Sports Medicine Master System

Chapter 442: Chapter 378: Never Mind the Annual Salary, a Villa Is the Base Offer

"Chen, this house is on a five-acre lot. It has three swimming pools, a parking lot for 25 cars, and a helicopter landing pad."

"The main building has six living rooms and ten luxuriously decorated bedrooms. Out back, there’s a massive, royal-style garden, nearly identical to the gardens of the Spanish Royal Palace."

"It’s right in the La Moraleja District, valued at over six million euros. And Raul, Yela, and Zidane all live there."

"I’ve also prepared a seaside villa for you on Ibiza Island, right next to Figo’s villa. It’s only a 10-minute walk from the villa to the La Marina Coast."

"Chen, come to Madrid. All of this will be yours."

After some simple pleasantries, Florentino sat down. Ignoring Jackson and the others, he launched into a detailed description of the sincere offer he had prepared for Chen Yu.

Villas with a total value approaching ten million euros.

All Chen Yu had to do was nod, and they would be his instantly.

At the same time, he had also prepared a salary of 5 million US dollars a year.

The key point was, this was a post-tax annual salary. Before taxes, it would exceed ten million.

Jackson, who had just sat down, felt his expression shift. He strongly suspected Florentino was saying all this for his benefit.

It was a provocation, poaching someone right in front of him.

’So shameless!’

But Jackson wasn’t easily intimidated. He quickly gave Kobe a look, and Kobe, understanding the cue, immediately asked, "Chen, are you going to Europe? What about everything here in the United States?"

Jackson immediately nodded in agreement. "That’s right, Chen. Didn’t you just renew your contract with the Phoenix Suns? Besides, your clinic, your career—it’s all in the United States. Oh, and you’re a medical advisor to the President. Wouldn’t it be inconvenient to leave the United States for Europe?"

He said this while staring intently at Florentino, cursing him inwardly.

’What the hell!’

’Some European hick actually comes all the way to the United States to poach our talent. Going on and on about villas, is he trying to mock us, like we can’t afford to gift a villa?’

’If Chen Yu would just come to Los Angeles, Old Bass would probably grit his teeth and gift him a villa in Beverly Hills.’

’Someone who can guarantee the whole team’s health and has an aura that attracts veteran free agents... Isn’t that more valuable than a max contract player?’

’Most importantly, the 28 teams in the league haven’t even started fighting over him yet. What gives a foreign club the right to jump the line?’

Florentino heard every word. He was furious inside, but his face showed no reaction. He lowered his voice slightly and said, "Chen, I can let you in on some huge news ahead of time. We are incredibly close to signing Ronnie. I know you and Ronnie are very, very good friends. Don’t you want to work with him?"

Jackson scoffed inwardly.

’Is that all you’ve got? Already playing the friendship card?’

He quickly shot Yao Ming a look.

Yao Ming had high emotional intelligence. Although Jackson hadn’t told him and Kobe why they were coming along to Phoenix, he understood the situation now. He said, "Doctor Chen, the training manual you prepared for me at the start of the season was a huge help. My parents keep telling me that if I ever got the chance, I had to properly thank you again."

"Oh, and last year when you were in Los Angeles, my mother mentioned a dish called ’Yan Du Xian.’ Last month, she had someone bring over some cured pork and spring bamboo shoots from China. She specially froze and saved some, saying it was for you."

Jackson nodded silently. ’Not bad, playing the emotional card.’

’By the way, what is this ’Yan Du Xian’ stuff? Does it taste good?’

"Everyone."

Chen Yu held up a hand to stop them. "This is a clinic. Let’s discuss some medical conditions, shall we?"

With that, Chen Yu called over William and had him take Yao Ming and Kobe for their check-ups.

A short while later, Xiaobei also returned after finishing his examination.

His agent, Sarin, was with him. His wife, Victoria, had stayed in the United Kingdom to look after the children.

