When Wang Huasheng sent the manuscript to the domestic press, he divided the interview into two.
One was very short and was about the news that Nottingham Forest was indeed interested in Sun Jihai. The other reorganized Tang En's conversation with them as an interview. Of course, he added some of Wang Huasheng's own information into it. He said it was to introduce the British manager who knew and liked China very well to the Chinese readers.
Tang Jing saw him churning out this exclusive interview over there and said nothing.
She had heard of such a thing: a certain Chinese reporter ran to Spain, took a photo with a certain star player, came back and made up an exclusive interview, then accompanied the photo back to China and successfully published it in the newspaper.
In comparison, Uncle Wang's behavior was considered very restrained.
No one knew what kind of repercussions this report would set off in China, but Wang Huasheng was certain that the newspaper's sales would definitely increase greatly this time. A British manager who had all kinds of connections with China and this time had a relationship with a Chinese player. No matter how he looked at it, it was a gimmick worth continuing to follow up and hype.
He was betting on this time. Just like when Li Xiang followed Milo and immediately became the most valuable reporter, with influence and money rolling in.
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Tang En did not care what waves would arise in China because of the fake "interview." The day after he sent off the two Chinese reporters, he almost forgot about the matter.
Pearce replied, but this time his answer put Tang En in a difficult position. Pearce agreed to loan Richards to the Forest team.
Tang En's dilemma was that after a few days of careful consideration, he did not want Richards anymore.
The Forest team's rear defensive line was generally young: 18-year-old Piqué, 26-year-old Chimbonda, 26-year-old Matthew Upson, 20-year-old Leighton Baines, 22-year-old Pepe …
If there was a younger Richards, Tang En felt it would not be good for the rear defensive line, which needed experience and stability the most.
So, after a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, Tang En still wanted Pearce to mention that the Forest team was very interested in Sun Jihai and hoped that the Manchester City club could seriously consider Sun Jihai's transfer.
"This puts me in a very difficult position …"
Hearing Pearce say so, Tang En was delighted. He knew there was hope. At the very least, Pierce did not reject him outright, which meant that he had considered the possibility of Sun Jihai leaving. He decided to strike while the iron was hot. "Renting Richards to us is to train him and gain experience. Keeping him in the Manchester City team and giving him a main position was also to train him and accumulate experience. The result will be the same. I think keeping Richards by your side might be more beneficial to his growth. "
"Tony, that doesn't sound like you."
Tang En chuckled. "I've seriously considered it. I think Sun Jihai is more suitable for Forest Team. Help me, Pierce. You also know that according to Richards's growth rate, he can completely replace Sun Jihai in the next two or three years. At that time, Sun Jihai's position in Manchester City will become quite awkward. And the Forest team just happens to need him now. You can use Richards to play as the main force. Give him your trust, and that kid will definitely reward you handsomely. Maybe the best young player of the new season will be him! "
"It's hard to tell what will happen in the future."
"This is a win-win situation, Pearce. You can rest assured that the Forest team will not let Manchester City lose out on the transfer fee."
The other end of the phone was silent for a long time, so long that Tang En thought Pearce was no longer there. Finally, the Manchester City manager spoke. "Well, the club will fax you the specific transfer fee. If you can accept that price, you can go and talk to Sun's agent."
"Ha! Thank you so much, Pearce! "
"If you really want to thank me, lead the team to play better in the Champions League! The Forest team has only participated in the Champions League three times and won two championship trophies. I don't want to go back after so many years to see a game like losing to Bayern Munich 2: 7 again … "
Tang En knew that Pearce was talking about the 95-96 season, when Nottingham Forest returned to the European arena after 11 years and broke into the UEFA Europa League top eight. In the end, they were humiliated by Bayern Munich 7: 2. Perhaps in the eyes of others, Nottingham Forest had performed well enough after returning to the European arena after so many years. But in the hearts of the Forest players, losing so badly and being unable to fight back, even if they faced the king of the Bundesliga, Bayern Munich, was still a lifelong shame.
As soon as Brian Clough left, Nottingham Forest's soul also disappeared.
"Don't worry, Pearce. Nottingham Forest is a rock in the toilet. "
"What do you mean?" Stuart did not quite understand the adage in China.
"It's smelly and hard. If those continental European teams think the Forest team is easy to bully, they have to be careful of their teeth. "
Pearce froze for a moment, then laughed.
"What a smelly rock!"
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The next day, the Manchester City Football Club sent a fax to the Nottingham Forest Football Club, indicating the price that Manchester City could accept on the issue of Sun Jihai's transfer fee — four million pounds.
