The meeting between Qin Xiong and the CEO of Manchester United was in a business conference room in another hotel.
Manchester United sent out its chief executive to treat the transfer negotiations with a grand gesture.
However, during the meeting, Qin Xiong was confused by the situation he learned.
David Gill introduced him to the city of Manchester, Manchester United's top-notch facilities and global influence, and invited Qin Xiong to visit Old Trafford in person before making a decision. At the same time, he also talked about Ferguson's appreciation of Qin Xiong. Finally, he also said that Manchester United welcomed Chinese players to join. If Qin Xiong decided to transfer to Manchester United, he would be the second Chinese player in the history of Manchester United.
The first was Dong Fangzhuo, who transferred to Manchester United six months ago. As for what happened to Dong Fangzhuo, he could only be loaned to a satellite club by Manchester United because he could not get a work permit. David Gill said that with Qin Xiong's outstanding performance in the Eredivisie and the Champions League, they were absolutely confident that they could solve the problem by proposing a special talent clause to the Football Association.
It was obvious that the biggest problem preventing Qin Xiong from entering the Premier League no longer existed. With his performance as the MVP of the Champions League final and his contribution to Ajax on the way to winning the title, the Football Association would not refuse Qin Xiong's entry into English football, especially in the context of the Premier League's active development of the Asian market.
The negotiations lasted until the afternoon, and Qin Xiong still did not express his position.
He did not hear the message he wanted at all.
Manchester United was great, Manchester United was good, Manchester United had a strong lineup, a long history and tradition, and a godfather-level manager. But how could Qin Xiong be sure that his acquisition by Manchester United would not be another commercial transfer?
Would he be put in an important position by Ferguson?
Appreciation?
When a club recruited a player, would the manager say that he did not appreciate the target?
However, not every player who was brought in would be entrusted with heavy responsibilities and receive the competitive treatment that the players themselves wanted.
David Gill saw that Qin Xiong was not interested. He walked out of the conference room at three o 'clock in the afternoon. When he came back, he handed the phone to Qin Xiong and said with a smile, "Sir Alex wants to talk to you personally."
Obviously, it was not Ferguson who had taken the initiative to call. David Gill saw that the negotiations were in trouble and hoped that Ferguson's involvement could move Qin Xiong.
Qin Xiong calmly took the phone. He walked to the corner of the conference room and calmly said into the phone, "Hello, Sir Alex."
Ferguson spoke English with a strong Scottish accent, so Qin Xiong often couldn't hear a complete sentence. Therefore, he would apologize first and then ask Ferguson to slow down and repeat his words.
Ferguson praised Qin Xiong's performance in the Champions League last season and personally said that he wanted him to go to Manchester United, claiming that there was a place for Qin Xiong at Manchester United.
But Qin Xiong asked bluntly, "If I decide to transfer to Manchester United, what role will I play in your team? My position on the field? How much playing time can I get in the new season when I'm healthy? "
Qin Xiong was not eager to stick to Ferguson just because the other party was Ferguson. Qin Xiong felt that it was a good thing for his career to be able to play for the manager, but many conditions needed to be confirmed in person. At least he felt that it was the right thing to do. Manchester United was just doing a normal signing. If it failed, it would be nothing more than a financial and competitive loss. Just like Juan, they could quickly adjust in a short period of time, get back on track, and forget the failed signing.
But Qin Xiong was betting on his own future, the future of his career!
So he had to be very cautious.
As for the fact that Manchester United was building the next generation of the Red Devils, Qin Xiong would fight with a peer like Cristiano Ronaldo. It sounded very hot-blooded, but Qin Xiong had a deep question.
"I've studied Manchester United's games last season. Most of the time, it was Phil Neville and Roy Keane who played in the midfield combination. Paul Scholes was in front of the two. As a midfielder, who can I replace next season?"
Qin Xiong's straightforwardness made Ferguson silent.
Keane would be 33 next season, and Scholes would be 30 by the end of the year. Phil Neville would be in his prime.
Assuming Manchester United did not change the lineup system from last season in the new season, Qin Xiong would have to replace one of the three if he wanted to play regularly.
But would Manchester United not change?
Last season, Manchester United could only look up to Arsenal, who won the title with an unbeaten record, to reach the top of the Premier League. Even Chelsea ranked ahead of them in the league.
