"If You Were Me" was released in mainland China for a month, and the box office performance barely exceeded 10 million RMB. Although it was not as popular as "My Naughty Girlfriend", the sweet-looking Son Ye-jin quickly became popular in mainland China. The wall advertisements on the Six Hundred Commercial Street also became giant posters of Son Ye-jin endorsing the Innisfree cosmetics brand.
In early July, Song Yuxi led a delegation of Korean entrepreneurs to visit China. Samsung Chairman Chen Jianxi, SK Chairman Choi Anyuan, Hyundai Motor Chairman Zhou Mengjiu, LG Group Chairman Gu Bonsheng, and Xinya Media Real Estate Group Chairman Song Yi all participated in the delegation.
Song Yuxi stayed in the mainland for a total of four days, visiting the Yanjing Hyundai Automobile Factory under construction and the Wangjing Center office building under construction.
In addition to this, Song Yuxi also flew to Liangxi City to inspect the Liangxi semiconductor factory project under construction. If the Liangxi semiconductor factory is put into production, it will be the largest memory chip production base in Asia.
In front of the leaders of Jiangsu Province and Liangxi City, LG Group Chairman Koo Bon-sung and New Asia Media Property Group Chairman Song Yi both stated that they would increase investment in the mainland, especially in high-tech industries such as semiconductors, displays, and mobile phone batteries. Song Yi appeared for ten seconds on the mainland's "News Broadcast" program for the first time.
Kim Tae Hee had lived in China for a while, so she certainly knew the value of the "News Broadcast". She was somewhat dissatisfied with Song Yi's outfit. In the news, Song Yi wore a navy blue suit and a brown tie, which made him look a bit old-fashioned.
In late July, Ning Hao flew from Yanjing to Seoul to prepare to participate in the filming of "The Thieves Alliance". Song Yi invited him to dinner at his home in Chengbeidong.
"Haozi, Korean filmmakers are a bit xenophobic and always think that their film industry is second best in the world. You should produce something real and don't let them look down on you," Song Yi encouraged.
Ning Hao felt much more comfortable when he heard Song Yi say that. With Song Yi as the biggest boss protecting him, who among these Koreans would dare to cause trouble to him? "It's normal. Not to mention the Koreans, I've worked with Hong Kong filmmakers before and they have the same nature. To put it nicely, they are good at teaching others. In fact, they think that mainland films are not good and cannot compare with Hong Kong films. Hong Kong films from the 1980s and 1990s are good films. What kind of shit are those directors making now?" Ning Hao drank some wine and complained to Song Yi.
"It's normal. They don't have the right mentality. It's obvious that the Hong Kong film market is too small to support so many people, so they go north to make a living."
"My main purpose of making "The Thieves" is to promote Jun Ji-hyun and truly establish her status as an international movie star. In addition to Jun Ji-hyun, I also want you and Chen Kun to train well and learn something. After "The Thieves" is released, you don't have to continue filming literary and artistic films such as "Incense" and "Green Grass", you can also try to make a commercial film directed by yourself." Song Yi said without any concealment.
Ning Hao understood what Song Yi meant. If possible, he could try to get more scenes and lines for Chen Kun's role. As for the Hong Kong artists who made cameo appearances in the movie, they would have to wait in the back.
"Haozi, Liu Chengguan, the director of "The Thieves", was the assistant director of commercial films at the age of 24. In fact, you are only four years younger than him. Work hard. I believe that in a few years, you will be able to direct a commercial blockbuster with a cost of hundreds of millions." Song Yi patted Ning Hao on the shoulder and encouraged.
Ning Hao is the first director signed by the Artist Management Department of New Asia Film and Television Culture Media. His previous films "Incense" and "Green Grassland" were both released in South Korea's HugeDream Cinemas. Although the box office results were dismal, the film ratings were not low.
This also allowed directors such as Jia Zhangke, Wang Xiaoshuai, Lou Ye, and Li Yu to discover new channels to promote their films. Although their films cannot be released in mainland China, they can be screened in South Korea's HugeDream theaters. HugeDream theaters will arrange one day a week to screen some niche art films.
When the filming of "Thieves Alliance" began, Song Yi went to visit the set and had a very happy chat with Ning Hao and Chen Kun on the set.
Jun Ji-hyun is quite smart. When she learned that Ning Hao was the director of Song Hye-kyo's mainland commercial for Samdasu, she gave Ning Hao face on the set and kept praising him. With Jun Ji-hyun's example, other Korean actors, including Lee Joon-gi, immediately became more friendly towards Ning Hao.
