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Chapter 46: Investment idea
The Sports Daily agrees with this view, stating in its article: "Wang Feng only started playing after the winter break last season, scoring 23 goals. Since the beginning of this season, he has maintained a high level of attacking efficiency. There is no doubt that he will clinch the Golden Boot."
On the other hand, The Standard Daily continues to be pessimistic about Wang Feng. It believes: "The depth of Genk's lineup this season is insufficient. Engaging in dual or even triple competitions in the latter stages of the league will certainly lead to problems. Perhaps they will end up with nothing to show for their efforts."
"Wang Feng is still a young player. It is unwise for Genk's management to pin all their hopes on him."
Wang Feng also reads these reports. It must be said that The Standard Daily's psychological tactics are quite clever. Sometimes Wang Feng also worries whether he can maintain this high level of performance and lead Genk to victory.
Fortunately, head coach Aimee Antonis is very attentive, and team captain Aaron Abigail is also an experienced player. They will comfort Wang Feng, telling him that youth is his greatest asset and not to see it as a limitation.
"And, you can never please everyone, Wang," Abigail said. "If your goal is the top five leagues, you must learn to bear these doubts and criticisms."
Everyone's encouragement lifted Wang Feng's spirits. Meanwhile, the salaries and bonuses provided by the team were also generous. After deducting some for paying personal trainers and living expenses, he still had over a hundred thousand euros in savings.
Interest rates in foreign banks are very low, so it's not profitable to keep money in the bank. Therefore, Wang Feng decided to send some money back to his home country and then learn to make some investments. After all, athletes live off their youth, and only with better financial management can they avoid bankruptcy after retirement.
He entrusted Francisco Balmond to conduct research, focusing on high-quality small and medium-sized enterprises that need investment, and tried some angel investments. Even if they fail, he won't feel too regretful.
Wang Feng is Balmond's cash cow. For his requests, Balmond always fulfills them promptly. Soon, information about several companies was sent to Wang Feng, among which a toy company called Lilliputiens caught his eye.
This company is a local Belgian enterprise, founded just over five years ago, but it has already captured a market share in children's toys. Currently, the company is expanding and urgently needs financial support.
Wang Feng thought about trying to invest in this company. He took time to visit the company with Balmond. They were located in the capital, Brussels, and were a small company of fewer than fifty people.
The company's founder was very happy to learn that Wang Feng wanted to invest in them. For him, Wang Feng was a famous football star, someone to look up to.
The group quickly discussed the company's main content and development. Wang Feng soon decided to invest in it. Then they quickly finalized the investment details, which was a bit tricky, but fortunately, Balmond found a professional legal advisor to help.
Wang Feng invested 100,000 euros and could receive 30% of the company's share profits, but he would not participate in management or decision-making. According to the current market, he could earn at least around 30,000 euros per year.
Wang Feng was quite satisfied with this return. In about four years, he would start making money. If he wasn't satisfied, he could withdraw his investment or sell his stake.
This is just one of Wang Feng's attempts. He plans to establish an investment company in the future, specializing in this area.
In the 14th round of the Belgian Pro League, Genk challenged Liers away.
In the 21st minute of the first half, Liers took advantage of a quick counter-attack and opened the scoring against Genk.
In this unfavorable situation, Wang Feng once again stepped up. In the 34th minute, he withdrew to the midfield to receive the ball. First, he elegantly used a Marseille turn to get rid of the defending players' entanglement. Then, before the defensive reinforcements arrived, he pushed the ball forward and bypassed another player with a quick dribble.
Finally, at the edge of the penalty area, he used a sudden stop to change direction, dodging the last defending player and calmly slotted the ball home.
Wang Feng helped the away team equalize the score, leaving even the commentators stunned. In less than a minute, he sprinted over fifty meters, dribbled past three players, and scored a goal. It was truly amazing, showcasing Wang Feng's individual skills at their best.
In the 56th minute of the second half, Wang Feng suddenly became active on the left flank. Gareth Barry sent a through ball from the center, and Wang Feng successfully beat the offside trap, getting the ball inside the penalty area. Without any adjustments, he directly used his left foot to curl the ball into the far corner.
The ball flew towards the goal, and although Liers' goalkeeper had a good position, his reaction was slightly delayed. The ball went through his legs and into the net.
With the referee's final whistle, the match ended. Genk, with Wang Feng's brace, completed a 2-1 comeback against Liers.
In this round, Anderlecht and Club Brugge were both held to draws, widening Genk's lead to 3 points over second place. The league title at the halfway point seems within reach for Genk.
There are also Belgian Cup matches and Europa League group stage matches this week. Therefore, in the Belgian Cup, Genk fielded a full substitute team against Denz. Despite the absence of their main players, they still won 4-2, advancing to the round of 16.
Next, Genk will fly to Catalonia, Spain to face Espanyol in the Europa League group stage. Due to their perfect record in the previous two group stage matches, a draw in this game will be enough to secure their spot in the next round.
Domestically, this match also received significant attention. Although not broadcasted live, sports channels will air the recorded match. The duel between Wang Feng and a La Liga powerhouse has attracted a lot of attention from Chinese fans. Moreover, achieving advancement with just a draw seems to have a certain magical appeal, further intensifying fans' interest.
In the just-concluded Lebanon Asian Cup, the Chinese team lost to Japan in the semi-finals and was defeated by South Korea in the third-place playoff. Fans felt that the overall performance of the national team was not bad, but the results were somewhat disappointing.
"If Wang Feng had participated in the Asian Cup, would the results have been better?" On a well-known forum, some fans raised this discussion topic. Most people believe that Wang Feng's abilities are sufficient to be selected for the national team, improving the situation in the forward line. Even if they cannot guarantee winning the championship, they could have a better chance of competing against Japan.
This topic grew louder, even mainstream magazines started reporting and discussing it, but the Chinese Football Association remains unmoved, with no intention of summoning Wang Feng for the World Cup qualifiers. In fact, there are also some different voices within the Football Association, believing that Wang Feng's inclusion in the national team would have a better strengthening effect, especially from the side of foreign coach Milu, who has been applying for Wang Feng's call-up.
However, most people still don't like an outsider to share their cake, with some privately expressing, "Our team has a wealth of talents, what can a kid like him do?" So this matter ended without any resolution.