环球英语 — 483：Big Money, Better Football?
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Hello and welcome to Spotlight. I’m Ryan Geerstma.
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And I’m Ruby Jones. This programme uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
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Whistles sound around the large, green football field. A player from the Manchester City team is on the ground. One of the Chelsea team’s players pushed him over. So, the referee has given Manchester City a free kick. He places the ball where the player fell. A member of the Manchester City team then stands behind the ball. He takes a step back. Then, he kicks the ball as hard as he can. It rises up and travels at speed towards the goal. It flies past the outstretched arms of the goalkeeper. Britain’s most costly player had just scored his first goal! His name is Robson de Souza. But everyone calls him 'Robinho'.
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Robinho is a Brazilian national football star. And he is possibly one of the best Brazilian players ever. He cost Manchester City almost sixty million dollars to buy. Many people in the world of football were surprised when Robinho signed for this particular team. Manchester City is not the best team in the United Kingdom. Some people would say that it is not even the best team in Manchester! However, what Manchester City does have is money - lots of money.
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In September 2008, the Abu Dhabi United Group bought Manchester City football team. It cost the group nearly 360 million dollars to buy. This is a huge amount of money, but the new owners are extremely rich. The group belongs to members of the Abu Dhabi royal family. Abu Dhabi is part of the United Arab Emirates - a group of seven small independent states in the Middle East. Abu Dhabi is the richest of these states, because it has the most oil. As a result, the Abu Dhabi royal family became extremely wealthy. In fact, experts estimate that the Abu Dhabi royal family's wealth is a million million dollars!
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Now the group is using a small part of that wealth to invest in a football team with lots of history but not much success! Sulayman Al-Fahim speaks for the group. He said:
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“Our goal is very simple. It is to make Manchester City the biggest club in the Premier League...We will buy whatever is needed.”
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Foreign businessmen now own over half of the top football teams in England. Most of them bought the teams from British owners. These British businessmen did not have the large financial resources to help the teams survive - and succeed. However, the new foreign owners accept that owning a football team will not bring them a financial profit. So, what does it bring them? Steve Myersco tells us about one of those owners: the Russian businessman, Roman Abramovich.
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Roman Abramovich has a lot of money - almost 24 billion dollars! He has made much of it from oil. And now, he invests in many different businesses. In 2003, he bought the famous English football team, Chelsea. He paid around 250 million dollars for it. At that time, Chelsea’s owners had an increasing debt. But the players were performing well on the football field. Abramovich wanted to help the players achieve the best result they could. He wanted them to be champions of Europe one day! His money brought a top manager to the club. And many international football stars followed him there, such as: Andrei Chevchenko, Didier Drogba and Michael Ballack. Abramovich almost achieved his wish in 2007. Chelsea reached the final of the European Champion’s League. The game took place in Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow. This was just a short train-ride away from Roman Abramovich’s old school - where he learned to play football as a boy! People who know Roman Abramovich say that is why he bought Chelsea - because he truly loves football. They ask - why else would such a quiet man be prepared to do such a public job? It is for the love of the game. It is not to make himself some sort of international star. People say he is not just involved because of the money. However, Abramovich’s investment has earned him respect in the international business world. And it has turned Chelsea into a successful business world-wide.
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Not every football team can find a wealthy businessman to solve their financial problems. But could someone investing in individual players provide an answer? Traffic Sports Marketing Agency thinks so. Traffic Sports is a company operating in Brazil. It searches for exciting young footballers playing for minor teams around the country. Traffic Sports then 'buys' those players from their teams. Other Brazilian teams then pay to ‘borrow’ any one of these players. The borrowed players can help these teams to achieve better results. At the same time these young men can show how gifted they are at football. This provides a way for major teams to discover new players to buy.
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Traffic Sports aims to sell their players within three years. The company can make up to a 200 percent profit on a deal! Julio Maurice is Traffic’s president. He explains:
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“...We buy the player. Then we start the process to put this player in a top club in Brazil. And then we have to wait for the success of the player in Brazil. Then, he can play in Europe.”
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Traffic Sports’ goal is to sell players to a European team. If this happens, Traffic Sports receives the largest share of the money. The company says that the money it invests in football helps Brazil’s poorer clubs.
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Not every young Brazilian player who arrives in Europe has a positive experience. The pressure to achieve success is huge. And not everyone can deal with it. But that will not stop these young men from crossing the world to follow their dream. For them, the road to success is covered with gold.
