Chapter 181: A Calming Pill! Double Awards Delight! Uncle Platini, Help Us Out, We're Really Struggling!
In Monaco, at a five-star hotel near the Grimaldi Forum, UEFA had arranged accommodations for everyone from Bayswater Chinese.
The award ceremony and group stage draw were scheduled to begin at 6 PM.
Yang Cheng and the players had brought their formal wear and needed to get ready at the hotel beforehand.
The UEFA Super Cup match was scheduled for the following day.
Before they set off, Adam Crozier returned from outside.
Since the team came back from the U.S., Adam Crozier had been flying back and forth between Germany, Spain, and Italy.
His main task was to coordinate with the other 11 top clubs.
In reality, it was primarily six others.
The six Premier League clubs had already reached an agreement.
When it came to developing overseas markets, the Premier League had always been ahead of the game.
Interestingly, all six of these clubs were foreign-owned.
"Are you going to attend the UEFA Elite Coaches Forum this year?"
Adam Crozier began with a brief update on the latest developments.
Yang Cheng thought for a moment. "I'm really not that interested in going."
Not because the forum itself was bad, but simply because he was just too busy.
In recent years, UEFA had kept inviting him, but Yang Cheng always found some excuse to decline.
Let's be honest—a guy in his 30s attending a summit full of fifty- and sixty-year-old veterans? What's the point?
Of course, the forum was focused on professional exchange.
If he had the time, Yang Cheng wouldn't mind going.
But he genuinely had too much on his plate.
During the two-week international break in September, he had a whole lineup of commercial events for the club to attend—
many of which absolutely required the presence of the club owner, Yang Cheng himself.
"You got something planned?" Yang Cheng looked at Adam Crozier.
Crozier nodded. "I'm planning to invite the heads of the other 11 clubs to London. Get everyone together, finalize the plans for the International Champions Cup."
Yang Cheng nodded—this was indeed necessary.
"Then I won't go to Switzerland."
But soon after, Yang Cheng added a reminder, "Adam, make sure you remind them to travel light and low-key. Once they arrive in London, we'll handle all the arrangements. And they must keep it confidential."
Adam Crozier frowned slightly. "You're worried about…"
Yang Cheng nodded. "G14 only disbanded at the start of last year. Now we're planning to launch a new summer tournament. If word gets out, what do you think UEFA and FIFA will do?"
Previously, the Premier League had just tried to launch a 39th round—basically a friendly match—and FIFA had already intervened aggressively.
Now if things blow up even more, FIFA and UEFA will definitely step in.
Only now did Adam Crozier fully understand. "So that's why you registered the company in the U.S.!"
Exactly. It was all preparation for a rainy day.
Given FIFA and UEFA's usual behavior, there was no way they would allow Europe's biggest clubs to form an alliance.
In fact, they'd rather see these top teams fight each other into the ground.
More importantly, FIFA always considered international tournaments their golden goose.
They had absorbed the Toyota Cup and launched the Club World Cup—clear proof of their ambitions.
So how could they possibly allow the birth of a brand new summer competition?
With FIFA and UEFA's capabilities, shutting it down would be effortless.
Yang Cheng's idea was to keep it secret—get everything done behind the scenes.
By the time it was too late to stop, they'd already be up and running.
Once the top clubs started seeing the benefits, would FIFA and UEFA still be able to stop it?
Alliances built on mutual interest were the strongest of all.
The reason the Premier League's 39th round failed was because it was considered an official competition—
something FIFA explicitly banned.
So even if the AFC and Premier League reached an agreement, it was useless.
But Yang Cheng's new plan was for friendlies—not official matches.
That gave them a legal gray area to work with.
And whether or not these friendlies eventually evolved into high-stakes, high-reward tournaments… who could say?
"I got it. I'll take care of it," Adam Crozier said, understanding perfectly.
"Especially keep an eye on the media—make sure nothing leaks!"
"Got it!"
Britain may be the birthplace of paparazzi, but with only 12 club reps involved, it was still possible to keep things under wraps.
After all, London is an international metropolis. With businesspeople coming and going daily, who could tell who's who?
…
While plotting to undermine UEFA behind closed doors, Yang Cheng still arrived at the Grimaldi Forum all smiles,
radiating warmth when he greeted UEFA President Michel Platini.
