New York, Spider-Man Set.
Martin swung through the air holding a green-painted wire, moving with such agility and grace that he seemed like a real-life Spider-Man.
"It's clear now that casting Martin as Spider-Man was the right choice. No Hollywood actor could match his agility!" said Ian Blythe, the film's producer, excitedly.
Director Sam Raimi leaned in and added, "I even suspect he really does have spider genes in him. He's the Spider-Man hiding in reality, just a more handsome version."
While Martin was passionately filming Spider-Man in New York, a huge news story about him broke in London.
The Daily Mail reported:
"It is reported that two months ago, a company called Blue Star formally announced to the London City Supervisory Commission that they had acquired 10% of the shares in Chelsea FC."
"At the time, the market's response was relatively calm, since this amount of shares didn't even place them in the top three of Chelsea's shareholders. But many were curious about who this company actually belonged to."
"Two months later, Blue Star announced an agreement with Chelsea's two largest shareholders, Ken Bates, to purchase his 38.7% stake. The total transaction price reached 90 to 100 million pounds."
"As a result, Blue Star now holds 48.7% of Chelsea shares, making them the club's largest shareholder."
"After investigating the company, we were shocked to find that it was based in the United States, and its owner is none other than Martin Myers, the person involved in the brake scandal a while ago."
"That's right, this fourteen-year-old boy is now the largest shareholder of Chelsea."
This news caused a huge stir.
As is well known, the English tend to be quite traditional. And as the birthplace of modern football, English football clubs are notoriously exclusionary.
Just look at the waves caused when Abramovich took over Chelsea or when the Glazer family acquired Manchester United.
Chelsea's fan organizations had already begun to meet and prepare for protests.
Major media outlets also published articles, most of them opposing the acquisition.
"A fourteen-year-old American kid becoming the largest shareholder of a traditional Premier League club like Chelsea? This is a huge joke! Is he going to confuse football with American football?"
"This is an invasion of capital! Chelsea's welcoming in a wolf will make them lose the traditional values of English football and bring a bad atmosphere to the Premier League. Who is Martin? A writer, an actor, a singer, but never a footballer! Why should someone with no football experience interfere in professional football? It's a foolish act."
"Martin Myers' other identity is an investor. Since 1998, he has been heavily investing in high-tech stocks in the U.S. It's obvious that his reason for investing in Chelsea is just like his investments in internet companies – it's all for profit. But can a businessman like him really put money into the team?"
And just as the media was hyping up the "wolf is coming" narrative, and fan organizations were preparing large-scale protests, they received even more shocking news—Blue Star was not satisfied with the 48.7% stake they held and wanted to fully acquire Chelsea FC!
Back in New York, Martin was on the phone.
"Dad, how much leverage can Morgan give us?"
"Fifteen times. That's the maximum."
"Dad, can't you do something more?"
"Please, son, do you think I'm the chairman of the board? I'm just the head of the investment department at JPMorgan Chase."
"Alright, alright, fifteen times it is. It's a bit tight, but it should be enough. Let's do it."
Martin thought about it. After buying the team, there might not be enough money left for big-name players, but he had a bunch of talented young players still not yet in the spotlight. That would be enough to support the future of the team.
"Martin, don't you think this acquisition is a bit too risky?"
To be honest, when Grant Myers first heard about his son's plan, he was a bit shocked.
But he couldn't stop his son's insistence and agreed to oversee the acquisition.
"Dad, didn't I tell you before? The Premier League has always been about capital operations. No matter what the English say about tradition, the Premier League was born out of capital. This league, independent of the FA, has almost no interference in its commercial operations, which makes it perfect for capital to get involved."
In Martin's memory, the Premier League's rapid rise started in 2001. From that year on, its broadcast contracts grew increasingly outrageous.
By 2016, the value of these contracts had reached 5.136 billion pounds.
This meant that every Premier League club could earn 102 million pounds in broadcasting rights alone in a single season.
That's why the playoff for promotion from the Championship is known as the "one hundred million pound battle!"
Thanks to capital operations, the Premier League's brand value kept rising, and to businessmen, anything unrelated to money, such as tradition, was seen as a "burden."
In the eyes of capital, economic interests always come first.
In fact, the Premier League had even once been called the "Barclays Premier League," as they sold the naming rights to the league. If that was possible, what else couldn't be developed?
By 2008, the Premier League's brand value had surpassed Serie A by more than 40%.
Because the Premier League is not governed by the FA, it was more open to third-party capital, which is why so many wealthy individuals wanted to buy Premier League clubs.
In the original timeline, the influx of funds from sources like Russia, Southeast Asia, the United States, the Middle East, and even China strengthened the Premier League, raising the purchasing power of clubs from the top to the bottom.
This time, Martin was the one to set the trend. He invested less, but would earn more in the future.
Interestingly, the fan organization's protests didn't go smoothly, because the younger generation in England viewed Martin as an idol. Especially after the "brake incident" was exposed, he was regarded as a hero and the "knight of Diana."
As a result, many younger Chelsea fans didn't oppose Martin taking over the club.
"Reports have confirmed that Martin Myers has invested 102 million pounds into this acquisition. It is highly likely that a leveraged acquisition strategy will be employed, and JPMorgan Chase has already started gathering funds for Martin Myers' acquisition…"
"Chelsea fans are divided. A portion of young fans believe that it's not a bad thing for their idol, Martin Myers, to take over the team. They are confident that he will bring energy and hope to the club…"
The protests were finally organized, but through the media's cameras, it was clear that most of the people on the streets were middle-aged and elderly, with very few young people participating.
By late May, the media revealed once again that Blue Star had reached agreements with several Chelsea shareholders, acquiring their shares at a premium.
After acquiring these shares, Martin now held more than 75%.
According to the rules for listed companies, once someone holds over 75% of the shares, they can delist the club from the stock market and force small shareholders to sell their shares, turning Chelsea from a public company into a private asset.
The media in England began to criticize even more fiercely.
But Martin also had his "backing."
The constant attacks from Fleet Street triggered strong opposition from the North American media.
The two sides began exchanging "toxic" insults across the ocean, starting with sarcastic remarks, escalating to open verbal battles, and even involving criticism of each other's political climate.
The English media called American politicians—"pimps, liars, and war profiteers."
The American media called the British government—"decayed, backward, and idiotic concentration camps."
For a while, everyone forgot about Martin.
By mid-June, everything was settled.
Blue Star announced that it had completed the full acquisition of Chelsea.
Chelsea had become Martin's personal property.
"Chelsea, Martin's new toy!" read the headline of The Sun's sports section.
The day after the acquisition was completed, Blue Star publicly stated that they would spend no less than 50 million pounds on new players for the upcoming season.
More and more fans began to watch, because a wealthy owner who was willing to spend money would always win the hearts of the fans.