"This is the worst game we have played since I coached the team. This performance completely shocked me."

In the 7th round of the Premier League, Wolves lost 3-5 to Brentford. After the defeat, Wolves coach O'Neill said so.

In 7 Premier League games, Wolves had 0 wins, 1 draw, 6 losses, 1 point, and a goal difference of -12, ranking at the bottom of the league. Brentford fans mocked Wolves coach O'Neill: You will be fired tomorrow!

The once energetic Wolves team, which specialized in beating the strong, really had to fight for relegation. Competitive performance is often proportional to economic strength. Behind the Wolves' poor performance is the club's financial difficulties.

This summer, Wolves sold Neto, Kilman, and Podence for a transfer fee of 113 million euros, and introduced Andre, Rodrigo Gomez and other 8 people (including loan), spending 74.4 million euros and making a net profit of 38 million euros.

In the summer and winter transfer windows of the 2023-24 season, Wolves made a net profit of 75 million euros.

Profitable transfers for two consecutive years are not common in the Premier League. Most teams are spending money to improve their strength and strive for a better ranking, but Wolves are taking a different path. Four years ago, Wolves were full of ambition and made every effort to qualify for the Champions League; now, Wolves are stuck in the relegation zone and are unable to recover.

The boss behind Wolves, Fosun's Guo Guangchang, has also seen his wealth shrink in recent years. In 2017, Guo Guangchang's wealth reached a peak of 62.5 billion yuan (Hurun Rich List data, the same below). In the four years from 2018 to 2021, it has remained stable at more than 50 billion yuan, 39 billion yuan in 2022, and shrunk to 34 billion yuan in 2023.

Without the background of large capital injection, Wolves' operating indicators are not healthy. In 2022, Wolves' total revenue was 166 million pounds, and their salary expenditure was 121 million pounds, with a salary/income ratio of 73%; in 2023, Wolves' revenue was 169 million pounds, and their salary expenditure was as high as 142 million pounds, with a salary/income ratio of 84%!

What is this concept? Inter Milan Club Chairman Marotta has concluded that if the total salary accounts for 70% of the club's revenue, no club can survive.

Wolves' debt is also soaring. In 2022, the club's debt was 120 million pounds (equivalent to 1.1 billion yuan); in 2023, the club's debt increased to 180 million pounds (equivalent to 1.6 billion yuan).

In the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons, with the blessing of the agent crocodile Mendes, Wolves ranked 7th in the Premier League for two consecutive years, and fans saw the ambitions of the Chinese boss. However, the deep binding of the club and the agent is by no means a good thing. The somewhat painful "de-Mendesization" is the inevitable path for Wolves.