Was Isma definitely not for sale at Sporting de Gijón?
Of course not.
If Mallorca could offer Sporting de Gijón an offer they could not refuse, Li Ang would not mind facilitating the transfer.
However, he did not think that Mallorca would be able to offer a high price. Mallorca was not a nouveau riche club. It was unlikely that they would spend money on Isma. Perhaps Cooper's Mallorca had taken a fancy to Isma because they thought Isma was a bargain.
However, this did not prevent Li Ang from listening to Cooper's offer. After all, the other party was also a famous manager in the current football world. His status was there for all to see.
"Mr. Cooper, we are all honest people," Li Ang said. "How much are you willing to pay for Isma?"
Li Ang did not want to beat around the bush with Cooper. If the other party could offer a high price, then there was room for negotiation. If not, then sorry, then the door to negotiation would be closed.
Then he heard Cooper's reply of 1.5 million euros. Li Ang immediately shook his head. Was 1.5 million euros a low price? It wasn't too low. To be exact, it was more in line with Isma's current value. But don't forget that Li Ang had no intention of selling Isma. It was Mallorca who took the initiative to purchase him. The supply and demand relationship was there, and this price tag wasn't enough to move Li Ang.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Cooper. I can't accept this offer." Li Ang said, "In fact, Isma is also very important to Sporting de Gijón. I don't have the habit of pushing important players into the transfer market."
Li Ang's attitude was very clear. First of all, Mallorca's offer could not move him. Second, he had no intention of selling Isma. The underlying meaning of these two meanings was: unless there was an offer he could not refuse, then sorry, there was no need to continue the discussion.
*****
Just as Li Ang was about to tactfully end the call with Cooper, the famous Argentine manager proposed a final plan.
If Li Ang was interested in any of Mallorca's players, he could join the transfer negotiations for Isma.
They saw that the transfer fee could not satisfy Li Ang, so they planned to use the players as a bargaining chip.
After Li Ang heard this, he subconsciously wanted to continue to refuse. Mallorca's players? Li Ang really didn't think highly of their players. Li Ang's strategy for Sporting de Gijón's team was targeted and had a long-term plan. Mallorca's players could only be said to be relatively ordinary players from the middle to lower tier teams in La Liga. According to the system's player ratings, they were basically A- level. Li Ang didn't think highly of players like these.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Cooper, about this …" As Li Ang was about to refuse, he went through Mallorca's players in his mind. As a manager, he had to have a good understanding of his opponent's situation. Li Ang was even more terrifying. His mind was like a video recorder, with the information of every player in the opponent's team, the player's name, position on the field, technical characteristics, and even their weaknesses and strengths. He had his own analysis and understanding.
Then, a name seemed to jump out from the other names that flashed through his mind.
So, Li Ang paused for a moment. His answer to Cooper on the other end of the phone was, "Mr. Cooper, I need to think about it. I will give you an answer as soon as possible."
On the other end of the phone, Cooper heard Li Ang's words and sighed in his heart. He almost thought that the Sporting de Gijón manager was tactfully refusing. Of course, Cooper still had a last glimmer of hope.
He and Li Ang agreed that no matter whether they agreed or not, they would hear back as soon as possible. Then, the two ended the call.
*****
Juan Arango!
That was the name that suddenly came to Li Ang's mind.
A Venezuelan midfielder for Mallorca!
After the name popped out, all the information about the player, his past, his current performance, and even the player's future achievements in the original history began to appear in Li Ang's mind like a movie.
Arango first appeared in the vision of Chinese fans, including Li Ang, back 12 years ago. In an issue of Sports Weekly in early 2001, an article called "The Top 100 Rising Stars of the New Century" was translated from World Football Magazine. The young Arango was in it.
Li Ang still remembered the article's evaluation of Arango when he was eating: Arango, Venezuelan, born on May 17, 1980, plays for Monterrey in Mexico. He is very confident, has a very good feel for the ball, and his left foot is very sharp. What puzzles people is that the 21-year-old attacking midfielder is actually difficult to become the main force of the Venezuelan national team.
Of course, that was in 2001. Now, Juan Arango was already a Venezuelan national footballer and the main player of the team.
*****
Arango was born in Maracay, Venezuela, to Colombian parents. He became a professional player for Nueva Oaxaca when he was 16 years old. In the 1999-2000 season, Arango was bought by the Mexican team, Monterrey, with a good performance of five goals in 19 games.
He stayed in the Mexican Premier League for five years and grew into one of the best star players in the Mexican Premier League. Naturally, Arango also received invitations from the five major European league teams. His first stop was the La Liga, which focused more on offense and skills, and joined the mid-tier team, Mallorca.
Arango's first season could be said to be full of disasters. First, he suffered a very serious injury in a game in March 2005 and missed the team for more than half of the season. Later, the team's results plummeted and they were ranked 17th in the league, almost being relegated.
However, in the following season, Arango recovered from his injury. With 11 league goals, he became Mallorca's top scorer in the 05-06 season. He also ranked third in the Spanish La Liga's best Latin American player in 2006 (Aimar was first). People also gave him a domineering nickname, "Caribbean Hurricane."
In the summer of 2009, Arango, who still had one year left on his contract with Mallorca, decided not to renew his contract with the team. He wanted to welcome new challenges. The team was also worried that they would not get a penny if they kept him until next year, so they sold the absolute core of the team to the Bundesliga team, Borussia Mönchengladbach, for 3.3 million euros. Borussia Mönchengladbach, who had just lost Marlin, acquired the national treasure of Venezuela at such a low price.
After coming to Borussia Mönchengladbach, Arango quickly integrated into the team. He began to participate more in the offensive organization. Under the guidance of the Bundesliga tactician, Favre, Borussia Mönchengladbach made great progress. With the excellent play of Arango, Reus, Hermann, Dante, Terstegen and other players, this veteran Bundesliga team won fourth place in the 2011-12 season and returned to the European arena after 16 years. It could be said that Arango contributed a lot to Reus' growth.
*****
Of course, at this time, Arango had only been in Mallorca for half a season. His current performance could only be said to be very ordinary, and there was nothing outstanding about him. This was one of the reasons why Mallorca was currently in the relegation zone. Of course, because Arango came to Mallorca on a free transfer, he did not cost Mallorca a penny. Therefore, no one was too critical of Arango. The Spanish media had never paid attention to this Venezuelan player.
However, Li Ang was clear about Arango's future achievements. He could be said to be the absolute core of this small island team, Mallorca, in the future. Mallorca's home ground was once the famous Devil's Stadium in the La Liga. This was inseparable from Arango's excellent performance. Later, at Borussia Mönchengladbach, Arango was also the absolute core of the team. This Venezuelan, who had not played for a powerhouse team in his entire career, was known as Venezuela's national treasure and the country's greatest star player.
Li Ang was a little excited. At present, Arango, a 24-year-old Venezuelan player, was very ordinary in Mallorca and had not been able to adapt to the European League. He was like a luminous pearl covered in a thick layer of dust. No one paid attention to him, no one paid attention to him …
In addition, Arango had a Spanish passport. This was great news for Sporting de Gijón, who had no non-European places.
And the most important point was that Mallorca did not know that they had such a big treasure in their team …
Could he take advantage of this opportunity to get this dusty luminous pearl, gently wipe it, and become Sporting de Gijón's dazzling pearl in the future?!
Li Ang was excited.
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