While Tang En was trying his best to poach other people's players, his own players were also being poached by others at the same time.
Just a few days after the Champions League final, news came from Spain: La Liga powerhouse Real Madrid had targeted Nottingham Forest's star player, Franck Ribéry, for their summer signing target. And unlike the rumors in the first half of the year, the Real Madrid club was serious this time.
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This summer, Real Madrid had two key targets to bring in. One was the Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo, who scored 41 goals in a season at Manchester United and became the Premier League's top scorer this season. The other was the UEFA Champions League's best player, Franck Ribéry.
Both of them were star players with great appeal in today's football world. The essence of Real Madrid was to constantly pursue the world's best players and then let them all play in the world's best clubs.
Whether it was the earliest Di Stefano or later Figo, Zidane, Ronaldo and Beckham, the century-old powerhouse Real Madrid was never a civilian team.
They could cultivate their own superstars or poach them from other teams. This was very hateful — who would be willing to accept that the star players you worked so hard to cultivate were poached by Real Madrid with money?
The current president of the Real Madrid club, Calderón, was able to come to power because of "three promises": he promised that if he was elected as the new Real Madrid president, he would bring the Brazilian Kaka, the Portuguese Ronaldo and the Dutchman Robben to the fans.
Now, Robben fulfilled this promise, but he was firmly rejected by AC Milan when he pursued Kaka. The relationship between the two clubs even broke down for a time.
After a summer of trying, Calderón realized that it was not the best time to bring in Kaka. So this summer, they changed their target. C. Ronaldo's breakout this season made him a hot star player, but there was only one club that really dared to want him — Real Madrid.
Even before the end of the season, Real Madrid had already been in contact with Cristiano Ronaldo's agent, Mendes, to find out the player's intentions. This was the usual style of Real Madrid's poaching — to threaten the club with the player.
Ronaldo's response was positive. He wanted to leave Manchester United and go to Real Madrid. On the one hand, this transfer would bring him better treatment; on the other hand, he would have a chance to continue his dream of challenging for the UEFA Champions League. He had been in excellent form this season, but Manchester United had been defeated on two fronts, which really disappointed him.
After learning of Ronaldo's thoughts, Real Madrid began to brazenly offer Manchester United fifty million euros.
But Real Madrid met a strong opponent — Sir Alex Ferguson.
"Cristiano will not be sold no matter how much money is offered. He is a Manchester United player and still has a contract with Manchester United. He is happy at Manchester United and has no reason to go to Real Madrid. I won't let them go. "
In fact, the Manchester United Football Club wanted to sell Ronaldo. After all, the American owner wanted to make money. But at Manchester United, Ferguson's position was almost unshakable. His voice represented the voice of Manchester United. At the same time, in order to convince everyone on the surface that there were no differences or contradictions within Manchester United, the club had to agree with Ferguson.
Real Madrid thought that Manchester United did not have enough money and began to gradually increase the price, but Ferguson still did not relent. Tirelessly, the Manchester United Football Club said angrily, "You want to take the Portuguese? One hundred million euros! "
That's enough to scare Real Madrid?
Real Madrid really began to raise 140 million euros of transfer funds, ready to buy the world-class superstar in their hearts.
Manchester United might have underestimated Real Madrid's financial situation, but Real Madrid also underestimated the stubbornness of the old man, Ferguson. He publicly said, "Even if they (Real Madrid) really come up with 100 million euros, Ronaldo is not for sale!"
Real Madrid, which had been successful in the transfer market in the past, really hit a snag this time. Ronaldo's transfer was temporarily put on hold because the UEFA European Championship was imminent. Ronaldo publicly said that he did not want to talk about his future next season at this time.
In this way, Real Madrid set their sights on another player who was comparable to C. Ronaldo — Nottingham Forest's Franck Ribéry.
