The Era of Big Money

Wang Ye asked curiously, "Didn't your board discuss injecting more capital? Why has it come to the point where selling shares is the only way to solve the financial problems?"

David Dein shook his head with a bitter smile. "Of course we discussed it.

As the largest shareholder, I proposed more than once at board meetings that every shareholder contribute another fifty million pounds in proportion to their holdings.

With that money, the club's situation could actually be eased.

If the club performed well next season, qualified for the Champions League, or even achieved a decent finish, we could completely turn things around.

Unfortunately, the other shareholders did not agree. They only wanted dividends from the club, not to dig into their own pockets to subsidize it.

Some shareholders even proposed selling the team's star players.

That would be like drinking poison to quench thirst. I firmly opposed it!

So now, the club's board is deeply divided. Everyone has different opinions, and they are fairly pessimistic about the club's future..."

Wang Ye fell into thought. True enough, perhaps it was because making money came too easily to him.

That was why tens of millions of pounds did not seem like much to him. But for most people, including Arsenal's minority shareholders, it was an enormous sum!

Perhaps those shareholders had invested in Arsenal not out of love for football, but because they valued the return on investment more.

Now that Arsenal's results were poor, the team was struggling, and its debts were piling up, many shareholders were already thinking of backing out.

Forget asking them to put in more money. There was no point even discussing it!

They wanted to transfer their shares and get out while Arsenal was still worth something...

"One hundred and fifty million pounds... the