Pepe's announcement caused quite a storm in Nottingham and even England. No one had thought that Nottingham Forest's most loyal warrior would voluntarily request for a transfer. When he was banned by the UEFA, the club stood behind him and supported him.
But those who were familiar with Pepe and Twain's relationship understood after a little thought. Pepe's loyalty was to Tony Twain, not Evan Doughty. Since Twain had left the Forest team, there was no need for Pepe to stay here. To him, a club that could not even retain a meritorious manager must have internal problems. There was no need for him to play for such a team.
Thus, his choice to leave was natural.
But the Nottingham Forest fans did not think so.
They felt that this was another intolerable betrayal after Tony Twain.
For a few days, when Pepe went to training, he would see banners scolding him around the training ground.
"Go to Real Madrid! Traitor! "
"Think about who gave you everything you have today? It's Nottingham Forest!! "
Such slogans were carried by the fans and were very eye-catching.
Even some people in the team could not understand his decision.
Of course, the person who was most dissatisfied was the aloof Evan Doughty.
Pepe's public announcement in an interview that he wanted to leave the team was tantamount to giving him a slap in the face in public.
He called O 'Neill to his office in name to hear what the manager had to say. In fact, he had already made a decision and O' Neill was only there to hear the result.
"Real Madrid, AC Milan and Manchester United … they all gave us an offer for Pepe." Doughty sat in his boss's chair and looked a little condescending. "I didn't want to consider it before, but the situation is different now, Martin."
It was different from when Twain first met him. Today, Doughty was one of the most successful club chairmen in England. When Twain left the manager's position, his exposure increased greatly. Now the whole world knew that the leader of Nottingham Forest was such a person.
Just last week, when the club's new stadium was opened, he was frequently interviewed by five television media outlets and three magazines and newspapers. His smiling photos frequently appeared on various media outlets. He was touted by the media as the behind-the-scenes leader of Nottingham Forest's previous glory and the soul of Nottingham Forest's continued glory in the future. He frequently expressed his football philosophy, team building guidelines, and showed his ambition.
"I hope that in another five years, Nottingham Forest can truly become a world-class powerhouse team. With the opening of the new stadium as an opportunity, we will also plan to build a new training base. Wilford is too old and too small. In the future, it will continue to play a role as Nottingham Forest's football school … "
That's what he said in the media. Not to mention whether he had the money to carry out these grand plans, just this blueprint alone was enough to scare a lot of people. Wilford had only been put into use since the early 1990s. It had only been more than 20 years since then, and they were already complaining that it was too old … Sure enough, they were bold.
As the successful chairman of the club, Evan Doughty, who frequently attended high-class gatherings, naturally could not act like a rookie who had just entered the profession and put his arm around the manager's shoulder in an intimate manner. He had to keep a distance between himself and the people below him. A second Tony Twain would never appear under him.
O 'Neill was alarmed by Doughty's words, "We can't sell Pepe, he's the most important part of the team's defensive line …"
Doughty shook his head and did not care about the manager's protest. "It's not a matter of whether we want to sell him or not, but he asked to leave. Forcing him to stay might not end well, Martin. Also, let me remind you that Pepe is already 31 years old. As a center back, if we don't sell him now, he won't be able to fetch a good price in the future. "
His tone sounded like he was discussing the international crude oil price or the gold futures market.
O 'Neill did not intend to give in. The players he sold previously were all substitutes and marginal players. He did not care if he sold them. But the team had already sold two center backs in a row. If they sold Pepe as well, where would they find a suitable candidate to take over the position? If the defensive line was not stable, how could they maintain this year's results? One had to know that the goal that Evan Doughty had given him was to ensure that they could make it into next season's Champions League.
"I can talk to him. I believe he must have been affected by Tony Twain's departure and could not accept it for a while. He's just being childish … "
"Thirty-one-year-old kid?" Evan's sneer interrupted O 'Neill's words.
