Feng Yu returned to China, and the World Cup had ended. Brazil had won it, and Ronaldinho won the Golden Boot, and Kahn won the Golden Ball awards.
When Feng Yu asked Zhong Qingxian to sign Ronaldinho, he is unwilling because he is too ugly.
That’s right. To the westerners and easterners, Ronaldinho is ugly with his buck teeth.
This is also why the other two Cola giants did not sign him and let the Chinese Beverage Alliance get this opportunity. Before the World Cup, Ronaldinho is not popular with the fans despite him playing well. Many other players, who can’t play and him, but are better looking, can get many more sponsorships and endorsements than him. Their income is several times more!
That’s why Ronaldinho agreed to sign a long-term contract of ten years with the Chinese Beverage Alliance.
The endorsement contract is not worth a lot, but it includes many conditions that will reward him for future achievements. This is to motivate him to play at his best in future matches.
Feng Yu knew Ronadinho’s setbacks is not over yet. Next year, Europe’s top football club, Real Madrid, had the chance to sign him, but they chose Beckham in the end.
Many people were puzzled. Ronaldinho is a better player compared to Beckham and had won the 2002 World Cup.
But Real Madrid’s Manager said that Beckham’s commercial value is higher, and no one will buy Ronadinho’s jersey because of his looks. Even after Ronaldinho won the Golden Boot, not many fans had wanted his autography compared to other players.
Beckham is different. He is considered good-looking worldwide and has fans even in Africa. This means Real Madrid will make high profits after signing him. But this also allows Barcelona to get a great deal. In the next few years, Ronaldinho is at the peak of his career.
Ronaldinho had become the main lead in the Chinese Beverage Alliance marketing campaign for the European and South American markets and increased its sales by a lot. The two Cola giants are regretting why didn’t they sign him earlier.
But they had signed Beckham and many other popular football stars, and they believe Ronadinho’s popularity will die down after two years. The Beverage Alliance will not have any football stars to endorse for them. At most, they can only depend on NBA star Carter.
Carter became more popular after winning the NBA championship this year. With his endorsement, the Beverage Alliance sales increased in the North American market.
With Ronaldinho as an example, Zhong Qingxian believes those young athletes which Feng Yu mentioned are all worth signing. He no longer hesitated and asked his men to quickly sign ten-years contracts with them.
Short-term contracts will not work as these people are not famous yet.
Feng Yu and Wen Dongjun are having a meal in a small restaurant. They are having simple dishes and chatting over a beer.
“You are so accurate. How do you know Korea will enter the semi-finals? I felt the Korean team is only slightly better than us.”
“This is the first time Korea is hosting the World Cup. Although Korea is one of the co-hosts, they have many ways to affect their stadiums’ results. For example, in this year’s NBA finals, the Nets used their home ground advantage to teach the Lakers a painful lesson…”
Feng Yu told Wen Dongjun about the dirty tactics used by the Nets to show him the home ground advantages.
“You are saying that the Koreans had harassed other team players?”
“I am not making this up. The media had reported on it, and you should have seen how biased the referees are. The Koreans played very rough but were not penalized. But they only dare to fix the matches before the Semi-finals. If they enter the finals and even get the third position, it will be a disgrace to FIFA!”
“Hmph! We should have applied to host the World Cups too. If it is held in our country, we might also reach the Semi-finals. We had finally entered the World Cup but did not even score a goal. I had high hopes for them and even give up playing my games to watch their matches.” Wen Dongjun replied.
“To host the World Cup, the country must qualify for the World Cup twice. This year is our first time, and we don’t meet the requirements. Furthermore, we had just won the bid to host the Olympics Games, and we should wait until the Olympics Games is over before we can bid for the World Cup. Every international sporting event will bring high profits to the host. We cannot be trying to get everything for ourselves.”
Feng Yu also wants China to host the World Cup. But China’s Football team must be good in the first place. It can’t be a country hosting the World Cup, but its team did not even qualify. It will be too embarrassing.
“Why do you think our National football team cannot improve? Our country has such a high population, and so many people like to play football. But why can’t we get 11 good players to represent us?” Wen Dongjun sighed.
“Let me ask you. If you tell Uncle Wen that you want to be a Football player in the future when you are a child, what will he say?”
“Is there a need to ask? He will surely give me a slap and ask me to stop dreaming. Maybe he will use a cane to cane me.”
“That’s it. Many families are also the same. They think playing football is not a career.”
This is the reality in China. Chinese football is not as popular as table tennis. If you say you want to be a table tennis player when you grow up, the family will support this decision.
In Europe, America, Africa, and even other Asia countries, football athletes are all-stars and are not inferior to movie stars. But in China, many Chinese don’t even know the National Football team players’ names, let alone recognize their faces.
“Then what should we do? Sigh… your basketball team in the US is so successful. Why don’t you form a football team here? Your company is so big, and it will be great if you have a team.” Wen Dongjun said.
Feng Yu thought for a while. Football is still quite popular in China and had entered the World Cup for the first time this year. The football stadiums’ attendance had also improved in the past two years. But it has too many scandals, and even Shanghai was stripped of its title.
“This can be considered. I will get Zhong Qingxian to buy a football team. Oh, you mentioned that the football teams had set up a league. Do you think I can buy out the league?”
Wen Dongjun’s jaw dropped. “What did you say? You want to form a Football League?!”
Translator’s note: I think the author had made some mistakes here. I think he had mixed up Ronaldo with Ronaldinho. It was Ronaldo who had won the Golden Boot in the 2002 World Cup. Hope the pandemic will be over by 2022. I still want to watch the 2022 World Cup.