"Kompany is getting older, and he needs to buy a replacement!"

On the beach of Majorca, Pep Guardiola, who was on vacation, said to Lin Quan.

"If Vincent Kompany continues to have injuries this season, I'm going to pair Stones with Virgil van Dijk."

Lin Quan nodded slightly after hearing this, and did not rush to express his opinion.

Kompany's attendance has not been high in recent seasons, especially last season.

Several injuries at the start of and through the season have taken Kompany's attendance down considerably, and he has played just 22 games throughout the season, including 14 in the league and eight in the cup, seven of which have been on the bench.

Last season, Manchester City played 74 league and cup games combined, and Kompany's attendance rate was not even 30%.

According to City's internal statistics, Vincent Kompany has missed more than 80 games due to injury since joining City in 2008.

Of all the main players, he has the highest number of hours and games he has missed.

The centre-back is different from other positions, and this position is a great test of understanding between team-mates, especially with another centre-back.

Kompany's constant injuries have had a big impact on the Manchester City backline.

This is also the reason why during the winter break last season, Pep Guardiola had the urge to buy Otamendi.

In the end, the deal was not completed due to Otamendi's height and Valencia's high offer, but City's need for a centre-back did not change.

Stones is a player who is not well-known, but he is very strong, and under Lin Quan's advice, Guardiola has been looking at him for a long time.

After observing for a while, Guardiola is very happy with Stones.

Although the price is a bit expensive, considering that he has a native household registration book in England, the price is still within the acceptable range.

In addition, Stones' technology is very comprehensive, and he is not very old, so there is a lot of room for growth in the future, which can allow Guardiola to slowly adjust and transform.

Last season, Manchester City's back three system lasted less than half a season, mainly due to the lack of personnel in the central defender position, and finally had to give up.

But with the purchase of Stones, they can pick up the game again.

Pep Guardiola intends to use Stones' versatility to transform him into a versatile player at the back, who can play both at the back and at the back, freeing up two players in the midfield position to be bold in attack and further increase City's attacking power.

Due to Manchester City's brilliant results in the past few seasons, they have become a public enemy in the Premier League.

No matter what team it is, they are very energetic when they meet Manchester City, and everyone is proud to stop Manchester City.

As a result, Manchester City often encounter the opponent's bucket formation in the league, which puts a lot of pressure on Manchester City's attack.

After all, once they are forced to draw by these weak teams, then they are likely to be opened up by other giants in the standings.

Therefore, Pep Guardiola has been thinking about how to crack the opposition's dense defense during this time.

The best thing he could think of was to increase the number of attackers in the front court, further increase the defensive pressure on the opposing side, and wait until the opponent made a mistake in the middle of the rush, and seize the opportunity to complete the fatal blow.

Therefore, buying Stones is not just about buying a defender, it means that Manchester City's style of play will change dramatically in the new season.

"Cross may be leaving!"

After chatting about Stones, Guardiola sighed and said to Lin Quan.

Lin Quan was stunned for a moment, and subconsciously asked, "He wants to go to Real Madrid?" ”

Guardiola was a little surprised, could it be that Kroos had talked to Lin Quan about this before?

Otherwise, why did he guess so accurately?

"Well, Kroos's agent spoke to me and they prefer Real Madrid, unless ......"

"Unless what?"

"Unless the club can give him a big raise!"

Hearing Guardiola's words, Lin Quan frowned.

Kroos had a falling out with Bayern at the beginning, mainly because of salary.

At that time, his salary at Bayern was very low, less than half of the team's boss Franck Franck Ribery.

Even after signing a new contract and raising his salary, it was only two-fifths of Ribery's.

Kroos felt that this salary did not match his status and contribution to the team, so he had the idea of leaving.

Among the teams that contacted Kroos at that time, there was Real Madrid, and the two sides were almost negotiated, if it weren't for Manchester City's sideways intervention and a sky-high transfer fee of 50 million, Kroos would have been a Real Madrid player a long time ago.

