Chapter 396: Chapter 395: The Children of Sa Village Bully Me, Old and Powerless
As for the value of the shares in Deng Kai’s hands in the future, Mansour didn’t mind at all.
If it turned out to be a lot, he could afford to give them to Deng Kai as a gift.
Because this cooperation with Manchester City was merely a personal trial for Mansour.
Once successful, he would be able to use this achievement to gain internal support and become the leader in external development.
By then, the matter of money would be irrelevant.
The scattered shares could also be bought back at any minute with cash.
Would Manchester City ever be as wealthy as their Abu Dhabi consortium?
Similarly, for Deng Kai, a thirty-five percent stake might not seem like a lot.
But it was definitely a great opportunity for him to leapfrog to greater wealth.
At present, all his salaries, bonuses, and profits from selling Guardiola-related items totaled no more than five hundred thousand euros.
Perhaps, once he became famous and joined a powerhouse club, his assets might surge dramatically.
But reaching the ten million euro mark would also take several years.
Reaching the hundred million euro level would be even harder, requiring many years of maintaining superstar status, and not signing any exploitative child labor contracts or the like.
However, this cooperation with Mansour could very well catapult him into the billion-euro club within the next two years!
The hardest money to earn in this world is not a billion, nor ten billion, but the first bucket of gold.
When looking at the world from a macro perspective, under the most favorable circumstances, the amount of a person’s wealth is determined by the size of their first bucket of gold.
And no matter who it is, it is very difficult for the first bucket of gold to reach the hundred million euro mark!
Guardiola: "So the signed football I gave you doesn’t count as your first bucket of gold?"
Deng Kai: "Boss, the first bucket of gold refers to the money invested in the next business, have I invested that thirty-five percent? The few hundred thousand euros I scraped together, Mansour didn’t even want it, he just returned it to me in the form of salary."
Indeed, Deng Kai also held a nominal position within the group organized by Mansour to acquire Manchester City—as a sports advisor.
When it came to generosity, the Middle Eastern magnates were never vague.
Yet this matter didn’t attract much attention.
On one hand, amid news like "Russian tycoon Abramovich is interested in taking over Chelsea," "The Glazer family is very interested in Manchester United," and "Fenway Sports Group is eyeing the Premier League and Liverpool," other acquisition news seemed quite ordinary.
On the other hand, the UAE had almost no international fame at this moment—Cuba was many times more famous than them.
Therefore, the offer from the relatively unknown UAE wealthy man Mansour to acquire the English First Division team Manchester City went unnoticed like a stone sinking into the ocean, including by Manchester City themselves who didn’t take it seriously.
Not until the tycoon found the owner of Manchester City and started stuffing checks into his pocket did Manchester City truly realize—why would anyone want my humble broken city?
Set it up!
...
The transfer market is ever-changing, and every year some bask in the spring breeze of success.
And naturally, some are left desolate.
In Barcelona, a bald man was helplessly looking out the window at the drizzle and cursing under his breath: "Damn that Guardiola!"
Clearly, this was someone very familiar with the local language in Lisbon.
He was none other than Guardiola himself.
Just moments ago, for the last time, he had confirmed the details of the contract negotiations with Barcelona.
Barcelona could not accept the four-year contract he proposed.
Barcelona could only offer Guardiola a one-year contract at a time, and the salary was even lower than what he had anticipated.
Upon learning about this, Guardiola erupted, shouting "Villagers of Sa mock my aging weakness, such behavior is no better than being a thief on the other side"!
Barcelona: You’re exaggerating about height!
But to be fair, this matter can’t really be considered inconsiderate on Barcelona’s part.
The main issue was that Guardiola had suffered too many injuries over the past few years.
His frequent injuries, as the core of the midfield and defense, directly led to chaos in Barcelona’s backfield.
A glass player is scary, but a glass core is even scarier.
Barcelona was really unwilling to continue this exhaustion with Guardiola.
Moreover, they were not lacking in midfielders at the moment.
The defensive midfielder positions with Cocu and Gabri are quite useful.
