Chapter 386: Chapter 385: Barcelona Is Not Worth It in the Human World
And on Barcelona’s side, Reina was just a backup after all.
Without Reina, there was another goalkeeper, Valdes, whose level wasn’t much different.
It didn’t affect anything at all.
This player could be loaned out.
As for the buyout price, setting a price far above Reina’s value could prevent Lisbon Sporting from buying out Reina after the first loan season.
Reina’s current value is one million euros, and considering Barcelona’s influence, there are people willing to pay two million euros.
So the buyout price was set at four million euros!
Only a fool would spend four million euros to buy a youth academy goalkeeper.
As for Motta, he was not available for loan.
The deal with Viana at Inter Milan was almost certain, and Lisbon Sporting probably wanted to borrow Motta to fill the gap left by Viana.
They liked to use young players.
Once Motta went there, if he became a main midfielder for Lisbon Sporting and didn’t perform well, it would be fine, but if he did perform well, he might really not want to come back.
Because the position Lisbon Sporting could offer him, Barcelona could not.
After consideration, Barcelona’s final response to Lisbon Sporting was "28 million euros cash + loan of Reina".
The loan agreement stipulated that Reina’s salary during the loan period would be borne by Lisbon Sporting, and unless there were forces beyond control or injury, Reina had to get at least fifteen starts and the total number of appearances in the season could not be less than twenty.
The intended loan period was two years, but considering the regulations on youth player eligibility and nationality applications, it was to be signed year by year.
It was possible to buy out during the loan period, with the buyout price set at four million euros.
This time, Lisbon Sporting didn’t cause trouble for Barcelona again, and briskly passed the transaction.
"Barça fans’ resistance succeeds! Camp Nou welcomes little Portuguese king, Ricardo Quaresma!"
"After Figo’s betrayal, Barça welcomes Little Figo! Fans: We trust in Quaresma’s loyalty!"
"Generous Barça! A 28 million euro transfer fee welcomes Quaresma, giving the Portuguese another chance!"
"Well done, Barça! Can Quaresma restore the credit of Portuguese players lost by Figo?"
"Win-win deal! Lisbon Sporting achieves the highest sale record in their history! Barça welcomes the most reliable winger!"
"Loan Shark’s new stock! Has the Lisbon Sporting supermarket finally opened?"
"Quaresma blows the transfer clarion! Will the new treble winner be divided up?"
"Salary indicates status! 19-year-old Saraovei’s salary is 2.5 million euros; considering his age, it’s a meteoric rise!"
"But 18-year-old Quaresma becomes the highest-paid player under 25 inside Barça with a salary of 3 million euros!"
Compared to that, Reina’s loan was insignificant.
But just one day later, Reina became the center of discussion in Spanish and Portuguese media.
Because after signing the loan contract for Reina, Lisbon Sporting immediately paid four million euros, permanently buying out Reina.
From then on, Reina officially became a player for Lisbon Sporting.
Many people could not comprehend this decision.
"Does Lisbon Sporting have a special preference for Pepe? Midfielder Pepe, at 18, became the first choice in Lisbon Sporting over Deschamps, and now goalkeeper Pepe Reina is bought out prematurely by the team despite being available for loan!"
"A hefty income makes Lisbon Sporting lose its past calculation ability, buying Pepe Reina for four million euros is really not economical!"
"Swedish Genius Ibrahimovic Didn’t Cost Lisbon Athletic €4 million, What Justifies Reina’s Price Tag?"
"Why an outright purchase when a loan was possible? This move is truly baffling!"
Among these, the mouthpiece media for Barça, Diario Sport, headline "Lisbon Athletic Finally Becomes a Big Spender" became a hit article.
The article stressed the central idea that "Reina is not worth €4 million."
They said that Reina had the potential to become a first-rate goalkeeper, but within three years, his value would never reach €4 million, and it would be unlikely for him to reach the standards of a starting goalkeeper for a Champions League-level team.
Last season’s loss for Barça in the Europa League was attributed to issues with the defense’s height, but Reina’s lack of ability was also a key factor.
Especially with players like Deng Kai, a short stature player, scoring three headers.
Should it have been Schmeichel, Kahn, Paliuka, or Himan in goal, at least one or two could have been saved.
It must be said, this article left Reina somewhat heartbroken.
He always believed he had the ability to be the mainstay of Barça’s goal.
Even if he was somewhat lacking, was he really to blame for Barça’s complete lack of trophies last season?
In the face of questioning by the Spanish media, Trigella stepped up to take an interview, "Reina is a very talented goalkeeper; we’ve had our eye on him for some time before our encounter with Barça."
"He’ll get plenty of playing time at Lisbon Athletic. As for whether Schmeichel will be satisfied, all I can say is you’re overthinking it."
"The only condition for Schmeichel to stay with Lisbon Athletic next season is to find him a suitable substitute. Last season’s triple campaign left him exhausted; he doesn’t want to face that kind of frequency of play again, he’s not a twenty-something anymore, he’s about to turn forty!"
If Lisbon Athletic themselves say so, what can Barça fans say?
You have the money, big deal.
However, the next day, Marca revealed high-level Barça criticism of Lisbon Athletic’s attitude, "They are simply nouveau riche, acting as if they’ve never seen money before... Even if they wanted to buy Reina, they could have waited until the end of this season to do it."
"The difference would be a lot less in salary for Reina."
"Now that they’ve bought Reina, they have to renegotiate his contract, and the salary is undeniably higher than the youth contract he had with us at Barça. Two hundred thousand, three hundred thousand, five hundred thousand? Isn’t that money?"
"They’re too impatient, they don’t see this as money at all! If Lisbon Athletic continues to operate like this, they’ll inevitably go bankrupt!"
This conversation garnered agreement from many sports managers.
Even a reporter asked Deng Kai what he thought about Lisbon Athletic’s terrible trade and salary management arrangements while Deng Kai was at the Portugal youth team training base.
Deng Kai addressed the issue from another dimension, "Is this deal foolish? No, at least I don’t think so."
"In fact, Mr. Trigella called me before finalizing Reina’s acquisition, and I fully support his decision."
The journalists clicked their tongues in response.
It implied that Deng Kai was involved with the deal.
Deng Kai’s expression turned serious, "On the contrary, I think Barça’s philosophy towards players is unhealthy, or at least, it’s not respectful enough. The Bosman ruling ten years ago was met with mixed reviews at the time."
"But now it seems beyond doubt that the ruling has promoted the prosperity of European and world football. It also fought for the rightful benefits of countless players, especially many stars."
"However, what the law mandates is often the bare minimum. Above that minimum, there should be ethics and conscience."
"Lisbon Athletic’s reason for buying out Reina a year early is simple: we genuinely wanted this player, we hoped to work with him fairly."
"We offered him the salary he deserved, and he contributed to the team as he should."
"Imagine, if we exploited Reina with Barça’s youth contract for a year, and only then signed a contract he had earned the following year, would that be fair to Reina? Respectful?"
"Would a team like that truly deserve Reina’s youth and sweat?"
"Not at all! Barça doesn’t deserve it!"
