With Melanie's due date fast approaching and Millwall's pre-season training days just around the corner, Aldridge will be out for some time during the team's summer training camp.

Club CEO Adam came to Liverpool to meet Aldridge with a guilty look on his face.

"Boss, I'm sorry, I couldn't convince them to stay."

Adam was both angry and frustrated by the departure of Ferdinand and others.

Almost since June, his focus has been on retaining Ferdinand, Duff and Mills, but more than a month of efforts has yielded no results.

Aldrich warmly entertains Adam in the living room of his home, and Melanie, despite her big belly, also treats guests with the demeanor of a hostess, and they both like the feeling that makes them look like a normal couple and feel at home.

'Don't worry, our terms are too far from Leeds' conditions, they chose to sign a better contract, it's human nature.'

Aldridge no longer wants to think about why Rio Ferdinand, Duff and Mills are determined to transfer.

Maybe it's because it's making a lot of money, maybe it's because you don't want to play as a substitute at Millwall.

Whatever, let's go.

Not care.

"Boss, it's time for us to make a decision on the summer preparations."

Adam put his frustration behind him with his teacup and turned to the main point of conversation.

"Well, I'm sorry to Inter, Ajax and Borussia Dortmund, the plan that was discussed last year has been cancelled for the time being, but it can be done in the future, and in addition, to help the club contact Sporting Lisbon. Feyenoord. Leverkusen. Genk's four clubs, invite them to come to London to play pre-season warm-up games, the ticket share can be given more, we will move into the new stadium next summer, we can play a few more games at the Lion's Den Stadium to arrange as much as possible, there are still a considerable number of fans who are difficult to part with the old stadium. ”

Every word Aldrich uttered, Adam memorized.

In fact, at the G14 summit last year, Aldrich put forward an idea with some family members of wealthy families. That is, the European giants organized a group to play pre-season friendly matches on other continents, and a few months ago they made an appointment to go to North America with Inter Milan, Ajax, and Dortmund this summer.

At a time when European football has not yet fully entered the age of capital, some old ideas and hypocritical arrogance still hang over the heads of many giants, who believe that Europe is the center of the football world, representing the top level in this field. At the club level, if it is a backward country or region, no invitation will be sent. They seldom take the initiative to promote their own branding, and even if others come to invite them, they will ask for high appearance fees, which makes some sponsors or organizers shy away, this concept makes many quasi-giants and some giants with excellent records lag behind their competitors at the same level in the era of rapid development of media consulting, especially the global international visibility and influence, until ten years later, when this gap is reflected in business income, many giants began to catch up in the global strategy.

Millwall has always focused on international publicity, taking the United States as an example, Americans may not care about football, football is not even ranked in the top five in American competitive sports, but there are still football fans in the United States, and among these fans who care about football or love football, which club is their favorite? Millwall! For what? Because in the American Internet, only Millwall is promoting all websites related to football, and in the whole of Europe, fans of other teams are mostly attracted by Nike, Adidas and other sports brands advertising with football stars.

It is precisely because of the rapid development of Millwall's business operations in recent years that other giants want to try it when they hear Millwall initiating such a business operation proposal, Millwall does not want to go to other continents to engage in preseason games and becomes a one-man show, like last year's trip to Asia, almost all the way to abuse vegetables, the influence of manufacturing is really limited, if you find a few giants to go together, its sensation, influence, and attention will not be the same, the cake is very big, and one person can't finish it.

Aldridge couldn't get out of his body at this time, and his plans for preseason preparation were about to change.

"Boss, what is the club's plan for recruiting in the summer?"

Adam is still more concerned about the construction of the club's squad, and the only thing he is criticized in the industry now is that he is not like a football manager, but more like a simple businessman.

It's not that he doesn't want to interfere in the construction of the team, but in this regard, Aldridge covers the sky, and the introduction or transfer of players is decided by Aldridge, and Adam wants to look for a newcomer, but what if he does it? It's just a waste of time.

'You don't have to worry about that, I've already called the club's negotiation team, they're already working, and I want to talk to you about something else.'

Aldrich and Adam spent an afternoon talking in the living room of their home.

Three days later, Millwall officially announced that the Lion's Den Course would undergo a minor renovation after they moved into the new stadium, and that it would not be abandoned or auctioned off for other purposes in the future as a venue for youth and reserve teams.

As soon as the news was announced, the die-hard Lions fans, especially the local fans, were extremely excited and applauded the club's decision.

They still have a nostalgia for the old stadium, and even though the club is now famous in Europe and has won many accolades, the Lion's Den Stadium symbolizes the past and is an indelible part of their club's history and the memories of their fans.

