Chapter 982 Why always me

Perhaps, the fans did not feel much, but in the industry, they attached great importance to the 2015-2016 Champions League, and felt that this might once again become a major watershed in European football.

Why do I say so?

The first is an overall increase in income.

European professional football cannot do without money. There is no need to say how important income is to a team.

In the new season, as the sponsorship contracts signed by UEFA generally increase, the shares and bonuses distributed to each team will also increase.

For example, in the group stage, 32 teams play six group matches. The previous guaranteed income was 8.6 million euros, but now it has increased to 12 million euros, which is equivalent to the appearance fee in the Champions League group stage.

Then, for every win, the prize money has increased from the original one million to the current one and a half million, and the prize money for a draw remains at five hundred thousand.

In other words, theoretically, if a participating team wins six consecutive group matches, it can earn a total of 20 million euros.

This is just the group stage. The prize money for the knockout rounds and finals will also generally increase, basically by about 50%. The prize money for winning the championship has also increased from 10 million euros to 15 million euros.

According to preliminary estimates, the basic bonus for this season's champion team will reach more than 50 million euros.

But this is just the basics, because there is also a share of the bonus pool.

With the rise of British Telecom, led by the guy who unbuttoned three buttons, this old British consortium was ambitious to make a big move and won the Champions League broadcasting rights in the UK for the next three years at a sky-high price.

This is why Sky TV bid a sky-high price for the Premier League’s domestic broadcasting rights.

Having lost the Champions League, they cannot afford to lose the Premier League broadcasting rights.

The prize pool of the Champions League is linked to the price paid by television broadcasters in the countries where the teams are located for the broadcasting rights. Therefore, the higher the bid by British Telecom, the higher the prize money that the Premier League teams participating in the Champions League can get.

It is expected that the best of the four Premier League teams participating in the Champions League this year will receive more than 40 million, almost twice as much as in the past.

In other words, if a Premier League team wins the Champions League again, the total prize money will exceed 100 million.

But this is just the bonus and share. If you take into account the sponsorship income, match day income and other income brought by participating in the Champions League, it will be an even more staggering figure.

If you just look at this data, you will definitely exclaim and think, oh my god, that’s too much.

Even if someone who doesn't know the truth sees it, they will definitely curse and think that Southampton is so stupid. They make so much money playing in the Champions League, but they are still confident enough to compete with the mid- and lower-level teams in the Premier League for profits. Isn't this too outrageous?

But what is the reality?

Just as Yang Huan has always said, there is no free lunch in this world. The bigger the scale of your event, the more cost you have to pay.

Many people saw Southampton win two consecutive Champions League titles and three consecutive Premier League titles, and the team is full of superstars. They must have thought that this team is incredible and is going to be unstoppable. But in fact, they did not see the various interests behind it.

For example, annual salary. Since Southampton was promoted to the Premier League, in just three years, its salary expenditure has been growing at an alarming rate almost every year. The reason is simple: the team is performing well and the players are shining. If they want to retain the players, the answer is to pay annual salary.

Just like Hazard, when he first joined the team, his weekly salary was 100,000 pounds, but what about now?

He has already received a weekly salary of 200,000 pounds. With the joining of Messi, in order to resist poaching from teams such as Real Madrid and Barcelona, ​​the team is ready to start negotiating a contract extension with Hazard. It is expected that he will become the second player of the Saints after Messi with an annual salary of over 10 million.

Hazard has renewed his contract, but what about Suarez?

Harry Kane performed so well last season and is about to renew his contract. How much annual salary should he be given?

How much should Martial be given?

How much annual salary should Sanchez be given to stay in the team?

Pogba, Kovacic and Toni Kroos are being pursued by most of Europe's giants, and it's time for them to renew their contracts.

According to the calculations that Ron Gourlay gave to Yang Huan, with the joining of Messi, the Saints' annual salary expenditure will rapidly increase from the current 230 million euros to 300 million euros.

Even in Europe, this data is second only to Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid and Barcelona.

Of course, this also includes approximately 30 million euros in salary expenses for administrative staff and club employees.

This is despite the fact that many of the team's superstar players were cultivated by Southampton themselves. If they were all introduced, their annual salary would have to reach an astronomical figure!

It’s like Tottenham Hotspur, whose annual salary has caught up with Southampton, but the income is still far behind!

Therefore, the introduction of Cristiano Ronaldo was originally not supported by Yang Huan and Daniel Levy, but Prime Minister Hamad promised to inject capital, which made the deal happen. Otherwise, Tottenham Hotspur simply could not afford it.

If the Saints want to remain competitive in the Champions League, they have to manage such a large lineup, but the problem is that the salary is fixed and you have to pay it no matter what, but the results are ups and downs. God knows if you can win the championship?

If you win the championship and earn a lot of money, that would be a good thing, but what about the prize money?

The team won the double championship last season and the Saints gave a bonus of 60 million euros.

But if the results are not ideal, the team’s expenditure will be completely wasted!

This is also why Yang Huan has always said that the Champions League is a money-burning game and not every team can afford to play it.

