Chapter 546: Chapter 545: Lisbon Makes Two Hundred Million, Once Rivals Now Subordinates
"Sky Sports": "If even players from the French amateur leagues can play in the Premier League, then players from Ligue 1 coming to the Premiership would each be superstars! Manchester City is trying to replicate Sporting Lisbon’s success, but they will never understand the fundamental reason behind Sporting Lisbon’s success!"
"Legacy! Sporting Lisbon has a dark horse legacy! They have a youth development legacy! They have the best youth coaches!"
"Only they can spot gold covered in dust from a heap of garbage! And only they have the capability to clean off that dust!"
"It’s laughable! If Ribery can score five goals in the Premier League, I’ll stand on my head and pee!"
The English media insanely tells the world about the "real reason" behind Sporting Lisbon’s transfer success.
Just as those foreign car companies crazily tell domestic car owners that Mercedes and BMW are luxury brands because they have luxury in their genes!
Almost the entire world believes what the English media says because that’s what they think as well.
That was until Sporting Lisbon officially announced they would close this season’s transfer window early and revealed their transfer revenue for this summer.
In total... one hundred and eighty million euros!
Pure income!
If you consider the bonuses from Deng Kai leading the team to the championship... the figure reaches two hundred million!
Sporting Lisbon official: "We can’t say more, but we want to emphasize one point... Deng Kai is the greatest player in the history of Sporting Lisbon! There’s no one else!"
"Besides Manchester City themselves, no other club in the world knows better the craziness of City this summer!"
"We firmly believe that in no more than three years, Deng Kai will certainly lead Manchester City back to the Champions League battlefield!"
Sporting Lisbon’s statement feels oddly weird.
The English media used Sporting Lisbon as an example to criticize Manchester City for half a day, and then their very example turned around and praised City, even wishing them well.
This...
Okay now, you’ve suddenly become as close as brothers.
Damn!
...
"Manchester City is still gambling on lottery tickets! Not buying Anelka, who’s worth tens of millions, but spending three million euros to buy the so-called ’Golden Child’ from Spain’s second division Atletico Madrid!"
"Fernando Torres? From a certain aspect, he might be Spain’s version of Ronaldo?"
"Manchester City snatches the baby from the tiger’s mouth! Real Madrid also hoped to sign Torres, but the player himself refused!"
"Busting the myth! The one who wanted to sign Torres was Real Madrid’s youth team! Torres doesn’t have the ability to play in the Premier League for the next three years!"
Guardiola’s letter of commitment is finally delivered.
Although it was a bit of a hassle, he eventually sorted out Deng Kai’s orders.
You know, the biggest reason Torres was willing to join Manchester City was actually what Guardiola said to him, "Playing beside Deng Kai will bring you a lot, and in three years, you might become the next Ronaldo!"
"Three million eight hundred thousand euros! Manchester City buys another goalkeeper! Peter Cech, the Czech talent from Sparta Prague, joins Manchester City!"
"Cech has enormous talent! Becoming a world-class goalkeeper is just a matter of time! French club Rennes offered only fifty thousand less than Manchester City!"
"Wenger: I’ve had my eye on Cech for a long time, he should have come to Arsenal, we were just one step away from signing him!"
Manchester Evening: "Manchester City needs to understand one thing, not every goalkeeper named Peter is Schmeichel!"
Schmeichel, Lehmann, Cech, Caballero... Is Manchester City planning to collect seven goalkeepers to summon the Dragon?"
Kicker: "Manchester City signed Bayern’s youth player Lahm for four million euros! This is Lahm’s punishment for losing out in the competition with Schweinsteiger!"
Bild: "Bayern’s youth star joins Manchester City! Once competed in the same game as Deng Kai, their developments have diverged greatly over four years!"
Beckenbauer: "Lahm is a fine lad, but he is still too young. To play for Bayern’s first team, he’d have to wait at least another five years! But at Manchester City, he can play immediately."
Hoeness: "Letting Lahm go was a reluctant decision, but we had to loan out an even better Schweinsteiger, so it’s reasonable to sell him. Of course, if he’s good enough, he can always come back."
In response, Manchester City told Hoeness no way with a five-year long contract!
Furthermore, Lahm’s contract was custom-made, with low salary and high bonuses.
If Lahm wanted to lie down on the job after making his mark and threaten to leave the team, Manchester City wouldn’t suffer much loss.
Of course, this was just a teeny bit of precaution from Mansour regarding potential issues with Bayern players.
You guard against gentlemen but not against scoundrels.
If Lahm really wanted to burn bridges, there are still many ways to go back.
It’s like saying break it off first, then don’t mess up later.
Deng Kai also took the initiative to contact Lahm, telling him not to be mad at Mansour.
The Middle Eastern tycoon might not care about money, but they fear disrespect the most.
This clause is mainly for mutual respect.
Mansour: "???"
Mansour: "Wasn’t it you who jumped up and insisted that Lahm’s contract had to be personally revised by you? Are you claiming all the good deeds now?"
Lahm also expressed understanding.
After all, for German players, Bayern’s appeal... Even Real Madrid said so, didn’t they? They also wanted Ballack this summer, and offered more in both transfer fee and salary than Bayern.
However, Ballack ultimately joined Bayern after considering multiple factors—including different nations, families, and teams.
Then Ballack received strong support from his Bayern teammates in the national team, got the chance to shine, and successfully stepped into Matthaus’ shoes to become Germany’s chief midfielder at this World Cup!
In fact, Manchester City’s clauses are not only beneficial for the club but also for Lahm.
Otherwise... If Lahm really made it big, he’d likely lose control under various pressures and yearn to return to Bayern!
France Football: "Perhaps we’ve all underestimated this Manchester City! Or maybe, we’ve gotten so used to seeing Deng Kai and Ronaldo that we’ve forgotten that this group of Manchester City youngsters is actually a collection of one-in-a-hundred football talents!"
Torino Sport Newspaper: "We are pleased to announce that we will officially establish the European Golden Boy Award next year!"
"Our attention to young players is the earliest and most comprehensive in the world."
"At 18 years old, Lahm was one of the most glittering players in Bayern’s youth academy! Schweinsteiger beat him to the first team not because the latter was too strong, but because Lahm’s competitor was the formidable Lizarazu!"
"Being 20 years old doesn’t mean much in other positions, but as a goalkeeper Cech appears too young, which has cost him many opportunities to join top clubs. Yet his true strength is definitely at the level of a Premier League starter!"
"Torres is only eighteen this year, yet he has played two years of professional football already! Real Madrid bought him not to antagonize their city rivals, but because they saw shades of Raul in him. However, Torres’s speed surpasses that of Raul at the same age!"
