Chapter 548: Chapter 547: Win-Win (Seeking Monthly Votes)
Moratti broke into a smile.
The recruitment of players for Inter Milan was mainly completed with his involvement.
Maxa’s recent actions had been very pleasing to Moratti.
"Could it be Manchester City?" Moratti speculated Maxa’s next move based on the recent soccer news.
Maxa nodded.
Moratti’s estimation of Maxa increased in his heart.
To stem the tide of collapse, to support a faltering edifice!
Knowing Manchester City was a pitfall, he was still willing to take the plunge!
That was the saintliness of Maxa!
"If there ever comes a day when Inter truly needs me, I’ll be there!" Maxa said with a sincere gaze.
Moratti was so moved he almost burst into tears.
A confidant!
With such a friend, what more could one ask for?
"By the way, since I’ve come this far, it wouldn’t be right to just leave without discussing something. I see that young forward on your team is a fine prospect. Why not sell him to Manchester City, and let me train him?" Maxa pushed through with the task set by Deng Kai, toughening it on the outside.
Moratti frowned, "Who? Are you talking about... Adriano?"
Maxa nodded, "Yes. That kid hardly played any games last year, and it’s exactly the time to develop his skills. If he doesn’t get training now, he might be wasted!"
Moratti felt what Maxa said made sense, "Let’s go with a loan then. We have high hopes for him, so selling is definitely not an option."
Maxa, clinging to Moratti, confided, "To be honest, I, the esteemed Maxa, going to Manchester City without showing some real action might lead to attacks by the English media."
"If you also have high hopes for Adriano, we can sign a contract with a buy-back option. In two years, if Adriano really makes it big, you can buy him back."
"Who will earnestly develop a loaned player? Even if I put in the effort, the club’s higher-ups and the fans will not allow a loaned player to play in all the important games."
"This is Manchester City, not Sporting Lisbon. Situations like with Terry won’t recur."
Moratti thought it over for a while and felt that what Maxa was saying made sense.
The temptation was indeed great.
Adriano was unlikely to get much playtime at Inter over the next two years, with Crespo, Recoba, Batistuta, Vieri... where did Adriano stand in comparison?
Rather than let him be wasted, it was better to let Maxa, capable of turning decay into magic, develop him.
Perhaps he could be the next Ronaldo?
Adriano certainly had the potential.
Moratti made up his mind, "In that case, we’ll sell half of Adriano’s rights to Manchester City, and in addition, we’ll have a buy-back option after two years."
Maxa nodded, "What about the price?"
Moratti, "Thirteen million euros!"
Maxa, "That’s too much, ten million euros."
Moratti, "For your sake, okay!"
Maxa, "Then I’ll notify Manchester City to transfer the money, five million will appear in Inter’s account tomorrow."
Moratti, "Wait, five million? I said ten million."
Maxa, "Isn’t half of ten million five million?"
Moratti, "You might have misunderstood. I meant half of Adriano’s value is ten million!"
The two men shared an awkward moment.
Maxa activated his heartfelt communication mode, "Five million, to sell us half of the development-stage Adriano. In two years, I guarantee to turn development-stage Adriano into the top forward! To turn him into peak Adriano!"
"The top-tier forwards, let’s set their market value at forty million. That’s twenty million for half, right?"
"By the time Inter pays twenty million to buy back a top forward, plus the five million we’re giving you now, it means you’ve spent only fifteen million to secure a prime Adriano, a super forward on par with Ronaldo!"
"Look at the forwards you’ve bought in the past, was any of them this good of a deal?"
"It’s only because we have such a good relationship that I’m willing to help you train the player, otherwise no matter how much others offer, I don’t have the time. After all, this fifteen million euros isn’t going straight into my pocket!"
"Five million euros for half of Adriano is absolutely a win-win deal!"
Maxa swore solemnly.
Moratti also felt that Maxa made a very good point.
Just wait two years, and for just fifteen million you can buy a new Ronaldo.
This is a huge win!
Moratti: "Sign, sign, sign, sign now! Win-win! Win-win!"
Watching an excited Moratti, Maxa felt like he was seeing his former self.
When Deng Kai told him this, he was dumbfounded. How was this deal a win-win? Clearly, Man City was at a loss!
Selling a future Adriano comparable to Ronaldo for fifteen million euros, how is that not a loss?
Deng Kai: "Are you silly? Don’t you think something is missing in this calculation?"
Maxa: "What’s missing?"
Deng Kai: "You’re missing the value of a growing Adriano! This deal looks profitable for Inter because the initial value of Adriano isn’t factored in!"
"Two years later, Inter actually used ’growing Adriano’ plus fifteen million to get ’prime Adriano.’ During this period, they also had to bear the risk of Adriano being a flop."
"If prime Adriano is worth forty million, reversing the equation, the value of growing Adriano is twenty-five million. Half of that is twelve and a half million euros, but they only received five million euros from us."
"We effortlessly saved seven hundred and fifty thousand."
Maxa was stunned: "What about the win-win? They lost seven hundred and fifty thousand!"
Deng Kai: "Saving seven hundred and fifty thousand euros is the first time we win."
"Two years later, selling Adriano for twenty million, subtracting the cost, we used Adriano for free for two years and still made a profit of fifteen million euros. We win again."
"Win twice, isn’t that a win-win?"
Maxa was awestruck.
Indeed it was a win-win.
But in the end, Internazionale hadn’t really lost much."
At least, they truly had the chance to harness a prime Adriano.
Even if Moratti knew the truth, he would still approve of the deal.
It’s only an extra expense of thirty-two million, after all.
Which forward he bought wasn’t more expensive than this number?
Splash the cash!
...
"Manchester City’s Savior! Maxa rejects Inter, Real Madrid, and other giants to officially join Manchester City!"
"Legendary manager Maxa! Chooses the hellish challenge of Manchester City for his first coaching job!"
"Apart from guarding Deng Kai, we can’t think of a second reason for Maxa’s choice of City! Such deep love this master has for Deng Kai!"
"Maxa brings a big gift to Manchester City by bringing Ronaldo’s successor from Internazionale for only five million euros!"
"Manchester City buys half of Adriano’s rights for five million euros! Parma’s previous offer of ten million for half was refused!"
"Face Value! Internazionale president Moratti congratulates Maxa on taking charge of Manchester City, and sends a message to Adriano: ’When you return to Internazionale, I hope you’ve become the next Ronaldo!’"