In terms of technical characteristics, Ribéry's skills were not as good as Ronaldo's and could please the audience, but he was more practical. He had a strong breakthrough ability, excellent scoring ability, and an all-round talent who could play on the flanks and in the middle. Such a player was what Schuster really wanted. C. Ronaldo was just what the club's top brass wanted the team to bring in. Schuster wanted Ribéry, who was more suited to the team's tactics and more comprehensive than C. Ronaldo. In Schuster's eyes, there was one thing that Ribéry was better than C. Ronaldo, and that was his ability to organize the attack in the front field. At Nottingham Forest, although there was van der Vaart, Ribéry's ability to organize the attack in the offense was still amazing.
So, seeing that Ronaldo's side was making slow progress, Schuster immediately strongly recommended the acquisition of Ribéry to the top brass. This candidate was also considered good in Calderón's eyes. When Nottingham Forest eliminated Real Madrid in two legs to break into the top four, he, the high and mighty club chairman, was impressed by Ribéry's performance.
In this way, Ribéry once again became Real Madrid's key target for signings, going hand in hand with Ronaldo's line.
Do not underestimate the transfer deals of these two men. There was also a lot behind it. Calderón demanded that there be results on both sides. Cristiano Ronaldo's transfer was handed over to the club's sporting director, Mijatović, to be fully responsible, while Ribéry's transfer deal was solely handled by the financial director, José Angel Sanchez.
If you wanted to know the deeper meaning behind this, you could just look at the relationship between the two of them. Sanchez and Mijatović were sworn enemies. Back then, when Calderón put Sanchez in an important position during Florentino's era, it was because he didn't trust Mijatović. How could Mijatović have a good impression of Sanchez, a man who came to share power with him?
This arrangement could also be said to be the result of Calderón's checks and balances between the two sides. They were assigned very important tasks to the two men, and in the end, it depended on who completed it well. The one who completed it well would naturally gain the chairman's further trust. If they did not complete it well … their days in Real Madrid's top brass would be difficult. Therefore, the two men would do everything they could to sign these two players for Real Madrid. Once Ronaldo and Ribéry really transferred to Real Madrid, it could definitely be regarded as the most sensational sports transfer in the world this summer.
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Against this backdrop, the Nottingham Forest Football Club received an official offer from Real Madrid.
At that time, Tang En was in Switzerland as a guest commentator for the competition. He was very busy with work every day. This was because a commentator couldn't just open his mouth and say whatever he wanted. He had to collect a lot of information and information after the competition so that he could speak freely during the competition.
Evan made a phone call to him and told him that Real Madrid wanted to buy Ribery. He almost reflexively rejected the proposal.
"No way!"
"Aren't you going to hear how much they're offering?" Evan asked with a smile.
"I won't sell, no matter how much you offer!" Discussing the possibility of Ribéry's transfer had actually crossed Tang En's bottom line. "Real Madrid thinks that they can gather the best players in the world to play for them just because they have money? Let me show them that money isn't everything! "
"50 million euros is not a small amount, Tony."
"Manchester United said that they can't take Ronaldo away if they don't offer 100 million. We can also shout that no one can take Ribéry away without 150 million euros. "
"Don't tell me they can sell him if they offer?"
Tang En was silent for a moment. He knew what Evan was after. He also knew that Evan was his boss, so he gave Evan some face. "If they really offer 150 million euros just to buy Ribéry, I'll agree to let him go!"
At the same time, he said in his heart, "It'll be a miracle if Real Madrid is willing to offer 150 million euros!"
Evan certainly knew that Tang En's words were a tactful rejection. No club in the world would be crazy enough to offer 150 million euros for a player. He smiled. "Well, I'll reject them in the name of the club."
"Thank you for your understanding, Evan. After all, we haven't reached the point where we have to rely on selling players to make money, right? If we sell our core players, the team's results will be greatly affected … "
Evan interrupted Tang En. "Of course I know, Tony."
The call made Tang En a little worried. Of course, he was not worried about his relationship with Evan, but worried about Ribéry. It looked like Real Madrid was really planning to make a move on Ribéry …
There were very few players in the world who could resist the temptation of a powerhouse club. Once Real Madrid really reached out to Ribéry, how could Nottingham Forest resist?
