Chapter 471: Chapter 405: What a Messy Circle (Part 2)
If they had immediately examined and treated the problem on the 3rd, perhaps the recurrence of the fracture on the 6th could have been avoided.
In fact, Chen Yu felt his right foot couldn’t be considered fully recovered.
Otherwise, how could the stress fracture have recurred? It must have reinjured the site of the original fracture, which hadn’t healed completely.
Ultimately, he just returned to play too soon without letting it heal properly.
An injury at the base of the bone is really tricky. Frequent injuries like this can have a huge impact.
His right foot’s future athletic performance would be affected, and it could develop into a chronic injury.
"He needs surgery," Chen Yu stated directly, not waiting for Zhang Jianqiang to say more.
Surgery, followed by a proper recovery period, was the only way to get him back to full health.
Zhang Jianqiang and Yan Shiduo exchanged a glance.
They had already seen how professional Chen Yu was and knew they had come to the right person for a consultation.
But the prospect of surgery put them in a difficult position.
Chen Yu wasn’t just any doctor; his surgical fees were very expensive.
Look at Liu Yudong. If the domestic media in China hadn’t made such a huge fuss, would the Basketball Association have paid for him to get treatment in the United States?
And Qu Bo would face the same problem.
One look at their expressions and Chen Yu guessed the reason.
’It’s still about money.’
His fees were high, and Chinese insurance couldn’t be used in the United States. Paying entirely out-of-pocket was no small sum.
For Liu Yudong’s treatment, the Basketball Association and his club had grudgingly coughed up one million, while sponsors covered the remaining three million.
"You’ll have to figure something out," Chen Yu said. "In his case, surgery is one aspect, but the main thing is recovery. He needs plenty of time to heal properly."
As for the surgical fee, Chen Yu certainly wasn’t going to just waive it.
’We’re not close, and it’s what I’ve earned. Why should I give him a discount?’
If he truly felt it was a pity and wanted to offer a discount, that would be a different matter entirely.
Even for Vivian Foe’s recent surgery, Chen Yu had charged a fee, which he would later get reimbursed by Manchester City.
"Alright, we’ll try to figure something out," Zhang Jianqiang nodded, saying no more.
Just getting a consultation was already a rare opportunity.
It wasn’t every day you got to meet a world-class orthopedic authority like Chen Yu.
Chen Yu noticed his troubled expression, and an idea popped into his head.
A situation like Qu Bo’s was definitely difficult.
He was on the National Olympic Team, which meant he was a young man.
Just starting his professional soccer career, how much could he possibly be earning?
After leaving the Suns and deciding to start a consulting firm, the incident with Vivian Foe in particular had given Chen Yu a lot to think about.
Chen Yu knew there were probably many players like Qu Bo who couldn’t afford to see him because of the cost.
So an idea began to form in Chen Yu’s mind: when he had the time, he could consider traveling to different countries to perform visiting surgeries.
That way, athletes from other countries could use their local insurance and no longer have to worry about the cost.
For a young player to have the leaders of the Football Association specifically think of him and seek a consultation on his behalf, he must be exceptionally talented.
It would be a real shame if an injury were to affect his future career simply because of money.
But this was just a preliminary idea. He hadn’t worked out the details yet and certainly wasn’t going to bring it up now.
’It’s best to let them try to figure it out on their own first.’
Blatter arrived in Paris the next day.
The Executive Committee meeting was to be held at the Sofitel Hotel, FIFA’s base in Paris.
The committee members attending the meeting were staying at the Bristol Hotel near the Arc de Triomphe.
On the evening of his arrival, Blatter hosted a reception at the Bristol Hotel for the visiting committee members.
Chen Yu was also among those invited.
At the venue, after running into his old acquaintance Beckenbauer, Chen Yu listened to him complain that FIFA meetings were generally just about eating and drinking.
Chen Yu couldn’t help but chuckle.
Beckenbauer added, "Chen, I support you taking charge of the Medical Committee with both hands. Joseph has finally done something worthwhile."
Chen Yu glanced at him. ’That last sentence has a hidden meaning.’
Chen Yu understood what he meant.
