Song Wei and Ling Qingxue also participated in this small event with Xia Ruofei, but they did not know much about football and were not particularly concerned about Huaxia's football, so they did not have as many feelings as Xia Ruofei.
Everyone came to the parking lot of the Dani Halke training base together. Wu Lei learned that Xia Ruofei and the other two had walked over, so he offered to take them back to the hotel first.
Xia Ruofei thought about it and did not refuse Wu Lei's kindness, so he nodded and agreed.
After all, they had come over after breakfast as if they were taking a walk. It was now close to noon, and the sun in Spain was abundant all year round. The three of them were also a little hungry, so they might as well take the car if they could.
Wu Lei's translator and driver, Wu Junfeng, was still driving. Wu Lei sat in the front passenger seat, and Xia Ruofei and the other two squeezed in the back.
Wu Lei's car was just an ordinary family car, and it was a gift from the club's sponsor, Skoda, after the transfer. The back seat was not particularly spacious, but it was enough for Xia Ruofei and the other two. Moreover, it was not far from the training base to the hotel itself, so they arrived in a short while.
After sending Xia Ruofei and the other two to the hotel, Wu Lei went straight home — he rented a house nearby, and his wife and children had already come over to accompany him.
Xia Ruofei took Song Wei and Ling Qingxue to the hotel's restaurant for lunch. Zhou Leiyun had to attend a business event today and did not come to accompany them.
After eating, everyone went back to their rooms to rest. Xia Ruofei turned on his computer to browse the news and found that the Barcelona club still had not made any response. He could not help but secretly criticize: You guys really can hold it in! Then let's see how long you can hold on.
In fact, the storm of public opinion this morning was still ongoing, and the condemnation of Sport Daily and Pablo was getting louder and louder. However, Sport Daily had already set the tone and naturally would not speak again at this time. They held a stubborn attitude and waited for the storm of public opinion to subside. Pablo had lost his job and was so badly scolded by netizens that he was even less in the mood to say anything.
To the surprise of the netizens, the two clubs involved in this storm did not make any statements. It was reasonable that Barça did not want to directly respond to the negative news of "Watergate." As the "victim," the club had already occupied the moral high ground. Should they not come out and express their grievances? But there was no movement at all. The netizens were puzzled.
Xia Ruofei looked at the domestic Weibo, forums, and Tieba again and found that what happened in Spain had now spread to the country. Everyone was naturally very angry about the attitude in Sport Daily's statement. As for Pablo's resignation, it also made the netizens in Huaxia feel that it was not enough to vent their anger. They thought that such scum should be completely cleaned out of the news industry, not just resigned.
Of course, Xia Ruofei's main focus was still on the Spanish media. It was just a morning, and he did not see any news that particularly interested him. He could not help but feel bored.
He stood up and went straight to the bedroom, ready to lie down and sleep for a while.
Xia Ruofei had practiced the ability to lie down and fall asleep anytime and anywhere when he was in the army. Soon, he was snoring softly.
At around three o 'clock in the afternoon, the phone on the bedside table vibrated. Xia Ruofei opened his eyes and woke up.
He raised his hand to look at his watch first, then reached out to take the phone.
The call was from Zhou Leiyun, and Xia Ruofei swiped the phone to answer it.
"Director Zhou," Xia Ruofei said, "Are you done with your work?"
"Just a business meeting. I'll be back after lunch." Zhou Leiyun said, "Boss Xia, there's a piece of news that you'll definitely be interested in. Barça has made a statement!"
"Oh?" Xia Ruofei raised his eyebrows and asked, "I thought they were going to pretend to be deaf and mute! What did the statement say? Forget it, I'll take a look myself! "
"Yes, yes, yes, it's more intuitive for you to see it yourself." Zhou Leiyun said, "I don't understand Spanish either. What I know is relayed to me by my assistant."
