Becoming a Russian Oligarch After Rebirth
Chapter 785: Ignite this Summer_1

Chapter 785: Chapter 785: Ignite this Summer_1

When Wang Ye resolved the issue of Crimea, neither Russia nor Ukraine reacted in any noticeable manner.

This was understandable.

Russia had not considered the issue of Crimea at all since, in the eyes of law, it had no affiliation with the region anymore.

Besides that, it was "Mikhail" who was effectively controlling Crimea, which the Kremlin was happy about and had no intention to interfere with.

As for Ukraine...

It was so impoverished that basic survival was the primary concern. They couldn’t afford to worry about matters on a far-off peninsula. In fact, under the current circumstances, Crimea was nothing more than a burden to Ukraine, bringing no benefits and requiring annual financial subsidies!

Truth be told, if Wang Ye was ruthless enough to instigate a referendum in the parliament and directly transform Crimea into a member republic of Ukraine, essentially achieving de facto independence, there would probably be no problem at all!

But Wang Ye didn’t want to do this. He’d rather slow down the process and wait until the time was completely ripe or when it was necessary, to take this step.

Because this was his trump card, to be saved for the critical moment.

......

While Wang Ye was busy with such significant matters, a sensational incident had taken place on the distant British Peninsula!

The 02/03 season had ended, and Arsenal had clinched second place in the league, earning a ticket to the UEFA Champions League.

This wasn’t important, as everyone already knew this before the end of the season.

After the season ended, everyone’s attention was focused on Arsenal and Chelsea, two clubs that had just changed owners. Strangely, nobody noticed the league champion, Manchester United.

Because, they were all eager to know what surprises these two clubs, with their new bosses, would bring in the upcoming transfer period!

The first club to bring a surprise was Chelsea.

On July 1st, just as the transfer window had opened, Chelsea Club held a press conference announcing their new acquisitions.

Crespo, a well-established superstar striker from Inter Milan, was transferred for a ridiculous fee of 26 million Euros!

Duff, a rising British midfielder from Blackburn, was transferred for 24.5 million Euros!

Veron, another big-name player, a midfielder from Manchester United, was transferred for 21.8 million Euros.

Makelele, a "tough and strong" defensive midfielder from Real Madrid, was transferred for 20 million Euros.

Mutu, a striker from Parma in Serie A, was transferred for 19 million Euros.

Parker, for 14.5 million Euros.

Bridge, for 10.5 million Euros.

Gudjohnsen, for 10 million Euros.

...

These were all transfers of over ten million Euros, not to mention some other less expensive transfers.

Journalists went slack-jawed as they listened to the Chelsea Club staff read out the extensive list of names onstage.

They had never seen a club recruit so aggressively.

Normally, a club would only recruit two or three players in a season to replenish or replace specific positions on the team.

Some clubs didn’t have any incoming players at all, they wouldn’t spend money on buying players.

But Chelsea? Chelsea had just bought an entire "new team"!

Just the recruited players alone could form a team...

The club had gone through a significant overhaul!

But you couldn’t blame Abramovich. Chelsea had its difficulties. It was a small club with no star players and even the number of high-caliber players was limited.

But the new boss, Abramovich, had big ambitions. He wanted to create a super club and was willing to spend a lot on transfers.

Many of the older players in the team didn’t meet the club’s standards and were pretty much all put "up for sale". A clearance sale was initiated, where anyone willing to pay would be sold to!

As for the roster for next year’s competition, they would have to rely entirely on transfers.

But this led to a problem, Chelsea wasn’t famous enough. Their performance in the league last year was poor, and they hadn’t secured a ticket to any European competition.

This meant they couldn’t attract genuine superstar players!

Even Abramovich’s compatriot, Shevchenko, hesitated and declined Abramovich’s invitation.

Because a superstar doesn’t just consider their salary, they also consider the club’s performance and their future prospects.

So, Chelsea had to resort to buying less prominent stars, or players who weren’t pleasing in other clubs.

Hence, it led to today’s astonishing situation where other teams would hold a press conference to announce the acquisition of a star player.

Chelsea’s press conference was to announce the acquisition of a new team...

......

Though no superstars were among the group of players Chelsea acquired.

But each of them was quite expensive!

At that time, a net worth over ten million Euros definitely classified them as stars.

Twenty million Euros and you’ve got a big-name star!

Looking at Chelsea’s recruits, eight players cost over ten million Euros, and four of them cost over twenty million Euros!

The others, although less than ten million Euros, were also expensive, most costing around eight or nine million Euros. Like Joe Cole, they were all familiar names to journalists.

A journalist casually calculated that the total transfer fees of these players had already reached 190 million Euros, exceeding one hundred million pounds!

This meant that on the first day the transfer window opened, Chelsea had already completed the team’s rebuilding plan and spent all their transfer funds!

It’s hard not to be amazed by such efficiency...

......

Chelsea’s transfer news spread across the whole of Britain instantaneously, and then throughout the whole European football scene, and is still spreading globally.

Even though summer had just started, people in the football circle were already feeling the heat!

In everyone’s heart, there was an uncomfortable feeling, as though professional football was about to undergo significant changes!

With the strong entries of the two oligarchs, Abramovich and Mikhail, the rules of the entire European and even global professional football circles would change.

Chelsea had already exhibited its first-year "achievements", at least in the transfer market, if not on the competitive field.

But even those who looked down on Chelsea had to admit that with the acquisition of so many star players, the newly rebuilt Chelsea would be a force to be reckoned with the following year.

Even if they can’t win the Premier League championship, getting into the top few ranks, or even getting a ticket to next year’s Champions League probably wouldn’t be hard.

Currently, everyone’s eyes were on Arsenal Club.

Everyone wanted to know, what kind of surprise Arsenal would bring!

They didn’t have to wait long. On July 3rd, Arsenal Club also held a press conference.

The announced news directly set off that summer!