It can be said that Southampton relies on this lineup and the huge salary expenditure behind it to support the Saints' competitiveness in the Premier League and the Champions League.

Without these, the Saint would have been left aside by Sachima long ago.

Southampton dared to introduce Messi this year because the team is very confident that its operating income will reach 600 million pounds, or 700 million euros, which will make the Saints the highest-earning team in history.

Under this circumstance, the salary expenditure of more than 300 million is not a big problem for the Saints.

What's more, Southampton has no debt and its finances are very healthy, so it can afford to play.

Especially with the stable implementation of the free ticket policy, coupled with the support of long-term and stable sponsors and partners, the Saints' income is very stable. Only then did Yang Huan dare to say that the Saints would adjust their business model this year.

As a result, everyone saw that the Saints not only did not sell any players this year, but instead spent 150 million euros to sign Messi. All of this was based on the team's excellent finances and management.

In the face of salary expenditures of over 100 million, or even 200 to 300 million, the 100 million in bonuses and shares of the Champions League, as well as the broadcasting fee share of the Premier League, are really nothing.

It's not even enough for the Saints to pay their players' salaries and bonuses!

It is precisely because of this understanding, and the understanding that the only team capable of representing the Premier League and competing for the Champions League is the Saints, that the mid- and lower-level Premier League teams will agree to reform their overseas income.

As for Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur, if they want to reach the level of The Saints, they must first improve their financial revenue, club management, and team lineup strength.

Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool, and even Chelsea, I'm sorry, it will take them at least four or five years to catch up with the Saints.

Especially for Manchester United, the Red Devils can forget about making a comeback until their debts are paid off.

As the saying goes, the economic base determines the superstructure.

In the eyes of ordinary fans, the Saints are a team of brilliant superstars and powerful.

But in Yang Huan's eyes, all of this is about money.

Isn’t there a saying?

In the field of professional football, talking about any issue without considering money is just hooliganism!

…

There is another big change in this season's Champions League, that is, the champion of last season's Europa League will qualify for the Champions League.

However, since Inter Milan was the Europa League champion last season and the Nerazzurri itself is the champion of Serie A, this clause is meaningless for both Inter Milan and Serie A.

This is also why the chairman of Lazio, who ranked fourth last season, said that for the benefit of Serie A, Inter Milan should lose in the last few rounds and let Juventus win the championship, with Roma and Lazio ranking second and third.

Because of this, Inter Milan can still play in the Champions League.

But after Inter Milan won the championship, the Europa League champions automatically gave up their Champions League qualification.

Another big change in this season's Champions League comes from the divisions.

Unlike the past when the divisions were based on European competition points, this time the divisions have been adjusted.

The defending champions and the champions of the top seven leagues in Europe are automatically placed in the first pot and become seeded teams.

The second, third and fourth tiers are ranked according to European competition points.

At first glance, there seems to be no difference, but in fact, there is a huge difference.

According to the new ranking, Southampton, Bayern Munich, Inter Milan, Atletico Madrid, Benfica, Monaco, Zenit St. Petersburg and Ajax became the first-tier teams.

Among the second-tier teams, Real Madrid, Barcelona, ​​Porto, Manchester United, Paris Saint-Germain, Valencia, Shakhtar Donetsk and Manchester City are all strong teams with considerable strength.

The key is that in the third tier, teams such as Juventus, Roma, Lyon and others are all strong, while the fourth tier is home to teams such as Tottenham Hotspur, Hamburg, Borussia Mönchengladbach and Wolfsburg.

It can be said that such allocation rules have disrupted the order of the group stage, which was previously divided into strong and weak teams.

Because the strong teams used to have high points and were ranked in the seeded teams and the second tier, but now, teams with low points such as Monaco, Inter Milan, Zenit St. Petersburg and Ajax have appeared in the first tier, which has completely disrupted the traditional grouping model.

Theoretically, with such a group draw, the possibility of a death group will become very high.

And the facts have proved that there really was a group of death.

The Saints were unable to continue their good draw this time and drew Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus and Wolfsburg.

When everyone saw the lottery, they were shocked.

Niamey, all of them are teams from the top five European leagues, and they are all strong teams.

This is simply a rhythm of seeking death!

There is no need to mention the Saints, one of the strongest teams in Europe. Paris Saint-Germain is not far behind. Although Juventus and Wolfsburg are weaker, they are not without a chance of competing.

When these four teams come together, it's simply incredible!

Yang Huan was sitting in the meeting room. After seeing the result of the draw, he helplessly revealed a bitter smile.

He certainly knows that UEFA does not want Southampton to defend the title again.

Are you kidding? It's already outrageous to let you defend the title once. If we let you win the championship again, wouldn't that mean the Champions League will become your Yang family's exclusive domain?

Besides, you have won the championship, what do other teams have to do with it?

The Saints have no intention of winning the championship this season. They can only rank firmly in the top ranks, preferably in the semifinals. That would be enough.

However, if you say that the Saints had bad luck in the draw, then Manchester City will really be crying their heads off.

As soon as the draw results came out, Yang Huan clearly saw the expression on Mubarak's face singing.