.

First, he acquired the company that originally hosted the International Champions Cup, then he expanded the list of invitees.

Fellow Premier League clubs Manchester United and Manchester City were also on the invitation list.

Adding AC Milan, which Zhang Kangyang brought in, and Greater Paris, which volunteered to join, they had a perfect set of eight teams.

It was a chance to make money, test the players’ abilities, and scout the competition.

Naturally, none of these teams were going to miss out.

The tournament format followed World Cup rules, with the teams divided into two groups.

Each team would play three group stage matches, with the top two from each group advancing.

Just for participating in the International Champions Cup, there was an appearance fee of 2.5 million euros.

In the group stage, every win was worth another 2.5 million euros.

Advancing to the semifinals added 5 million euros to the prize money.

Reaching the final added another 10 million euros.

Winning the championship came with an additional 20 million euro bonus.

Theoretically, a team that won the tournament with a perfect record could earn 45 million euros.

They could earn 45 million euros in a month at most.

It was no wonder the invited clubs were interested.

Even many uninvited clubs started knocking on their door.