In early August, Manchester United Club announced that an organization called New Asia Sports Consortium acquired 14.3% of the shares from the market.
New Asia Sports Group has been trading Manchester United shares since the second half of last year. After April, New Asia Sports Group's shares exceeded 5% for the first time. In the past three months, New Asia Sports Group has continued to buy shares of Manchester United. As of July 31, 2003, New Asia Sports Group held more than 14.3% of Manchester United shares. On August 8, New Asia Sports Group Chairman Ms. Kim Hee-won visited Old Trafford and met with Sir Alex Ferguson, the meritorious coach of Manchester United, and met with other major shareholders of Manchester United.
Kim Hee-won said that the share price of Manchester United Club is currently seriously undervalued, and the goal of the New Asia Sports Consortium is to acquire Manchester United Club as a whole and complete privatization and delisting.
In addition to acquiring the club, Kim Hee-won also expressed her support for Ferguson's work. Kim Hee-won promised that if she completed the acquisition, she would expand Old Trafford and build a modern stadium that can accommodate more fans.
In addition to expanding the stadium, Kim Hee-won also said that more funds would be invested in Manchester United's recruitment work for the new season. Manchester United performed well in the 2002-03 season. After falling behind by 11 points, they caught up with Arsenal and won the league championship again.
The Premier League was particularly lively in the summer of 2003, when Russian super-rich Abrinovic spent 130 million pounds to buy Chelsea Football Club. As soon as this Russian tycoon entered the Premier League, he opened the era of money-driven football and bought top players everywhere.
The football storm started by Abramovich has not yet subsided, and the New Asia Sports Group is preparing to acquire the entire Manchester United Club. Newspapers reporting on the Premier League can't help but ask a soul-searching question: where did this Kim Hee-won and the New Asia Sports Group come from?
The Times pointed out that behind Kim Hee-won is Asia's new billionaire Song Yi. In addition to his ventures into media, Internet and real estate businesses, the New Asia Group has made a large investment in the sports sector for the first time.
If we talk about the relationship between New Asia Group and football, then Song Yi, the actual controller of New Asia Group, is the nephew of FIFA President Zhou Mengzhun, and Park Ji-sung, a player of PSV Eindhoven Club, is also a contracted player of New Asia Group.
The Sun has begun to mock the New Asia Sports Group. According to the Forbes Rich List in March 2003, Song Yi's personal net worth is around US$1.5 billion, ranking 399th on the Forbes Rich List.
If the New Asia Sports Group really spends a huge amount of money to buy Manchester United Club, what will Kim Hee-won use to complete the expansion of Old Trafford Stadium and recruit players with a lot of money?
After all, Abramovich, who bought Chelsea Club, ranks much higher than Song Yi, and Russian tycoons have always liked to hide their personal wealth. Some foreign media believe that Abramovich's actual net worth is actually more than 10 billion US dollars.
When a nosy reporter asked Abramovich about the New Asia Sports Group's attempt to buy Manchester United, Abramovich's answer was somewhat arrogant: "I don't care who wants to buy Manchester United. For me, the reason I bought Chelsea is because I like this team."
"I came to the Premier League to help Chelsea become the best club in the Premier League, or even the best club in the world. Believe me, I will bring trophies to Chelsea!" Abramovich was very flamboyant in the interview.
Unlike Abu, Kim Hee-won is very low-key, staying at home and not accepting interviews from reporters. Some people broke the news that Kim Hee-won is currently in the process of waiting for childbirth and has some physical discomfort, but this news has not been confirmed.
In fact, in addition to the New Asia Sports Consortium, the Glazer family from the United States also wanted to buy Manchester United. However, compared with the financial strength of the New Asia Sports Consortium, the funds they invested were not enough.
Now that the New Asia Sports Consortium has bought most of the Manchester United shares circulating on the market, if Glazer wants to complete the transaction, he has to contact the major shareholders of the Manchester United club one by one.
Now that the Glazer family is not a shareholder of Manchester United, they have no way to use Manchester United's Old Trafford Stadium and training base as collateral to complete the loan from JPMorgan Chase. If they rely on their own assets, their money is a bit stretched.
In fact, the New Asia Sports Group moved much faster than the Glazer family had imagined.
On August 11, New Asia Sports Consortium acquired 28.7% of the shares of two Manchester United shareholders, McManus and Magnier, and New Asia Sports Consortium's shares increased to 43%. On August 14, New Asia Sports Consortium acquired the shares of Manchester United shareholder Harry Dobson, and New Asia Sports Consortium's shares increased to 57.8%. New Asia Sports Consortium became the largest shareholder of Manchester United Club and also gained actual control of Manchester United Club.