O 'Neill did not care about the chairman's sarcasm. He continued to state his opinion, "Pepe is the core of our defensive line. If he leaves, the entire defensive line will experience a huge upheaval. And we can't afford such upheaval now, Mr. Chairman. The team's morale is already unstable with a change of manager. If we sell players frequently, such a team will not even have the basic cohesion … The new season is about to start. I think it's better to maintain the stability of the lineup as much as possible. "
"On the contrary, Mr. O 'Neill." Evan was a little impatient with the manager who always went against him. The way he addressed O 'Neill had also changed from the affectionate "Martin" to the cold "Mr. O' Neill." "I know very well who Pepe is siding with. He doesn't listen to you. Letting such a person stay in the locker room is the biggest threat to the stability of the team. "
Evan was right. Although he never entered the locker room, there were some things that he did not need to enter the locker room to understand. Pepe really did not submit to this new manager, even if he also had outstanding achievements. But for Pepe, there was only one person in the world who could convince him wholeheartedly. No matter how good the others were, they could not replace the position of that person in his heart.
O 'Neill was silent for a moment and still wanted to struggle, "I still think that as long as I talk to him once, any problem can be solved …"
Evan Doughty laughed, "No matter how many times I talk to him, the result will be the same. Pepe is determined to leave. So listen to me, Mr. O 'Neill. Give up on him. We'll go and find a high-level center back now. There's still time. You still have time to break in with the team. If you keep dragging on without making a decision, it'll be too late when the league tournament starts. "
"I still have to talk to him once. I'm the manager. This is my responsibility. "O 'Neill stood up and left without saying goodbye.
Behind him, Evan Doughty smiled disdainfully.
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The result of the interview was just as Evan Doughty expected. It also exhausted Martin O 'Neill.
No matter what O 'Neill said, Pepe just did not agree to stay in the team. Of course, he also expressed that he was not dissatisfied with Manager O 'Neill. It was just that he bluntly told O' Neill that he was very disappointed with the current club. Originally, Tony Twain's Forest Team was very humane, but there was not the slightest bit of warmth in the current team. He did not like playing in such an environment. It had nothing to do with which club paid him a high salary. He had the right to choose where he liked to play. He used to like playing in Forest, but he did not like it anymore. It was as simple as that.
The player did not want to stay, and the club chairman insisted on selling him. He was stuck in the middle and could not do anything. Martin O 'Neill felt that these two months at Forest were more tiring than his season at Manchester United.
In the end, he nodded helplessly and allowed Pepe to leave.
It was only one day. It was only one day since he agreed to sell Pepe. News of the deal being officially confirmed came from Milan, Italy.
AC Milan spent 30 million pounds to bring in the 31-year-old world-class center back Pepe from Nottingham Forest. The deal was officially recognized by both clubs.
After seeing the news, O 'Neill realized a fact. Even if he did not agree, Pepe could not escape the fact that he was sold. The hidden Allan Adams must have flown to Milan long ago and signed all the agreements that needed to be signed. Even if he threatened the chairman with his resignation at the club, it could not change the fait accompli.
The club's top management had done everything, but he, the manager, was kept in the dark. He even felt that Pepe must have known the outcome of the negotiations in advance. Only he was like a fool who still tried to persuade him to stay in Forest …
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When Pepe left Nottingham, there must be many people who still remembered how good he was. It was already good enough that no one ran to Birmingham Airport to throw rotten eggs at him.
However, the media saw something else that was worth pondering over — — —
Martin O 'Neill said helplessly during an interview, "Pepe is an excellent center back. Without him, my plan has to be rewritten …"
Obviously, this transfer was not what the manager wanted. That meant that it was the result of the club's top management forcibly intervening. It looked like the once indestructible Nottingham Forest battleship was beginning to disintegrate bit by bit from the inside. This was what the media was most interested in.
Therefore, they hyped up the news of Pepe's transfer, causing the entire Nottingham Forest team to panic. They did not know who would be the next player to be sold.
After Pepe escaped the vortex, he held up AC Milan's red and black striped shirt at the Milan press conference, but his smile was not bright. Every child who ran away from home would occasionally recall the happy times at home in the dead of night, right?
In the future Champions League, when his AC Milan and Nottingham Forest met, those memories would probably drown him like a flood. Of course, maybe nothing would happen. As a professional player, he had to get used to this kind of separation.
"I … hope to be able … to bring a championship trophy to Milan …" In front of the television cameras, he said with a stumble in his not very proficient Italian.