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It was at this time that Tang En "coincidentally" received a call from Ribéry's agent, Bruno Heiderscheid.
"What a coincidence for you to call at this time, Mr. Heiderscheid." Even a fool could smell the sarcasm in Tang En's tone.
"Ha, since Mr. Tang En knows why I'm here, then I won't talk nonsense. To be honest, I hope the club will reconsider the contract with Ribéry. "
To put it bluntly, it was a raise. To this, Twain understood. For Ribéry's current status, a weekly salary of 80,000 was indeed a little low. If he had a rich boss like Abramovich, he could give Ribéry a weekly salary of 200,000 in one go. But did he? He did not, so he could not.
"The club has been considering this issue. We are very sincere. But you did not agree to the 100,000 weekly salary we proposed last time, Mr. Heiderscheid. "So, the problem is not on our side.
There was a burst of laughter on the other end of the phone. "Mr. Tang En, don't you really think 100,000 is too little for Ribéry's contribution and reputation?"
This time, Tang En did not get angry. He knew that getting angry would not help solve the problem.
"So how much do you think is appropriate, Mr. Heiderscheid?" he asked calmly.
"150,000."
Even if Tang En was well-mannered, he could not help but get angry when he heard this sentence, not to mention that he was not a polite gentleman.
"I think, Mr. Heiderscheid. You don't have to be an agent anymore. It's a waste of your talent. It's better for you to rob a bank. "He gnashed his teeth.
The last time the two men reached an impasse, Heiderscheid's condition was a weekly salary of 130,000, which Tang En did not accept, let alone 150,000.
"Please stay calm, Mr. Tang En. I think this condition is very appropriate. Given the current situation, it's very reasonable to keep a world-class player for 150,000. " Heiderscheid was not angry because of Tang En's nonsense and sarcasm, but his calm tone was so unpleasant to Tang En's ears that it made him extremely unhappy. His anger was accumulating …
"Ha, reasonable?" Tang En was so angry that he laughed. "You say a weekly salary of 150,000 is reasonable? Go and find out what Manchester United's Ronaldo's weekly salary is. One hundred and twenty thousand! What right do you have to talk about being reasonable in front of me? The owner of the Nottingham Forest Football Club is not a Russian plutocrat with nowhere to spend his money, nor is he a powerful American daddy! Do you think it's reasonable to ask for a weekly salary of 150,000 in the current financial situation, Mr. Bruno Heiderscheid? "
"Calm down, Mr. Tang En."
"I'm more f * * king calm than an iceberg." Tang En still could not hold back his expletives.
"I understand the club wants Ribéry to stay, but don't you think you should show some sincerity for this?"
It was the same old thing again. Tang En pursed his lips. "Unilaterally emphasizing the club's obligations and turning a blind eye to the player's due loyalty. Who are you trying to scare by asking for a weekly salary of 150,000? Is this how a good negotiation should begin? To put it bluntly, you want Ribéry to transfer to Real Madrid so that you can take a cut from it, right? Mr. Ten Percent. "
This time Tang En did not even call him by his name. He directly called him by the sarcastic code name.
"I think it's a calm analysis. The facts are like this, Mr. Tang En. Either the club raises his salary and keeps Ribéry if he's satisfied, or he can only leave the Forest team to go to another team that can meet his small request. "Heiderscheid's tone grew colder.
When Tang En heard the man say this without any emotion, he really wanted to yell into the microphone, "F * * k you! You son of a bitch! "
But he opened his mouth and only took a deep breath to calm his agitated mood.
He did not know what Allan would think of the matter, but he decided to grit his teeth and make some concessions. He had to keep Ribéry. He was one of the team's core offensive players. With him around, the team's tactical routine was much richer.
"One hundred and twenty thousand. This is the maximum we can accept. In the club's current situation, I think it's enough to show our greatest sincerity. "
"No, one hundred and fifty thousand …"
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