As of mid-August, the New Asia Sports Group spent a total of 289 million pounds to buy 57.8% of Manchester United's shares.
At the beginning of 2003, the market value of Manchester United Club was about 310 million pounds. Because the New Asia Sports Consortium bought a large number of Manchester United shares from the market, it also boosted Manchester United's stock price. Manchester United's current market value is 450 million pounds.
The first thing Kim Hee-won did after taking office as club chairman was to agree to Ferguson's resignation as head coach and promote him to the team's football director. Manchester United announced that the team's new head coach was José Mourinho, who was poached from Porto.
Ferguson expressed his support for the team's new coach Mourinho: "You all know that I wanted to retire last year and hand the team over to young people. It's just that there is no suitable successor, so I stayed for another year."
"Jose is an excellent head coach. Look at his achievements this year. Porto won the treble this year, the Portuguese Super League, the Portuguese Cup and the UEFA Cup. He is definitely the UEFA's best head coach this year. With such a great head coach taking over from me, I can retire with peace of mind."
"Ferguson and Mourinho have different opinions. Who should I listen to?" Jin Xiyuan didn't expect that Song Yi would take a special plane to come to the UK to accompany her.
"Your idea was wrong from the beginning. Whether it is Ferguson or Mourinho, their authority cannot override yours. You are the chairman of Manchester United. If you think Ferguson is right, then support Ferguson. If you think Mourinho is right, then support Mourinho."
"Sir Ferguson is a meritorious coach of Manchester United and enjoys a particularly high reputation among Manchester United fans. We should give him enough respect for such a meritorious veteran of the team, but he is old now after all, so we should not let him participate too much in the specific affairs of the club."
"As for the fans, they are all forgetful. For the current Manchester United, as long as you can lead Manchester United to win one championship after another, I believe that the fans who hated you at the beginning will become your most loyal fans. After all, in competitive sports, the winner is the king." Song Yi said.
Song Yi remembered that Abramovich brought in the "madman" Mourinho from Porto after the 2003-04 season. But if they had won Chelsea in advance, wouldn't that mean Mourinho and Porto would have lost a Champions League trophy? A Portuguese Super League team like Porto still restricted Mourinho's performance too much, and Mourinho still needed to prove his talent in a top team like Manchester United. As long as Mourinho won more Champions League trophies at Manchester United, it would be Song Yi's compensation to him.
Jin Xiyuan understood what Song Yi meant. The team's specific recruitment should still follow Mourinho's opinion. As for Sir Alex Ferguson, he can be worshipped as the team's mascot and not be allowed to interfere with Mourinho's specific work. After all, there can't be two tigers in one mountain.
On August 18, Manchester United Club Chairman Kim Hee-won and the team's head coach Jose Mourinho met for the first time. Kim Hee-won expressed her support for Mourinho and pointed out that Manchester United's recruitment funds for the new season will be capped at 100 million pounds.
After hearing what Kim Hee-won said, Mourinho said that he had never fought such a rich battle in his life. He was going to sell Manchester United striker Fran and then introduce their main midfielder Makelele from Real Madrid.
Because Forlan was the striker that Ferguson advocated for, his position and role actually overlapped with that of Manchester United's main striker Ruud van Nistelrooy. Mourinho's choice to sell Forlan and bring in Makelele also let Manchester United know that Kim Hee-won chose Mourinho over Ferguson.
Ferguson obviously couldn't stand this, and the hot-tempered old man Ferguson announced his resignation as Manchester United's football director and only retained the position of consultant of Manchester United.
In fact, Manchester United had a turbulent summer, with the club breaking out of the "shoe-slipping incident" and David Beckham moving to Real Madrid. However, Ferguson spent £12.24 million to bring Cristiano Ronaldo back from the Portuguese Super League.
It was because of seeing the 18-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo that Song Yi accelerated the acquisition of Manchester United Club.
As the twin heroes of the 85-year-old star, Song Yi will certainly make Ronaldo the core of Manchester United. Song Yi is still looking forward to what kind of sparks Mourinho and Ronaldo, who also came from the Portuguese Super League, can create.
Ferguson is certainly a great coach, but as he ages, it seems that he has difficulty getting along well with young talents. Mourinho is a more suitable candidate for head coach. Although we can't see the madman and Sir Alex fighting, the battle between Manchester United and Chelsea for money-driven football is also quite interesting.