AC Milan's manager, Marco van Basten, was very happy because AC Milan's weak rear defensive line finally ushered in a qualified center back. He could plan to dominate Europe again.
"We've got the best center back on the planet!" In his excitement, he did not even hesitate to put the hat of the world's number one on Pepe's head.
Then conversely, Nottingham Forest had lost the world's best center back …
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Pepe's transfer was not as simple as the departure of a player. Since Pepe, the core of the defense and the main force, could be sold, then what about Gareth Bale? Would he sell Aaron Mitchell? George Wood … Would he sell it?
Who else could not be sold to this Nottingham Forest team?
All the teams in Europe went crazy. In the eyes of the shrewd or not so shrewd team managers, today's Nottingham Forest did not have a bright future just because they had just won the Treble and moved to a new stadium. On the contrary, this team was simply a large supermarket with good quality and low prices.
Tony Twain spent 11 years to collect and train the players, and each of them had their own value. The main players were favored by the powerhouses, and the substitutes were also favored by the mid-tier teams. As long as Evan Doughty was willing, his team could bring him at least 500 million pounds in transfer fees in an instant.
George Wood alone was estimated to be worth at least 60 million pounds, and if he was an offensive player, it could even go up to 90 million pounds.
Just renewing his contract with the club was not a reason to stop those suitors. Renewing the contract was just to hide the price from the public. We have the money!
"George Wood is the best midfielder in the world, even better than Gerrard." Mourinho showed goodwill to Wood, and at the same time, dealt a blow to his old rival, Liverpool. He hoped that the steely midfielder could join Manchester United and help the team against the other strong teams. In addition, he was also very interested in the Forest goalkeeper, "I hope the team can bring in a high-level goalkeeper, this is the key to fighting for the title. Akinfeev is very good, I have been watching him. He has been well trained at Nottingham Forest, but I think he should consider changing places … "
"Mitchell is the second Ibrahimovic, he should play in a powerhouse like Inter Milan." Inter Milan's new manager, Zola, extended an olive branch to the little giant of the Forest team.
"Ribery is very good, but he is old after all. Maybe for Mitchell, this is the best time to correct the previous mistakes that Real Madrid made. " AS reported that Real Madrid's pursuit of Pepe was unsuccessful, and they turned their attention to Gago.
"Barcelona's tradition is to attack, we need a left back who is good at attacking, and Bale fits our needs, it's that simple." Guardiola said when talking about the summer signings.
"Agbonlahor is very fast, and he has become more mature in the Forest team over the past few years. His shooting ability has also improved. He is the type of player we need … "Manchester City also wanted a piece of the pie.
"Şahin is a talented player, and if Bayern wants to prove themselves in Europe again, we can't let go of such a talented player." According to the German media, Bayern Munich was getting closer to the German-born Turkish midfielder.
There were also Chris Cohen, Adriano Moke, Nicolás Millán, Joe Mattock, Rafinha … and other players who had more or less received invitations from other teams. The whole of Europe saw the sale of Pepe as a signal:
My supermarket is always open, every player is easy to sell, as long as you can afford it, I wish you a happy shopping.
A new wave of offers for Nottingham Forest players hit the Nottingham Forest Football Club. Martin O 'Neill went to bed every night worried that he would wake up the next morning and find out that his main players had been sold out by Allan Adams. He had no doubt about this, because Allan Adams was indeed a guy who only had money in his eyes. Although they had only known each other for two months, O 'Neal inevitably hated this businessman.
When he was tormented by these transfer rumors, he received a call from Pierce Brosnan.
"Mr. O 'Neill, do you remember? I'm Pierce Brosnan, a reporter from the Nottingham Evening Post. You promised me the interview tomorrow a week ago. "Brosnan knew that O 'Neill had been having a hard time recently, and he was a little worried that the other party would go back on his word.
O 'Neill then remembered that there was such a thing. He was not in the mood for any interview at this time.
But … when he thought of what happened these days, he suddenly had a desire to talk and was eager to tell others. He did not care if the audience was the media or his wife and children.
Anyway, some things had to be said, and he did not care what the reaction would be if he said it.
"Okay, I didn't forget, Mr. Brosnan. Come to my office at 10: 30 tomorrow morning, I'll wait for you there. "
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