The saying was true: Life is but a play—and it's all about the acting.
Platini wasn't any different.
The Frenchman warmly chatted with Yang Cheng,
lavishing praise on Bayswater Chinese for successfully defending their title.
"You know, Yang? More than one person has told me—your team reminds them of Sacchi's AC Milan from the late '80s. Absolutely brilliant!"
"Really? That's too generous!" Yang Cheng replied, his face lighting up with joy.
Sacchi's Milan was the last team to successfully defend their title.
Platini, however, spoke with utter certainty, saying he deeply admired Bayswater Chinese and had high hopes for Yang Cheng.
He even spoke seriously, encouraging Bayswater Chinese to keep pushing—
and aim for a three-peat.
"You know, the last time a team won three consecutive Champions League titles was in 1976. That's 33 years ago."
Yang Cheng didn't care if he was being genuine or not. Modesty was always the right move.
Waving his hands, he said with a shake of the head,
"If we could keep the current squad together, I'd have confidence."
But then Yang Cheng quickly changed the tone,
"But as you saw, to fund the new stadium, we had to sell off our star players. We let go of Džeko, Maicon, Leighton Baines, and Yaya Touré—four mainstays gone in one shot."
"Our goal this season is just to make it out of the group stage. I mean it!"
"You're too modest!" Platini burst out laughing.
It was only then that Yang Cheng realized—this was the part that truly pleased Platini.
Even if you were defending champions, selling half your starting lineup and aiming just for group stage qualification seemed reasonable.
"Oh, right. Is it true your new stadium is going to cost that much?" Platini asked with concern.
"At least one billion pounds!"
"That much?" Platini quickly reacted. "I heard you're building a 90,000-seat stadium. That's massive."
"We didn't want to, but the London City Government is forcing us to—because of the Olympics."
And with that, Yang Cheng launched into a full-on rant.
Basically, the message was: Uncle Platini, help us out—we're really struggling!
Selling players? That's the least of it.
Just look at us flying all the way to the U.S. this summer for that ridiculous World Football Challenge,
zigzagging thousands of kilometers between the East and West Coasts.
I was this close to passing out!
And why?
Money, of course.
Garbage tournaments like that—other than broke clubs like Bayswater Chinese and the Milan twins,
which big-name club would willingly participate?
"Exactly. I heard Real Madrid, Barça, Man United, and Bayern all turned it down." Platini actually believed him.
"Right? But we had no choice—those few million euros in revenue really matter to us."
"And Michel, if you read the papers, you'd know—our situation's like running a supermarket.
The moment a player performs well, someone pounces. We can't even keep them if we want to."
Everyone's joy is built on someone else's misery.
When Platini heard how much Yang Cheng was struggling, he actually laughed even more heartily. "It's just like that England-based Drogba situation recently."
"Exactly! I've got reliable intel—those bastards at Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal, and Manchester City have all got their eyes on him. It's outrageous!" Yang Cheng was full of righteous indignation.
He then went on to tell Platini that he was absolutely on UEFA's side—local youth training had to be prioritized, financial health had to be enforced, and foreign investors couldn't be allowed to just buy and buy without restraint.
That hit Platini right in his soft spot.
"Don't worry, Yang. Clubs like your Bayswater Chinese, who insist on youth development and sound financial practices, are exactly the kind of model clubs UEFA wants to fully support!"
After hearing that, Yang Cheng was finally at ease.
Suppressing the Premier League was the general trend—it wasn't going to change.
With how dominant the Premier League had become, if they didn't do something, the Champions League might as well be renamed the FA Cup.
Yang Cheng, on his part, was adopting a humble stance, trying to make sure Bayswater Chinese suffered as little as possible while gaining as much as they could.
What's that?
An invitation to the UEFA Elite Coaches Forum?
He was absolutely, genuinely dying to go.
"I swear to God, Michel, I'm a huge supporter of UEFA!"
"But as you can see, the moment we broke ground on the new stadium, the money started burning like crazy."
"I absolutely have to get that loan secured this September, or we're at serious risk of a cash flow crisis."
After that, Yang Cheng continued complaining and even asked Platini if UEFA could offer any kind of support.
