Ferguson, who was outside the door, was hit hard by David Gill's words. He seemed to have aged ten years.
The Manchester United players inside the door listened to the voice outside without saying a word. Shock was written all over their faces.
They could not believe that Ferguson, who had coached Manchester United for so many years, had suddenly been completely abandoned by English football.
Manchester United's Paul Scholes had been playing for Manchester United since 1991 when he joined the Manchester United youth camp. He had a deep relationship with the manager, Ferguson. When he heard David Gill convey the Football Association's punishment decision, he immediately cried silently in the corner.
Many players also had red eyes and tears streaming down their faces. For these people, Ferguson was their mentor, but from this moment on, their mentor would be forced to put down his coaching reins. At least in the whole of England, he could no longer coach any team.
Hearing such news before the start of the first game of the season could be described as a devastating blow to their morale.
It took a long time for Ferguson to recover a little. He looked at David Gill in despair and asked, "Is there any possibility of redemption?"
"Probably not."
Although David Gill could not bear it, he still said, "The Football Association announced this punishment decision at eight o 'clock sharp tonight, and they did not only punish you, but also the club."
Ferguson blurted out, "What punishment did they give the club?"
David Gill said, "We've been fined one million pounds. For the next 25 months, we're not allowed to buy or loan any players. That means that from now on, until the summer transfer window closes next year, we're not allowed to buy any players. We can only wait until the winter transfer window opens next year. We have to rely on our current players, as well as our second team and youth team members to hold on for two years."
Violations in the transfer process of players occurred from time to time in the English Premier League, and the Football Association often issued fines, but most of them were tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of pounds. Even if the purchase of players was banned, it was only during the transfer season. The reason was that once a club's player import channel was closed for a long time, it would have a huge impact on the overall strength of the club.
Sometimes, the Football Association restricted teams from buying youth players for a longer period, but even so, it would be partially suspended. For example, a club was prohibited from buying youth players for the next 24 months, and then it would be implemented in two phases. The first phase would be implemented for 12 months, and the remaining 12 months would be postponed for three years. It was equivalent to a three-year probation. As long as there were no problems in between, it would basically be safe.
However, now that Manchester United was banned from buying players for 25 months, the deliberately added month, was enough to show the Football Association's anger at Manchester United.
There were still a few days before the transfer window closed. If the punishment was 24 months, Manchester United could still find players and finalize contracts in advance by the summer of the next year. When the ban was lifted in the last few days, they could buy all the players they had found in advance in one go while there were still a few days left in the transfer window.
Therefore, the English Football Association also considered this problem, so they simply added another month on the basis of 24 months. In this way, from now until the winter of the next year, Manchester United would not be able to buy a single player.
Ferguson felt a tightness in his chest. The blow to the club was too great. For the next two years or so, the players would only be out and not in, and it was likely to drag the team to the brink of death.
Moreover, Manchester United just happened to let go of Beckham and was about to lose Cristiano Ronaldo, which was undoubtedly one disaster after another.
"It's too much … It's too much …" Ferguson kept talking to himself. He was on the verge of collapse.
David Gill patted him gently on the shoulder and said with a smile, "Sir, don't worry too much. Everything will pass sooner or later. The club has such a long history, and there have been countless setbacks in the process. I believe we can get through these things."
With that, David Gill looked at him and sighed. "It's just that, Sir, I don't know what your plans are. The club's board of directors has decided to pay you a year's salary as the club's care and compensation. The money will be transferred into your account tomorrow. "
Ferguson looked up at David Gill and asked him, "Can you let me finish this opening game?"
David Gill shook his head gently and said, "Sir, the Football Association is very angry about this matter. Because of us, their reputation has suffered a huge loss, so the Football Association is now very vengeful towards us. They have made it clear that if we violate their punishment this time, they will continue to increase the severity of the punishment, and even not limited to demoting us."
With that, David Gill added, "If you don't want to miss this game, Sir, we can go to the box together to watch it."
The tears that had been lingering in Ferguson's eyes for a long time finally slid down. He let out a long sigh and said dejectedly, "Alright, then I'll go with you to the private room in a bit. Right now, let me say goodbye to my teammates."
