CHAPTER 508: 1 POUND SALE

The stadium fell silent, and the home fans looked visibly dejected.

The group stage had begun well for them; they had even beaten group favorites Inter Milan in an away match. Facing an English Premier League side at home, many assumed three points were already in the bag.

But looking back at the match, their beloved team produced very few threatening attacks. Their best chance was Milanič’s early header in the opening minutes. In the second half, things unfolded as they often do against Manchester City—the English side dominated, while Graz posed little danger.

When the final whistle blew, O’Neill calmly walked toward Vica Osim. After a brief handshake, both managers turned and disappeared down the players’ tunnel.

City’s players let out a collective sigh of relief before cheering loudly. The painful, grinding battle was finally over.

Two wins and one draw—seven points—firmly at the top of the group!

In the other fixture, Inter Milan were held to a draw by Spartak Moscow. Inter gained only one point, leaving their path to qualification increasingly precarious.

The updated table now stood as:

Manchester City – 7 points

Inter Milan – 4 points

Sturm Graz – 3 points

Spartak Moscow – 1 point

In the post-match press conference, O’Neill remained composed.

"We didn’t win by a large margin," he said, "but I saw the players overcome not only a strong opponent but also themselves. In weather and conditions like this, you need a strong mentality. I’m happy they showed it. This match is crucial for us—not just for our place in the standings, but for the development and maturity of this team. It will make us stronger."

Still, Sturm Graz—despite home advantage—were not champions of a major European league. Pre-match expectations heavily favored City, which was why Richard had insisted they should never take such games lightly.

After the match, however, journalists tried to stir the narrative. It was surprising to see City struggle to break down Sturm Graz.

After all, City’s squad quality was obvious. How many players from Sturm Graz were even known to mainstream European media? Just recognizing a few names would be considered impressive. So it was only natural for the press to search for weaknesses.

One reporter asked, "Manchester City are top of the group, but we haven’t seen the Premier League champions from last season in these matches. As head coach, don’t you want to showcase your true level on the European stage?"

O’Neill replied calmly, "First, we have two wins and a draw. Our fate is in our own hands. But that advantage is not absolute—barely even meaningful. Next, we play Inter twice in a row. If we perform poorly, we could lose that so-called advantage immediately.

"Second, I’m not a rigid coach. I adjust tactics based on our squad, our opponents, and the circumstances. On the Champions League stage, we showcase ourselves every minute—not only with tactics, but with mentality, fan culture, club tradition, everything. Winning is the priority. Against strong teams like Inter, Spartak Moscow, and Sturm Graz, I will always choose the most suitable strategy, not the one outsiders want to see. No one is going to dictate my decisions."

The journalists felt slightly deflated. The public didn’t merely want Manchester City to win—they wanted dominance. After all, this was the reigning double champion they were talking about.

While City were still holding their post-match press conference, Richard—already fed up with the cold and the chaos—immediately flew back to London.

He was in a rush, as he had an important meeting regarding The Independent tomorrow.

The next day.

There was a group of children kicking a ball around in the green area in front of the Maddox Capital office.

Several of them wore blue Manchester City jerseys. They yelled and clamored for the ball, and whenever someone shot the football between two piles of clothes, they would imitate all kinds of celebratory actions that football stars usually do.

As a child, Richard often played this way too. However, it wasn’t on such a good lawn, but on an embankment back home that was used for drying grains in the sun. They would use schoolbags, bricks, old shoes, clothes, baskets—anything they could move—to build the goal. Then a group of children would chase a worn-out ball across the embankment.

From his current point of view, even the best "star-player" shot from that time would have looked rather pathetic. But back then, everyone played happily. Next to the embankment was a decorative pond, and people would often accidentally kick the ball into it.

Richard only watched the children play from the sidelines. He lingered for a moment around these lovely kids before continuing on toward the Maddox Capital office.

The office is located on the 10th floor of the building—the entire structure has 14 floors, including 2 underground levels and 12 above ground. Initially, the company only rented a few rooms, but after Richard began acquiring companies, he decided to make this office the headquarters of the startup.

"Mr. Richard, as you instructed, we have reached an agreement with the INM Group. They will sell the Independent Newspaper Company—which owns the two newspapers, The Independent and The Sunday Independent—to you for £1. But you must guarantee the continued stable operation of the papers and assume the company’s existing debts."

Finally.

The banker had done his job well. He had completed the negotiations with the INM Group on Richard’s behalf, which meant Richard was about to finalize the acquisition of The Independent.