An unsuccessful team, of course, had to change.
The reason why Ferguson could not answer was simple.
He wanted to transform the team back to the previous 4-4-2. Manchester United's summer signings focused on the striker. If it were not for Diego Forlan's inability to adapt to the Premier League, Scholes would not have returned to the position of shadow striker.
Okay, then the question came.
What position did Manchester United want Qin Xiong to play?
Manchester United itself paid more attention to the two wings. It was a normal phenomenon after Ferguson moved to Old Trafford that the wings were better than the middle.
So the main transfer target in the summer was not Qin Xiong, but Ferguson to bring a strong striker to Manchester United!
They had already poached the local striker Alan Smith from their relegated arch-rival Leeds United.
The position of the king of the penalty area, van Nistelrooy, was still unshakable.
The number of midfielders would be reduced, so Ferguson could not answer Qin Xiong's question.
He hoped that Qin Xiong would come to Old Trafford to adapt to the Premier League and slowly integrate into Manchester United. In another two or three years, he would see his growth and finally support him as the midfield backbone of the next generation of the Red Devils. For now, he relied most on Scholes. As for defense, if he let Qin Xiong play in Keane's position, Qin Xiong would certainly not be happy.
Although when he came to Ajax, Qin Xiong said that he was an all-rounder in the midfield, after a season of high-level campaigns, he understood a fact: his offense was clearly stronger than his defense. The reason he used to think that he could defend was simple. He had not experienced the challenge of high-level players in defense. In terms of defense alone, he had not seen many outstanding peers. But the defense of someone like De Rong was actually stronger than his, which made him re-examine himself. He could only carry forward his strengths and unswervingly embark on the offensive path.
Qin Xiong and Ferguson did not reach an agreement in their phone conversation, but the two sides ended the call amicably.
Manchester United could not meet Qin Xiong's requirements in terms of competition. They did not even start negotiations on personal treatment before announcing that Qin Xiong would not go to Old Trafford.
After David Gill shook hands with Freddy and Qin Xiong, he left a sentence and left with the negotiating team.
"If you change your mind, we can sit at the negotiating table again."
The meeting room was quiet.
Qin Xiong sat in his chair and looked up at the ceiling.
It seemed that he had a lot of options. Many teams were willing to get him. But after considering the actual situation, he found that his options were actually decreasing.
After all, his value in the eyes of the European powerhouses was not special. He was just "China's Zidane," not the real France's Zidane.
A Champions League title seemed glorious, but to put it bluntly, it was just an excellent performance in a few games. In addition, the team's championship was not due to him alone. Snede, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Van Der Vaart, Galasek, Maxwell, and other players also contributed.
He was a rising star, not a superstar.
A superstar had to prove that he was a superstar through continuous excellent performance and results.
And there were more or less superstars in the powerhouse teams. Wasn't it too ambitious for a rising star to directly replace a superstar?
He looked like a China player who did not know the immensity of heaven and earth. He thought too highly of himself, but Qin Xiong stubbornly believed that he was right.
He needed a fixed playing time and a stable role in the team, not a vague and unpredictable team positioning. It was that simple.
Even if he could not go to a powerhouse, he would not change this standard.
The meeting room was silent for a long time. Qin Xiong suddenly said to Freddy, "Add the teams from the Bundesliga and France Ligue 1 into the negotiations. Take a step back and go to a team that is not a powerhouse but qualified for the Champions League. In short, I can't lower my requirements. I don't care if it's a powerhouse or not, but I need to have a sense of presence in the new team!"
Freddy nodded. The helplessness of reality gave him a headache.
If he was a mercenary agent, he would definitely encourage Qin Xiong to go to the world's top powerhouses. Even if the positioning was vague, it would be good as long as there was money to be made.
But he was not. He respected and agreed with Qin Xiong's ideas.
Just then, his phone rang.
He answered the phone and said a few words casually. Then, he turned his head and said something to Qin Xiong.
This news did not excite Qin Xiong. He felt that it might be similar to the outcome of the negotiations with Manchester United.
Arsenal's vice-chairman, Dane, and Arsenal's manager, Wenger, who had temporarily returned from vacation, had come to Amsterdam!
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