Moratti and Ronaldo were still catching up. Both father and son were a little excited.
Li Ang did not disturb them. He knew that Moratti was right to come to Brazil in person. Ronaldo was also a sentimental person. The Brazilian star would be moved by Moratti's personal invitation.
Things went smoother than Li Ang imagined.
Ronaldo was a little confused about his future in Real Madrid. Real Madrid had failed in all four major competitions for two seasons in a row. As the star player of Real Madrid, Ronaldo also suffered a lot of criticism and pressure when he was pulled out to be held accountable.
Real Madrid fans were picky. As everyone knew, the Bernabéu fans were the most difficult fans in the world to "serve". They were a group of people who were easily affected by the game. When the star players performed well, even if you were a player from the same city, they would all stand up and give the player a thunderous applause. But if the player's performance was not satisfactory or made a mistake, then their boos would be overwhelming! The Bernabéu fans would not only boo the opposing players, but also the old players of their own home team! No matter who you were!
Some people said that the Bernabéu fans were heartless and mean. Some people said that they were arrogant and unscrupulous (aristocratic complex). However, this was the unique football culture of Bernabéu. There had never been a football club's fans who liked to boo their star players so much at their home ground.
The Bernabéu fans were members. It could be said that every Real Madrid player's salary might have a small contribution from every Bernabéu fan. They were the owners of the team. Whether you were Ronaldo or Figo on the field, in their view, you were serving their team. They had a real master mentality. They were members and shareholders. If you performed well, they would applaud and cheer you. If you did not perform well, sorry, they would definitely not give you a good look. They would even give you a certain amount of pressure.
In addition, this also had a lot to do with Spain's history and culture. As everyone knew, Spain's bullfighting performances were world-famous. It was a religious activity in ancient Spain. The process of the bullfighting competition was wonderful and exciting. It was full of applause and boos. However, due to animal protection laws, violence, blood, and many other reasons, bullfighting activities were gradually canceled and banned. However, this traditional culture and habit had been passed down. The current Bernabéu fans were like the aristocrats in the Colosseum of ancient Rome. They either cheered or booed you! It seemed to have become a habit.
Of course, you could also say that this was the result of deep love and deep hatred! Perhaps being booed was also a kind of "special treatment" because some young substitute players were not even qualified to be booed.
However, from Ronaldo's point of view, this was a great disrespect and injury to him. From time to time, he would miss the years at Inter Milan. In the stands of Meazza, when he performed well, the fans were not stingy with their applause, and when he fell into a low point, the fans were not too demanding and would encourage and support him.
This was much more heartwarming.
In addition, the Madrid media was the first to call him "Fat Luo." This humiliating nickname then spread around the world, which was an important reason why Ronaldo increasingly disliked Madrid.
*****
His father, Moratti, personally came to invite him.
Li Ang also personally came to invite him!
This gave Ronaldo a lot of face.
With both the warm memories and the sincerity of Inter Milan, it was not strange that Ronaldo nodded and agreed to return to Inter Milan after thinking about it.
This was also the reason why Li Ang felt that it was feasible to poach Ronaldo after his previous analysis. He had taken all these factors into consideration and could be said to have a card up his sleeve.
In addition, when Li Ang coached Sporting de Gijón, he maintained a complete victory against Real Madrid and created a miracle to win the La Liga, the Copa del Rey, and the UEFA Europa League this season. This also had a great impact on Ronaldo.
As the star player of Real Madrid, Ronaldo witnessed the success of Real Madrid's arch-rival. He admired Li Ang's miracles and recognized Li Ang himself.
This was also the reason why Ronaldo was willing to return to Inter Milan. He did not achieve anything in the two seasons at Real Madrid. He also longed for the championship title, but he was confused and lost before. Now, he saw hope.
Moratti was very happy. When he saw Ronaldo nod his head and express his willingness to return to Inter Milan, the old man's happy face bloomed like a flower. He was happy from the bottom of his heart. He was going to make up for the biggest regret in his heart.
Ronaldo nodded. This transfer deal was more than half successful. What was left was the negotiation between Inter Milan and Real Madrid.
Ronaldo asked Moratti and Li Ang to stay the night. The two did not refuse and spent the night in Ronaldo's villa.
*****
The next day, Li Ang and Moratti left Brazil together. Ronaldo left with them.
