"We are planning to acquire Manchester United."
The day after Leeds United arrived in Qatar, Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi visited the luxury hotel where the team was staying and had lunch with Gao Shen in the hotel restaurant.
As soon as they sat down, Nasser dropped the bombshell.
Gao Shen froze, knife and fork suspended in midair. "Acquire Manchester United?" he repeated, staring in disbelief.
"Yes," Nasser replied with a calm smile. "It's been in the works for quite some time, and the process has already started."
There weren't many things that could still shock Gao Shen these days, but this one certainly did. Nasser, clearly pleased with the reaction, leaned back, enjoying the moment.
"I haven't heard anything about that," Gao Shen said after a pause, setting his utensils aside.
If this news were to leak, it would cause a global uproar. The media and fans worldwide would lose their minds.
"Manchester United's listing on the NASDAQ in the United States is still uncertain," Gao Shen continued. "If this gets out, their stock price will soar."
He understood perfectly. Once people knew a Middle Eastern consortium was preparing a takeover, the market would explode. Everyone knew these investors had more money than they could spend, and if they decided to buy Manchester United, they wouldn't hesitate to pay a premium.
"Manchester United's stock has already been rising in recent months," Gao Shen said.
It was an odd phenomenon. The club's on-field performance had been mediocre, yet its valuation had jumped after last season's financial report. Clearly, the logic of the capital markets was entirely different from the footballing world.
Manchester United was now operating as a financial asset, not a football club.
"The stock price is only one indicator," Nasser explained. "We're negotiating directly with the Glazer family. Our goal is to purchase all of Manchester United's shares at a price well above market value. Nothing has been finalized yet."
"I heard the Glazers were asking for six billion pounds," Gao Shen said with a frown.
"That's an outrageous figure. Unrealistic," Nasser replied, shaking his head. "The final price is still under discussion, and it's possible we might not even reach an agreement. But our intent is clear. You know what's coming in 2022." He gestured around.
The 2022 Qatar World Cup.
For Qatar, this was a matter of national pride and policy. The country had invested enormous effort and resources into making it happen.
Many people didn't know the full story, but Gao Shen did.
Given Qatar's small size and extreme climate, it had not originally been considered suitable to host a World Cup. Temperatures above 40 degrees in summer made the idea absurd. Based on that alone, they should have been disqualified.
But Qatar had a plan.
To make it possible, they sought support from France. At the time, UEFA's president was Michel Platini, a Frenchman with significant influence in FIFA, and France itself was one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council.
Qatar offered to invest heavily in French football, promising to elevate Ligue 1's status and develop the French professional system by purchasing and funding Paris Saint-Germain. In return, France and Platini threw their support behind Qatar's World Cup bid.
With their backing, Qatar used a combination of diplomacy and strategic "persuasion" to win the hosting rights.
Britain and the United States were furious. Soon after, the FBI stormed FIFA's Swiss headquarters, leading to the downfall of both Sepp Blatter and Platini, who were subsequently banned from football.
Since then, Paris Saint-Germain had invested staggering amounts of money into Ligue 1. Without them, the league would have long fallen behind Europe's top four. PSG's presence not only maintained Ligue 1's status but also improved French youth development significantly.
It wasn't entirely Qatar's doing, but their role was undeniable.
Still, as Gao Shen had often said, the Premier League's growth had far outpaced everyone else.
How long could Qatar continue competing at that level through PSG alone?
Nasser's words made it clear: Qatar was preparing to enter the Premier League.
...
"UEFA regulations will make that difficult," Gao Shen said, setting his fork down. "You'll have to find a workaround."
The Qatari consortium entering the Premier League would be a massive event. It would completely reshape English football.
"This falls under capital operations," Nasser replied confidently. "We can easily establish a subsidiary investment group to make the acquisition legally and transparently."
Gao Shen nodded. That was exactly what he expected.
When it came to financial maneuvering, these conglomerates were masters.
He remembered how UEFA had been humiliated by Manchester City's legal team when they accused them of breaching Financial Fair Play regulations. Backed by the Abu Dhabi consortium and the world's biggest banks, City's lawyers crushed UEFA's case.
UEFA might control football, but in the world of finance and law, they were out of their depth.
"For us, capital and operations are no problem," Nasser continued. "What we need most is help managing the football side of things."
That was the real reason he had come to see Gao Shen.
Football business.
No one was better at it.
Gao Shen chuckled. "I knew it. Nobody gives away sixty million pounds for nothing."
Nasser laughed and waved his hands. "No, no. The sponsorship comes from the Qatar Tourism Authority. We only made the recommendation. They value your influence and global reputation. If you like, you can renew the contract after three years."
They were referring to the purpose of Gao Shen's current visit to Doha: to sign a global ambassador deal with the Qatar Tourism Authority for the 2022 World Cup.
The contract covered three years, from 2020 to 2023, paying twenty million pounds per year.
Qatar had signed several ambassadors in recent years—Guardiola, Neymar, Beckham—but Gao Shen's contract carried the highest value.
It was both a business deal and a gesture of goodwill. Gao Shen's global profile would help promote the 2022 World Cup, while he simply had to lend his name and collect the fee.
A generous gift, indeed.
"How far have the talks gone with the Glazers?" Gao Shen asked.
"We've been in detailed discussions for some time and have signed an exclusive negotiation agreement," Nasser replied. "The Saudi, Egyptian, American, and British consortiums have all withdrawn or shifted focus."
He continued, "An American group led by Todd Boehly also joined the bidding earlier, but the price gap was too large. They've now turned their attention to Tottenham Hotspur, which is far cheaper."
Tottenham's financial troubles and their new stadium costs made them a more affordable target.
"Todd Boehly?" Gao Shen asked, frowning slightly. "Who is he?"
"He runs sports franchises in the United States," Nasser explained. "A shareholder of the Los Angeles Dodgers in MLB and the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA, among others. But it's a consortium, not an individual. The details aren't clear."
Gao Shen nodded slowly.
Deals of this scale were rarely made by individuals. Only the Middle Eastern investors had that level of liquidity. Everyone else used investment groups.
The Glazer family's takeover of Manchester United years ago had been an exception, a perfectly timed move during football's early transition into the capital era.
At that time, European clubs still lacked the financial expertise to defend themselves, allowing American investors to acquire one of the world's most valuable football brands through leveraged buyouts.
That would never happen again.
Today, every Premier League club operated like a financial institution. The system had evolved.
"I heard the Saudi consortium is also looking at Liverpool, Newcastle, and Tottenham," Nasser added. "It's likely one of those deals will go through in 2020."
That explained the Qataris' urgency.
They knew competition was coming.
Gao Shen understood perfectly. In his previous life, these moves had unfolded several years later. The timeline had shifted.
Perhaps because the global crisis back then—what he called the mask incident—had delayed everything. The shock it caused had reshaped the entire world economy, forcing clubs to act cautiously.
That event had changed European football forever.
It was why giants like Real Madrid later turned to American investors to create the European Super League.
Florentino and the others had always despised the idea, but survival left them no choice.
When forced to choose between UEFA and American capital, they sided with the latter.
At first, it might have been a negotiating tactic—but in the end, it became reality.
Just like Brexit.
Now, on December 16, 2019, the world was still calm.
Whenever Gao Shen thought about it, he couldn't help but feel emotional.
That disaster had truly been an accident.
(To be continued.)