Di Natale had agreed to transfer to Sporting de Gijón. From Li Ang's point of view, this basically meant that there were no obstacles in the deal.
Li Ang felt excited at the thought of such an outstanding late bloomer starting his legendary journey in his own hands.
Just as he had expected, the relegated Empoli club did not reject Sporting de Gijón's request for Di Natale. After learning that the player had agreed to transfer to Sporting de Gijón, Empoli did not set any obstacles in the transfer fee. This was also their way of thanking the player who had come out of Empoli's youth training camp and played for the team for five years.
Sporting de Gijón paid a transfer fee of 300,000 Euros for Di Natale. Compared to the pathetic 100,000 Euros that Udinese had paid in the past, this was already considered quite generous.
In fact, at this time, Udinese's offer of 100,000 Euros was already in the Empoli club chairman's office. Empoli had no way to deal with Udinese's offer of 100,000 Euros, because if Di Natale was determined to go to Udinese, they would not be able to stop him. Moreover, Udinese's Bozzo family had a lot of influence in Italy. If the player was determined to leave, Empoli could only suffer in silence.
Under such circumstances, Sporting de Gijón's offer of 300,000 Euros seemed much more 'sincere'. Most importantly, Di Natale himself had agreed to go to Sporting de Gijón. This was the player's personal decision, so Empoli did not have to worry about being on bad terms with Udinese.
Li Ang had long heard of the Italians' bureaucratic and lazy style of doing things. However, this time, Di Natale's transfer went very smoothly.
The next day, Li Ang represented Sporting de Gijón and met with the general manager of Empoli. The two clubs and the player himself had a three-way meeting. The two clubs signed the player transfer agreement, and Di Natale signed a personal contract with Sporting de Gijón. Even the medical examination was carried out with the help of Empoli at a local hospital. The results of the examination were all OK, which meant that Di Natale was now a Sporting de Gijón player.
Grosso still had to go to Sporting de Gijón for a medical examination, so the transfer of the left back had not been finalized. Now, Di Natale, who had only begun negotiations later, had completed the transfer in less than 24 hours!
This could definitely be said to be an amazing efficiency.
Li Ang was cutting the Gordian knot. He was afraid that a long delay might lead to trouble, so he decided to do it quickly. He was very satisfied with Di Natale. If Grosso was only a transition left back in his heart, then Di Natale was a player that Li Ang valued very much. Although Di Natale was now 27 years old, with this player's good physical fitness and condition, he could maintain his condition for at least five to eight years.
Li Ang wouldn't be at ease if he didn't get his hands on such a big treasure. After all, this was Italy, where Udinese was the local tyrant. He had to get Di Natale before Udinese reacted. Once the news was leaked and Udinese reacted, there was a possibility that this transfer would change.
*****
Li Ang was very happy when Di Natale was officially secured. He informed the Italian that he would report to Spain in nine days and then hurriedly bid farewell to Di Natale.
Before leaving Italy, Li Ang called Grosso again and expressed his concern for the Italian left back. He told Grosso that he had arranged for the club's staff to go to Madrid to welcome him. Grosso and his agent, Fisichella, only needed to take a flight to Madrid Airport. The rest would be arranged by the club, so there was no need to worry. This phone call made Grosso, who was set to leave for Spain the next day, feel a little touched. After all, he was leaving his hometown to make a living. He felt more at ease knowing that he was being taken care of.
"Fábio. Let me tell you a piece of good news, "Li Ang said to Grosso," You will have an Italian teammate in the team. "
This news surprised Grosso. He had not heard of any Italian player joining Sporting de Gijón. Could it be an unknown player from a low-level league?
"Antonio Di Natale," Li Ang said with a smile, "I told him that you would also go to Gijón. He was very happy."
Grosso heard that Di Natale had also gone to Gijón. Di Natale was a player that he knew. Although he was not particularly familiar with him, he was still an acquaintance. This made the left back very happy. With the feeling of being from the same hometown, Spain no longer felt distant.
"This is really good news," Grosso said happily.
Li Ang ended the call with Grosso. The manager generally did not like small groups within the team, but it could not be stopped. Li Ang had his own understanding of this. Everyone had the nature to stick together. Grosso and Di Natale were from the same hometown, so it was understandable that they had a good relationship. Furthermore, he was not worried that the two Italians would cause any trouble in the locker room. In addition, Di Natale was a player who knew his place and Grosso did not have a surly temper. The temperaments of these two players were not bad, so he did not need to worry about anything.
Li Ang left Italy. With a wave of his sleeves, he took the two Italians with him.
In Udinese, the Udinese manager, Luciano Spalletti, who was on vacation at home, heard a short message on the television news: Antonio Di Natale, a 27-year-old attacker from the relegated Empoli, had chosen to go overseas. He had joined Sporting de Gijón, a newly promoted team in the Spanish La Liga. It was reported that the player himself had signed a five-year contract with Sporting de Gijón. Di Natale had also become one of the few Italian players to play in Spain in recent years …
Spalletti, who was enjoying his coffee, was stunned. Di Natale had gone to Spain? What's going on?! What happened?!
*****
It was no wonder that Spalletti was so surprised. He was the current manager of Udinese, and Di Natale was the player that Spalletti had specifically asked for.
The boss of Udinese, Old Bozzo, would naturally satisfy the manager's request. Furthermore, it was easy to poach a player from a team that had been relegated from Serie A.
Old Bozzo patted his chest and promised Spalletti that there would be no problems with the player that he had specifically asked for.
Spalletti also felt that there would be no problems, so he was enjoying his vacation with peace of mind.
But now, he suddenly saw the news on the television that Di Natale had transferred to a club in Spain. This surprised and angered Spalletti.