Lin Quan didn't ask Guardiola Cross how much annual salary he wanted, but he estimated that it should be a lot, otherwise, with Guardiola's attention to Cross, there was no reason to let the other party go.

A player's salary is not only related to the player himself, but also directly affects the salary system of the entire team.

Although Manchester City is not short of money, they do not dare to move lightly on the salary system, which is related to the stability of the team.

Kroos's salary in the Manchester City team is actually not low, with an annual salary of 12 million euros, second only to Lin Quan and Sergio Aguero.

Compared with him, De Bruyne, who earns only 5.5 million a year, and Kante, who has an annual salary of only 3.5 million, need a salary increase more.

Manchester City's current financial pressure is actually very great, on the one hand, Lin Quan's contract renewal has not yet been negotiated, and on the other hand, many players in the team are facing the problem of contract renewal.

Kante, who performed well last season, must have his contract re-signed, otherwise, with his current annual salary, it would be easy for other teams to abduct him if they poached people with high salaries.

N'Golo Kante's role in the Manchester City squad is irreplaceable, and without him, the defensive intensity of City's midfield will drop a notch.

The Blues Chelsea have long coveted N'Golo Kante, and Abu has even made it clear that he is willing to buy him for €60 million.

To be honest, for a midfielder who is also a defensive midfielder, the price of 60 million is simply ridiculously expensive.

But who called Abu liked?

Rich, capricious, no way.

As for De Bruyne, his attacking talent is beyond doubt.

Kevin De Bruyne provided 32 assists in all competitions last season, breaking Manchester City's all-time record for assists in a single season.

His creative and penetrating passing was the only way for City to tear through the opposition defence and break down the opposition goal.

Once he leaves, it will greatly affect Manchester City's attacking firepower.

There are many teams that have taken a fancy to De Bruyne, Bayern in the Bundesliga, Barcelona and Real Madrid in La Liga, and even Liverpool have come to join in the fun.

Among them, the most sincere is Real Madrid, who plan to pack and take away Manchester City's midfield duo.

However, De Bruyne does not have the so-called dream of being a child, preferring to stay in the Premier League and play alongside his friends.

So the risk of him being poached is not great, but that doesn't mean that Manchester City's side can rest easy.

It's one thing for the other side to be loyal to the team, and the club can't do without it.

Therefore, this season, Manchester City FC intends to offer the two a big contract, a large salary increase at the same time, an extension of the contract period, and an additional liquidated damages clause to prevent them from being poached by other teams with high salaries.

In fact, there are far more players in the Manchester City team who are being targeted, and with Manchester City killing all sides in the Champions League, they have won consecutive titles.

Many of the players in their team have become famous and their values have skyrocketed, and then they have been targeted by many giants unsurprisingly.

For example, Van Dijk, the anchor of the backline, was favored by Liverpool coach Jurgen Klopp.

It is rumored that Klopp has said that he is willing to spend 70 million to bring in Van Dijk.

Note that the currency unit of this is the British pound, not the euro!

If the deal does get done, Van Dijk will break the record for the highest transfer fee for a defender in world football and become the most expensive defender in history.

And this price will also set a new record in Liverpool's team history and become Liverpool's bid king.

Other people may scoff at the news, but few will believe it, after all, it is too unbelievable to pay such a high price for a defender.

But Lin Quan knew very well in his heart that if Manchester City was willing to sell, Klopp would really dare to buy it.

After all, in the other plane, when Liverpool took Van Dijk from Southampton, it cost a full 75 million pounds!

What's more, Van Dijk plays for Manchester City and has already won two Champions League trophies with the team!

Manchester City, although it looks beautiful on the surface, is actually surging.

……

Just when Guardiola was chatting with Lin Quan, in a manor in Germany, Kroos also made the final decision after talking to his agent in detail.

He's got everything he wants at Manchester City, and it's time for a new environment to take on a new challenge.

Although his Manchester City team-mates made him very unhappy, the bad weather and even worse food made him suffer.

