Becoming a Russian Oligarch After Rebirth
Chapter 758: Joint Press Conference_1

Chapter 758: Chapter 758: Joint Press Conference_1

April 21, London.

Inside the office building of The Times, Sports News Department.

"Helen, there is a joint press conference by Arsenal and Chelsea Club tomorrow, suggesting some major news is to be announced. Why don’t you attend and see what the big news is," the editor-in-chief shouted from the doorway of his office into the larger office area.

A pale, slender arm shot up, waving at the editor-in-chief, a young woman named Helen responded, "Understood, Boss. By the way, where is the press conference being held, at the Arsenal Club or the Chelsea Club?"

Helen is a journalist specialized in football news. She is quite young, around her early twenties and has been at the newspaper for less than two years.

In Britain, football has a higher status than any other sports. Therefore, only elite journalists within the newspaper can cover football news.

Besides, to hold such a significant position at a prestigious newspaper like The Times at such a young age and with less experience, it would have been a challenging feat for Helen. This, therefore, suggests that she is an outstanding graduate from a renowned university and is considerably hard-working.

These traits quickly caught the attention of the editor-in-chief, which then fast-tracked her career at the newspaper.

Premier League Clubs usually have their office buildings and prefer to host press conferences on their premises.

Helen has attended countless club press conferences before, so she is quite familiar with the proceedings.

After all, they are part of the sports news department and, naturally, very knowledgeable about football. In Britain, is there any other sport apart from football...

The editor-in-chief opened the folder he was holding, rummaged around for a bit, found a fax paper which he read before answering, "Neither! It’s at The Goring. Wow, that’s a great hotel, you’re in for a treat. However, I doubt the two clubs will provide you with meals considering the cost of hosting a press conference at such a hotel. This leads me to question if they can afford it based on their financial statuses."

No surprise there, considering the dire financial statuses of the two clubs.

Chelsea is merely a middling team in the Premier League, essentially a smaller club.

Although Arsenal is a more robust team, the deteriorating financial status over the last few years is widely known, especially to astute journalists like them.

As for The Goring Hotel, it is one of the most luxurious hotels in London!

Located right across Buckingham Palace, it was the world’s first hotel to have private bathrooms and a central heating system.

It’s famously known for its exquisite meals and exorbitant prices.

Helen shrugged nonchalantly and replied, "I’m only interested in the news they are about to release. Could it be... they want to swap players? That is the only explanation for both clubs having a joint press conference. Moreover, it would have to be a swap of star players to warrant a singular press conference."

That isn’t an entirely implausible guess.

The editor-in-chief pondered for a moment and replied, uncertain, "We can’t be sure yet. Recently, I’ve heard rumors that both teams were trading shares and might be under new management. Maybe the new owner is making a grand entrance which is why they are hosting such an extravagant press conference at The Goring hotel."

While chewing on her ball pen, Helen responded, "I heard that too and I am looking into the matter. Though, I haven’t been able to confirm the news yet. Moreover, if there were an acquisition, a joint press conference shouldn’t have been called. It’s unlikely for someone to purchase both clubs simultaneously. Therefore, I assumed that it’s a player swap deal. However, that doesn’t add up either because if there were such a deal, it shouldn’t be happening at this time...as the season isn’t over yet."

"Well, you will know when you attend the press conference tomorrow. There’s no use guessing here," the editor-in-chief waved his hand and said, looking uninterested in continuing the speculation.

Helen nodded, her mind filled with anticipation. What big news will be announced at the press conference tomorrow?

.......

The next day, at The Goring Hotel opposite Buckingham Palace.

Reporters from major news organizations such as The Times, BBC, Reuters, Daily Express, Daily Mirror, etc, swarmed the place.

Pretty much all major media outlets were there.

Helen, naturally, arrived early at the scene, at The Goring’s grand banquet hall. Before the press conference commenced, she sought out some familiar colleagues to gather some intelligence.

"Hi, Jerry, any idea what these two clubs are up to? Why are they holding a joint press conference?" Helen asked.

Jerry, a BBC reporter known for his connections and insights, shrugged and lowered his volume with a sense of mystery, "According to reliable sources, both clubs are to change ownership!"

Helen was taken aback. Indeed, it seemed that what the editor-in-chief mentioned yesterday was...

Helen quickly inquired further, "If the clubs are to change ownership, they would hold separate press conferences, right? It’s highly unlikely that the same investment company or owner acquired both clubs."

To this, Jerry had no response.

He then responded after mulling over it, "I am not certain about that. However, I can confirm that there is a new owner for Chelsea. As for Arsenal, it’s still unconfirmed..."

Just when they were still talking, the press conference was about to start. Helen quickly returned to her seat.

The conference was hosted by two individuals who were quite familiar to the media.

One of them was David Dain from the Arsenal Club, a well-known figure with a wealth of experience and extensive contacts in the UK football circle.

The other was Chelsea Club’s general manager, although not as famous as David Dain.

"Thank you for your attendance, esteemed journalists. Today, we, the Arsenal and Chelsea Clubs, have convened this joint press conference because we have some important news to announce! That is... after discussion between the original owners of both clubs, each club will be welcoming a new owner today..." David Dain announced, grinning broadly.

Before he could finish speaking, murmurs erupted from the audience.

Because this news was abrupt!

If it were solely Chelsea changing ownership, the response wouldn’t have been this strong since the club is small and not a famous team.

However, Arsenal’s sudden change in ownership took everyone by surprise.

It happened too unexpectedly, leaving everyone unprepared.

Clearly, David Dain was aware of the psychological impact the news had on everyone. He did not rush to continue, but just stood there, grinning while waiting for the noise to die down.

Today, David Dain was in high spirits, extremely pleased!

The "mysterious" investor had arrived in London yesterday and held a private meeting with himself and Coach Wenger...