Last year, the competition between Blatter and Hayatou had been fierce. Blatter only managed to secure his re-election thanks to Zheng Mengjun switching sides at the last minute.
But in the year since his re-election, Blatter had done nothing but busy himself with purging dissenters.
Many people had been dismissed from their positions.
He didn’t even show any gratitude to Zheng Mengjun of the Korea Football Association. With Zheng now arrested, Blatter used the excuse of FIFA’s upcoming centenary to propose that the FIFA vice presidents be held concurrently by the presidents of the continental confederations, rather than being elected internally.
This wasn’t just aimed at Zhao Chongyan, Zheng Mengjun’s successor as president of the Korea Football Association, but was primarily targeted at South America.
Blatter wanted to promote his own confidant and old pal, Julio Grondona, instead of the current CONMEBOL president, Nicholas Reos.
All Chen Yu could say to this was, ’What a messy circle.’
But on second thought, it was normal. Such a massive organization, responsible for hosting soccer events worldwide, involved so many football clubs and national football associations. FIFA’s own annual income was in the hundreds of millions of euros.
Wherever there are people, there are politics, not to mention when such huge interests are at stake.
"Franz, if I take over the Medical Committee, I have some plans that I hope you’ll support," Chen Yu said.
’Since I’ve entered this circle, I have to play by its rules.’
Especially since he wanted to accomplish a few things, he would definitely need allies.
Beckenbauer was slightly taken aback, then immediately smiled and nodded. "Chen, we are good friends."
Chen Yu nodded. Those words were enough.
Beckenbauer then added, "But Chen, I also have a favor to ask. For the ’06 World Cup, I hope to get your professional help. It would be best if you could also serve as the Medical Director for our World Cup organizing committee."
Chen Yu was silent. ’Is this a quid pro quo?’
"Alright, I’ll consider it," Chen Yu said with a smile and a nod.
Just as they were speaking, Blatter arrived. After exchanging pleasantries with those around him, he quickly found Chen Yu and pulled him along to introduce him to the various committee members.
People like Johansson might still be firm opponents of Blatter.
But when it came to Chen Yu, everyone expressed great goodwill.
Even Johansson, like Beckenbauer, laughingly praised his old rival Blatter, saying that being able to bring in Chen Yu was a major contribution to the development of FIFA.
During the reception, Chen Yu wanted to ask about the Women’s World Cup, but he couldn’t find a suitable opportunity to bring it up, so he eventually let it go.
The reception lasted until after nine o’clock at night.
As they were leaving, everyone received a commemorative gift box.
Chen Yu sharply noticed that some people’s gift boxes were the same as his, while others were slightly different.
There was a difference in size.
The gift was quite heavy.
Only after getting into the car did Chen Yu have a chance to open it and take a look.
There were some souvenirs, and at the very bottom, beneath them, was a stack of euros. Not a lot, fifty thousand euros.
Chen Yu didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
’What is this, a welcome gift?’
’And isn’t the atmosphere in FIFA just awful? Just for a meeting, they’re handing out cash.’
And they were even giving different gifts. Chen Yu had every reason to suspect that the boxes that were different from his—belonging to Blatter’s opponents—definitely didn’t contain any money.
’If I take this money, does that mean I’m one of Blatter’s men now?’
’Or maybe Blatter is doing this on purpose to test me.’
’After all, only those who take the money can be considered one of his own.’
Chen Yu still hadn’t figured out what to do with the money by the time he got back to his hotel.
It just felt a bit disgusting.
For a mere fifty thousand euros, it felt a bit like he was selling out his integrity.
After thinking it over and over, Chen Yu found a notebook and made an entry.
*June 28th, received a gift of fifty thousand euros from FIFA!*
’I’ll just record it for now.’
If something really happened down the line, he could use this as evidence to explain himself.
In any case, Chen Yu was definitely not going to keep the money.
After making the entry, Chen Yu thought of something else.
’Should I report this money to the Internal Revenue Service? After all, it’s technically income, which means it should be taxed.’
Even as the president’s medical consultant, he had never been exempt from paying his taxes.
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