After so many years of hard work in European football, Gao Shen could gradually begin to let go of many things.
He could now fully relax and enjoy life.
Of course, while he was in China for the holidays, there were still many matters to handle. Due to the time difference, it caused quite a bit of inconvenience.
But for Gao Shen and Su Qing, nothing was more important than staying in China, spending time with their parents and relatives, and celebrating a complete Lunar New Year's Eve and Spring Festival.
Especially seeing Gao Jianguo and Su Zhijun, each holding one of little Gao Ming's hands as they strolled outside every day. That joy brought an unprecedented sense of satisfaction to both Gao Shen and Su Qing.
This was something that no amount of money or professional success could buy.
After reaching an agreement with Gao Shen, the municipal government quickly drafted a proposal.
They planned to allocate a plot of land near a subway station and alongside a key suburban thoroughfare, integrating nearby areas originally intended for parks, to bring in Leeds United and jointly develop a project with a football park concept.
On Gao Shen's side, Su Qing was initially in charge of handling negotiations. Both sides conducted in-depth discussions and basically reached an agreement.
After the New Year, Leeds United would send representatives for an on-site inspection, and then the two sides would formally negotiate a detailed cooperation plan.
According to Gao Shen and the city's vision, this would be a comprehensive project integrating football matches, youth training, coach development, tourism, hospitality, and more. He was even considering inviting a renowned architect to design it.
For example, his good friend Norman Foster.
Foster still owed him a favor, so if Gao Shen extended the invitation, he would definitely agree.
As for the Football Association, Gao Shen had connections and could handle it.
Over the years, although he had not been involved in domestic football affairs, the FA had frequently contacted him, mainly to seek his assistance.
For Gao Shen, many of these requests were minor favors, but they solved major problems for the Football Association.
This included coach appointments, overseas training arrangements, and more.
Now that he wanted to do something concrete for his hometown, and with backing from provincial and municipal governments, there would be no major obstacles.
Leeds United had no objections either.
According to Fernando Lucas, all European clubs were eager to develop further in the Chinese market, and Leeds United's entry in this form was undoubtedly positive.
More importantly, this would help further bridge the gap between the club and Chinese fans.
If the youth training center could eventually produce a few Chinese players who could play for Leeds United or in Europe, that would be a major contribution to Chinese football.
From any angle, this was a win-win that couldn't be turned down.
...
While Gao Shen was in China, Leeds United's Premier League performance remained steady as ever.
Many had initially worried that Leeds United's young squad would suffer after the grueling Christmas fixture congestion.
However, Leeds United matched Manchester City and Liverpool with three consecutive wins during that period.
Leeds had long mastered how to manage high-intensity, dense schedules.
That string of victories allowed the Premier League's top three to widen the gap significantly from the chasing pack.
By January, this gap had become even clearer.
By the end of January, 25 rounds had been played in the Premier League. After playing one rescheduled match, Leeds United overtook Liverpool to climb into second place, just two points behind league leaders Manchester City and one point ahead of third-placed Liverpool.
What surprised many was that Leicester City had climbed to fourth place.
They trailed Liverpool by seven points but were two points ahead of Chelsea.
The Blues had been underwhelming and currently sat fifth in the Premier League. Still, they remained in strong contention for a top-four spot.
Manchester United and Arsenal, however, found themselves in more troubling positions, stuck in eighth and ninth, respectively.
Interestingly, both clubs were also facing the prospect of being acquired.
Arsenal had attracted interest from Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani and Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote, both extremely wealthy individuals.
Among them, Aliko Dangote had expressed interest in buying Arsenal as early as 2016, but due to his focus on expanding his oil empire across Africa, the plan had been shelved.
Now that his company had matured, he was preparing to launch another bid for Arsenal.
According to media reports, the Nigerian billionaire's net worth had reached $20 billion.
And just like Arsenal's situation, news of a potential acquisition involving Manchester United immediately sparked a media frenzy.
The Sun reported that the leading bidder for Manchester United was a consortium from Qatar.
But at the same time, British media also revealed that Sir Jim Ratcliffe, founder of the chemical giant INEOS, had announced his intention to acquire Manchester United.
This British billionaire, worth more than £10 billion, had long been a fixture on the UK's rich list.