Aldridge hadn't thought about what to do with the Lion's Den before, he envisioned following Arsenal's example of converting Highbury into a unique residential area after moving into the Emirates Stadium and selling it for what seemed to cost him hundreds of millions of pounds.

Now that he has money and the club has plenty of money, Aldridge hopes to preserve Millwall's historic buildings intact as a legacy of memory, and in 10 years, 20 years, 50 years, whether fans or tourists alike, can walk through these buildings when they come here, look for traces of the past, grope for the context of history, and make their club culture more complete and continuous.

Meantime. Millwall is also in Scotland. Wales. New football schools have been built in three regions of Ireland, each with 10 free places per year, and the 10 youngsters with the most outstanding talent are awarded at trials each summer.

This is not only the club's strategic plan to expand the selection of materials to promote the club's brand, but also to expand the club's influence in various fields of football, for example, they build football schools, there must be more coaches, but not all coaches meet Millwall's requirements, so Aldridge's coaching materials written last year have become a compulsory part of Millwall's coaching training. Every year, Millwall not only produces outstanding young players, but also many young coaches, who will be useful in Millwall's future global promotion plans.

Fleet Street was shocked by Millwall's big move.

In his op-ed, David Miller quipped: "Someone who spends a lot of money just wants to build a comfortable house, but Hall wants to build a skyscraper."

Lille Youth Football Academy, France

A scar-faced teenager walked out of the academy with his bags on his back and reluctantly glanced back at the academy's signboard.

He was abandoned.

After spending three years at the academy, he became an "outcast" at the age of 16.

He walked aimlessly out on the streets, not knowing where the road was, perhaps. It's time to go back to your hometown and start over.

When walking around a street corner, a magnificent sedan stopped in front of you. A young man in a suit got out of the car and stood in front of him, blocking his way.

Born in poverty, he subconsciously got out of the way, and didn't even raise his head to look at the other party.

"Hey, Frank, can we talk?"

The scar-faced young man raised his head in surprise, looking at the well-dressed young man, very puzzled, why would the other party know me?

"Let me introduce myself, my name is Clayton, I work for the English football club Millwall, we have been following you for a long time, and now we have an invitation to you, if you want, you can go to London with me now, the club manager Mr Hall has said, you don't need a trial, you go straight to the youth team."

The scar-faced boy looked shocked and speechless.

He had just been given up by Lille Youth College, and less than 5 minutes after walking out of the door, Millwall, who had won 12 championships in Europe for four years, took the initiative to invite him to join?!

Is this a prank?

"Frank, oh, maybe I'm being too presumptuous, Ribery, can we find a place to sit and talk? If you need your family to be around, you can call them now, at the same time, you can also consult Millwall officials, verify my identity, find a computer with Internet access, log on to Millwall's official website, you can find the club's contact information, that will not be fake, if you are not at ease, we can contact French acquaintances to make you believe, such as the new coach of Lille Halilhodzic, Mr. Hall and he is an old friend, but Mr. Hall specifically said, try not to alarm Mr. Halilhodzic, otherwise, Maybe Lille will stop you from leaving. ”

The young Clayton was alone today to convince a player to join the club, and he didn't want to mess up, so he played all the cards out of his mouth as soon as he opened his mouth.

If Aldrich had been there, he would have scolded him.

You say so, if the 16-year-old Ribery is a good man and doesn't want to leave France, he goes straight to Halilhodzic and tells the other party: Millwall has taken a fancy to me, does Lille still want me now?

Halihodzic, who watched the European Cup with Aldridge in 96, has occasionally chatted with Aldridge on the phone over the years, especially when he led the team to France.

With Halilhodzic just taking over Lille, which is in the French Second Division, it is estimated that his eyes will not reach the Youth Academy, so he really learned that Millwall has issued an invitation to Ribery, and it is estimated that Ribery will be kept, and it will be a key training.

Fortunately, the 16-year-old Ribery didn't have so many bells and whistles, and happily followed Clayton to a nearby café to learn more about joining Millwall.

Ribery cares about money, he can't afford to play abroad, but Millwall will give him a professional contract, and the advantages of English football are directly reflected, although he can't make a lot of money in London, but he has no problem with food and clothing, and can grow up in a better environment.

Clayton was relieved that the invitation to Ribery had finally fallen into his hands.

Two days later, he returned to London with Ribery, the club's chief executive, Adam, who signed his contract with him, leaving a commemorative photograph before Ribery joined the youth team.

PS: Halilhodzic, the coach who led Algeria to a 4-2 victory over the stick a few days ago, is known for his iron fist and has a tough tone after winning the stick game (to be continued......