Chapter 329: Excellent Advice

On Crescent Beach near Avalon during sunset, Charles and Emily Blunt strolled along the beach.

"Oh right, Emily, it looks like several owners in Premier League clubs have changed again this year, just like last year!"

At Capet Sports and Entertainment, Charles had only one UFC Ultimate Fighting event, though he favored professional wrestling but couldn't buy it.

Emily Blunt nodded, "Three clubs changed owners again this year.

Michael Ashley, the millionaire owner of the UK's sports goods direct sales group, acquired Newcastle in July.

Thaksin Shinawatra, the former Prime Minister and millionaire from Thailand, also acquired Manchester City in July.

And American businessmen Tom Hicks and George Gillett jointly acquired the Premier League giant Liverpool in February this year."

British football culture was deeply rooted, and many people were fans. Emily Blunt also had some understanding of football.

"Manchester City, Liverpool, what a pity," Charles seemed interested, but unfortunately, Thaksin would soon sell Manchester City to the Middle Eastern conglomerate Abu Dhabi Group. As for Liverpool, Tom Hicks and George Gillett would play around for a year or two before messing things up.

However, Charles still hoped to acquire a football club in London.

Not only football clubs but also NBA and NFL teams - Capet Sports and Entertainment had been eyeing the market.

"Charles, if you like football, you might want to consider London's Arsenal Club. They've built a new stadium and incurred massive debts. They sold their team captains both last year and this summer," Emily Blunt explained, looking at Charles.

"Arsenal's vice-chairman and one of the shareholders, David Dein, also left the club. He had disagreements with the board, and they're currently considering foreign investment!"

"Arsenal?" Charles touched his chin. He hadn't really thought about acquiring a top-tier club before.

It's likely that Arsenal's board was negotiating with Russian capital and American billionaire Stan Kroenke.

"Seems possible," Charles thought, believing it was a chance worth taking. "Isn't it just money?"

Charles checked his watch and immediately called his mother. "Mom, have your people get in touch with Arsenal. I want that team!"

"Arsenal? Charles, they've just built a new stadium, which left them with a high debt of no less than a hundred million pounds!" Evelyn's ETA agency had been helping Capet Sports and Entertainment monitor the Premier League clubs and North America's NBA and NFL markets.

"No worries, I got this," said Charles confidently. "You know I'm not short on cash!"

Evelyn was silent for a moment before responding, "Alright!"

What was Charles afraid of? Freddie Mac's stock price had dropped below $40, now down over 40%. Charles had shorted $12 billion on it, earning over $5 billion from closing the trade now!

Being short on cash? That's a joke.

"Charles, you..." Emily Blunt, on the side, was wide-eyed. What kind of move was this?

Buying Arsenal Club so directly?

"Sweetheart, your advice is excellent!" Charles said, lifting Emily Blunt's face and kissing her firmly on the lips.

Monday morning, Charles and Emily returned to King Wharf Marina in Redondo Beach from Avalon on the yacht Star.

After washing up, Charles went back to the office and asked Dona Williams to inform Lily Ying to head straight to London and wait for him.

Charles needed to borrow money again, directly using those stocks, almost as good as cash, to borrow pounds from British banks or investment funds.

Meanwhile, Capet Sports and Entertainment quickly contacted Arsenal's board and also approached former vice-chairman David Dein, who also had left Arsenal.

David Dein owned a percentage of Arsenal shares and left the club in April. He's now the chairman of G-14 (a private organization composed of Europe's top clubs). However, G-14 was on the brink of dissolution under pressure from FIFA and UEFA.

David Dein had been one of the key figures in Arsenal's rise, but since the millennium, Arsenal had incurred debts to build a new stadium, and with Chelsea leading the way with big-money football, many clubs had come under capital control.

In addition, David Dein did not get along with many board members and had been in contact with Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov, planning to let a Russian investor control Arsenal, similar to Chelsea.

ETA, one of the three top talent agencies in Hollywood, had been expanding into sports business and consistently watched the commercial alliance of the Premier League.

After receiving Capet Sports and Entertainment's commission, they immediately began executing the plan.

At Capet Pictures, Charles looked at the script for Sherlock Holmes and smiled. Lionel Wigram's adaptation from the comic book project seemed interesting.

"Guy Ritchie as the director? Not bad, but Robert Downey Jr. doesn't have the schedule. He's filming Iron Man 2 next year for our Marvel," Charles said, smiling ruefully.

But even if Robert Downey Jr. were available, he couldn't play the role. Aside from the successful Marvel movies, he couldn't be cast in another series.

He should honestly stick to playing Iron Man.

"$90 million investment, and there hasn't been a Sherlock Holmes film released in the American market in the past 20 years. The last one was Holmes & Watson in 1988, a comedy starring Michael Caine!"

Though Donna Langley believed in the project, Robert Downey Jr.'s Iron Man 2 was undoubtedly more important.

"This year's Iron Man indeed raised Robert Downey Jr.'s profile greatly!"

Charles pondered for a moment, "Have Christian Bale play Sherlock Holmes. His Batman 2: The Dark Knight will be released next year and will have a significant impact!"

Christian Bale performed well in The Departed. With the influence of Batman, joining Sherlock Holmes would be no problem.

"As for the female lead, let Emily Blunt, the supporting actress from The Devil Wears Prada, play the role!"

Donna Langley nodded. The female lead wasn't that important; the main thing was the lead actor. With Christian Bale on board, they could listen to the director and producer's suggestions for Dr. Watson.

*****

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