Spalletti immediately called the boss of the club, Old Bozzo. "Boss, what's going on with the player that I want?"
Old Bozzo was unhappy with Spalletti's sudden call and questioning tone, but he still controlled his temper and did not smash the phone. "Mr. Coach, please watch your attitude."
"Boss, I'm sorry," Spalletti apologized. "I'm just a little anxious."
"I understand. You're always so dedicated to your work." After a warning and a compliment, Old Bozzo played it well. Then he asked, "Which player are you talking about?"
"Antonio Di Natale!" Spalletti exclaimed. "Empoli's striker. I just got the news that he has transferred to a team in Spain. "
"Wait a minute, I'll ask." Old Bozzo covered the phone and pressed the bell. After a while, his son, Xiaobo, who was now in charge of the specific affairs of the team, came.
"Empoli's striker called Di Natale, what's going on?" Old Bozzo asked.
Xiaobo thought for a moment, then smiled and said, "Empoli wants a higher transfer fee. Don't worry, Dad, they'll give in soon."
"How much did you ask for? What did Empoli say? "Old Bozzo asked.
"I gave a buyout price of one hundred thousand euros," Xiaobo said. "Empoli's reply was five hundred thousand euros. They're really daring. An old striker from a relegated team dares to ask for so much. I guess their bottom line should be two hundred thousand euros, but I still hope to get this done with one hundred thousand euros."
Xiaobo enjoyed this kind of negotiation. His personal creed was to get the most value at the least cost.
Old Bozzo glanced at his son. He knew his son's nature. He pursued perfection and maximized profits too much. He shook his head. "Son, you don't have to do this."
"What's wrong?" Xiaobo asked.
"Empoli has announced that Di Natale has joined a Spanish club," Old Bozzo said.
"Is that so?" Little Bozzo was slightly unhappy. The reason he was unhappy was not because he missed out on Di Natale. In fact, Little Bozzo was not interested in Di Natale, who was 27 years old and had not played any football. It was just that the team's manager had specifically asked for a player. He was unhappy because he did not get this deal done, which made him, who pursued perfection, a little uncomfortable.
However, that was all.
*****
"That's a pity." Xiaobo shrugged, looking as if he did not care too much.
Old Bozzo did not feel that losing such a player was a loss. A player worth one hundred or two hundred thousand euros, he really did not see any room for appreciation. Moreover, the player was already 27 years old.
Udinese was a famous player training market in Serie A. Udinese poached young players from all over the world and carefully trained them. With these players, the team was always able to achieve good results in Serie A. Then, Udinese would sell these famous players for cash, continue to train them, and continue to sell them for cash. The cycle repeated over and over again.
Therefore, in Italian football, the team that made the most money from the sale of players was Udinese.
Udinese was optimistic about the young players. Therefore, the Bozzo family did not feel that missing out on the 27-year-old Di Natale was a loss.
Then, Old Bozo informed Spalletti on the other end of the phone. When Spalletti learned that it was only a negotiation of one to two hundred thousand euros, he actually missed out on Di Natale and was intercepted by the Spanish football club, which made Spalletti so angry that he almost jumped up.
The club owner did not know the value of Di Natale, but Spalletti still thought highly of Di Natale. He saw Di Natale as an important addition to the team's offensive methods.
Of course, from this, it could be seen that even Spalletti did not have a deep understanding of Di Natale's ability. He only felt that Di Natale could complete Udinese's offense. At this time, he had not thought of Di Natale as the core of Udinese's offense.
Therefore, the result now was that the club had missed out on Di Natale because of 100,000 euros. Spalletti was a little angry, but after the anger, he could only accept the result. After all, he had missed out on a player that he appreciated from a relegated team. There were many players like him in Italy, and he could only look for them in the transfer market. The only regret was that Di Natale was indeed a cheap and affordable option. It was just that he did not seize the opportunity to get him.
*****
The Udinese people did not know what it meant to them to have missed out on this 27-year-old 'veteran' because they were conflicted about a few hundred thousand euros.
Li Ang also did not care about the fate of the Udinese people who had lost Di Natale. In fact, he did not have a good impression of this club.
This was a super selfish club. Udinese had been in the top four of Serie A several times and qualified for the Champions League qualifiers. However, the most important thing they did in the summer after the season ended was to sell the players. They sold the players who had just been kicked out at a high price. Sometimes, they even sold the backbone of the entire team, and then began to promote the new players. The result was that Udinese was almost always eliminated in the Champions League qualifiers. It could be said that they had completely wasted one of Italy's Champions League spots. The whole of Italian football suffered.
Li Ang did not feel guilty about poaching such a future cornerstone of the team. He even felt that the Italians should be grateful to him. Without Di Natale, Udinese might not be able to find such a perfect replacement. Naturally, their results would not be as good as they had been in the past, and they would not have the opportunity to squander Italy's Champions League spots.
Li Ang felt that he had done a good thing.
Li Ang took a flight and flew directly to Croatia's capital, Zagreb. His target was a young man named Modric.
Modric's full name was Luka Modric. He was born in Croatia's fifth largest city, Zadar, on the Adriatic Sea, on September 9, 1985. He had a similar experience to many young talents who became famous at a young age. When Modric was 16 years old, he was spotted by the Croatian powerhouse football club, Dinamo Zagreb, and officially began his professional career.
In order to train him more, when Modric was 18 years old, Dinamo Zagreb loaned him to Bosnia-Herzegovina's Sporting Saprešić and Mostar Zliniski FC. The fledgling Modric became the best player of the season in Bosnia-Herzegovina with his outstanding performance.
Now, Modric returned from his loan. The young man was currently at a loss for his future because the club intended to continue loaning him out …
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