Chapter 718 Walking the Tightrope

Florentino looked at Sanchez in front of him, and a complicated look flashed in his eyes.

There is no doubt that many people believe that Sanchez is not a person who can be trusted and reused.

Because he had rebelled again and again.

But Florentino likes to use such people because he knows that as long as he gives enough benefits, Sanchez will be loyal to you, and he is indeed very capable.

Looking at Real Madrid, who has the ability of Sanchez?

Just relying on those former stars?

Stop kidding, can they be as capable as Sanchez?

In fact, many football clubs invite back former stars to take up important positions, often more out of consideration for the club's image and to please the fans. But when it comes to the ability to do things, among so many people, there are really few who are reliable.

It would be naive to think that just because you can play football you can run a club!

Therefore, in the few years since returning to the throne of Real Madrid president, Florentino has looked for many people, but in the end he could only reuse Sanchez. The reason is simple: this guy is talented!

"I received the message!" Florentino said seriously.

Sanchez immediately fell silent, but listened carefully.

"The Football Association has already begun secretly discussing the recovery of the TV broadcasting rights!"

"What?" Even though Sanchez was mentally prepared, he was still surprised and speechless.

"Yes, although it is just a secret discussion for now, I believe that it will pass if it is publicly voted on!"

Sanchez smiled bitterly helplessly. Is this certain?

Of the 20 teams in La Liga, the two giants Real Madrid and Barcelona take up the lion's share of the broadcasting fees. Do you think the other 18 teams would be jealous? Would they not want to share this piece of cake?

"Mr. Perez, what is the plan?" Sanchez was curious, even though he already had a vague idea in his mind.

Florentino shook his head and sighed, "I don't know the details, but it is very likely to follow the Premier League model."

really!

Sanchez is feeling so miserable. Why did Ligue 1 and Serie A imitate the Premier League, and now La Liga is following suit?

You know, if Real Madrid and Barcelona follow the Premier League's approach, they will suffer heavy losses.

Of course, the reform is not entirely aimed at the two giants of La Liga. The main reason is that other La Liga teams are heavily in debt and have even threatened to go on strike. In addition, in recent years, the Premier League has been developing overseas markets at a very rapid pace, which has put huge pressure on La Liga.

Therefore, the reform of broadcasting fees is imperative!

"So, my opinion is that we must further boost our commercial revenue before the reform to make up for the loss of broadcasting fee sharing in two or three years!"

Sanchez understood what Florentino meant.

To put it bluntly, Real Madrid is now walking on a tightrope. As long as the income drops sharply, the debt will be affected, and the risk will increase. If it is not handled properly, it may be irreversible and turn into a vicious cycle.

Therefore, we must be prepared to deal with it in advance.

"Mr. Perez, you mean... the World Cup?" Sanchez understood it immediately.

"That's right!" Florentino nodded. "We must win the most dazzling stars in the World Cup and use the wave of the World Cup to further enhance the team's commercial operation capabilities."

At this point, Florentino paused and said, "In addition, I will convince the board of directors as soon as possible that the stadium renovation is imperative. You must make all preparations as soon as possible. Once the board of directors approves it, you must start implementing it immediately!"

"I understand!" Sanchez also realized the seriousness of the problem.

Are you kidding? If this is not handled well, Florentino will definitely be criticized or even step down, and he will definitely have a hard time. So, how can he not take it seriously?

…………

…………

The initiative of offering free tickets for Southampton's new stadium was quickly spread to every corner of the earth with the help of the media.

Almost everyone was surprised by Southampton's plan because it was simply incredible.

There are actually teams that are stupid enough not to make a profit.

But there are also quite a number of fans who believe that Southampton’s practice is not truly free, but a disguised charging method to fool fans. Because if fans want to get free tickets, they have to go shopping and consume first, and all these cost money, so free has become a gimmick.

But someone soon stood up to refute it.

The Guardian published a special analysis. They arranged for reporters to go to Southampton to actually understand the situation and interviewed local Southampton Saints fans. The final answer they got was: support!

Overwhelming support!

"My wife and I have calculated that if we buy daily necessities, eat out and go shopping on the artificial island in the future, we can exchange it for two sets of free Saints season tickets every year, and there will be some left over!"

"I work in the retail industry and went to the artificial island to find out. The things there are not more expensive than those outside. I also asked the staff in Southampton and they promised me that they would supervise the situation. I believe them!"

"I really support Southampton's approach, it's so cool, the things in their fan shop are all very well designed, I like them very much, so my friends and I will definitely go to support it!"

"The new stadium is amazing, I love it there and I am optimistic about this project!"

"Let's see. For the new season, I'd consider using the money to buy season tickets and exchange them for free tickets. I'll decide after a while."

"I'm not very optimistic about this plan, because... I don't know why!"

But soon, the Guardian published the data obtained by Citibank the next day.