Last year, Gerard, who was brought in from Valencia, didn’t perform too well, but in theory, he’s a versatile midfielder who can do everything. Given another chance, he might just show what he’s capable of.
Then there’s Luis Enrique, who moved back from the wing, and he’s also not bad in the midfield.
Not to mention the talented Xavi, who joined the first team last year. Starting this year, he will be taking on a lot of the team’s organizational responsibilities.
This guy with the big eyes is basically a younger version of Guardiola with a more forward position and stronger attacking skills, all right!
Guardiola: "For this younger version, you’ve surely exaggerated quite a bit, haven’t you?"
This is without even counting attacking players like Rivaldo, the newly signed Giovane, and Quaresma who can swing into midfield, among others.
And don’t forget, Guardiola himself is still the team captain and one of the original local leaders.
Under the pressure of Real Madrid’s internationalization strategy, Barcelona had previously strongly supported the Dutch contingent. Now they are heavily bringing in the South American contingent, making Guardiola’s position precarious. It’s hard for him to stay now, and if the team doesn’t wash him out now, it will become more difficult later.
For example, Florentino is considering a cleanout for Hierro at Real Madrid, but he doesn’t dare to act rashly. Being careful and cautious, which isn’t at all like a club president.
Barcelona ah Barcelona, there’s no time to say goodbye!
That’s precisely Guardiola’s real situation at this moment.
Of course, as a fairly good, well-known, and national team-level defensive midfielder, Guardiola is not short of options for his next club.
And this next club is in Serie A.
At this stage, moving to Serie A is still considered an "upward move", although in reality, Guardiola is on a "downward" trajectory, but at least it’s dignified.
However, the vibrating phone right now is almost making Guardiola pull out his hair.
Hair: "Stop dreaming, you’ve been bald for a long time."
Finally, Guardiola knew whether it was a blessing or a curse, he couldn’t avoid it, and he answered the call: "Hello, Puppy, oh no... Deng Kai, congratulations on winning the World Youth Championship."
"You are now the strongest kid in world football!"
Kid, that was to say Deng Kai was short, Deng Kai bullied the small.
Guardiola could insult without using dirty words, even employing antithesis to take another jab at his old club Barcelona.
On the other end of the phone, Deng Kai was quite modest: "Baldy, oh no... Captain Guardiola, that was just child’s play, not much of a prestigious honor."
"I heard Barcelona doesn’t want you anymore, oh I mean... heard you were planning to leave Barcelona?"
Young Master Kai was not going to be outdone in the insult department either.
Guardiola clenched his fists, boasting: "I can’t help it, Serie A is pressing hard. After all, it’s the little World Cup, and it’s hard for a well-known star like me to resist their temptation."
"I can only apologize to the Barcelona fans in advance!"
Deng Kai chuckled softly and then hit back: "Oh? Could it be that Juventus, Inter, and Roma are inviting you?"
Guardiola was speechless.
Was he going to those title-contending teams to be a water-cooler attendant?
Deng Kai: "Impossible... So it must be Milan, Lazio, and Parma then?"
Guardiola’s face stiffened.
The midfield at those wealthy clubs either performed much better than him, Guardiola, or they preferred to nurture young talents. Old guys like him had to step aside.
Deng Kai was about to burst out laughing like a comical emoticon: "It can’t possibly be Brescia, right? Although Brescia has Roberto Baggio, he’s in the last years of his career."
"Right now, Brescia can hardly talk about competing for the league title, let alone Champions League spots. At this stage, only stars on the decline would consider moving to Brescia, right?"
Guardiola was having trouble keeping face.
Because his next destination was indeed Brescia.
How did that damn Kai Dog get this information?
Could there be a traitor within my bald team...?
Before Guardiola could inquire who the mole was, Deng Kai extended an invitation: "Pepu, come to Sporting Lisbon! We have the Champions League to play this year, and we need a big-game player with strength and experience like you."
"After all, your wife wouldn’t want your career to plummet after leaving Barcelona, would she!"
Guardiola was floored right then and there.
What does his wife have to do with it?
However, the invitation from Sporting Lisbon was indeed an alternative to Brescia, and perhaps even the best solution.
