Starting With Real Madrid

After winning the Club World Cup in Abu Dhabi, Manchester City received a hero's welcome as they returned to Manchester.

When captain Kompany appeared holding the Club World Cup trophy, the fans outside the Etihad Stadium went wild.

This was the first world championship in Manchester City's history.

But the real celebration would take place two days later, during the 17th round of the Premier League.

Due to their participation in the Club World Cup, Manchester City's Round 16 home match against Arsenal was postponed to January. So currently, they had one game less than the other teams in the league table.

Even so, it didn't affect City's position—they were still leading the league.

In their last match before Christmas, Manchester City hosted Stoke City and organized a special Club World Cup trophy ceremony. Captain Kompany led the players around the Etihad Stadium with the trophy, receiving thunderous applause and cheers from all the home fans.

Sky Sports broadcast the entire trophy parade live, congratulating Manchester City on their Club World Cup triumph.

In the match that followed, Manchester City beat Stoke City 3-0, with Van Persie scoring a brace and Robinho adding a goal. The game was smooth and under full control.

After Round 17 of the Premier League, the league entered a short Christmas break.

But starting from the 26th, Boxing Day, the most grueling Christmas schedule was about to begin.

On the afternoon of the 26th, the afternoon of the 31st, and the evening of January 3rd, Manchester City would play three Premier League matches in quick succession. Their opponents were West Bromwich Albion (away), Sunderland (away), and Liverpool (home)—a series of tough fixtures.

Although West Brom and Sunderland weren't particularly strong, both were away games.

Playing away during the festive period was always a mental and physical test, especially with a high-profile home clash against Liverpool looming.

After that came the FA Cup third round on January 7th.

And that was the most ridiculous part.

Manchester City had drawn Manchester United!

Yes, the Manchester derby would take place in the third round of the FA Cup. Could there be anything more absurd?

Gao Shen really hadn't expected Manchester City to be so unlucky.

Out of the 64 teams in the third round of the FA Cup, Manchester City had drawn Manchester United—and right in the middle of the brutal festive schedule.

If Gary Cook hadn't personally supervised the entire draw, Gao Shen would have suspected foul play behind the scenes.

Another interesting coincidence—Leeds United had drawn Arsenal again.

Everyone was familiar with this matchup. Last season, the White Roses faced Arsenal in the third round of the FA Cup. They drew 1-1 at the Emirates but were knocked out in the second leg at Elland Road.

Now, by some bizarre twist of fate, they had drawn them again.

The only difference was that this time, Leeds United would be playing at home.

Gao Shen was honestly speechless.

But looking at it from another angle, maybe it wasn't such a bad thing.

When Gao Shen had some free time, he invited Fernando Lucas, Rodolfo Borrell, and Sarri to his house for dinner. Except for Sarri's long face, Lucas and Borrell were in high spirits.

"You know what? Elland Road was packed for our League Cup match against Manchester United," Fernando Lucas said, explaining his good mood.

Gao Shen naturally knew what he meant. "You're talking about…"

"For the cup matches, we priced all tickets at £35. Including revenue from stadium sales—although part of it went to the away fans—we still made £1.5 million from that game."

Leeds United's home attendance had always been high, though it depended on the opponent.

For example, after beating Manchester United, they didn't earn much from the away game against Aldershot.

That was pretty frustrating.

Initially, Leeds United had approached Aldershot for a venue switch, since Elland Road had a larger capacity and higher attendance. Holding the match in Leeds would have benefited both clubs financially.

Of course, Leeds United would have earned more.

But Aldershot refused. The draw had them at home, and they were unwilling to change it.

Later, when Leeds faced Crystal Palace, the match only brought in around £1 million, and attendance wasn't as high as against Manchester United.

Fortunately, the next match against Cardiff was another hit. Home tickets sold out, and the away allocation was also gone. The club expected to make a good amount from that fixture as well.

The FA Cup is a prestigious tournament and tends to attract more attention than the League Cup.

A home match against Arsenal would surely pack Elland Road again and bring in at least another £1 million in match-day revenue.

Gao Shen smiled and shook his head.

Looking at Lucas, then at Sarri, he thought—this was the difference between an operator and a head coach.

For a club like Leeds United, £1.5 million was a huge amount of income. Since they weren't going to win the cup anyway, why not draw a big team and maximize revenue?