Back then, Manchester City spent two million pounds to buy Sun Jihai from Dalian Shide, setting the record for the highest price paid by a Chinese player to a foreign club. And now, it was clear that as long as Tony Twain nodded his head, Sun Jihai would once again set the record for the highest price paid by a Chinese player.
Tang En scolded Stuart Pearce in his heart as he nodded and agreed to the price.
Four million pounds. Nottingham Forest officially sought to buy the Manchester City Football Club's right back, the utility player in the backfield, Sun Jihai.
The news of this official confirmation caused a sensation in China once again. The Chinese media were as clear as Tang En about what this price meant. No Chinese player had ever been able to reach such a high price. This figure could already put Sun Jihai in the middle of the English Premier League's mainstream players.
Previously, the Chinese always had the idea that Chinese players were always marginal figures when they went out. Even when Sun Jihai was able to play as the main force in Manchester City, the Chinese people more or less did not feel safe about him. If the domestic media promoted the Chinese players making a name for themselves overseas or something, there would immediately be many people who would say that it was an exaggeration and self-deception …
Just when the news was first announced on the China Internet, many netizens replied with doubts. Of course, these doubts would eventually lead to one result — quarrels and abuse between regions. The characteristics of the world were not just unique to China. Just like the British Northerners thought the Southerners were fools, the Southerners thought the Northerners were country bumpkins and uncivilized monkeys.
Later, many major portals and newspapers published the news one after another, and there were screenshots from the official websites of both clubs. Only then did the doubts of China netizens and fans disappear.
Sun Jihai was indeed likely to join a team that was going to participate in the UEFA Champions League!
Substitute or main force? After a debate on the domestic Internet, a new round of debate began.
Twain did not care about it. He would also browse the domestic websites if he had nothing to do, but he never looked at things like netizens' comments …
Would Sun Jihai accept the Forest team's invitation or not?
It looked like a very simple question, but it was a little pretentious to ask. Which would he choose between a team that could only play in the domestic league or a team that could participate in the UEFA Champions League? Wasn't it obvious?
But Sun Jihai hesitated.
He liked Manchester City and his life in Manchester. He had stayed here for five years and had a very deep relationship with the fans here. Perhaps in today's football world, there were fewer and fewer people who believed in the players' feelings for a team and fans, because in the face of money, there was no trust in the system of promises. But Sun Jihai was such a person.
The traditional thinking of the Chinese people was deeply ingrained. There was an old saying: Gold or silver nest is not as good as your own kennel. It was almost the same when applied to the club.
So what if Nottingham Forest could participate in the UEFA Champions League? Sun Jihai liked Manchester City. He had bought a house in Manchester, and his wife and children lived here. It was equivalent to his home. The Chinese valued family.
In addition, he had another reason for hesitation — he did not know Manager Twain's attitude toward him. Many domestic media outlets had analyzed that the Forest team only wanted to buy a substitute player. Why did Twain emphasize Sun Jihai's "versatility?" Wasn't it just to find a substitute player for Chimbonda, Leighton Baines, and the others? If he transferred to the Forest team but was not valued and even abandoned the Manchester City fans, then he would feel like a complete fool.
Twain decided to personally call Sun Jihai to give him a reassurance.
When the call connected, Sun Jihai habitually greeted him in English. Twain came up and gave him a fluent Chinese sentence, stunning him!
"Don't bother with English. I can understand you if you speak Chinese." He had also specially learned a bit of a Northeastern accent.
When Sun Jihai understood who was calling him, it was hard not to laugh. "Your Northeastern accent is not very standard, Mr. Twain." He also made a small joke.
"Hehe, I'll slowly learn from you in the future. I'm not afraid of not being standard. Do you know why I called you? "
Sun Jihai nodded. "Yes."
"What are you hesitating about? Worried that you won't have a place in the Forest team? Do you believe the words of the Chinese media? Four million to buy a substitute who occasionally plays?! I'm crazy! "
Twain was clear about that matter. The domestic media analyzed for a long time and thought that Nottingham Forest only bought Sun Jihai to increase the thickness of the bench. The analysis was reasonable and had the effect of confusing the readers.
But Twain only wanted to curse after reading the entire article. Just as he said to Sun Jihai: four million pounds to buy a substitute. The Forest team did not burn money like that.
"The Forest team is competing on multiple fronts this season. There is no distinction between the main players and substitutes in the team. Whoever is in good form and performs well, I'll let them start. Those who are out of stamina and not in good form can rest. It's such a simple matter, but the media still created ABCDEFG. "
Sun Jihai's hand holding the phone was shaking. He was desperately trying to hold back his laughter, but in the end, he could not.
"Mr. Twain, you should be the most humorous manager I've ever met."
"Actually, I'm a very easy person to get along with." Twain took advantage of the situation. "You'll know when you come."
Sun Jihai was silent for a moment.
