Chapter 580: Sensible Gray

By early May, the funds in the overseas corporate account had reached 23 billion.

Standing on the third-floor terrace of Fort Saint Louis, Qi Sheng couldn’t help but humblebrag, “Making ten billion a month, and it’s still not enough to spend!”

Of course, this had a lot to do with him taking on too much at once.

First, it was acquiring Richemont, then the Four Seasons Hotel.

If it weren’t for the system’s constant cash infusions, Qi Sheng wouldn’t have dared to make such extreme moves.

After distinguishing herself with exceptional work, Jin Ying had been sent by him to the United Kingdom to scout football clubs.

But considering Qi Sheng’s tight funds, Jin Ying had focused on small to medium-sized clubs, keeping the acquisition price under 300 million US Dollars.

Qi Sheng didn’t want to be a cheapskate about buying a team. He couldn’t end up with something worse than the Inter Milan that Zhang Kangyang bought, could he?

If he was going to get into this game, he had to buy a big-name team.

Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea, and Arsenal became the primary acquisition targets Qi Sheng considered.

However, the market values of the first three teams were a bit high.

The cheapest, Chelsea, was still valued at over 3 billion US Dollars.

As for Manchester United and Liverpool, their market values were even higher, exceeding 3.5 billion US Dollars.

Arsenal, on the other hand, was quite a bargain, valued at a mere 2 billion US Dollars.

Arsenal’s home, London, was also the largest city in the United Kingdom.

Qi Sheng stopped hesitating and directly used the funds from the newly established Comet Sports account.

He initiated a full buyout of Arsenal through the system’s compulsory acquisition function.

As long as the funds were in place, he could leave the rest to the system.

Without the slightest hitch, Arsenal’s former owner, Kroenke, readily signed the papers.

He sold all of his shares in Arsenal to Comet Sports.

When the Premier League officially announced the deal, the entire British football world, and even the European football scene, was thrown into a frenzy.

Arsenal fans, in particular, were practically singing praises for the transaction.

‘That damned stingy American is finally gone! The new boss will be generous, right?’

…

Amidst the eager anticipation of countless Arsenal fans, Qi Sheng’s private jet landed at London Heathrow Airport.

Jin Ying, along with a group of Arsenal executives, was at the airport to welcome the new boss.

“Boss.”

Seeing Jin Ying intimately linking arms with the boss, the Arsenal executives exchanged a glance before hurrying forward to bow and greet him.

“This is our Director of Football Operations, Richard Gallic. This is our Sporting Director, Edu Gaspar. And finally, this is the team’s Head Coach, Mikel Arteta.”

Jin Ying made a point of introducing the three most important executives, and Qi Sheng smiled and shook each of their hands, projecting an air of affability.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Qi Sheng got into a Rolls-Royce Phantom and headed for the Korni Training Base.

Jin Ying, who had arrived in London ahead of time, had not only taken up the position of club CEO and purged the remnants of former owner Kroenke’s influence, but had also purchased some fixed assets for Qi Sheng.

The Phantom they were currently riding in was one of those assets in the United Kingdom.

As the birthplace of Rolls-Royce, the cars were much cheaper to buy in the United Kingdom than back home.

News of the new Arsenal owner’s arrival in London had already been uncovered by British reporters through various means.

A swarm of reporters, armed with cameras and long lenses, had gathered at the entrance of the Korni Training Base.

They watched the approaching motorcade, continuously snapping photos to get the first shots.

Even a good number of Arsenal fans had shown up to join the spectacle.

The Rolls-Royce Phantom, escorted by a dozen or so Range Rovers, was a stunning sight, like a presidential motorcade.

Hundreds of club staff members were lined up neatly in front of the office building, ready to welcome him.

As the motorcade came to a halt, bodyguards who had exited the vehicles first methodically secured the area.

When Qi Sheng and Jin Ying stepped out of the car, their identities were immediately obvious.

“Hello, Boss.”

The employees greeted him in unison, using unfamiliar Chinese.

Although it sounded a bit awkward, the effort was clear.

“Hello.”

Qi Sheng smiled and nodded, then walked straight into the historic club office building.

Speaking of which, he had been something of a casual Arsenal fan in his past life.

He had felt immense frustration for the underachieving Gunners, exasperated that they couldn’t live up to their potential.

But unlike ordinary fans, who could at most post a few complaints online, he, with his superpower of wealth, could just buy Arsenal outright and purchase any players he pleased.

‘Being rich is just this much fun!’

…

Accompanied by Jin Ying, Qi Sheng toured Arsenal’s trophy room.

Unlike their cross-town rivals, Tottenham, Arsenal’s trophy room was packed to the brim.

This was especially true for FA Cup trophies, of which Arsenal had a whopping thirteen.

You had to admit, The Professor was truly incredible.

More than half of those championships were won for Arsenal by Wenger.

Even their current stadium was built on the foundation Wenger had painstakingly saved up, penny by penny.

But the legend’s exit had been a bleak one.

He was hounded out by the fans, a truly lamentable end.

FA Cup trophies weren’t worth much in Qi Sheng’s eyes, so he didn’t pay them much mind.

As for Premier League titles, they had three of those as well, all honors won with Wenger leading the team.

After seeing the trophy room, Qi Sheng followed Jin Ying to the conference room.

Those able to attend this meeting were all mid-level staff and above.

Arteta, in particular, was the most nervous one there.

Having only recently taken the job, he was worried the new boss might fire him.

Although he had led Arsenal to the FA Cup final, the final hadn’t been played yet, and his own trophy cabinet was still empty.

If he had already secured the FA Cup title, he might have had the confidence to negotiate with the new boss.

But as things stood, all he could do was resign himself to fate.

“I am very dissatisfied with the team’s current performance. Eighth place in the league must be Arsenal’s worst result in history, right?”