Manchester City's new boss is super rich
In the first week of September, it seems more exciting outside the Premier League pitch. The general story goes like this: Thaksin Shinawatra, the former Thai Prime Minister in exile in Britain, was watching the game in his VIP box while meeting a Middle Eastern man in a white robe, and he whispered to his private financial adviser from time to time. In less than a week, Manchester City's change of boss became the headlines of major newspapers. The paparazzi realized the magic of the box and turned Manchester City into the richest football club in the world.
The Times commented, "Money is nothing to them. They bought the club to watch the game for themselves. Buying a plane this month and buying a league football team next month, this is their life. "
The white-robed Middle Eastern is the CEO· of Hyderabad Assets, Suleiman Al-fahim, a businessman active in Britain and the Middle East. While people were talking about him buying the whole club for his own use, the paparazzi sent another layer of truth: fahim was just a needle in the needle, and the real buyer was Sheikh Mansour-bin Zayed-Al Hayan, a member of Abu Dhabi royal family. The registered company that bought Manchester City is Abu Dhabi Unified Investment and Development Group, and it is only registered for this transaction. Compared with the Russian oil oligarch Abramovich who bought Chelsea for 1.4 billion pounds, it seems that it is not appropriate to describe this person as "more affluent".
Sheikh Mansour has been eyeing the Premier League in Abu Dhabi for some time. As soon as he heard the news of the sale, he asked his close friend Suleiman Al-fahim to come forward to negotiate with Thaksin. Shockingly, the Arab businessman only bargained with Thaksin initially, and Sheikh Mansour took Manchester City into his pocket like lightning. Sheikh Mansour's love for sports can be seen, which also shows Abu Dhabi's ambition in sports. -Sheikh Mansour is the chairman of the Peninsula Football Club and the chairman of the Marseille Association of the United Arab Emirates; He is also a politician, the half-brother of Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al-Hayan, the ruler of Abu Dhabi, a member of the Federal Cabinet of the United Arab Emirates and the President's Minister of Foreign Affairs. He is also a businessman, chairman of First Gulf Bank and chairman of international oil investment company.
Many Middle Eastern countries that are closely related to the sponsors of the Premier League have always played only a minor role. The move of the extremely rich Abu Dhabi consortium to smash Manchester City has really changed the rules of the game of sponsors.
To celebrate the deal, the new owner of Manchester City, Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Hayan, bought Brazilian striker Robinho for 34 million pounds. Moreover, he also made a bold statement to include many top stars including Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo at a price of 14 million pounds. The gesture of "money is not a problem" shows his determination to build the strongest club in the Premier League.
The ambition of global brands
Billionaires in the Gulf region spend a lot of money, thanks to the record high oil prices, and they can't wait to satisfy their vanity in the Manchester City transaction, but it is obviously not commendable. Less than 24 hours after the acquisition of Manchester City, Abu Dhabi Media Company, which is controlled by the Abu Dhabi government, announced that it would spend 5 million pounds to co-produce a film with Warner Bros., with the leading characters targeting first-tier stars such as George Clooney and will smith.
Sheikh Khalifa's determination to throw money within 24 hours has left fans, fans and financiers with a bunch of question marks: What is Abu Dhabi doing? What do the white guests think of the blue shirts? And what do those white guests want to do in the matrix?
Just last week, Manchester fans were interviewed randomly on the streets of Manchester, and no one could tell exactly which country Abu Dhabi came from. One of them asked, "What's Abu?" Let alone explain their actions and motives, but in the board offices in new york and London, someone knows the answer. "One word," said Rita Clifton, president of Interbrand, a marketing giant, "brand".
"The Super League and Hollywood seem to have nothing in common, but they both have a crucial feature: they are the most powerful brand creators in the world. They are resourceful, talented and creative, and turn it into the most profitable and global' franchise' product-isn't it this trick to call Beckham to Beverly Hills? "
Abu Dhabi understands the magic of global super brands, so they set up the Abu Dhabi brand office. The emirate wants to use its newly discovered wealth to further diversify its economy and maintain its long-term interests, so as to establish its position as a commercial and cultural center in the Middle East. "People will die, buildings will fall down, oil will run out, and the brand will last forever. If Abu Dhabi can become the economic center of Middle East Arabia, it will be able to create more sustainable wealth. " Clifton said.
