Wanda Group, as the gold sponsor of the World Cup, is as influential as the stars on the pitch. However, one wonders why such a big fan of soccer doesn't step onto the green field himself. Whenever the passion of the World Cup is aroused, I am always attracted by those Chinese advertisements in between. How dense are the advertisements? I've even joked that the Chinese team's activity on the pitch seems to rival that of Wanda's ads.
Wanda Group, which not only plays a major role in this World Cup, is one of the seven official partners of FIFA, and can even be seen in the far-flung English Premier League. But Wanda seems to favor behind-the-scenes support over personally taking charge of the team.
Compared to the teams in the Chinese Super League, Guangzhou Evergrande, Beijing Guoan and Shandong Luneng, Wanda is no slouch in terms of size. In fact, forming a team is a piece of cake for Wanda. But just as a broken heart is difficult to put back together, Wanda's knot seems to be difficult to untie.
Back in the 1990s, Wanda Group took a stake in the Dalian soccer team and became one of the emerging forces in the Chinese Super League. With sufficient capital, Wanda's strength was unique in the Super League at that time. However, in the 1998 Chinese Super League, Dalian Wanda suffered an injustice, three times into the penalty area was put down, but three times the referee blew off the penalty, and finally had no choice but to withdraw.
After the match, a serious warning from the match director and the decision of the boss behind the scenes, Wang Jianlin, made Wanda Group announce its permanent withdrawal from Chinese soccer. From now on, Wanda Group is only responsible for "spending money", no longer personally "play football".