In his two and a half years at Manchester City, Kroos has lost count of how many games have been played in cold, damp and rainy conditions.

The weather in Manchester is as fickle as a woman's mood, sunny and rainy, and the rain falls as soon as it is said to be, without any warning at all.

Playing in the rain is a pain in the hands of the players, especially in the winter.

However, the Premier League's winter has not yet had a winter break, which makes it even more painful.

As a player who has won four Champions League trophies, Chris has no regrets in the club honours.

In this case, you need to think carefully about how to make your life more comfortable.

And Real Madrid's own strength is not weak, plus his fame and historical heritage are also greater, he can not only continue to win honors when he goes to Real Madrid, but also gain greater fame and more benefits.

In that case, then what is there to hesitate about?

With the player himself decided, the only obstacle left was on the Manchester City club's side.

Considering that the player himself has made outstanding contributions to the team, Guardiola finally chose to fulfill the other side after repeated efforts to no avail.

As a result, Real Madrid began to make an offer to Manchester City.

Real Madrid didn't want to spend too much money after getting the player, after all, in their opinion, Kroos was already in their pocket.

As a result, Real Madrid's first offer was only 30 million euros.

This offer is too outrageous, even if Manchester City takes care of meritorious players, it is impossible to do a loss-making business, so they directly rejected Real Madrid's offer.

After being rejected, Real Madrid didn't care too much, and of course the other party would not accept the price of 30 million, after all, when Manchester City bought Kroos, it cost 50 million.

As long as Real Madrid's offer is lower than this number, there is a high probability that it will be rejected.

In line with the idea that it is a fool not to take advantage of cheapness, Real Madrid's second offer stepped on the bottom line of 50 million, and increased it a little to 52 million euros.

Not surprisingly, this offer was also rejected!

Real Madrid is not a shabby club with a small family, you are a galaxy battleship, and you are the top giants with the strongest historical background in Europe!

Is the price of 52 million a joke?

Manchester City didn't want to entangle with each other more, so they just let it out, and don't talk about it if it's less than 70 million.

The price is all over the sky, and the money is paid back on the ground, since the other party has made a price, then Real Madrid will naturally have to bargain.

After many negotiations, the two sides finally agreed that Kroos would transfer to Real Madrid for 65 million.

In fact, this price is also a little dissatisfied with Manchester City, when Kroos's contract was only last and a half years, they spent 50 million to buy people, and now Kroos's contract has two and a half years left, according to the market, the transfer fee cannot be less than 70 million!

Besides, Real Madrid has a lot of money, and it cost 85 million to buy a J Ronaldo, Kroos doesn't know how strong it is to J Ronaldo, and it is cheaper than J Ronaldo, where is the reason?

But there is no way, who told the other party to get the players in advance?

And Manchester City is not Tottenham, and it can't do the kind of Tottenham that turns its face without giving money, even if the players boycott the game, they have to keep Bale.

Neither Manchester City nor Pep Guardiola wanted to make things desperate, so even if they lost a little, they also looked at Kroos's face and let him go.

After successfully taking Kroos, Real Madrid were overjoyed.

On 19 July, Real Madrid held a press conference to publicly announce another transfer agreed by the club.

And when Cross appeared at the press conference, it directly detonated the audience, which surprised all the reporters present.

Real Madrid's deal with Manchester City went so quickly and there was no news about it beforehand, so many people felt a little unreal when the deal was made, suspecting that it was a dream.

Not surprisingly, after the news broke, the transfer quickly shocked the entire football world.

It's not that everyone was shocked by the transfer fee, Kroos definitely deserves the price of 65 million.

To everyone's shock, Manchester City would actually sell their midfield core.

Does this mean that Manchester City, a player supermarket, is about to open?

Thinking of this, the major giants immediately couldn't sit still, and immediately launched an offer for their favorite players in Manchester City, for fear that they would be snatched away by others one second later!

(End of chapter)