As a shareholder, no one doesn't like to get a share of the money.

Gu Ran’s total shares now exceed 55%. If the club distributes dividends, Gu Ran will naturally earn a lot.

However, from the perspective of the club's development, after only one season of success, it is really not the time to reward people for their achievements. Instead, a large amount of money should be spent to adjust the club's player structure and salary structure, send away incompetent players, and buy capable players.

After all, Southampton will play in the Championship in the new season, and also have to aim to be promoted to the Premier League, and also play in the Europa League.

If we only rely on the lineup from the old season, no matter how hard Gu Ran works himself, we won't be able to win the championship.

During this summer transfer window, the club must invest a large amount of money to make strong signings.

As the real boss of Southampton, if Gu Ran stood up and confronted the management at this time, the result would definitely be a shareholding war. Once the management formed a group, even if Gu Ran could finally gain absolute control of the club, it would probably cause serious damage to Southampton.

Just when Mendes was still at a loss as to how to acquire the remaining shares and the equity war of the Southampton club was about to begin, Gu Ran took the initiative.

Gu Ran called the private phone number of Katharina Liebherr, the heir to the Liebherr Group.

When Katharina Liebherr, who was far away at the German headquarters, received a call from Gu Ran, she couldn't believe it.

Although Catalina is the big boss of Southampton, the slightly fat Catalina is still a little shy in interpersonal relationships, and Catalina is not interested in football. The reason why she took over Southampton was purely because of her father's last wish before his death.

After the two of them exchanged some polite greetings on the phone, Gu Ran went straight to the point and said, "Ms. Liebherr, thank you for answering my call. I know your time is very valuable, but I still want to take up a little more of your time to talk about the current situation of the club."

Catalina immediately said: "Gu, please don't be so polite to me! To be honest, I don't have any confidence in running a football club. I thought Southampton should have dropped to English League Two last season, but I never expected that under your leadership, Southampton would make great strides! Southampton Club also turned losses into profits in just one year and achieved a financial turnaround. This is all thanks to you! So, no matter what you ask for, I am willing to agree to it!"

Gu Ran immediately said, "Ms. Liebherr, to be honest, I want your...shareholding."

Catalina on the other end of the phone was stunned for several seconds.

When Catalina heard Gu Ran say "I want you", her heart was pounding.

The next second, Gu Ran said that he wanted the shares in her hands.

Catalina calmed herself down and said, "Oh, Gu, are you kidding? What I mean is that although the shares I hold are not all of Southampton Club, I am in absolute control of it. Moreover, with the current share price of Southampton Club, the total amount of my shares is a very, very large sum of money. I admit that you should be very rich now, but it is definitely not enough to buy the club."

Gu Ran smiled and said, "Ms. Liebherr, you don't have to worry about this. You may not know it yourself, but your shares are no longer the primary holding. The sports company under my name now holds 55% of the shares."

Katerina exclaimed, "What? This is impossible?"

Gu Ran smiled and said, "I'm not kidding, dear Ms. Liebherr. In fact, with my current equity, I can fully demand the management rights of the club's top management. Of course, I also know that if I directly exercise the rights of a major shareholder to demand the replacement of the management, then Southampton Club will definitely be a bloody battle for power, which will definitely not be a good thing for the Southampton team that has just escaped from its predicament. Since we love the same club, I think it's better for us to resolve this matter peacefully. So, my proposal is that I am willing to pay a 2-fold premium to acquire all your shares."

The price of twice the premium is definitely very high.

Moreover, although Catalina did not show it openly, she had been silently supporting Gu Ran in private.

The biggest fan leader of Gu Ran's global fan club was funded by Katarina personally.

For this reason, Gu Ran had to give Catalina a fair price when he seized Catalina’s shares.

After hearing Gu Ran's offer, Catalina couldn't help but asked in surprise: "Gu, are you sure you are not kidding?"

Gu Ran said: "You can check Southampton's equity situation now."

Catalina said, "Okay, wait a moment, let's not hang up the phone."

"Okay, I'll wait for you."

On the other end of the phone, after a busy conversation, Catalina said in a trembling voice, "Hello? Gu, are you still online?"

"Yes, Ms. Catalina, I am always here."

"Oh my God! I saw the equity investigation report sent by the staff. I, I, I can't believe my own eyes... Gu, I really want to know, how did you do it?"

At this point, there was no need for Gu Ran to hide anything anymore. The worst that could happen was if the acquisition failed, he would just fall out and start a war for equity, so Gu Ran just spoke frankly.

Gu Ran cleared his throat and said, "It's like this, Ms. Liebherr. Although playing football is my main job, I also have many side jobs, such as writing scripts for Hollywood. The most popular movies this summer, "Iron Man 2", "The Avengers", and "Batman 2" are all written by me. With the share of the global box office, the money I have now is enough to buy the entire Southampton Football Club."

"Oh! God! Gu! You are so amazing! I can't believe it! You are the best screenwriter in the world at playing football, and you are also the best screenwriter in the world at playing football!" Catalina said excitedly: "It's hateful, I just found out that you are related to Hollywood! Then you... must know a lot of celebrities, right?"

Oh shit, how did we get to talking about celebrities when we were talking about equity acquisition?

Gu Ran smiled helplessly, "I do know a few, but not enough."

Katrina sighed and said, "I also want to meet a star. My favorite star is Taylor Swift. Unfortunately, you are a screenwriter in Hollywood. You probably don't know Taylor."

What the hell?

Gu Ran smiled and said, "I don't really know other singers, but I'm really familiar with Taylor Swift. Many of her songs, how should I put it, were written by me."

...(End of this chapter)