Platini, getting worn out by Yang Cheng's nonstop badgering, found a chance to slip away—he couldn't care less about the Elite Coaches Forum anymore.
But he had definitely seen the truth.
Bayswater Chinese was really in a tough spot!
Looking across the whole of European football, how many clubs could pull together enough money to build a brand-new stadium?
Honestly, in recent years, the only club to manage it had been Arsenal.
And they ended up going from British ownership to Russian hands in the process.
Tough. Really tough.
…
When it came to results, though, Bayswater Chinese's track record was dazzling.
In UEFA competition coefficient rankings over the past five years, they had only participated for four years, yet had already secured a spot as a seeded team.
Currently, seedings were still determined entirely by UEFA competition points, although almost all Champions League winners were seeded by default.
This season, all four Premier League teams were among the top seeds.
The other four seeded teams were Barcelona, AC Milan, Sevilla, and Bayern Munich.
Yes, you read that right—Sevilla had made it into the seeded teams on the back of their Europa League performance.
A rather absurd feature of UEFA's point system.
Because Europa League and Champions League points were pooled, Sevilla had managed to slip into the Champions League seeds.
Yang Cheng had always believed that teams like Sevilla and Atlético Madrid competed so fiercely in the Europa League mainly to boost La Liga's UEFA ranking.
A club's UEFA coefficient determined its seeding tier, while the league's total coefficient determined how many Champions League spots it got.
For instance, leagues in the top three by coefficient received four Champions League spots. The fourth and fifth leagues—Bundesliga and Ligue 1—only got three.
At the turn of the century, the Premier League was only the third-ranked league, behind Serie A and La Liga.
Go back further to the 1990s, and they were even behind the Bundesliga.
When Serie A declined and the Premier League surged, La Liga started to feel the pressure.
At the time, La Liga had a bunch of breakout clubs like Celta Vigo, Valencia, and Villarreal, but most of them were one-season wonders who couldn't stay competitive for long.
The only consistently powerful clubs were the big two—Barcelona and Real Madrid.
In the battle with the Premier League, and the need to stay ahead of Serie A and the Bundesliga, the Europa League became a critical battlefield for La Liga.
Especially for clubs like Sevilla and Atlético Madrid—by racking up points in the Europa League, they could break into the Champions League, even earn second-tier or top-seed status. It was a shortcut.
Take Sevilla as an example.
This season, as a seeded team in the group stage draw, they pulled an extremely favorable group.
On the other hand, Premier League clubs didn't care at all about the Europa League.
Some even valued it less than the FA Cup.
But maintaining four Champions League spots was hugely beneficial for many La Liga teams.
And the truth was, Sevilla really had drawn an absurdly easy group—almost a guaranteed pass.
Bayswater Chinese, also a seeded team, drew Real Madrid from Pot 2.
From Pot 3, they got Marseille from Ligue 1.
And from Pot 4, they drew Debrecen from Hungary.
So how to describe this draw?
Not great, but not terrible either.
In terms of strength, Bayswater Chinese and Real Madrid were expected to advance together—the only question was who would top the group.
During a break in the draw, UEFA held its annual awards ceremony.
Manuel Neuer won Best Goalkeeper of the Year.
He beat out Van der Sar, Valdés, and Čech to take the top honor.
For Best Defender, Thiago Silva triumphed over Terry and Vidić to win the award.
Both players were from Bayswater Chinese, which made Yang Cheng quite pleased.
But in the Best Midfielder category, the award went to Xavi.
The other finalists were Iniesta and Yaya Touré.
This left Yang Cheng feeling quite indignant on behalf of Modrić.
His team had won six trophies that season, and yet he didn't even get shortlisted.
Meanwhile, Yaya Touré, who had already transferred out, made the list.
Just goes to show—Modrić's playing style wasn't flashy or appealing enough to win votes.
Best Forward went to Edin Džeko.
The Bosnian striker beat out both Messi and Ronaldo to claim the honor.
Unfortunately, Džeko was now at Real Madrid.
As for the final award—Best Player—Platini announced Messi's name without any suspense.
No one could argue with the Argentine's performance.
Not to mention, Barcelona had reached the final and secured a domestic double.
