The Bernabéu Stadium in Madrid.

The atmosphere in the chairman's office was a little stiff, and the face of Real Madrid president Florentino was not very good.

Special adviser Zinedine Zidane, general manager Baldano and Putragno, who were sitting next to him, also had grim faces.

They are discussing a very serious topic, and at the same time waiting for someone.

The topic was about Real Madrid's transfer operations this summer.

There is no doubt that last summer's transfer was quite a failure, and although it ended up stealing an Adebayor, the Togolese striker was clearly underweight compared to Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka and Benzema, and his performances in the team were unsatisfactory, and there were even calls for him to be sent away.

Last season's tasked with the team was Argentine striker Gonzalo Higuain, who scored 27 goals in 32 league games and was the team's top scorer, and for the second season in a row he has scored more than 20 goals.

But it is a pity that he belongs to the legacy of the former president, Calderón.

In a team like Real Madrid, this is undoubtedly quite embarrassing for Florentino.

What's more, there have been constant doubts within the squad about his ability to function, as he now has a budget of hundreds of millions of euros in his hands, and it is undoubtedly unsatisfactory to not even bring in a superstar.

Real Madrid is a very special team, he doesn't need to think about profit, every penny he earns can be invested in the transfer market, and as president, the only thing Florentino needs to do is serve the fans.

Or, strictly speaking, member fans.

However, last season's performance was not ideal, and the failure in the transfer market hit Real Madrid in La Liga, and not only that, but two rivals rose to the occasion and shined.

Under Pep Guardiola's tutelage, Barcelona has been steadily improving, not only winning the La Liga title, but also defeating Atletico Madrid in the Champions League final, achieving the La Liga double, which makes the Barcelona Dream Three team win the Europa League again.

As for the city rival Atletico Madrid, not to be outdone, after the old coach Heynckes returned to Germany, Simeone took over the position of Atletico Madrid, and brought the La Liga powerhouse to the Champions League final in the first season, but unfortunately, the Sheets Army lost in La Liga and the Champions League successively, and finally missed the championship.

But in the Copa del Rey, Atletico Madrid defeated Real Madrid and eventually won the cup.

What is even more exciting for Atletico Madrid is that after the team moved into the new stadium, the income has skyrocketed, and the general manager Hill Jr. has even called for a full contract renewal this summer, including Torres, Villa, Seydou Keita, Gabi, Ramos and Keylor Navas, who have been with the team for many years.

The two sworn enemies are full of talents and have very brilliant results, but they make Real Madrid very embarrassed.

Jose Mourinho's first season in charge did not make the slightest breakthrough in terms of results, the Champions League still stopped at the round of 16, the league finished third, and the Copa del Rey reached the final but failed to win the title.

In any case, this is not a satisfactory report card.

All Real Madrid executives, including Florentino, are feeling the pressure and they must come up with a response as soon as possible.

Knock ~ knock ~ knock.

A knock was heard on the door, and everyone in the silent office straightened their chests.

"Come in. Florentino shouted.

The door was opened by none other than Real Madrid's manager, Jose Mourinho.

As one of Europe's most famous managers, Jose Mourinho has an extraordinary influence on the world of football, and even after two years of inactivity, he has not been able to produce satisfactory results after taking charge of Real Madrid.

On the contrary, he was more likely to be in the Spanish newspapers because of all sorts of off-the-field news.

"Good afternoon, Mr. President. ”

Mourinho greeted everyone present as soon as he entered, and sat down on an empty sofa.

The protagonist is here, and the meeting can officially begin.

"Jose, we came to you today, mainly for the summer transfer. General Manager Baldano was the first to say.

Mourinho nodded, he had clearly guessed, "I have submitted a transfer plan to the technical department before, I think our current squad is not competitive and needs to be brought in in in forwards, wings, midfield and defence. ”

That said, he wasn't very happy with the entire Real Madrid squad.

Baldano nodded, "I understand that the management will also give their full support, and now we are working with Liverpool to sign Gerrard, and Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas, these two players will be our core targets this summer." ”

The introduction of superstars was a strategy that Florentino had drawn up since he took office.

Steven Gerrard and Cesc Fabregas have been rumoured to move to Real Madrid for a long time, with Liverpool and Arsenal not being able to afford it, and the two teams are now showing signs of falling behind Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea, so they are in desperate need of reinforcements.

Therefore, it is only natural to sell these two leading stars in exchange for a large transfer fee.

