Chapter 537: Chapter 536: Milan gambles with fate, Barça acts foolishly, Wu Xudong joins Arsenal
Deng Kai sighed, "Well then, forget it. If you can’t handle the tough ones, could you at least manage to secure me a kid from a Spanish second division team?"
"If I can’t even manage that, I would indeed start worrying about my chances of becoming the manager of Manchester City in the future."
Guardiola looked up with his chest puffed out, almost at attention, "Mission guaranteed!"
...
Deng Kai still had quite a few phone calls to make afterward.
And that summer, the money finally began to flutter.
AC Milan’s splurge was perhaps the most outrageous of them all!
Twenty-two million five hundred thousand euros to snatch up Seedorf!
Thirty-one million euros to lock down Nesta!
They were also inquiring about other top-notch players.
It was clear that the Serie A triumph of their city rivals Inter Milan had gotten under their skin.
If the fierce rival is going hard, and you don’t keep up, you’re bound to fall behind.
Soon enough, AC Milan launched their trump card.
"Barcelona collapses! World Cup champion team’s key player, Rivaldo, heads to Serie A! Joins AC Milan for free to avoid salary cut!"
"The insider story behind Rivaldo’s departure! Barcelona used age as an excuse, hoping Rivaldo would accept a 50% pay cut!"
"Close to five million euros! Rivaldo’s salary in Serie A matches his net income in La Liga!"
"Rivaldo: I did not feel Barcelona’s desire to keep me, so I had no choice but to leave!"
AC Milan’s move was shocking.
This year, with the global economy in a downturn, many players had to accept salary reductions, yet AC Milan dared to spend so lavishly.
If they failed to win any championships this year, they might just collapse!
Such a do-or-die act was not well-received.
But there’s always a higher mountain.
Manchester United soon broke the transfer record set for Nesta.
"Bombshell! Premier League’s number one center-back, Ferdinand, joins Manchester United with a staggering transfer fee of forty-six million euros! Leeds United makes a net profit of twenty million euros in two years!"
"Ferdinand surpasses Stam, as Manchester United welcomes a treble-winning caliber lineup!"
"Premier League loss forces Manchester United to reflect deeply; Ferdinand’s signing may establish the foundation for another Premier League three-peat!"
Then, a series of transactions popped up.
Parma acquired Cocco for twenty-two million five hundred thousand euros, and Almeida for twenty-two million one hundred thousand euros.
After losing Rivaldo, Barcelona brought in Riquelme from Boca Juniors for ten million euros. This classically styled player might be the last classical number ten in the world.
Boca Juniors also took the opportunity to market their other players, especially the goalkeeper, Caballero.
Because Barcelona, previously well-stocked with goalkeepers, found themselves tight on options after Reina left.
Valdes was performing too inconsistently, he still needed some time.
However, Barcelona rejected the recommendation from Boca Juniors, as they had their own choice in mind.
Just when Boca Juniors thought their trip was going to be in vain, Manchester City from the Premier League scooped up Caballero for five hundred thousand euros, saving Boca Juniors the airfare.
Meanwhile, Barcelona spent nine million euros to loan Mendieta from Lazio, the European midfielder of the year two seasons ago and last season’s biggest flop in world football!
Because of this loan, Lazio even had to compensate Valencia with three million euros.
Because when Valencia originally sold Mendieta to Lazio, there was a supplementary agreement that if Lazio sold Mendieta back to Spain, they would have to compensate them twelve million euros.
Lazio first paid three million euros, and if by the end of this season Barça confirmed their purchase of Mendieta, Lazio would have to pay the remaining nine million euros.
It meant that Lazio’s original cost for purchasing Mendieta was sixty million euros!
Only second to Zidane!
Of course, Barcelona fans were not satisfied with the current transaction.
An unknown from Argentina, a complete flop, and this is supposed to fill the void left by Rivaldo’s departure?
Seeing that the fans were not easy to fool,
Barça had no choice but to spend money like water for four consecutive years.
Moreover, they had to comply with the fans’ wishes and hold their noses to buy players from Sporting Lisbon.
"Thirty-two million euros! Ronaldinho transfers to Barcelona!"
"Sporting Lisbon earns a crazy eighteen million euros in one year! They even casually snagged a Champions League treble with Ronaldinho!"
"One of the best transactions of the new century is born! Sporting Lisbon’s robbery of Ronaldinho last season is the pride of the pageant!"
"Paris Saint-Germain is in agony! Claims that their relationship with Barcelona is irreparable!"
"Is there more to Ronaldinho’s transfer to Barça? Paris Saint-Germain says they had already agreed with Sporting Lisbon on everything about Ronaldinho’s transfer!"
"Barcelona management: We have more money than Paris, whenever we fancy a player, we simply buy them. It’s that simple! Paris, don’t be sore!"
"Soccer Emperor’s secret: Paris and Sporting Lisbon had agreed on a transfer fee of twenty-five million euros, but Barça suddenly offered thirty-two million euros, leaving Sporting Lisbon bewildered!"
"Football’s big sucker? Barcelona’s nouveau riche-style price hikes, making money by selling land, so enviable!"
"Paris Saint-Germain: If we get rich in the future, we will buy all of Barcelona’s key players! We will let them feel the pain of being humiliated by money!"
"Barcelona: Then we hope you earn that much money soon! Don’t end up not being able to afford even our thirty-four-year-old veterans, ha!"
This round of extreme tug-of-war left Sporting Lisbon reeling in the profits, earning a clean seven million euros.
What does seven hundred thousand represent?
Liverpool just paid eight million euros to make permanent their loan of centre-back Kilop from Ajax.
And this was their main centre-back from last season.
Viewed by countless Liverpool fans as the future bedrock of the team’s defense!
Similarly, Arsenal took away Chinese winger Wu Xudong from Sporting Lisbon for eight million euros.
Last season, four goals and four assists, he was destined to be with Arsenal.
Wu Xudong had even sought Deng Kai’s opinion on this transfer.
Because other teams had offered higher wages.
"Young man, it’s very normal not to have money at your age. But if you don’t have dreams, then you’re truly nothing," Deng Kai said, "Arsenal’s fullbacks on both sides are speed-oriented players."
"This means a direct fit with you, which largely solves your problem of tactical adaptability."
"Moreover, speed-oriented players are prone to injuries, and the Premier League’s physicality is intense. Arsenal plays a lot of matches... You won’t be short of games at Arsenal."
"This is one of the top clubs!"
"Being a regular player or a main rotation player at Sporting Lisbon means you’re a star. But if you can achieve that at Arsenal, you’re at least an absolute superstar in Asia."
"The Asian Footballer of the Year is not a dream; even becoming a first-class European star is something to think about!"
Ultimately, Wu Xudong happily headed to London, becoming a Gunner!
This also marked the first Chinese player to join a top club!]]>
