The God of Football Starts With Passive Skills

Chapter 562: Chapter 110: Beating 4 Players! Retrograde Domain, Activate! A Great Legend! Forward Frenzy in the Winter Transfer Market

This winter, the Premier League was the most active transfer market.

Influenced by the Premier League, the Bundesliga also saw significant transfer activity during its winter break.

Dortmund, however, remained quiet.

The team was in excellent shape, so stability was the top priority.

There was some activity with the youth team, but it had nothing to do with Wang Shuo.

"Dalglish is a manager who places a high value on homegrown players. Even though Andy Carroll was injured, he signed him without a moment’s hesitation."

"Apparently, the player was only told to report to Liverpool the next day after the transfer had already been finalized. He was caught completely off guard because he hadn’t prepared for anything."

Hearing this, Wang Shuo couldn’t help but sigh, feeling a sense of concern for the young center-forward, Andy Carroll.

He had just played half a good season at Newcastle and was still recovering from an injury. Now, with this sudden transfer, he was completely unprepared. The impact on a player would surely be immense.

’Just think about it. Reporting to Liverpool... where would he live? What would he eat?’

’And what about his injury?’

’Frankly, it’s a huge hassle for an ordinary person to switch hospitals for treatment, even with their medical records in hand. And here was Andy Carroll, not just switching to a new team of doctors, but moving to an entirely new city.’

’Just thinking about it was a headache!’

But this was just the reality of transfers in the European Football Scene.

"From the look of things, we can basically conclude that neither Chelsea nor Liverpool will be looking to sign another high-level striker in this summer’s transfer market," Shen Qinghe assessed.

Chelsea spent a fortune to sign Torres, and Liverpool signed both Suarez and Andy Carroll in one fell swoop. Carroll, in particular, was a homegrown center-forward.

Under these circumstances, they had no reason to invest heavily again in the summer transfer market.

Much less get involved in Wang Shuo’s transfer!

Wang Shuo wasn’t disappointed by this, however.

After all, both clubs had made Wang Shuo their top target before making those other moves.

Both Chelsea and Liverpool had contacted him. If he had given the nod, he could have joined either of them.

Sometimes, the timing of a transfer is everything.

Chelsea must have felt it was crucial to sign a top-tier striker immediately, which is why they weren’t willing to wait until the summer.

The same was true for Liverpool.

Besides, Andy Carroll was a red-hot aerial threat in the Premier League, hailed as the "White Drogba."

If these two giants were out of the picture, that meant two fewer teams would be vying for Wang Shuo in the summer.

"As things stand, Manchester United, Arsenal, and Manchester City are all still looking to sign a striker, and their interest is very strong."

"Didn’t Manchester City just sign Dzeko?" Thomas Essien asked in surprise.

"They did, but the Blue Moon aren’t short on cash. They still want to sign another striker. Wang Shuo is their top choice, but someone like Aguero is also on their list."

At this, Shen Qinghe’s brilliant eyes turned to Wang Shuo as she smiled. "Manchester City is a very special team, completely different from any team of the past."

"How so?" Wang Shuo was curious as well.

"In the past, when we talked about nouveau-riche clubs, we’d mention Chelsea. But if you look closely, Chelsea’s signings were actually quite calculated. The signings of players like Drogba, for instance, proved to be of great value."

"That’s because they were spending their owner Abramovich’s money!"

"Manchester City is different. They’re backed by the Abu Dhabi United Group, an obscenely wealthy sovereign fund. Their goal right now isn’t just winning a championship; it’s something much more long-term. They want to use continuous, massive investment to build Manchester City into a top-tier European giant, a golden brand."

"That’s why in 2009, Manchester City was willing to do whatever it took to sign Kaka."

Wang Shuo certainly remembered. Manchester City had offered a hundred million and had also offered Kaka an absurdly high salary.

But even so, Kaka ultimately went to Real Madrid instead.

Unfortunately, Kaka’s situation at Real Madrid was also terrible. He got injured again due to his World Cup participation and even clashed with Mourinho, leaving him in a very awkward position at the club now.

The trio of Kaka, Ronaldo, and Messi was now just Ronaldo and Messi. Kaka was no longer part of the conversation.

Ever since the storm surrounding the "King of Football" wager, Wang Shuo had risen to take his place, making it Wang Shuo, Ronaldo, and Messi.

Of course, the order in which the three were ranked varied.

’In any case, I’d rank myself number one,’ Wang Shuo thought.

"So, this summer, Manchester City will definitely step up their recruitment efforts, and they’ll be willing to pay any price."

Wang Shuo understood.

As for his own transfer direction this summer, Wang Shuo didn’t have any firm ideas yet.

He didn’t have a strong preference; it was more about the other party’s sincerity and what they brought to the table.

The most important factors were the club’s team-building strategy and its ambitions.

Manchester City’s weak point was probably their manager, Mancini. Wang Shuo wasn’t a big fan of his tactical style.

Arsenal lacked a true superstar, but the problem was their reluctance to spend. They probably couldn’t afford the transfer fee or the salary he would command.

Manchester United seemed like the best fit, but with Rooney already on the team, things could get complicated if Wang Shuo were to join.

As for Real Madrid and Barça, it was a non-starter. With Ronaldo and Messi there, Wang Shuo wouldn’t even consider it.

’We’re clearly on the same level. Why would I go play second fiddle to them now?’

As for the Serie A clubs, it seemed unlikely that any of them could afford a 60 million euro transfer fee at the moment.

He also wouldn’t go to Bayern in the Bundesliga, because that would mean completely betraying Dortmund.

In Wang Shuo’s mind, it was best to wait and see. If a suitable team came along, he would transfer. If not, staying at Dortmund for another year wasn’t a problem.

After all, he was only twenty years old.