What Bayswater Chinese lacked most was a true, standout superstar.
Yang Cheng and Adam Crozier were doing everything they could to support Gareth Bale and Theo Walcott, hoping the two youngsters would step up.
…
As for the Champions League draw, Bayswater Chinese got a pretty balanced group.
Speaking to reporters, Yang Cheng said he was satisfied with the draw.
"According to the schedule, Matchday 3 and 4 will be key. We play at the Bernabéu first, then return to Wembley."
Yang Cheng said they had to do everything to win the first two group matches, and then try to grab points from Real Madrid.
Almost every team was worried about this season's Real Madrid.
Their squad was terrifying.
"Real Madrid truly has one of the strongest lineups in world football right now—but that's just the lineup."
"Whether they can translate that into performance on the pitch is still uncertain."
"I believe we can finish top of the group!"
But Yang Cheng also noted that Marseille shouldn't be underestimated.
Representing Real Madrid at the draw in Monaco, Valdano told reporters that the group winner would come down to Madrid and Bayswater Chinese.
"We have a very powerful squad, and we're determined to take top spot in the group!"
However, Valdano also acknowledged that Bayswater Chinese was a formidable opponent.
The British media widely agreed that Arsenal had the best luck of the draw—practically a free pass.
Manchester United Also Got Lucky
Bayswater Chinese's draw was fairly average, but Liverpool had the worst luck of the four Premier League teams.
Among them, the Reds had also started the new season with the poorest form.
British media analysis suggested that, based on the group stage draw, UEFA had not given any special treatment to the Premier League clubs.
Aside from Bayswater Chinese, most didn't draw any true heavyweights.
However, overall, it was obvious that Platini's grand strategy was to use Serie A and La Liga to suppress the Premier League.
Another clear indication was that, under Platini's support, a number of obscure teams had made it into the Champions League group stage thanks to unbelievably favorable draws.
Clubs like Debrecen, Nicosia, and Unirea Urziceni.
Most people hadn't even heard of these clubs, but due to incredible luck in the qualifying rounds—only facing weak opponents—they somehow made it to the group stage.
Everyone knew this was Platini returning favors for votes.
Back when he ran for UEFA president, wasn't it the votes from small nations that allowed him to defeat Johansson?
Now he was using the financial rewards from the Champions League group stage to repay those countries that voted for him, while at the same time using Serie A and La Liga to counterbalance the powerful Premier League. That was Platini's plan.
Of course, not all teams from smaller countries lacked strength.
Take, for example, recent years in the Ukrainian Premier League.
…
The Ukrainian and Russian leagues had heavily pushed for "Latinization" over the past few years.
They brought in many Latin American players, especially Brazilians.
Take Shakhtar Donetsk, for example.
As last season's UEFA Cup champions, Shakhtar's squad included names like Luiz Adriano, Willian, Fernandinho, Ilsinho, and Darijo Srna—well-known talents across Europe.
Every one of those players had solid ability.
Their head coach, Mircea Lucescu, was a highly respected European manager, and quite capable.
In the UEFA Super Cup match against Bayswater Chinese, Shakhtar Donetsk came out in a 4-5-1 formation—fully prepared and cautious.
Bayswater Chinese, meanwhile, stuck with their usual 4-3-3:
Goalkeeper: Manuel Neuer
Defense: Marcelo, Thiago Silva, Pepe, and Piszczek
Midfield: Matic in the holding role, Rakitic and Modrić in central midfield
Attack: Gareth Bale, Lewandowski, and Di María
Right from kickoff, Bayswater Chinese tried to control possession, patiently using short passes and movement to stretch and break down the opponent's defensive structure to create chances.
Lucescu, as a veteran tactician, didn't sit back with a parked bus approach. Instead, he employed a high-press strategy.
His players ran relentlessly, pressing hard in midfield to disrupt Bayswater Chinese's build-up play and passing rhythm.
This caused significant trouble for the Premier League side.
Not until the 7th minute did either team register the first shot of the match—
a long-range effort from Shakhtar.
Bayswater Chinese didn't get a shot off until the 11th minute, when Rakitic fed the ball to Gareth Bale, who took a sudden shot from the left side of the box—but it flew just over the bar.
After that, Bayswater Chinese gradually asserted control thanks to their overall strength.