"Okay!" Xia Ruofei got up and got out of bed. He put on his slippers and asked, "What about Mayes? Is there any news? "
"It seems that the media also dug up information about him." Zhou Leiyun said, "I heard that this person is indeed an annual pass member of Barça and is a hardcore fan. He's the backbone of the Barça fan organization. It's also because of this news that Barça couldn't withstand the pressure and quickly drafted a statement. "
Xia Ruofei nodded and said, "If that's the case, then our club should also hold a press conference, but let's wait for me to see the situation first!"
"Okay! I'll let them prepare first! "Zhou Leiyun said," Let's not inform the media first. We'll wait for you to be careful. "
"Okay!" Xia Ruofei said, "Then we'll talk about it later!"
He was already in front of the computer. He didn't turn off the computer after watching the news at noon, so he directly opened the browser and found Barça's official website to take a look. Sure enough, he saw the statement.
Barça's official website didn't put the statement in a particularly eye-catching position, so it was naturally impossible for it to be in the headlines. They just put the statement in the fourth section on the right side of the news area. It wasn't very eye-catching, but Xia Ruofei still noticed it at a glance. He immediately clicked on the statement.
Barça's statement was brief:
First, last weekend, after our home game against RCD Espanyol, the sprinkler system was turned on before the RCD Espanyol players left the field due to an operational error by the stadium management staff. We deeply regret this and apologize to the RCD Espanyol players. In the future, we will strengthen our management work to prevent similar incidents from happening again.
Second, regarding Mr. Mayes, a member of the Barça fan organization, lying in front of the media, the club understands that the fans want to protect the team, but we have always advocated the principle of integrity. We don't agree with or advocate Mr. Mayes' behavior, and we sincerely hope that the fans can rationally face the negative news of the team.
After Xia Ruofei read the statement, a smile appeared on his face.
Barça's statement was still shirking responsibility. Even a fool wouldn't believe the so-called "operational error" of the stadium management staff because it wasn't the first time. Perhaps it was just the personal behavior of an individual staff member, but the club didn't correct it in time and even acquiesced to such a thing happening just to disgust the opponent. It had to be said that such a big club was a little petty.
On the other hand, Barça's attitude towards Mayes was generally quite good. Their "three views" were relatively correct. Although they did not use very harsh words towards Mayes, they also made their attitude clear.
After all, Mayes was a die-hard fan of the team. Barça was probably worried that the wording was too harsh and would easily alienate other fans.
In any case, Barça had made their attitude clear. In a sense, they had lowered their arrogant heads.
It didn't seem easy to lower their heads like this. If there wasn't irrefutable evidence, Barça wouldn't care how RCD Espanyol complained!
Xia Ruofei immediately used Google to search for news about Mayes and soon found the article that Zhou Leiyun mentioned. It was also published at noon and came from a small media outlet in Barcelona.
Big media like "Marca" and "AS" wouldn't do paparazzi things, but some small media outlets didn't care so much in order to attract attention and promote sales.
In this news report, the tabloid reporter exposed Mayes' annual pass number and home address. They had been waiting since the morning and took a lot of photos in half a day.
The reporter even stopped Mayes, who went out to throw the trash, hoping to interview him.
Mayes naturally refused in exasperation. After the incident broke out, his position in the fan organization plummeted. Barça also canceled his annual pass. Many fans blamed him for talking nonsense. Not only did he not help the team, but he also made the team more passive in public opinion.
Mayes read the statement from Sport Daily and was surprised to find that the statement did not mention that Pablo had bribed him to create the video. Instead, it only said that he had deliberately lied for the club and that Pablo had taken the blame and resigned because of his oversight.
Mayes was furious when he saw this.
In fact, the mastermind behind the whole thing was Pablo. After he found Mayes, he offered to pay Mayes to complete an interview according to his script. Mayes was loyal to Barça to begin with, and after he read the script, he found that such an interview would be very beneficial to Barça. Moreover, he would be paid, so he agreed readily.
Now, according to Sport Daily's statement, he was the mastermind of all this. Pablo was just a flaw in his business. Although he had resigned this time, it would not be difficult for him to find a similar job.