David Gill nodded and said, "You can continue to make tactical arrangements for them again. I believe they will play today's game well and prove their strength to the world."
Ferguson pushed the door open and returned to the players' lounge. All the players stood up one by one and looked at Ferguson, their expressions full of reluctance.
Ferguson came to the blackboard and hesitated for a moment before saying, "Everyone, we have all worked hard together for some time. Some of you have even been with me for several years or even more than a decade. However, our cooperation will come to an end today. I will accept the punishment given to me by the Football Association and leave Manchester United Football Club, and even leave English football. I hope that in the future, no matter under the leadership of any coach, no matter what kind of adversity you are in, you can do your best to win glory for Manchester United Football Club. Thank you, everyone."
With that, Ferguson bowed deeply to all the players. When he raised his head again, the entire locker room was choked with sobs.
Then, Ferguson made up his mind and said to everyone, "Goodbye, everyone!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he had already stepped out.
David Gill patted Ferguson's arm and said, "Come on, let's go to the box and wait for the start."
Ferguson nodded and looked back at the players' lounge again. For more than a decade, he had been here in many home games, leading his Red Devils to battle all over England and even the major clubs around the world. But today was the last time he would be here.
Ferguson had imagined the scene of him leaving the Manchester United Football Club many times. Although the scene was different every time, the theme was the same, and that was the four words "success and recognition".
But now, he had gone against these four words and was getting further and further away from them.
…
When Manchester United's players appeared at home, the English Football Association officially announced their decision to punish them.
In addition to the excessive punishment for Manchester United and Ferguson, they also imposed the heaviest punishment on George McMillan: a lifetime ban on him from any football activities in England.
This meant that George McMillan would be cut off from football in England in the future.
As soon as the punishment was announced, it immediately caused a huge reaction throughout the country. However, the fans and ordinary people did not think that the punishment was very serious. After all, what Ferguson did had disappointed them. In the face of such a person who challenged the rules, it was right to keep him away from the industry. Otherwise, he might challenge other rules in the industry in the future.
However, few people in the entire football industry could accept the way the Football Association punished Ferguson.
But even so, no one dared to speak up for him. For a time, the entire football industry was in a state of panic and everyone was in danger. All the club executives were holding emergency meetings. The core of the meeting was a thorough self-examination to see if there were any violations of the rules. If there were, it should be resolved as soon as possible. If not, it must continue to be maintained in the future.
In addition, what was more noteworthy was that a super giant had come to the English Premier League. From today onwards, no one could provoke Manchester City.
When the Football Association released the message, it was already early in the morning in Yan Jing.
In the end, Li Mu still failed to live up to Anne Hathaway's innermost expectations. He invited Anne to stay at his house out of consideration between friends. Apart from that, he had no other intentions.
His room was opposite Anne Hathaway's. After the two said good night at the door, Li Mu did not leave his room until he got up the next day. He slept exceptionally soundly.
On the other hand, Anne Hathaway did not sleep well all night. In the first half of the night, she was worried about what she would do if Li Mu came to knock on the door. In the second half of the night, she began to wonder why Li Mu did not knock on the door. Her sleep quality was terrible.
What made Anne Hathaway even more depressed was that although there were many flights from Beijing to Spring City, the set was still over a hundred kilometers away from the airport. Therefore, Li Ziwei considerately booked a flight for her at 10 AM the next day. This meant that Anne Hathaway had to leave for the airport at 7 AM in the morning.
Therefore, the two did not have much interaction the next day. Li Mu woke up early and prepared some simple American breakfast. It was nothing more than milk and oatmeal, as well as a few pieces of toast from the toaster. The two sat facing each other and chatted about some non-nutritious topics. All of this was standard for friends.
After breakfast, the fleet of Makino Technology arrived at the entrance of the villa.
Li Mu said to her, "Anne, I won't be sending you off at the airport. If I have time in a few days, I will visit you in Spring City."
Anne Hathaway nodded slightly. She felt awkward and disappointed.
Li Mu was at the entrance of his villa at Ziyun Villas. He sent off the somewhat despondent Anne Hathaway. As soon as he turned around, he received a call from Li Ziwei.
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