And this wasn't just Leeds United's mindset. Many lower-league clubs felt the same way.

But Sarri wasn't buying it.

Come on, who doesn't want to advance?

Facing a big club this early… do you really think you'll survive?

Each person was just standing from their own perspective, and it was understandable.

Although the season was only halfway through, the team's overall condition was quite good.

"We did a preliminary estimate. This season's revenue should exceed £50 million," said Su Qing.

"So high?" Gao Shen was genuinely surprised.

"This is mainly due to the surge in match-day income, which is projected to reach over £25 million, making up more than half of our total revenue."

At the start of the season, season ticket sales alone had surpassed £10 million—a figure unmatched among Championship teams.

That was all thanks to the season ticket refund policy Gao Shen introduced.

Later on, many teams tried to copy Leeds United's model, but none achieved the same results.

In the end, whether a strategy works or not depends on timing and execution.

The rest of the match-day revenue came from individual ticket sales, match-day catering, fan merchandise, and other stadium-related commercial income.

"In addition, our business operations this year have performed well, especially in attracting sponsors. But match-day revenue still accounts for too much. Next, we plan to ramp up commercial efforts—especially in jersey sponsorship. We're currently in talks with several large companies, and they're very interested."

Leeds United was riding a strong wave of momentum. Naturally, major brands like Adidas, Nike, Puma, Kappa, and Umbro had taken notice.

More importantly, thanks to Gao Shen's earlier brand positioning, Leeds United had developed a strong online presence.

At Elland Road, there was even a dedicated five-person team managing their internet business, including social media and video platforms. Additionally, the Chinese branch had two staff members handling similar responsibilities.

That meant, even as a Championship club, Leeds United had accumulated over 10 million followers on social media—more than many Premier League teams.

On video platforms, Leeds United's content was short, engaging, and funny, making it particularly popular with young fans.

The club was still in a growth phase, but the momentum was very strong.

That said, even if Leeds United were promoted to the Premier League, it would be unrealistic to expect a jersey sponsorship deal worth tens of millions right away.

The club positioned itself as a mid-table Premier League side, which would put the shirt sponsorship at about £5 to £6 million.

Even that was a high bar to clear.

Don't be fooled by the numbers you see at the top clubs. Juventus signed a deal with Nike for €13 million, and Manchester United's sponsorship exceeded £30 million—but those are elite clubs.

In truth, in most leagues, the top clubs dominate revenue.

The Premier League is relatively fairer, where even mid-table teams can benefit. But in La Liga, for example, all the other clubs combined still fall short of Real Madrid and Barcelona.

Given that, Leeds United would still find it difficult to land a £5 to £6 million kit deal.

Still, one thing must be said—reaching £50 million in revenue this season was a historic milestone for Leeds United. And that's after excluding all income from player transfers.

Otherwise, the number would be even higher.

Among Championship clubs, and excluding relegated sides like West Ham who received parachute payments, Leeds United topped the revenue list. It clearly showed that after nearly a year under Gao Shen, the club had undergone a complete transformation.

Everyone knows that professional football is all about money—you can't compete if you don't have any.

But running a football club and making it profitable is extremely difficult. Across all of European football, there are very few clubs that actually make money. Most are operating under immense pressure.

Although Leeds United's projected revenue of £50 million sounded high, their expenses were also significant.

Su Qing had her own reservations. This season, Leeds United's wage and bonus bill was expected to hit £40 million.

That might sound good.

With £50 million in revenue, and £40 million in salaries and bonuses, there should be £10 million left over, right?

Please. That figure also needs to cover stadium and training ground maintenance, along with daily administrative costs.

So how much is actually left?

Don't forget—the stadium and training ground were loaned to Leeds United by Gao Shen, and he hadn't even started charging rent yet.

If Gao Shen started collecting rent now, Leeds United would be lucky just to break even.

This was what Su Qing resented most about Gao Shen. She always said Virgo men were strange.

Why?

Because Leeds United's salary bill wasn't originally that high. But after Gao Shen took over, he hired a large number of professionals—such as in the methodology department, youth development, scouting, and big data.

As a result, Leeds United now had an unusually large staff base, and their non-playing staff salary bill had surpassed the total wages of the players.

Seriously, had anyone ever seen a club where the staff earned more than the players?

Leeds United was one.

This was a hidden issue and even bordered on violating UEFA's financial regulations.

(To be continued.)

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