Song Yi doesn't like those Manchester United legends. He complained to Jin Xiyuan, "Do you know the difference between Manchester United legends and Real Madrid legends? Although Real Madrid legends will make suggestions on the team's reinforcement and signings, they will not interfere with the club's decisions. Manchester United legends like to give orders to the club, as if they are the club's owners."
After the Glazer family acquired Manchester United, the results have been mediocre. In addition to the Glazer family's reluctance to spend money in the transfer market, Manchester United legends such as Gary Neville, Ferdinand and Scales are also the culprits for the tense relationship in the Manchester United club's locker room.
"The New Asia Sports Consortium will continue to acquire Manchester United shares from the market. This period of time can be extended to avoid sharp fluctuations in the share price, which would increase our acquisition costs. My goal is to have the New Asia Sports Consortium hold more than 75% of Manchester United shares within a year. By then, we will seek to delist the Manchester United club, with the goal of owning 100% of the club."
“If Manchester United delists, the club will become the private property of the New Asia Sports Consortium. If any so-called Manchester United legend interferes with the club’s operations on television or in newspapers, I will not allow him to even enter Old Trafford.” Song Yi said coldly.
In late August, the New Asia Sports Consortium approached Manchester City Council and the two sides reached an agreement on the expansion of Old Trafford.
The renovation plan is to add a third tier of stands to Old Trafford and then build an official fan hotel in the northwest corner behind the famous Ferguson Stand.
In addition to the official Manchester United fan hotel, Manchester United will also build a fan park behind the main stand. The entire renovation plan is expected to take 4 to 6 years.
The benefit of this expansion plan is that Manchester United can continue to carry out it sporadically without affecting the playing space at Old Trafford.
In addition to this, the New Asia Sports Consortium will also expand the Charlton Stand (South Stand), the only single-tier stand at Old Trafford.
Manchester United will demolish the Charlton Stand during the off-season and renovate it. Because Old Trafford is sandwiched between a river and a railway, expanding to the abandoned railway is the only feasible plan. If the Charlton Stand is demolished, the number of seats for Manchester United's home fans will drop to 52,000.
The entire expansion plan is expected to cost about 300 million pounds, because it will build a hotel, a fan park and expand the Charlton Athletic Stand. Because the expansion plan will be spread over 6 years, it will not cause financial pressure on the actual operation of Manchester United. Considering the labor costs in the UK, Manchester United has planned to let Korean or Chinese construction companies, such as the famous Huaguo Construction, to be responsible for the expansion of Old Trafford.
After the expansion plan for Old Trafford was finalized, Jin Xiyuan began to rush Song Yi back to Seoul. "In a few days, Seoul University will hold its summer graduation ceremony and degree awarding ceremony. You must be with Tae Hee at such an important moment. You can go back home with peace of mind. I will be fine with my mother by my side."
When Song Yi returned to the mainland in July, he told Zhou Shulan that both sisters, Kim Hee-won and Kim Tae-hee, were pregnant. Zhou Shulan was shocked, but she felt sorry for her daughter-in-law, Kim Hee-won, who was far away in the UK. So she took advantage of the summer vacation to come to the UK to take care of the pregnant Kim Hee-won, after all, Kim Tae-hee had her mother to help take care of her.
Jin Xiyuan has officially immigrated to the UK. In order to conceal her identity, she registered her marriage with a Chinese man named Song, and then quickly divorced him. In her words, she hopes that her baby will have the same surname as his father.
Only then did Zhou Shulan realize that Jin Xiyuan and her sister had actually planned to marry Song Yi together. When Zhou Shulan went to South Korea to attend Zhou Zhengyong's funeral that year, Jin Xiyuan had already fallen deeply in love with Song Yi.
She felt sorry for Jin Xiyuan's hardship, and at the same time, she was very dissatisfied with her playboy son Song Yi. She was a little confused, "Your father and your brother are both loyal people, why did your gene mutate and become an emotional playboy? Now that you have dealt with your affairs in the UK, you should hurry back to Seoul. I will turn a blind eye to it."
Song Yi was a little shameless, "Mom, when Tae Hee graduates, she and I will hold our wedding in Seoul. As her mother-in-law, you will definitely be there. No matter how much you dislike me, you have to bear with it for now."
He secretly felt lucky that he had not told Zhou Shulan that Chen Fuzhen's son Chen Yuanzhong was his. Otherwise, according to the ideas of his parents, she would probably break his legs in anger. The content about football has been modified. Ferguson retired early and Mourinho took over Manchester United. I apologize to everyone for not checking some information carefully.
(End of this chapter)