Moreover, Mayes had nowhere to vent his anger. He could not go to the media and say that it was all Pablo's doing and that he was only doing it for money!
In this way, not only would he not be able to clear his name, but he would also be charged with taking money.
Therefore, when Mayes saw the reporter, he was naturally even more furious.
After Xia Ruofei read the report, a smile finally appeared on his face. He had been waiting for this kind of tabloid report.
Although the Spanish tabloid reporters were not as powerful as the British paparazzi, their ability to dig up information should not be underestimated.
With a smile on his face, Xia Ruofei memorized some of the key content of the report.
Then, he took out his mobile phone and called Zhou Leiyun.
"Boss Xia, have you read Barça's statement?" Zhou Leiyun asked with a smile.
"Yes." Xia Ruofei said with a grin, "They're as cold as ever. Even if they're admitting their mistake, they still give people an unapproachable feeling!"
"Your description is too accurate!" Zhou Leiyun said, "I just can't stand how they act like they're the best in the world. It's as if we were the ones who were screwed last weekend and not them!"
Although Zhou Leiyun's words were rude, they were very appropriate for the RCD Espanyol's identity as the club's owner.
After Xia Ruofei heard this, he laughed and said, "The Cosmos team's name is not for nothing … Let's not talk about them. Since Barça has made a statement, our club should also make an official response!"
"Okay! They've already drafted the press release here. "Zhou Leiyun said," I'll ask someone to send it to you for review! "
"I won't look at the press release!" Xia Ruofei said with a smile, "This kind of official thing, the club has professionals to do it. I can't change anything!"
"That's true …" Zhou Leiyun said, "Then … when do you think the press conference will be?"
"Tomorrow at nine o 'clock in the morning!" Xia Ruofei said, "I'll be there! Let them inform as many media outlets as possible! "
"Okay! I'll follow up on this matter personally! "Zhou Leiyun said.
After Xia Ruofei hung up the phone, he stayed in the room and browsed through the news. Soon, the afternoon passed.
Ling Qingxue and Song Wei did not plan to go out that day. In the morning, they went to the Daneyhalke Training Base to accompany Xia Ruofei, so they rested in the room in the afternoon.
After dinner, Xia Ruofei accompanied his two girlfriends to walk around the nearby streets, then returned to the hotel early.
Song Wei and Ling Qingxue stayed in the same room. Xia Ruofei was already used to it, so he greeted the two in the corridor and went back to his room alone.
They did not know that in the dead of night, Xia Ruofei cleverly avoided the cameras and quietly left the hotel …
The next morning, Zhou Leiyun rushed to the hotel to have breakfast with Xia Ruofei and the other two girls. Then, Xia Ruofei and the others took Zhou Leiyun's car and went to the Daneyhalke Training Base. That day's press conference would be held there.
Zhou Leiyun personally accompanied Xia Ruofei to show that he valued Xia Ruofei. He would not attend the press conference in person. It was enough for the club's management staff to attend the press conference.
In fact, Xia Ruofei, as the club's major shareholder, did not need to attend the press conference. However, Xia Ruofei took the initiative to attend. In addition, he had another identity, which was that he was a RCD Espanyol player. He had also experienced the "watergate", so it was reasonable for him to attend the press conference.
The car drove directly to the venue of the press conference. It was just past eight o 'clock, so there was still some time before the press conference began. Zhou Leiyun took Xia Ruofei and the other two girls to the lounge next to the press conference hall.
When the press conference began later, Zhou Leiyun, Song Wei, and Ling Qingxue would all stay in the lounge. They could see the real-time broadcast of the press conference through the television.
The club's press officer, Louis, and the executive vice president, Jiang Xiaochen, would attend the press conference. He was also Zhou Leiyun's agent in the club and had a lot of say in the club. Even the general manager did not dare to refute his opinions.
When Xia Ruofei and the others arrived, Jiang Xiaochen and Louis were already waiting in the lounge.
"Is everything ready?" Zhou Leiyun asked.
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