In the late 1990s, he founded INEOS, later acquiring several oil firms and owning refineries across five European countries and Canada, accumulating enormous wealth.
Yet his reputation in the UK had never been great.
Back in 2010, in order to save roughly £100 million in annual taxes, he moved INEOS headquarters to Switzerland, which had a more lenient tax regime, sparking public outrage.
In 2015, he moved the company back to the UK.
Now, Ratcliffe was playing the patriot card, claiming that foreign capital had completely taken over the Premier League, including American, Chinese, and Middle Eastern interests.
Yet none of the current top teams had a British owner.
Although he held a Chelsea season ticket, Ratcliffe declared himself a lifelong Manchester United fan and said he hoped to keep the historic club in British hands.
His comments earned wide praise, and with promises to invest heavily and sign top players, he gained the backing of many Manchester United fans.
However, intelligence gathered by Leeds United suggested that Ratcliffe's interest in professional football and in acquiring Manchester United, a club currently in a slump, was primarily business-driven, not out of fandom.
After all, in 2019, INEOS had already acquired OGC Nice in Ligue 1 and Lausanne-Sport in Switzerland.
Clearly, he had set his sights on football as a commercial venture.
Which was perfectly normal.
The information Gao Shen had access to was no secret to the global elite.
At present, Manchester United was in the middle of a bidding war between the Qatari consortium and INEOS.
Reports revealed that the Glazer family had commissioned a third party to oversee the bidding process. Who would ultimately win depended not only on who was more sincere but also on their political and regulatory connections.
Aside from Manchester United and Arsenal, Newcastle United had also received a takeover offer from a Saudi consortium.
Originally, the Saudi group had intended to acquire Liverpool from Fenway Sports Group, but FSG's asking price was too high. So the Saudis turned to Newcastle United, hoping to help restore the Magpies to their former glory.
It was worth noting that, like the Qataris, the Saudi consortium had reached out to Gao Shen's team. If the acquisition succeeded, they hoped Gao Shen could be brought in to lead the first team's restructuring through a cooperative arrangement.
In contrast, Ratcliffe's INEOS had never made any contact with Gao Shen, which surprised Ferguson.
The legendary manager even called Gao Shen directly to ask about the situation.
"If they ask me, I'll definitely recommend it. Not for your sake, but for Manchester United," Ferguson said.
It was clear he understood that working with Gao Shen wouldn't just benefit Gao Shen—it would help Manchester United tremendously.
But apparently, the other party didn't plan on consulting Ferguson.
Meanwhile, the proposed acquisition of Tottenham Hotspur by American investor Todd Boehly's consortium had also run into problems. Spurs chairman Daniel Levy and owner Joe Lewis had set the asking price too high.
Media reported that Boehly's interest in acquiring Spurs was driven in part by a key partner in the consortium who was a lifelong Spurs fan and believed the club was significantly undervalued.
Not to mention, Tottenham's location in North London offered immense market potential.
However, what investors could see, so too could the shrewd Levy and Lewis. Their valuation was extremely high, which made Boehly's group proceed with caution.
The Times reported that more and more foreign capital was pouring into the Premier League, Championship, and even lower English divisions, with hopes of grabbing a share of the league's massive global revenues.
What's more, with global economic growth slowing and monetary easing policies across major economies like the US and Europe, the sports industry had become a new global investment hotspot. The Premier League, in particular, was the most valuable asset in the space.
According to Deloitte's valuation report, the values of Europe's top clubs were generally rising. But the team that topped the list shocked everyone.
It was none other than Leeds United.
No one expected that Gao Shen's club would be the most highly valued by investors, surpassing even Manchester United.
It was jaw-dropping.
Of course, the list didn't include member-owned clubs like Real Madrid and Barcelona.
Leeds United was so highly rated not only because they were the number one sports brand online, or because their commercial revenues had skyrocketed year after year, nor just due to the value of the AXA Centre and Amazon Stadium.
More importantly, the club possessed incredible youth development capabilities.
Which club in world football could sell so many stars every year, and after offloading 10 key players last season, still be second in the Premier League?
With that kind of ability, how could investors not take notice?
It was a premium asset. A money-making machine.
In this atmosphere, Gao Shen's own name became even more legendary.
(To be continued.)