But Shakhtar's defense was extremely well-organized—practically impenetrable.
Lucescu had spent years building this team, and the fact that they'd won the final UEFA Cup was a testament to their quality.
In fact, they didn't allow Bayswater Chinese any real chances throughout the first half.
At halftime, Yang Cheng repeatedly encouraged his players.
With such a tightly packed defense, Bayswater Chinese had to come up with more effective ways to break through.
In the opening minutes of the second half, a burst of intense attacking play earned them a corner and two free kicks in the final third.
Unfortunately, none of the three set pieces resulted in a goal.
The only thing that came out of the press was three yellow cards.
Ilsinho on the right wing, right-back Srna, and center-back Kucher all picked up bookings.
In the 60th minute, Bayswater Chinese created a beautiful sequence down the right flank.
Di María dribbled past his man, suddenly stopped, and cut inside before backheeling the ball down the right wing.
Piszczek overlapped rapidly and whipped in a low cross toward the middle.
Lewandowski, caught between two Shakhtar center-backs, couldn't get into position in time, and Srna cleared the ball at the far post.
Yang Cheng, watching from the sideline, could only shake his head.
"Their physicality is intense, they've got lots of foreign players, and none of them lack technique—especially all those Brazilians. Their individual ability is such a headache."
To survive and thrive in Ukraine, Brazilian players had to be both physically strong and technically gifted—players like Willian, Luiz Adriano, and Fernandinho.
That kind of player was an absolute pain to deal with.
They weren't afraid of physical contact, and they had skill to match.
Lucescu had coached Shakhtar for years and built a very cohesive side.
They were no easy opponents.
With Shakhtar sitting back and defending in numbers, Lewandowski couldn't gain any advantage between the two center-backs.
The Polish striker was still a bit too young!
"Let's make a change," suggested Brian Kidd.
Yang Cheng nodded.
Soon, Andy Carroll jumped up from the bench.
The tall English striker had been waiting for his chance.
In the 65th minute, Andy Carroll came on for Rakitic.
The team switched to a 4-4-2, with Matic and Modrić forming the double pivot in midfield.
With this substitution, Yang Cheng sent a clear message: it was time to crank up the attacking intensity.
…
One key reason Yang Cheng was confident in taking off a midfielder was because, since the second half began, Bayswater Chinese had practically taken complete control of the game.
Now, the most urgent task was to score.
Midfield pressure was relatively lighter in this phase.
After the substitution, Bayswater Chinese pushed forward aggressively.
In the 73rd minute, Darijo Srna received a pass from Kucher near the right sideline, just outside his own penalty area.
The Croatian international, who had once been close to joining Manchester United but chose to stay in Ukraine, had barely touched the ball when Gareth Bale was already charging at him.
The tall, powerful Bale came on fast, and Andy Carroll was closing in too—together, they looked like they were trying to pin Srna to the flank.
Srna quickly passed the ball to Kucher near the edge of the penalty area.
But Carroll spun around and immediately chased after the Ukrainian center-back.
Kucher controlled the ball, and before Carroll could reach him, he tried to pass it up to Fernandinho.
However, the pass was a bit too long. As Bayswater Chinese swarmed forward, Matic suddenly pressed hard.
With his height and long legs, Matic intercepted the ball ahead of Fernandinho and won it cleanly.
After the steal, Matic carried the ball forward himself and quickly fed it to the top of the arc.
Lewandowski, originally facing away from goal, took the ball in stride, turned sharply, and unleashed a powerful strike.
From the first touch to the shot, the Polish striker's movements were fluid and seamless. The shot was thunderous, with great speed.
Even more impressive was the angle—it was aimed at the bottom left corner.
But Shakhtar keeper Andriy Pyatov reacted instantly, diving to the side and stretching out one hand to parry the shot.
The entire Stade Louis II erupted in gasps.
That strike had been a beauty!
But it just didn't find the net.
The ball was deflected by Pyatov and remained inside the box.
Carroll Reacts Quickly, Goal Seals the Win
Carroll reacted first, quickly reading the ball's trajectory, but he was sandwiched between Kucher and Srna.
The English striker kept bumping his body forward, trying to force space for himself to leap.