At this point, Baldano sighed helplessly, "But you know, we're in an awkward position right now. ”

Butragno on the side took over and said: "Liverpool has repeatedly said that Gerrard is not for sale, and we have raised the offer for Gerrard again and again, from the original 30 million euros to the current 50 million euros, but they are still unmoved, and the same situation is Fabregas, we have opened to 50 million euros, and Arsenal still refuses to negotiate." ”

Real Madrid's situation is indeed embarrassing, everyone can see that.

On the one hand, they have a large transfer budget on hand, which is said to be as high as hundreds of millions of euros, and on the other hand, they only need high-level stars, and this type of player is often extremely scarce in the transfer market.

Neither Liverpool nor Arsenal are alone, as is Manchester United's Wayne Rooney.

Florentino has made it clear that as long as Manchester United is willing to sell, Real Madrid is willing to pay 80 million euros or even higher to bring in Rooney, but as a result, Ferguson's Manchester United has always gritted its teeth and refused to sell it no matter what.

In these years, superstars are luxury goods, and they can't be mined without sky-high prices.

"We've been in contact with Wolfsburg and they've put a very high price tag on Dzeko. ”

"How much?" Mourinho asked, frowning.

"Sixty million euros. ”

"They're crazy!" Mourinho scolded indignantly.

Dzeko is a 24-year-old high school striker who has been doing well at his feet and has gradually become one of the top scorers in the Bundesliga since joining Wolfsburg, scoring 26 and 22 goals in the last two seasons.

But Wolfsburg's previous offer to other teams was said to be only 40 million euros, and now the price has increased.

"In addition to Dzeko, we also have Belgium's Romelu Lukaku, Werder Bremen's Almeida, Villarreal's Nimmar and Chinatown's Diego Costa. ”

Mourinho listened silently to Baldano, Lukaku is too young, Almeida is his compatriot, it can be considered, Nimar is not good, as for Diego Costa......

When he heard the name, Mourinho's eyes lit up, "Is Chinatown willing to sell?"

Baldano looked at Florentino and Zidane and shook his head, "I don't know, we need to make contact." ”

"We played against China City last season and this team is very strong, if it weren't for the transfers of Falcao and Ramirez, this team would have at least finished in the top six, or even the top four, and Diego Costa fits my requirements. ”

"In addition to Diego Costa, I think Chinatown's wide player Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, midfielder Mkhitaryan, centre-back Otamendi and goalkeeper David De Gea are all very worthy of consideration. ”

The corners of Baldano's mouth twitched when he heard this, this is too ruthless, right?

It's just the rhythm of digging up Chinatown.

Florentino finally couldn't sit still at this time, and coughed heavily, "This...... Chinatown has a very good relationship with us, we have been working well together over the years, Gao Han and I are also very close friends, if we want to poach without hurting, I am afraid we will have to be like Chelsea. ”

Pay the penalty penalty!

Everyone's hearts were beating, and they didn't know whether it should be funny or helpless.

There are many teams coveting Chinatown's players, but after the sale of Falcao and Ramirez, Chinatown received a large amount of transfer funds, and after signing several sponsorship contracts in a row, the bank of Madrid provided a loan of 150 million euros, and the club's finances have basically stabilized.

In this case, in the face of poaching from the outside world, Chinatown has only one answer, not for sale.

This is undoubtedly the best way to make all teams who want to poach retreat.

Take Diego Costa, for example, who performed well last season, but will not be worth more than 25 million euros, but his liquidated damages are as high as 60 million euros, which is definitely a very expensive price, even with the aura bonus of alpine, it is also prohibitive.

As for Otamendi, one of the best central defenders in La Liga last season and selected for the Argentine national team to participate in the World Cup in South Africa, if he can shine in the World Cup and become famous in one fell swoop, it is very much in line with Real Madrid's superstar strategy, even if the price is higher, it is understandable.

De Gea's performance is indeed quite eye-catching, known as the most talented goalkeeper in Spain after Casillas, only nineteen years old, but he has played a full La Liga season, as well as a La B season, his performance is remarkable, and he has also been selected for the Spanish national team, but his liquidated damages are even more outrageous, as high as 100 million.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is a fast and fast winger, and after his departure at Falcao last season, he showed his quality in terms of scoring, while Mkhitaryan was arguably the best player for Chinatown last season, especially after Falcao's departure, he stabilized in the middle and became the team's attacking engine.

In last season's La Liga, although China City only finished eighth, its strength is undoubted, and many players in the team have also shown an eye-catching level, and Gao Han's vision for poaching and cultivating young players is undoubted.

But it is certainly not easy for any team, including Real Madrid, to poach Chinatown.

Especially the high cold.

(End of chapter)