Florentino stopped talking about recruitment, stood up to make way, and couldn’t help but look a little nervous.

It was safe to say that Beckham was confirmed to be joining Real Madrid, so he was just as anxious about Beckham’s injury.

Chen Yu took the X-rays and examined them.

It wasn’t a major problem.

The day before yesterday, Beckham and the United Kingdom National Team had played a friendly match against the South Africa Team in Durban, South Africa. In the 28th minute, Beckham was taken down by Molfe on the right wing and fell heavily, fracturing the metacarpal bone in his right thumb.

It wasn’t a serious injury, but Beckham had still flown to the United States at the first opportunity after getting hurt.

He couldn’t help it; he just trusted Chen Yu, the authority on the matter.

"It’s a minor issue," Chen Yu said, putting down the X-rays and smiling at Beckham.

Beckham let out a visible sigh of relief.

Although the doctors at the local hospital in South Africa had also told him it wasn’t a big deal, hearing it from a medical authority like Chen Yu was far more convincing.

"That’s wonderful," Florentino said, relieved. He immediately added, "Chen, do you see? This is exactly why we need you. Only you can guarantee our players’ health."

Chen Yu was speechless. ’Can you go three sentences without trying to poach me?’

He stood up and had the others leave first.

’They’re in the way.’

Only then did Chen Yu perform a manual reduction on Beckham’s thumb and set it in a cast.

It wasn’t a comminuted fracture, so there was no need to fix it with Kirschner wires.

Jackson and the others were ushered out the door. He glanced at Florentino, instinctively wanting to go over and chat for a moment.

Unexpectedly, Florentino simply turned and walked away, making a phone call.

Jackson gave a light huff and dropped the idea.

"Phil, I can’t believe a European soccer club is already here," Kupchek said with a frown.

Americans might not follow soccer, but Kupchek had still heard of a world-famous club like Real Madrid.

He had the impression that the club was extremely wealthy, so it was no surprise they’d offer a villa right off the bat.

"Are we going to offer a villa too?" Kupchek pressed.

He didn’t really care one way or the other; it wasn’t his money, after all. The issue was Old Bass. He wasn’t poor, but he was overly shrewd. A villa worth several million, or even ten million—he honestly didn’t know if Bass would be willing to part with that kind of money.

The mention of a villa gave Jackson a headache.

Florentino had basically set the precedent for any team that wanted to recruit Chen Yu. ’Look, let’s not even talk about salary yet. A luxury villa is the minimum starting offer.’

Of course, there was nothing inherently wrong with that.

If you want to attract top talent, you have to show you’re serious.

And Chen Yu was worth the price.

Thinking of this, Jackson suddenly felt a pang of jealousy and regret. He was jealous that Chen Yu had somehow hit it off with that little rascal Brian and ended up in Phoenix. Why couldn’t he have gone to Los Angeles?

If Jackson had known two years ago how much help Chen Yu could be to a team as their doctor, he would have found a way to poach him then.

"We’ll talk about offering a villa later. But I think we should proactively leak this news. If someone’s going to poach him, it should be a team from our own league. How can we let a foreign club steal him away?" Jackson said.

Keep the good stuff within the family. And even if it does flow out, it can’t be allowed to flow abroad.

Even if Chen Yu didn’t stay in the NBA, there was the NFL, Major League Baseball—plenty of United States Professional Leagues where he could make his mark.

Kupchek nodded in agreement.

Get the news out there. Let all the NBA owners know what’s happening. Tell them to stop holding back. If they don’t make a move soon, a foreign club is going to snatch him up.

"And we have to be quick. It would be best to get Chen before the trade market opens," Jackson added.

Who was the reason Ma Long wanted to go to Phoenix? It was Chen Yu.

And behind Ma Long, there was still Stockton.

Add Payton to the list, and Miller, who was revealed later.

Jackson figured that if they could poach Chen Yu before the market opened, all these veterans would turn around and flock to the Lakers.

