My father took me on a soccer trip to London for my sixteenth birthday. First Arsenal against Manchester United, then Swansea City played at Fulham. That weekend I fell in love with Swansea, the then very modest club from Wales. During that period I was of course still at school. For English, which I was really not good at at the time, we had to write a letter to England. I then wrote to Swansea and to my great surprise there was a response and my letter was even printed in the club magazine. Well, then you keep in touch with those guys and camaraderie develops. That's how I met one of my best friends, David. I later joined that club with him.
When I was twenty, I took over my father's wallpaper shop, here in The Hague. At the time, that was a small business, at most 80 square meters of retail space. But with a good concept: we not only sold wallpaper, but also hung it up on the house. I still do that by the way. I just go along with those guys to do some wallpaper. Sitting on the couch with mother is also getting bored. At one point we had four stores in town, but I reduced that to a large 2,500 square foot store spread over two floors. In other words, the Wallpaper Paradise. Expand to multiple branches in the country? Not a hair on my head who thinks about that, I am not such an entrepreneur. Money doesn't really interest me either. I work with a small group of people I've known for years. I don't have to cross the country to play manager. Now I do what I like.
In 2001, Swansea was almost ruined by a bad Australian owner. David then called to ask if I didn't want to put £ 50,000 into the club, along with a number of other supporters. Without consulting my wife, I thought: I'll just do it. That amount was certainly not my last money - although I was anything but a millionaire at the time - but I don't gamble, I don't drink, and the rest is history. The city got behind us, the stadium was full. My club got promoted and promoted, until we became a stable middle-driver in the Premier League with smart policy.
We didn't actually want to sell, because it is unique: a club led by supporters. But it started to gnaw at me more and more. Here at the wallpaper store I couldn't offer guys who earn $ 1,500 a month a raise in salary, but at the club I gave football players millions in signing money alone. At one point I could no longer look at myself in the mirror. But then a group of American investors came by and we were able to sell the club for 120 million. I still remember it as yesterday: on July 22, 2016, I was suddenly a multi-millionaire. The “wallpaper king” who skipped the step of millionaire and immediately has a multiple (allegedly 8.5 million euros, ed.) In his account. Anyway, money doesn't interest me. I'm just happy that my disabled daughter's future is secured, if I ever fall away. Everything for the family, that is the real benefit of my childhood dream come true. '
