Another three days passed after Allan's call to Tang En. Tang En did not receive any news regarding Anelka's transfer negotiations. He thought the matter was over. It looked like Allan could not handle the two Frenchmen. He did not expect to receive a call from Turkey's Fenerbahçe, hoping to discuss the issue of Anelka's transfer with the Forest team.
At the same time, Allan appeared in Evan Doughty's office, looking travel-worn. Evan joked that Allan had returned with Turkish sand. Only then did Tang En realize that the delay was because Allan had gone to Turkey to negotiate with the Fenerbahçe Club.
Seeing Tang En, Allan flashed a bright smile. "There's nothing good to drink in Turkey. No tea, no coffee, and no cola."
The two of them burst into laughter.
"It's settled." After laughing, Allan sat down to accept his gains from the trip. "We'll give Anelka's two agent brothers some appropriate 'compensation' for helping us put pressure on the Fenerbahçe Club. You guys are in England and don't understand the news there. In Turkey, there has been a lot of negative news about Anelka being late for training and contradicting the coach. It's all caused by the two agents. The Fenerbahçe Club can no longer bear it. I went to Turkey and quickly agreed to buy Anelka's image. Guess how much we'll need to buy Anelka? "
The two of them shook their heads.
Allan raised his hands and spread his fingers.
"Ten million?" Tang En frowned slightly.
Allan smiled and shook his head, retracting two fingers. "Eight million."
The other two laughed at the same time. It was a good deal. Eight million to buy Anelka was within Tang En's acceptable range. If it were ten million, Tang En would inevitably feel the pinch.
"They earned a million in half a season. The Turks feel they didn't lose out. In addition, the personal contract with Anelka had already been negotiated long before this. The contract is for four years, and the weekly salary … "Allan deliberately kept them in suspense." 45,000 pounds. The salary rises by 10% every year, plus a signing fee of 600,000. As a concession, we'll give up all rights to Anelka's image. "
Tang En was also very satisfied with the terms. Previously, the highest weekly salary in the team was Edwin van der Sar's 40,000 pounds, but the Forest team had adjusted the team's salary structure for the new season. Although it had not been announced, the level of 45,000 pounds was only in the upper middle of the new salary structure.
As for the rights to his portrait, so be it. Anelka's portrait rights were not worth much anyway. Only his two agent brothers still held onto them like they were treasures.
Amidst his happiness, Evan suddenly thought of a problem. "Allen, what you said makes me a little worried. Now that we can let Anelka's two agents treat Fenerbahçe like this, who can guarantee that a year or two later, no other teams will secretly encourage those two money-minded guys to treat us like this? "
Allan did not reply, but looked at Twain.
Tang En coughed. "Evan, you know … the world of football may be short of outstanding players in many positions, but there has never been a shortage of outstanding strikers. It's not like we stopped looking for good strikers after we bought Anelka. I will keep an eye on the transfer market. If they want to kick up a fuss, let them. We can make a fortune in the transfer market. "
Evan suddenly understood. He turned around and took out a bottle of whiskey and three glasses from the liquor cabinet, pouring them out one by one. Then he handed the glasses to Tang En and Allan.
"Two and a half years ago, my father called me back from America, wanting me to take over this club of his. In order to get me interested in running a club, he brought me to see the Forest team's training base, to see the Forest team's stadium, and to meet the Forest team's players and coaching staff at the time. But he felt that these were not enough. Perhaps the best way to get a basketball fan like me interested in football was to watch a live football match. So, he brought me to watch an official Forest team match. " Evan looked at Tang En. "It was a match in the third round of the English FA Cup. The First Division team, Nottingham Forest, was playing against the super team, West Ham United."
Tang En knew what Evan was going to say. He touched the tip of his nose in embarrassment.
"Before half-time, I looked at the full stands and felt that I couldn't understand what those people were thinking. A match between a low-level team, with not high standards, not a good game to watch, and even three consecutive goals scored by the opponent … What was there to watch in such a match? I felt that regardless of whether it was the fans sitting in the stands watching the match or my father, who spent his energy and money on this team, they were all stupid. They were just wasting their time. "
Evan shrugged.
