Football giants

Chapter 735 Tides

Mark Parker sits behind a corner desk with his hands folded.

This is not so much an office as an exhibition hall.

There are all kinds of weird dolls and wax figures produced by Nike, and almost all the classic shoes launched by Nike are listed on the exhibition wall, which are colorful and dazzling.

Even the desk in front of him is more like a glass display window, under which there are various display products, large or small, including shoes, basketballs, wristbands, and even sports water glasses.

On the right side of the corner desk is an open laptop with a black screen. If you look behind it, you will find that it is an Apple laptop. Behind the computer is a wax figure of tennis superstar Roger Federer who endorsed Nike.

I believe that everyone who walks into this office will not doubt the taste of the owner of this office.

Only people with taste can arrange such a tasteful office environment.

But at this moment, sitting in this office full of artistic atmosphere, Mark Parker was worrying about a very realistic matter, even full of interests.

At this moment, someone knocked on the office door.

Mark Parker sighed heavily, gathered his energy, and raised his head, "Please come in!"

Seeing that the global vice president in charge of football affairs, Bert Hoyet, walked in, Mark Parker immediately had a smile on his face.

Moreover, his principle is that no matter how bad the environment is, no matter how much pressure, in front of others, he must maintain a confident and calm attitude to deal with it.

"Belt, come and sit!" Mark Parker pointed to a chair in front of him.

"Thanks, Mark!" Bert Hoyet came over.

As soon as he sat down, he saw a leather-sewn, black and white, looking very realistic English bulldog next to the chair, which was tied to the desk leg with an iron chain.

"Hey, little guy, bark twice to listen!"

This action immediately made Mark Parker behind the desk burst into laughter.

This bulldog was made by himself.

"Belt, I've seen your plan!"

Bert Hoyet stopped immediately, looked at the president of the company, and listened solemnly.

"The plan is well done, but I still want to hear your deeper thoughts in person, so that I can decide whether to support you or not!" Mark Parker said very seriously.

Bert Hoyet is no exception. Before convincing the company's top management, he must pass the president's level first.

"Mark, did you watch the Champions League match yesterday?"

"Yes!" Mark Parker nodded.

Strictly speaking, he is not a fanatical football fan, but he attaches great importance to football, so he will find time to watch European football matches, the Champions League quarter-finals knockout match, which is not to be missed.

"The semi-finals are out, Southampton and Atletico Madrid are in the semi-finals of the Champions League."

"I know!"

Bert Hoyet nodded and continued: "Then you should also know that I am very optimistic about Atletico Madrid reaching the Champions League final, because Dortmund's recent situation is not ideal, and Southampton, even if it is against Bayern Munich, I still think that the possibility of advancing is half to half!"

Mark Parker understood what Bert Hoyet meant at once.

"I don't want to say that their results will always be so good, but I want to say that Yang Huan and the team behind him are far beyond our expectations in terms of running the club. Southampton's success is not accidental, and Atletico Madrid is proof."

Mark Parker nodded, "But what about Inter Milan?"

"It was an accident!" Bert Hoyet shook his head and smiled bitterly: "I can only say that I spent more than 1 million euros during the winter break, but in the end I couldn't even make it to the top three in the league. I can't say anything more."

After a pause, Bert Hoyet said with great confidence: "However, I can guarantee that Inter Milan's failure is only temporary. With Yang Huan as a person, he will never allow his team to be depressed and depressed like this."

Mark Parker looked at Bert Hoyet and asked again: "But you have to know that Serie A is in a downturn now. Inter Milan has been so chaotic in the past few decades. It has always been a black hole for stars and famous coaches."

But after finishing speaking, Mark Parker changed the subject, "Of course, I agree with your judgment very much. We need Inter Milan, but I really don't think much about Inter Milan!"

Berthe Hoyet shook his head and laughed, "Mark, do you know? If you ask me, who is the most hopeful in Italy to challenge Juventus now, then I will tell you without hesitation, it is not Rome, which you have high hopes for, but Inter Milan!"

When he said this, Bert Hoyet carried extremely strong confidence.

"Monaco is currently ranked second in Ligue [-], and is only two points away from Paris Saint-Germain at the top of the list. The championship battle has been completely heated up, so I think there is no reason to doubt Yang Huan's ability to operate."

Mark Parker shook his head and explained: "Belt, you misunderstood. I have never doubted the ability of him and the team behind him to operate. On the contrary, they are very successful, but you should know that this is a big project, and we must conduct a comprehensive evaluation."

"I understand!" sighed Bert Hoyet.

Nike has encountered problems in its development in the past few years, making the company's investment in sponsorship, although it will not shrink, but it has become very cautious, especially in such a large project.

"Mark!" Bert Hoyet felt that something should be said.

"I have some words, but you have to promise not to leak them."

"OK!" Mark Parker nodded.