"Sun." To be honest, it was a little awkward for Twain to address Sun Jihai that way. He really wanted to call him "Jihai," but he felt it was too pretentious to address him that way on their first meeting. "What's the point of being a professional player? To make money? There's always a day when you retire, right? There's always a time when you can't make money anymore, right? When you decide to wash your hands of it, you have to leave something different for yourself, right? I'll tell you the truth. That's all you can do at Manchester City. It will continue to be like this now and in the future. Manchester City is a team without ambition, but I have it. Nottingham Forest has it. I believe you can see it from the transfer market these two years. I bought you from Manchester City not to spend four million on a substitute to sit on the bench as a spectator; and it's not to open up the Asian market or the China market. I'm just interested in your ability, which is very helpful to the team. What are you still hesitating for? "
There was another silence. Twain did not say anything more. He had said what he needed to say. What else was there to say? If Sun Jihai still did not come, he had no other choice. He complained a little in secret and then brazenly went to Pearce to loan Richards again.
But he did not believe that Sun Jihai could still refuse an invitation from him. No matter how one looked at it, a transfer to Nottingham Forest was a win-win for a player like Sun Jihai. The Forest team offered better treatment than Manchester City. The Forest team had the ambition and goal to fight for glory. Fame. Four million to join a Champions League team in a high-profile manner. It was not just a rise in value.
Twain quietly waited for Sun Jihai to give him a reply. Soon, he got the answer he wanted.
"I'll do it, Mr. Twain. I'll come to Forest. "
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Sun Jihai was settled by Twain just like that. There was no problem with the agent. The only obstacle to the transfer was the player's personal will. It could be said that everything was ready now. The Forest team and Sun Jihai's agent quickly negotiated a personal contract and completed the signing as quickly as possible.
A day later, Sun Jihai and his agent appeared at Nottingham Forest's City Ground stadium, holding a red Forest team jersey to meet the fans, media, and Nottingham's China International Students Alliance. Standing next to Twain and Evan Doughty, he smiled a little bashfully.
When he stepped into the stadium from the press conference, he looked up and saw the fans unfurling a banner in the stands: "China Sun, welcome to the Forest!"
Twain also noticed the banner. It was not made by the China International Students Alliance. The people holding the banner were pure British fans. Twain easily found Fat John and Skinny Bill among them. It must have been their idea.
As the cameras in the reporters' hands flashed, Twain turned to Sun Jihai, who was lost in thought looking at the banner, and said, "You see, the forest can only photosynthesize when there's sunlight. The forest can only flourish when there's photosynthesis. "
Perhaps Sun Jihai did not know what kind of brilliant achievements his career would have after he came to the Forest team, but one thing was certain: there would be a big difference between here and Manchester City. His career would have something different.
Hearing Twain's words, Sun Jihai smiled as brightly as the sun.
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Note: Regarding a friend's reaction to seeing China football, he felt nauseous and disgusted when he saw anything related to China football. I must solemnly apologize here.
As a Chinese man who came to England from China, it was basically impossible for his career to have nothing to do with China. Whether it was Yang Yan in the early days, or a "British coach who spoke fluent Mandarin," or the current China player, Sun Jihai's transfer to the Forest team, it was all inevitable.
Perhaps I'm different from these friends when it comes to looking at China football and everything related to China football. Of course, I'm also scolding the China Football Association and the disappointing China men's football team. But I don't think China football is useless. Chinese fans also belong to the category of Chinese football. Are Chinese fans also trash? Similarly, as a Chinese player who had been abroad for a long time, Sun Jihai had not been tainted with too many of the bad habits of Chinese football. Instead, he had the fine qualities unique to Chinese people. From an objective point of view, I think he fits Twain's requirements very well, as well as the Forest team's requirements. From the perspective of the novel's box office, I think adding a Chinese player who has a good reputation among the Chinese fan community is also very pleasing.
In Twain's future coaching career, he will have more contact with China. Of course, I know how to control this degree and how to make everyone happy. I will certainly not do anything that goes against everyone's sense of beauty. For example, let Twain become the manager of the China national team, and then save Chinese football and win the World Cup. Such a thing will never happen in this book.
Thank you again for everyone's support!
In addition, the debate about Anelka can also be put to an end. Thank you to the friends who recommended players like Torres, Owen, Villa, and Vieri to me. I know you like these star players, but the Forest team really can't afford the salaries demanded by those superstars, nor can it afford the transfer fee of more than 80 million pounds. So, if you feel unhappy, go and scold Allan for not being able to make money!
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For some reason, there will be no updates in the afternoon. I'll post them all in the morning.
(To be continued. If you want to know what happens next, please log on to WWW. CMFU. com. More chapters. Support the author. Support the original reading!)
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