I Am Jose-Chapter 77 - : I’ve Said What I Needed to Say. Who Agrees? Who Disagrees?

The chaos within Mallorca's management is evident.

Chairman Alemany lacks real power, and many people have decision-making authority. The transfer department cannot make decisions on its own and must submit proposals upward. The second largest shareholder, Grand, can make decisions when both the chairman and the primary shareholder are absent... This type of shareholder-based club is the worst. It's even worse than those publicly listed clubs, at least the listed ones, despite the risk of direct acquisition, can raise enough funds through the stock market...

Unfortunately, many La Liga clubs are structured as shareholder-based companies. Since the financial crisis hit Spanish clubs, only Real Madrid, Barcelona, Osasuna, and Athletic Bilbao remained as member-based clubs, with others restructuring into shareholder-based companies, allowing wealthy individuals to invest in teams and gain club shares. For instance, Valencia's shares are divided among three shareholders, and Atletico Madrid's shares are owned by several, although most are held by Gil.

Mallorca's situation is similar, but over the years, some shareholders decided to step down, leading to the concentration of shares in the hands of Asensio and Grand. This overlap of personnel and power has been a major factor in Mallorca's stagnation and failure to develop.

When José learned that Stankovic was going to transfer, two days had already passed.

"This is unbelievable," José shook his head in frustration. First it was Tristan, now Stankovic... these two were his absolute core allies. Now...

"That bastard Grand, I'm going to make him regret this," José swore to his father.

"There will be plenty of opportunities," Alemany wasn't happy either. As chairman, he only found out about Stankovic's contract signing after the fact—what if Grand gained enough shares and just kicked him out of the chairman position?

"Ameir and the others have already reached an agreement, securing their 5% share for about three million, slightly above market price. In addition to Antonio's 60%, this means we've acquired 65% of Mallorca's shares for $33 million. Even if Grand and Pep team up, they'll only have 35%. We have an absolute advantage in controlling the club," Alemany chuckled. "Son, you're a rich man now, close to two hundred million in cash. That's a scary number."

"To build a strong club, that's not enough," José shook his head. "If Mallorca wants to be self-sustaining, we need a bigger, better stadium and surrounding facilities. A good stadium can bring in more ticket sales and generate additional revenue from fan merchandise stores, bars, and entertainment spots. Although we don't have a large local population, the daily influx of tourists is endless. We could turn the new stadium into a tourist attraction and expand the training base. Many teams come to Mallorca for training every year. Even renting out the training grounds could bring in significant revenue. But these additions require a lot of money."

Alemany took a deep breath. He had done construction when he was younger and started a hotel business after turning forty, so he knew well the kind of investment required for what José was proposing—building a stadium and expanding the training grounds would involve construction, which would create dust and affect the environment. This was a key concern for the district council, as they even charged environmental protection fees in exchange for sacrificing some tourism revenue. Getting through this hurdle would be difficult.

"Take it slow, Dad," José smiled. "Big projects, of course, can't be done. The district council won't approve that, but small expansions and repairs..."

He left the sentence hanging, both of them smart enough to understand what was meant without further elaboration.

At this moment, he was eagerly anticipating the upcoming shareholder meeting two days later.

"Dad, what do you think Grand and Pep will look like when they find out there are only three people at the meeting?" José mischievously asked.

Alemany froze for a second, then burst into laughter.

José wasn't wrong. When the Mallorca shareholder meeting was held, Grand and Pep's reactions were indeed priceless.

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When they entered the meeting room, they were already surprised to find that the only other shareholder representatives present were Alemany and José, who shouldn't even have been there.

"Mr. Alemany, why is... young Mr. Alemany here?" Grand, in his early forties, muscular, and the owner of a company called the Dreck Group, which invests in football, construction, and the stock market, was stunned. His assets were said to approach $500 million. He had joined Mallorca a year later than the Asensio family, so he only held 30% of the club. For ambitious Grand, who wanted to acquire more shares, this was a huge blow. In the previous timeline, after Asensio's health deteriorated, Grand used various means to force the Asensio family out of the board and took over the majority of the shares. After gaining control, he fired Alemany. However, Mallorca's financial struggles nearly led to bankruptcy, and ultimately, Grand sold the club to a British investment firm...

But now, everything had changed due to José's presence.

Seeing José appear at the shareholder meeting, Grand was surprised. Pep looked completely at a loss.

"Well, I'd like to announce something at today's meeting," Alemany smiled as he sat at the head of the table. As chairman, he was entitled to this position, while José took the spot previously occupied by Antonio Asensio and now by Juan Asensio.

This caused Grand to frown.

Alemany continued, confirming his suspicions: "In the past few days, Mr. José Alemany reached an agreement with Juan Asensio, Ameir Dami, Lino Resta, and six other shareholders to purchase 65% of Mallorca's shares with cash. Here are the documents."

Grand took the stack of papers almost reflexively, his face darkening the more he flipped through them.

Beside him, Pep seemed even more confused. Grand took a deep breath and placed the documents on the table.

"Impressive. I didn't get any hint of this... Mr. Alemany, looks like you really have a great son," Grand said through gritted teeth.

Alemany smiled without responding, while José coughed lightly: "Everyone... well, actually just the two of you, because of various reasons, I've acquired 65% of Mallorca's shares. This is the result of the trust given to me by previous shareholders. When they transferred their shares to me, they only had one condition: that I would lead Mallorca to glory and put it on the right path. And I promised them that I would. So, moving forward, I'll be working with Chairman Alemany to make some adjustments to personnel."

Grand's expression was one of disbelief, but he had no grounds to argue—Alemany and his son, as chairman and majority shareholder, held power that far exceeded Grand and Pep's 35%.

Before, when the club had many shareholders and Chairman Alemany had a more neutral role, there was a delicate balance in management. Asensio was the largest shareholder, and Grand and Pep, as the second and third largest, had some influence. Alemany, though without shares, was supported by smaller shareholders and could still negotiate favorable outcomes for Grand.

But now? José held the shares of all the other shareholders, and with Alemany as chairman, the previous delicate balance was gone. It was now a matter of the strong Alemany father and son against the weak Grand and Pep.

With decision-making power and management authority in their hands, Grand and Pep could only hold shareholder titles but had no say in the club's operations.

"As for personnel, the chairman will be making adjustments to the club staff. Some overlapping positions will be merged, and unnecessary employees will be let go... As for the technical director position, since Juan Asensio has resigned, I'll temporarily take over. As for the team's current situation, I'm very dissatisfied. For the winter transfer window, I plan to allocate at least $15 million to strengthen the team."

"$15 million?" Grand froze. "Who's going to pay for this?"

Given Mallorca's financial situation, the shareholders had always taken profits before investing in transfers. This season's transfer funds were already spent, and now, an additional $15 million was needed—considering the club's finances were essentially an empty shell, this seemed impossible.

"Of course, the shareholders will contribute, according to their shares," José smiled. "If anyone is unwilling to pay, they can trade shares for it. Mallorca is valued at $50 million, so if I contribute the full $15 million, according to the shareholder agreement, the injection of capital will increase my shareholding to about 73%."

José stood up, looking down at the grim-faced Grand and the bewildered Pep.

"I've said what I needed to say... Who agrees? Who disagrees?"