I AM the Football Star

Russell nodded, ”You’re not greedy; you’re different from the Jews.”

Lu Yang said, ”Jews want to rule the world, while I just need enough money to spend. Of course, I also need to make sure I don’t lose too much money, regardless of success or failure, you have to give me San Remo.”

Mr. Russell laughed, ”Of course, in the worst-case scenario, buying San Remo for tens of millions of euros isn’t a big loss for you. If things go well, it could mean billions in profits plus San Remo. I hope you achieve the latter.”

Lu Yang: ”Because it means, Mr. Russell, that you could swallow up tens of billions in one go, right? I hope you succeed too!”

The two shook hands.

A day later, in Los Angeles.

Lu Yang and Sofia were lying in bed, having just finished their most intimate greeting.

Afterward, they started talking about some things.

”What? You’re planning to invest all your money with Russell?” Sofia was very surprised.

”Yes, but there are regulations that players cannot hold shares in a team, so I need a proxy.” Lu Yang said, ”Do you mind becoming a director of a trust institution?”

Sofia was stunned, ”You mean, I should step forward to help you with this investment?”

Lu Yang nodded, ”This way when you work in Hollywood, you’ll experience less pressure. Although we don’t have much money, we can still invest in a few movies ourselves.”

”And given my status, once you finish this movie and take a tour around China, there won’t be a shortage of people willing to bet on us. By then, you won’t be a small figure in Hollywood.”

Offshore trust is actually a controversial topic.

The complexities involved are deep; many families use it to transfer domestic assets abroad.

There’s now a saying that offshore trusts can preserve personal assets, preventing depreciation, etc.

But these are minor aspects.

In a broader sense, transferring illicit funds and interest exchanges is the main purpose of this tool.

Currently, domestic regulations prohibit asset transfers overseas, partially to limit domestic asset loss, partially as a sort of ”newbie zone” policy.

The West has been playing this game far longer than us; they established the rules, thoroughly researched everything.

If asset transfers were allowed, many would be trapped, not to mention the enormous losses the government would face.

Of course, this strategy is relatively mature abroad.

Through a series of replacements, Lu Yang could ultimately fund the purchase of San Remo, but official records would not reveal him as the actual decision-maker behind the trust.

This circumvents some current rules regarding football club acquisitions and transactions.

As for investing in Russell, it is partly out of friendship.

Another reason is Lu Yang’s desire to buy San Remo, where his football dreams began.

The last reason is that Lu Yang’s business landscape greatly depends on Russell’s help.

Lu Yang mentioned he’s not a real estate developer, so he’s not envious of the money Russell will make from success this time.

Once Lu Yang’s domestic vision is successful, he’ll earn much more than Russell.

Russell’s role is primarily to use his real estate developer status to pave the way for Lu Yang’s future LY7 flagship stores in Europe.

Location, location, location!

Without proper locations, forget about selling shoes; nothing can be sold.

Commercial ventures in Europe are highly developed, with prime-location stores being particularly hard to secure.

But as a minor shareholder in the Russell Group, Lu Yang will have significant advantages in this area.

Plus, those popular store locations around stadiums will become LY7 store sites.

This will greatly help LY7 during the brand’s initial phase.

Only selling online is ultimately a one-legged walk; it has its flaws.

Moreover, controlling physical commerce around stadiums will enable access to real big data.

For example, which player’s merchandise is most popular among fans?

Online statistics are always inaccurate; can you believe the average annual online salary is a million dollars?

The ones who truly spend offline on players are where data is more accurate, unlike online figures that can be faked. Furthermore, these buyers are often elite clients, whose spending power far exceeds that of ordinary clients. They are the main focus of brand decisions.

At that point, commercial success will drive football, with data to support which players to push to become superstars.

Never underestimate the importance of this matter.

Two similar players, due to certain traits, may receive varying degrees of popularity. This is akin to fortune-telling, similar to predicting which actor will become famous—not always equal to skill, and sometimes completely unrelated to competence.

Teams that can create popular superstar players have a popularity and profitability far beyond those ”non-superstar teams.”

The difference in market value is even more significant.

Lu Yang will eventually take over San Remo; this preparation lays a data foundation for combining the football and business sectors—a strategic master move.

Of course, Russell transferring San Remo is something for the future; they are discussing the San Remo of tomorrow, not today’s.

San Remo’s player assets are currently worth significant money.

It’s estimated Russell might transfer San Remo to Lu Yang at the end of this summer window, or perhaps the next, depending on the situation.

By then, San Remo might not be a Serie A team anymore.

But that doesn’t matter; San Remo is just an ”add-on” to this investment.