According to the plan, fans can also choose to pre-charge a sum of money into the fan card. This money cannot be withdrawn and can only be spent at Southampton authorized stores. As long as the pre-deposited amount reaches a certain amount, it can be exchanged for season tickets for free.

According to statistics from Citibank, within a week of Yang Huan announcing the plan, more than 3,000 fans paid deposits into fan cards, which were then exchanged for points and redeemed for free season tickets at the club.

According to Citibank's forecast, at least 7,000 fans will exchange free season tickets for this prepaid amount, while others will pay for season tickets or exchange them for tickets through consumption points.

But there is no doubt that Southampton's plan has made considerable progress.

It's not just the fans. According to Southampton's official announcement, within a week of the plan being announced, the team received a total of more than 500 authorization applications from businesses around Southampton and across the UK.

This fully demonstrates that businesses are generally optimistic about Southampton's plan.

That is, while Southampton's free ticket plan has amazed everyone in the world, the Saints' performance on the football field is still quite eye-catching.

Because of the participation in the Champions League and the Premier League, Bielsa had to choose a substitute lineup in the League Cup final against Manchester City. As a result, he lost to Manchester City 1-2 in the final and unfortunately lost the opportunity to win the League Cup.

But the Saints' ability to reach the League Cup final with young players and a substitute lineup has long won the recognition and affirmation of the fans.

Then in the FA Cup quarter-finals, Southampton avenged their previous defeat and, relying on the same lineup of substitutes and young players, defeated Manchester City 3-1 and successfully advanced to the semi-finals.

But Southampton's opponent in the semi-final is Arsenal.

Although they failed to win any titles in the league, the Saints' performance in the league was surprisingly solid.

After the Champions League resumed in February, the Saints' performance in the league has remained stable. Except for a 1-1 draw with West Ham United away from home, Southampton has defeated all their opponents, including a 3-0 home win over Liverpool and a 6-0 home win over Norwich, both of which were quite exciting wins.

The two strikers, Suarez and Sturridge, also scored goals like crazy, and they topped the Premier League scorer list respectively. Interestingly, four of the top ten scorers are from Southampton, which shows how strong the Saints' attacking power is.

After defeating Galatasaray 6-0 in the first leg, Southampton returned to St. Mary's Stadium and once again defeated the Turkish Super League giants 2-0 with two goals from Rane and Ibrahimovic.

The total score of the two rounds was 8-0, and Southampton advanced to the quarterfinals of the Champions League with a huge advantage.

This also shocked fans all over the world because Southampton's offensive power is so strong.

But more importantly, everyone saw a welcome change, which was Kaka's resurrection.

In the second round, Bielsa arranged Kaka to start. Although the Brazilian superstar failed to score, both goals were related to him and came from his planning, which was particularly impressive.

Another midfielder, Oscar, provided an assist and also had an eye-catching performance.

However, Southampton's performance was outstanding, but other Premier League teams were in trouble.

After Manchester City lost 0-2 to Barcelona at home in the first leg, everyone generally no longer had high hopes for the Blue Moon.

But Pellegrini's team finally showed their passion at the Camp Nou.

Although Messi scored first in the second half and Zabaleta was sent off with a red card afterwards, Manchester City still tenaciously equalized the score with Kompany's goal and restored their dignity.

However, in the final stages of the game, Iniesta assisted Alves and scored the winning goal.

Barcelona eliminated Manchester City with a total score of 4-1.

Arsenal also encountered the same thing.

The Gunners lost the first leg at home and didn't have much chance of winning the second leg, but they let go instead.

Although Bayern Munich still took the lead with Schweinsteiger's goal, Higuain's goal soon equalized the score. In the end, the two sides ended in a 1-1 draw.

But even so, Arsenal was eliminated by Bayern Munich.

It's Manchester United instead.

Moyes is indeed unlucky. When everyone thought that Manchester United would have little chance in the second round after the unexpected 0-2 defeat to Olympiacos in the first round, Moyes successfully reversed the situation with a 3-0 victory and eliminated Olympiacos with a total score of 3-2.

This victory not only saved Manchester United, but also saved Moyes.

At least, the Scotsman's previously precarious position as Manchester United coach has been stabilized, and the media's overwhelming calls for Manchester United to fire him have temporarily subsided.

After all, the team’s performance in European competitions was good, and everyone felt that they should continue to wait. If Moyes could fight back at the critical moment and lead Manchester United to win the Champions League, the situation would be completely different.

Moyes himself seems to have the same idea. After all, the league results are still too bad!

It is worth mentioning that Atletico Madrid also defeated AC Milan in two rounds of matches with a score of 1-0 away and 4-1 at home, and successfully advanced to the quarterfinals of the Champions League.

In this way, all the teams that have reached the quarterfinals of the Champions League have been freshly formed.

They are Southampton, Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid, Barcelona, ​​Manchester United, Bayern Munich, Dortmund and Paris Saint-Germain.

The draw for the quarter-finals will take place at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland the day after the match.

The team Southampton drew was...