As the ball dropped, he got airborne a split-second earlier, beating Kucher to it. He headed the ball into the center of the box, aiming for Lewandowski.
The Polish forward lunged forward and jumped to meet it.
But Shakhtar Donetsk's other center-back also went up at the same time.
The two contested the header, but the ball didn't fall towards the goal as Lewandowski had hoped. Instead, it looped high and dropped towards the left edge of the six-yard box.
While everyone else was still watching the ball's arc and trying to judge the drop point, Andy Carroll was already on the move.
Goalkeeper Pyatov also charged out decisively, hands outstretched, ready to punch the ball clear.
But unexpectedly, Carroll got there first. He jumped and headed the ball back in the opposite direction.
The ball slipped right between Pyatov's gloves and fell into the goal behind him, completely unguarded.
Pyatov's gloves smacked Carroll in the head as he tried to save it.
"GOAL!!!"
"Bayswater Chinese finally score!!"
"73rd minute—73rd minute!"
"Bayswater Chinese finally break through Shakhtar Donetsk's goal!"
"1–0!"
"A header from the 20-year-old English striker, Andy Carroll!"
"It has to be said—this goal was hard-fought!"
"Bayswater Chinese attacked for 73 minutes before finally securing this precious goal."
"Andy Carroll's header was beautifully executed!"
"But more importantly, the young striker's anticipation of the drop point was incredibly sharp!"
After scoring, Andy Carroll went flying out of the pitch in celebration.
The long-haired English striker had played fewer than 500 minutes for Newcastle last season, scoring 2 Premier League goals.
But this season, in just 100 minutes for Bayswater Chinese, he'd already netted 4 times!
That's the difference a platform makes!
At Newcastle, as a bench player, he never had this many chances to get on the ball, and his teammates certainly didn't create this many opportunities for him.
But at Bayswater Chinese, he had real support.
Lewandowski, meanwhile, looked down in frustration, but quickly followed Gareth Bale and the others off the pitch to celebrate with Carroll.
After all, scoring and winning mattered more than anything else.
…
After Bayswater Chinese broke the deadlock, Shakhtar Donetsk couldn't hold on anymore.
In the 75th minute, Lucescu began making substitutions, pushing the team forward into attack.
But in the 81st minute, Shakhtar launched an attack down the left, only to be blocked by Di María and Piszczek.
As the Ukrainian side tried to switch the ball to the middle, Modrić made a sharp move to cut in front and intercepted the pass.
Immediately after gaining possession, Modrić passed the ball forward to Lewandowski.
The Polish striker let the ball roll across his body, turned, and sprinted after it, carrying it deep into Shakhtar's territory.
Crossing the halfway line and reaching the final third, he drew Kucher toward him and then played a diagonal ball out to the left.
Gareth Bale came surging up at full speed, controlled the ball, cut into the left side of the box, and fired—goal!
2–0!
If Carroll's goal had broken the deadlock, then Bale's strike sealed the win.
After conceding the second goal, Shakhtar Donetsk's morale crumbled.
They knew it too.
Coming back from two goals down without conceding again was basically impossible.
In the end, thanks to goals from Andy Carroll and Gareth Bale, Bayswater Chinese defeated Shakhtar Donetsk 2–0 and successfully defended their UEFA Super Cup title!
The only blemish was that, despite his hard work and even notching an assist, Lewandowski still failed to find the net.
…
When Bayswater Chinese returned from Monaco with the UEFA Super Cup, the British media sang their praises.
Meanwhile, in the fourth round of the Premier League:
Chelsea beat Burnley 3–0 at Stamford Bridge.
Liverpool, after falling behind twice, came from behind to win 3–2 away at Bolton.
But as Bolton manager Gary Megson put it, if key midfielder Sean Davis hadn't been sent off, those last two Liverpool goals probably wouldn't have happened.
"The score should've been 2–1 to Bolton."
Also in this round, Manchester United hosted Arsenal at Old Trafford.
Despite Arshavin giving the Gunners the lead, United turned it around 2–1 with a controversial penalty and a Diaby own goal.
Wenger was furious with the result, insisting the penalty shouldn't have been given.
"We all know that when we play United, we always get some ridiculous refereeing decisions."