The wealth of Al Hayan family comes from oil. Recently, the oil price has been high, and the safes have exploded. It is estimated that for every dollar that oil prices rise, Abu Dhabi earns $5 million a day. For a small place with a population of only a few million, chiefs have too few places to spend money, so Abu Dhabi, like other wealthy businessmen in the Middle East, puts the extra money in sovereign wealth funds-huge pools of money are used to buy overseas assets to prevent the risk of falling oil prices. At present, Abu Dhabi Sovereign Wealth Fund is the largest sovereign fund in the world, with three major funds under its jurisdiction, and * * * controls $1 trillion. It is worth mentioning that this sovereign fund has always kept a low profile. On July 8th this year, it just bought the Chrysler Building, a landmark building in new york, and also has shares in Ferrari ... But it is the first step to confuse oil and dollars with football and movies. "It's like a design to let people know the name Abu Dhabi first," said Suleiman Al-fahim, the manager of the Manchester City transaction. "The transaction has enhanced Abu Dhabi's popularity." Once the Abu Dhabi brand is rooted in people's hearts, the architectural plan of the Hayan family on the map will be much simpler.
trying not to be Sheikh Khalifa of Dubai to control the luxurious oil wealth-Abu Dhabi is said to have 9% of the world's oil reserves, with * * * assets of 1 trillion; There are also 3 billion pounds of projects, which are enough to turn a small camel town in the UAE into a modern city. When people come to Abu Dhabi, they will first feel the new Airbus A38 of UAE national airlines, and they will also see the brand-new six-lane expressway running across the desert, with heavy traffic between the ultra-luxurious Seven-Star Wanggong Hotel and the skyscrapers under construction. On the reclaimed offshore island, workers are building Formula One track, Ferrari theme park, and the world's largest museum group, art gallery group and university town under the scorching sun. It is said that the Louvre, Guggenheim Museum and Sorbonne University in the Middle East will also be built. The city planning book also says that the concert hall will be designed by British architect Zaha Hadid (Zaha Hadid will also design the London Water Sports Center in 212) and the National Museum designed by Rod Foster.
In this regard, critics accuse the sheikhs of "bribing" western museums and pretending to add western art to all leisure parks under construction. Catherine Gogir, director of the painting research department of the Louvre project in Abu Dhabi, recently submitted her resignation. She said, "It's just a pile of petrodollars." The sheikhs also hope to build a cultural palace and provide hotels and resting places for cultural tourists. In fact, thousands of exiles have settled in Abu Dhabi. Abu Dhabi also plans to build the largest harbor in the Middle East, a new hotel with 12, rooms and an aircraft factory.
seven star hotel? Dream coast? Luxury building? Sounds familiar. Does the Gulf really need a second Dubai? There's one less than 5 miles away? "Yes," said Carlton Khalifa-Al-Mubarak, 33, "because we are trying not to become Dubai." Mubarak is the owner of Mu Badala, one of Abu Dhabi's government investment institutions, with assets of 5 million pounds.
every move of Abu Dhabi is compared with Dubai, but in the minds of Abu Dhabi people, the driving forces of the two cities are very different. Dubai is a survivor's story. When this small city ran out of oil, it had less than 1% of the scenery of Abu Dhabi-all it left was hookahs and fishing boats, and only relied on mixed commercial tourism to survive. Thanks to oil, Abu Dhabi's prosperity has just started. It wants to become a global city center. The project rejects anyone who does nothing-bribery and corruption are tarnishing Dubai's image at this time. As the locals say, "Abu Dhabi wants to be Edinburgh, while Dubai wants to be Glasgow." That's why Sheikh Khalifa invested in the cultural and educational industry, why he founded the big-page newspaper "The Country" and why he built the second largest mosque in the world. "
However, like the strategies of all arrogant people, there are also personal factors involved. Al Hayan is related to the Sheikh of Dubai. Sheikh Mansour's wife, Sheikh Manir-bin Rashid-Al Maktoum, is the daughter of the ruler of Dubai Emirates. Incredibly, she is as rich as him and owns a lot of oil. Although it is a marriage, it does not change the old enemy relationship between Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Although Dubai is smaller than Abu Dhabi, it has more enterprises, companies and five-star resorts. It is still the most attractive city for overseas investors and tourism consumption, and has an advantage over Abu Dhabi. The city is also trying to build a global economic and sports industry center. Al-Hayan in Abu Dhabi scoffed at Dubai and openly expressed their desire to catch up with Dubai. They are warm and friendly to each other in public, but they are all crazy about each other's rapid expansion in private. Just like the deal three weeks ago, Dubai wanted to make a difference in the Premier League many years ago, but when bidding for Liverpool, it couldn't talk to the seller properly and ended without results. So what did Abu Dhabi do when Dubai's business was deadlocked? As fast as lightning, he rushed up to pull the net and fished for fish.
The story with Warner Bros. is the same. Dubai wants to hold a national film festival, get involved in film business, realize diversification, and persuade George Clooney and his good friend Brad Pitt to invest in film-themed hotels. As a result, Abu Dhabi came first and bought off Hollywood. Some people relish that Sheikh Khalifa is just enjoying profligacy, and buying flashy ornaments abroad is as common as buying elephants at home. Is Abu Dhabi's money-burning game worth it? Can Manchester City dominate the Premier League? When did Ronaldo enjoy luxury in Abu Dhabi? Can he be the soul of a Hollywood blockbuster? ..... It is far-fetched to talk about these at the moment, but what is certain is that British fans are full of complaints about the deep pockets of businessmen in the Middle East, but they are helpless. "This is what football and the Super League allow at the moment."
This article is selected from FootballandFilmSFuelabudhabi 'sbrandbuildingdreambyjohnaridge.