"During half-time, my father insisted on bringing me to the locker room to meet the players, even though I felt that it was not the right time. Who would want to go to the locker room to have an awkward meeting when the team was trailing by a large margin? Then, we heard the show in the locker room. "Evan winked at Tang En. "It was very exciting. I was interested in football for the first time. I think it's a little difficult to see Sherwood Forest made up of twenty-seven thousand middle fingers now, right? "
"That has already become a masterpiece, Evan," Tang En replied with a smile.
"You're right, Tony. The current Forest team was no longer the hopeless and down-and-out team of the past. I still remember that second half very clearly. Even though we still lost in the end … Tony, no matter how long it takes, I still have to say that it was the most exciting match I've ever seen. "
"Thank you."
"From that match onwards, I started to become interested in running a football club. I suddenly felt that sitting in the stadium's box and watching my own team's matches every weekend afternoon might not be a waste of time. After returning to America, Allan and I seriously discussed about giving up our current business and returning to England to run a club. At first, Allan thought I was crazy. "He looked at Allan Adams again.
"You told me that you were really crazy because of that match." Allan smiled and continued, "I studied the management of the NBA clubs in America and the management model of traditional football clubs in England. I think Evan might really be crazy, but it's not without reason. The NBA in America is the most successful and commercialized league in the world. I think their management model is worth learning from. Football clubs in England are different from the NBA. Because of historical factors, many people think that a club belongs to the fans themselves. It doesn't matter if it can make money or not. But I don't see it that way. If we want the team to make money, we have to change our previous way of thinking. Fortunately, the Forest team was in a terrible situation at that time — a financial crisis, continuous decline in results, and the fans were tired of the team's current situation. They also wanted to change their way of thinking. So … "He looked at Evan again," Evan and I came up with a plan to push the Forest team into the abyss again. The plan was dangerous and had a lot of risk. If it failed, not only would Evan and I not get the benefits we expected, we would lose even more. It was like walking on a tightrope at the top of the Empire State Building. Fortunately, we succeeded. "
"So, as the person who came up with the plan and implemented it, you're even crazier than me, Allan," Evan Doughty teased.
Tang En listened to the two of them talk about the past. Even though he had experienced those things, he still admired Allan as a person now that he felt it from a different perspective. In terms of the management of the football club, he managed to break down and build up.
"Businessmen always have to deal with all kinds of risks, especially people like me who come from a speculative business background." Allan laughed.
"So, I'm actually not a person with any special talent. I don't know how to coach a team, and I don't know how to make money. It's all because of the two of you, Tony and Allan, that the Forest team is where it is today. Thank you. "Evan Doughty raised his glass after he finished speaking.
"Isn't it too early to say thank you?" Tang En asked.
Allan nodded, "Let's talk about this when our goal is achieved, Evan."
"You two guys are ruining the atmosphere!"
※ ※ ※
Since the negotiations with Fenerbahçe Football Club and the player's agent had already been settled, the transfer negotiations had become a formality. The representatives of both clubs and the player's agent sat together and talked for half an hour to confirm the terms of the contract and sign their respective names on the contract.
The entire negotiation and signing process was not made public. Allan only found out about the situation in the process of talking to Anelka's two agent brothers, so he quickly ruled out the other party using the Forest team to seek a higher salary for Anelka at Fenerbahçe. That afternoon, when Fenerbahçe Football Club announced on its official website that the French striker, Nicolas Anelka, had officially transferred to Nottingham Forest, one could imagine the earthquake of the news.
Half a year ago, the entire British media was overjoyed because of Anelka's departure. Who would have thought that after half a year, this eccentric player and his two annoying agent brothers would come back for the kill!
All the English media still remembered how difficult it was for them to interview the French striker during Anelka's outstanding season with Manchester City. You want to interview Anelka? Sure, take out forty thousand pounds. Even if the media wanted to interview Manchester United's star player, Ryan Giggs, it would only cost eight thousand pounds!
Anelka's reputation in England had already been ruined by his agent. He was not liked anywhere he went. This time, even the famous BBC football presenter, Lineker, who had always been optimistic about Tang En, could not understand it. He wrote about the transfer deal in his online column, "Manager Tang En's actions have always been incomprehensible. It's the same this time. I think he should know very well what Anelka will bring to his team … goals. Of course, I never deny that guy's talent and ability. But I think that with those goals, the Forest team will have to pay a huge price. "
(To be continued, if you want to know what happens next, please log on to WWW. CMFU. com. More chapters. Support the author. Support original reading!)
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