Regardless, his team still fell at Old Trafford.
Manchester City, on the other hand, won 1–0 away at Portsmouth thanks to a goal from Adebayor.
After four rounds, Arsenal's strong start ended with their first defeat of the season.
Chelsea led the table on goal difference.
United and City followed closely behind.
These three were also the only teams in the Premier League to have won all four of their matches so far.
Bayswater Chinese, having played one game fewer and having lost their opening match to United, sat in 8th place with 6 points.
But everyone knew Yang Cheng's team hadn't even shifted into full gear yet.
Especially now that they'd brought home the UEFA Super Cup, both media and fans widely believed that Bayswater Chinese remained strong title contenders this season.
Even though only four rounds had been played, plenty was already becoming clear.
Arsenal were as solid as ever.
Chelsea, after bringing in Eto'o and Sneijder and being molded by Hiddink, had become defensively mature and offensively ruthless.
United had filled their midfield gap with De Rossi and looked as competitive as always.
But Bayswater Chinese were the biggest surprise package for British fans.
Lewandowski, the much-anticipated striker, had suddenly hit a goal drought, while 20-year-old Andy Carroll had burst onto the scene out of nowhere—an absolute shock.
Of course, Yang Cheng kept defending Lewandowski.
A "goal drought"? It just meant he hadn't scored yet this season.
And wasn't the season just beginning?
…
After returning from Monaco to London, the team disbanded on the spot.
The internationals reported to their respective national teams.
The club had already arranged all the players' travel schedules based on their national team fixtures and training times.
Yang Cheng didn't get any rest either.
He attended a series of Bayswater Chinese commercial events in quick succession.
First was the signing ceremony between Bayswater Chinese and three partners: Bulgari Hotel Group, Peninsula Hotel Group, and Yang's Real Estate.
All three contracts were signed in two days over two sessions.
The location for all of them was the press conference room at Bayswater Chinese's Brent Training Centre.
It was a clear sign of the club's recent efforts in securing sponsorship deals.
Of course, signing a contract didn't mean everything was set in stone.
With deals like these, changes could happen at any moment.
The Key Is Finishing Those Four Buildings First
The priority was to complete construction on the four buildings around the new stadium as soon as possible, and then officially hand them over to the companies renting them. That would mark the true start of cooperation.
Only then could Yang Cheng sit back and collect rent with peace of mind.
Out of the four buildings tied to the new stadium, three had already been leased. Only one remained available.
Several companies were interested, and negotiations were ongoing.
While his father Yang Jianguo happened to be in London, Yang Cheng brought him along to handle the ownership transfer of Bayswater Chinese.
From that moment on, both legally and in practice, the club had just one owner—
Yang Cheng.
After completing the transfer of ownership, Yang Cheng and Xia Qing also attended another signing ceremony—
they had successfully purchased a five-story office building on Grosvenor Square for £60 million.
According to the contract, they would need to invest another £50 million in renovations after acquiring the building.
Given that the renovations would expand the indoor space, the investment was well worth it.
However, since the property was a Grade II listed building, the exterior facade had to be preserved during renovation.
As for the money to buy the building, Yang Cheng used his previous season's salary, Xia Qing contributed all her savings, and they even took an advance on a few years' worth of rental income from Bayswater Chinese.
By scraping together every penny, they finally managed to put down the deposit.
As for the £50 million in renovation costs, Xia Qing had already secured a bank loan. The plan was to use rental income to cover the mortgage, supplemented by her salary, which made things manageable.
Most importantly, both the mortgage and renovation loan interest rates were incredibly low at the time.
It was the perfect moment to buy at the bottom of the market.
Yang Cheng clearly remembered that, in the coming years, global hot money would flood into the UK.
Wealthy individuals from all over the world would aggressively invest in London's real estate market.
Whether office buildings or luxury homes, they would be prime targets.
By then, the value of this office building would skyrocket too.
After purchasing the property, Chris Hunter began preparing the necessary permits and approvals, hoping to have the club move into the new office space by the summer of 2010.
After wrapping up the property rental and purchase business, the bank loan approval also came through.
Since March 2009, the UK's base interest rate had been reduced to 0.5%. Both the UK Government and the London City Government introduced a series of policies to stimulate economic growth.