"According to the intelligence I got in Europe, I have every reason to believe that Yang Huan is supporting Platini to challenge Blatter!"

"What?" Mark Parker was taken aback.

Seeing that the president wanted to ask himself, Bert Hoyet immediately shook his head, "Don't ask me if I have evidence, because I don't have any, but I want to say, if there is no one to support it, don't you think what Platini has done recently is too outrageous?"

Mark Parker was a little surprised, but after thinking about it carefully, it really made sense.

"But hasn't Blatter's FIFA been cooperating with Yang Huan's Miracle Media?"

"Yes, Infront's cooperation with FIFA and the International Olympic Committee has been continued after being acquired by Miracle Media, but this does not prevent Yang Huan from betting on both sides. Even if Platini picks Blatter out, do you think Miracle Media's interests will be damaged?"

Mark Parker was really speechless at this moment.

If we continue to follow what Bert Hoyet said, once Blatter steps down, can he use his relationship with Yang Huan to cooperate with FIFA and UEFA?
You know, this area has always been the headquarters of Adidas!
"Also, I recently received news that there is a company registered in Monaco that has been very active in European football recently."

"What do you mean?" Mark Parker was a little confused.

"They first acquired 50.00% of the shares of Basel, a famous team in the Swiss Super League. This share originally belonged to the ENIC consortium and was later sold to other investors. But now the Monaco company has successfully repurchased the shares through ENIC. The specific amount is unknown."

"The same company has been secretly buying shares of Anderlecht in Belgium at a low price in the stock market. The team's recent situation is not easy, so it is said that their management intends to introduce investors."

"In addition, I have also received clear news that the old Czech powerhouse Sparta Prague has changed hands privately, and the entire purchase price is very cheap. As soon as the purchaser completes the acquisition, he immediately launched a stadium renovation plan to transform Sparta Prague's Leitner Stadium into a commercial center integrating shopping malls, fitness clubs, cinemas and hotels."

"It is said that this renovation plan has been submitted to the Prague Municipal Government for an environmental impact assessment, and the location of the Leitner Stadium happens to be located in the most popular old town area of ​​Prague!"

Mark Parker was shocked when he heard this, "Could it be this Monaco company too?"

"That's right!" Bert Hoyet nodded.

"Whether it's Anderlecht, Basel or Sparta Prague, the price is quite cheap. The key lies in the cost of maintaining operations, but if you can find a way to sustain the operation of these teams, it is quite cost-effective to start with."

Mark Parker finally understood when he heard this, "You mean, the behind-the-scenes boss of this Monaco company..."

"That's right, I have every reason to believe that it is Yang Huan!"

Even though Mark Parker was mentally prepared, he couldn't help but sucked in a breath of air.

Isn't Yang Huan's ambition too big?
Except for the Bundesliga, he already has teams in the five major European leagues, but now he is going to buy Belgium, Switzerland and the Czech Republic. This is really capricious!

"In addition, I also heard that they are negotiating with Ajax, or it may be the acquisition of part of the shares, or the two sides have in-depth cooperation. In short, Ajax is very interested in them."

Mark Parker kept shaking his head when he heard this, "I don't understand, why would he want to do this? Now that the economic environment is so bad, these teams are willing to be acquired, [-]% of which are financial problems. Yang Huan is getting involved now, isn't he trapped?"

"It's true, but it's not!" Bert Hoyet laughed.

Mark Parker frowned, obviously not understanding.

"I once talked with Sun Yue, CEO of Miracle Media, and he told me that the scale of global sports events is developing at an alarming rate, and has already entered every corner of the world, and even everyone's daily life."

"At that time, he told me that the annual scale of the global film and television industry is about US$900 billion, but the scale of global sports events is expected to reach an astonishing US$500 billion in [-]!"

"500 billion US dollars?" Mark Parker was a little stunned.

Nike is exhausted, only more than 200 billion a year, less than 300 billion US dollars in revenue, which is less than one-fifth of sports events, my God, is there really such a big market?

"Yes, when Sun Yue talked about this number, he was very sure. In the global sports events, the proportion of football events is increasing at an alarming rate. Therefore, Ligue [-], Serie A, and now La Liga and Bundesliga, their insightful people are also proposing reforms one after another, to package the image of the entire league and develop the global market!"

"This is a wave of globalization of sports events, and no one can stop it!"

Mark Parker is a smart man, and when he heard this, he completely understood.

If it is said that this is an unstoppable wave, then what Yang Huan wants to do now is to take advantage of this wave before it comes, before everyone sees it clearly, and grasp all the best quality and most competitive resources in his own hands.

When this wave really comes, the resources in his hands will be an inexhaustible gold mountain!
There is no doubt that he is a fashionista who is at the forefront of the times!
But, should Nike keep up with him?
(End of this chapter)