They could assemble an All-Star lineup next season and really show off.

That night, the pivotal "Celestial King Mountain" game between the Phoenix Suns and the Spurs was set to take place.

With so many people showing up unexpectedly, Chen Yu felt he had to host them.

After some thought, he decided on a barbecue.

Barbecued meat and beer—the eternal favorites of Americans.

His house was too small, so he decided to just hold it at the clinic.

He set up a couple of canopies, fired up the grill, and could even treat clinic staff like William and Jamie to a nice perk.

J Kidd and Payton were there, as was Miller. Liu Xiang and Sun Haiping had also arrived in the United States the day before yesterday, so Yao Ming wasn’t worried about not knowing anyone.

Add Bolt to the mix, and it was a huge, bustling crowd.

After a moment’s consideration, Chen Yu decided to call Brian over as well.

He was worried Brian might get into it with Jackson, but it would have been rude not to invite him.

As evening fell and a cool breeze blew, they gathered on the clinic’s large lawn. There was an electronic screen set up so they could watch the game.

Since the lawn was a soccer field, and with a world-class soccer star like Beckham present, plus the fact that Kobe, J Kidd, and the others all enjoyed soccer, a pickup game was inevitable.

The most excited of all was Little Curry. It was Friday, and as soon as school let out, he had run over to the clinic to hang out.

Ever since he found out Miller was at the clinic, Little Curry had been coming over often to ask for advice on how to practice his shooting.

He had also trained in soccer when he was younger and had a great interest in it. Getting to play with a star of Beckham’s caliber made him so happy he couldn’t stop cheering.

A buffet of fruit and drinks was set up to one side. Payton, grabbing a bottle of beer, sidled up to Miller. Watching the guys fooling around on the field opposite them, he asked, "Reggie, still haven’t decided?"

Miller took a sip of beer but didn’t answer.

Since coming to Phoenix and receiving treatment, he had never once mentioned joining the Phoenix Suns.

He had a feeling that Chen Yu knew what was on his mind.

But he was still conflicted.

Even though his injury was almost fully healed, he was still here, showing no intention of leaving.

Payton sighed. "Reggie, I’m 35 this year. Of course I love Seattle, I love everything about it. But when I left Seattle this year, I could proudly tell all the fans there that I had dedicated the best ten years of my life to them."

"So I don’t feel like I owe anyone anything. I’m desperate for a championship, so I chose to leave. In the twilight of my career, I’m willing to do whatever it takes for a title."

"You’re already 38, even older than me. You’ve also given the best years of your life, the best version of yourself, to Indiana. If you do decide to leave one day, I believe the fans who truly love you will only offer their blessings, not their curses."

"So you should really think about it seriously. Come to the Phoenix Suns. Let’s win a championship together."

Miller looked at Payton, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

’You haven’t even joined the Phoenix Suns yourself, and you’re already scheming to recruit me for them?’

"I’ll think about it some more," Miller sighed. He glanced over at Chen Yu, who was sitting under a canopy chatting with Jackson, Florentino, and the others. "Besides, you’ve probably seen the news lately. It’s not certain that Chen will stay with the Phoenix Suns."

He didn’t want to finally make up his mind to join the Phoenix Suns, only for Chen Yu to turn around and leave.

"Of course I know that," Payton said with an unconcerned shrug.

Why else was Jackson here, if not to poach Chen Yu?

"But I’ve already thought it through. Even if Chen does leave the Phoenix Suns, he’ll surely go to a team with championship potential. So wherever he goes, I can go too."

Not only could Chen Yu guarantee a team’s health, but his appeal to veterans and free agents was incredible.

This year alone, Chen Yu could, at a minimum, attract the three of them: himself, Ma Long, and Stockton.

It’s no exaggeration to say that if the three of them joined, any playoff-caliber team would instantly have the strength to contend for a championship.