Infrastructure was always a priority.
The London Olympics was also a major national and municipal focus, aimed at boosting the economy and attracting more foreign investment.
Bayswater Chinese took advantage of their relationship with the London City Government. Adam Crozier kept lobbying Ken Livingstone for policy support, and eventually, the city government stepped in to negotiate.
As a result, a three-bank consortium led by the Royal Bank of Scotland, HSBC, and Premier League sponsor Barclays agreed to provide Bayswater Chinese with a massive loan of £400 million.
The loan term was 15 years, starting in 2011 and ending in 2025.
No official figures were released regarding the interest rate, but thanks to backing from both the UK Government and the London City Government, plus various policy incentives, the interest rate was just 1.3%.
At this rate, Bayswater Chinese would repay a total of £440 million over 15 years—
roughly £30 million per year.
Of course, the interest rate could fluctuate based on adjustments to the Bank of England's base rate.
In other words, if the Bank of England raised rates in the future, their monthly payments would increase.
Still, this was much better than what Arsenal faced back in the day.
The Gunners had an interest rate of over 6% on their stadium loan.
At 6%, borrowing £400 million over 15 years would've cost Bayswater Chinese a total of £600 million.
That's a difference of £160 million in interest alone.
So from a loan perspective, Bayswater Chinese's stadium project was already far more favorable than Arsenal's.
Of course, Yang Cheng had insisted on using the club's own funds to carry the burden early on, enduring the pressure and dragging things out until 2009—
waiting for the successive rate cuts.
In the end, it paid off handsomely.
Both Xia Qing and Adam Crozier were completely in awe of his decision-making.
Even with the £400 million loan, there was still a large funding gap.
According to preliminary estimates, Bayswater Chinese had already invested £200 million. With the new loan, that brought the total to £600 million—
but they would still need at least another £500 million.
Xia Qing had told Yang Cheng earlier that the club currently had £100 million in liquid funds. Over the next two years, projected transfer income could bring in another £100 million-plus.
In total, over the next three years, the club still needed to find at least £300 million more—
roughly £100 million per year.
It was a tough challenge for Bayswater Chinese.
Xia Qing had already prepared several contingency plans.
She contacted major financial institutions such as Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank, UBS Securities, and J.P. Morgan. All of them had promised that, if necessary, they'd be willing to provide large sums to help Bayswater Chinese finish the stadium project.
Of course, the interest rates from these financial firms were much higher than traditional banks.
So Xia Qing had no intention of borrowing from them unless absolutely necessary.
For Bayswater Chinese right now, there were more than enough ways to raise money—
especially with a professional like Xia Qing at Yang Cheng's side.
The difference lay in the cost of capital.
For instance, once the four surrounding office buildings were completed, they could be mortgaged to a bank for loans with reasonable interest rates.
Even if they had no choice but to borrow from Goldman Sachs and the others, once the stadium was completed, they could refinance using other financial tools, secure cheaper loans, and repay the high-interest debt first.
In short, Xia Qing's entire financial strategy was designed to show everyone that Bayswater Chinese had the capability and funding to complete the entire stadium project.
It was a huge confidence boost for construction contractors, tenants like the Bulgari Hotel Group, and countless potential future partners.
…
During the international break, Yang Cheng was constantly on the move, busy beyond belief.
Once everything had finally settled down, he received a message from Adam Crozier.
The representatives from the other 11 top clubs had arrived!
Some sent senior executives, some came in person, and others brought both the president and top brass.
For example, Real Madrid sent President Florentino Pérez and General Manager José Ángel Sánchez.
Barcelona sent three: President Joan Laporta, Vice President of Finance Ferran Soriano, and Vice President of Commerce Ingla.
Bayern sent Uli Hoeneß and Sporting Director Christian Nerlinger.
AC Milan was represented by CEO Adriano Galliani.
Inter Milan sent Massimo Moratti's son, Junior Moratti, along with Technical Director Marco Branca.
All these high-level club officials arrived in London quietly, without drawing any attention. Bayswater Chinese handled airport pickups and brought them straight to the Royal Lancaster Hotel.
The entire process was like a secret mission.
Once checked in, no one left the hotel. They were all waiting for the meeting to begin.
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