Smith handed Richard the relevant documents and continued, "After an audit, we confirmed that the Independent Newspaper Company—though it owns two newspapers—has heavy debts, negative total assets, and a deficit of up to £22 million."

Richard flipped through the audit report prepared by Barclays as Smith went on.

"We have secured the acquisition of the Independent Newspaper Company for a symbolic price of £1, and we have reached an agreement with the INM Group that they will pay the company a total of £5 million in installments within six months after the takeover, to offset the losses we may incur."

Richard remembered that in his previous life, INM had sold the Independent Newspaper Company to a Russian tycoon for the same symbolic £1, but the compensation back then was more than £9 million.

He didn’t expect the same scenario to play out here. In fact, the "£1 sale" was no different from what would eventually happen to The Independent in the future.

After years of financial struggle, the INM Group finally sold The Independent and The Sunday Independent to a wealthy Russian businessman, also for £1. Moreover, The Independent and The Sunday Independent weren’t the first major British newspapers to be sold for £1.

Before them, The London Evening Standard was also sold to a Russian businessman for the same symbolic price. Some newspapers even reported that behind these "£1 transactions," several British media groups not only required the buyer to assume all debts but also secretly provided over £10 million in compensation to offload the financial burden. So this situation was hardly new.

However, considering that those later deals happened many years after this point—when The Independent was in an even worse state, losing £22.4 million annually, and after INM had already sunk tens of millions into it—it was understandable why they offered such high compensation to escape the burden.

But for now, Richard was already very satisfied with the deal. After all, although The Independent currently had a deficit of more than twenty million pounds, that was insignificant compared to the cash he had earned from selling AOL.

Richard finally understood why the INM Group had to let go of The Independent after reading their full financial situation.

The Independent Newspaper Company currently occupied a six-story office building on 1.5 hectares of land in the Canary Wharf area. The land was located in what would soon become the financial core of Canary Wharf, close to the Thames, and had enormous potential for appreciation. It was a pity that INM had to give up The Independent just to save that building.

Richard recalled that when The Independent was sold again in the future, the British media industry was shocked. People began digging into the details, and soon it was revealed that a Chinese tycoon had purchased a nearby 16-story building of similar size for £400 million.

At that time, The Independent had drained INM’s cash so severely that they were forced to sell the building first before they could finally escape the burden altogether.

By the time the Russian tycoon later acquired the Independent Newspaper Company, The Independent had already sold its Canary Wharf building due to years of losses and had relocated its headquarters to Dublin, Ireland.

Still, even without acquiring the land this time, the deal was far from a loss for Richard. Especially with the 5 milli compensasion. Moreover, The Independent still had a reputation for reliability—unlike many other newspapers, it did not deal in gossip.

Building or no building, once he had sufficient funds in the future, it would be entirely possible to construct a new, taller headquarters on the original site. More importantly, simply acquiring The Independent and owning his own media outlet was crucial for increasing his voice in these society.

In countries like those in Europe and the United States, the so-called "fourth estate" holds real power. Even if Richard needed to subsidize its operations, a national newspaper like The Independent could play a decisive role at key moments.

If only he had owned a media outlet with influence comparable to The Independent from the beginning, he would never have been forced into such a situation with the FA.

"Of course, in addition to these acquisition conditions, not all of The Independent’s shareholders are from INM. Other major shareholders—such as Mr. Whitney—have also put forward requirements regarding the operation of the Independent Newspaper Company after your acquisition. You must ensure the continued operation of The Independent and assume the corresponding responsibilities. Otherwise, the agreement will be invalidated. Not only will you have to return the company and the compensation, but you will also face a lawsuit from the other party."

"You’re saying INM wants to wash their hands of it, but Mr. Whitney still wants to preserve The Independent?"

Smith nodded. These conditions were also prerequisites for Richard to take over The Independent.

For the INM Group, getting rid of the burden of The Independent—which had been losing money year after year—and redirecting their funds and energy to other industries was acceptable.

But for Mr. Whitney, the current shareholder and chief editor, even though he also wanted to be free from the losses and debts, he still needed to make sure Richard would take responsibility for running the newspaper properly after buying it—rather than ruining The Independent, a national paper once respected by intellectual readers.

"I can fully accept these conditions. You can sign the contract with the INM Group as soon as possible."

"Alright, I’ll confirm with them immediately."

After Smith finished speaking, Richard smiled.