Before leaving, Li Ang, Moratti, and Ronaldo took a photo in front of Ronaldo's house. In the photo, Li Ang was in high spirits, Moratti was smiling, and Ronaldo was also smiling. Of course, the most noteworthy thing was that Ronaldo was wearing an Inter Milan jersey. This was Ronaldo's number nine jersey when he was at Inter Milan. Moratti had specially brought it over.
Li Ang also received the latest feedback that Recoba had agreed to transfer to Real Madrid.
Now, only Vieri's attitude was left.
Vieri's negotiations were smoother than Recoba's. Vieri, who had almost fallen out with Inter Milan, was not against going to Real Madrid. He was more interested in wearing the Real Madrid jersey at the end of his career.
Ronaldo nodded.
Recoba and Vieri also agreed to go to Real Madrid.
Samuels was also willing to transfer to Inter Milan.
Now that the relevant players had been settled, everything was ready except for the final push!
Just as Moratti and Li Ang left Brazil, Inter Milan's president, Facchetti, and general manager, Oriari, who were in talks with Real Madrid in Madrid, officially submitted the complicated "package" player trade plan that involved many players to Real Madrid!
Real Madrid's people were completely stunned when they saw Inter Milan's "package" player trade plan.
They did not expect Inter Milan to play such a big game of chess!
*****
Later, a lot of football reporters and sports critics studied how this shocking deal involving as many as five players was reached. Even many years later, people were still shocked that Li Ang had played such a big game of chess, and he had actually succeeded in it!
The confidentiality of the news was done well!
Inter Milan and Real Madrid had three consecutive days of intensive meetings and negotiations.
Ronaldo was indeed not for sale, but a player taking the initiative to leave and a club purging the player were two different things.
Ronaldo was determined to leave, which made Real Madrid angry and helpless. They could only use Ronaldo as a bargaining chip to the maximum extent in exchange for benefits.
Real Madrid was also more willing to accept Vieri as one of the exchange conditions. Vieri's form was maintained well last season, scoring 12 goals for Inter Milan in the league. Real Madrid had always had a deep memory of Vieri's brilliant performance during his time at Atlético Madrid. They had pursued the Italian center forward many times before, and this time they had gotten what they wanted.
However, Real Madrid believed that the exchange conditions offered by Inter Milan were still not enough.
*****
Li Ang once again played a trick on Real Madrid.
He learned that Real Madrid was not satisfied with Gravesen's performance in the first half of the season after his transfer to Real Madrid. He signaled to Oriari to come forward and add Davies to the deal.
Anyway, Davies was already on Li Ang's transfer list. Moreover, in Li Ang's memory, Davies later left on a free transfer. Now he could be used as a bargaining chip.
Real Madrid was indeed tempted by this proposal. Although Davies's performance in Inter Milan this season was very average, the Dutch beast was the best defensive midfielder in European football in the last ten years, and he had a lot of experience. Real Madrid could choose Davies as a transition period and use this transition period to find another top defensive midfielder.
However, Real Madrid insisted that Inter Milan not only provide three players, but also more money.
Li Ang decisively signaled to Oriari to agree to Real Madrid's asking price of eight million euros!
According to the current market price of the players, Ronaldo's value was about 23 million euros, Samuels's value was about 16 million euros, a total of 39 million euros, while Recoba's value was about 20 million euros, Vieri's value was about 8 million euros, and Davies' value was about 5 million euros, a total of 33 million euros, plus 8 million euros, a total of 41 million euros. Inter Milan's side was a little bit of a loss.
In the end, with Samuels and Ronaldo determined to leave, Real Madrid, who thought that they had slightly taken advantage of Inter Milan, finally agreed to this huge player deal.
*****
The agreement between Real Madrid and Inter Milan had just been signed and had not been officially announced to the media.
Inter Milan could not wait.
On July 15, 2005, in the evening, local time in Italy, the entire layout of Inter Milan's official website suddenly changed.
A caption banner appeared on the webpage, almost occupying half of the page!
The caption banner, written in Italian, read:
Welcome Home! Ronaldo!
Below the banner was a photo that occupied most of the page. It was a group photo of Li Ang, Moratti, and Ronaldo:
Inter Milan's manager, Li Ang, stood on the left, Inter Milan's chairman, Moratti, stood on the right, and in the middle was Ronaldo, wearing Inter Milan's number nine jersey …
The entire football world was shaken!
PS: Sixth update, sorry for the long wait. Thank you to Old K for the reward.
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