Super Marshal

In the afternoon, Florentino had just finished his lunch break and returned to his office at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium. CEO Angel Sanchez knocked on the door of his office and looked very serious when he came in.

"Mr. Chairman, we just received a reply from Chinatown."

Florentino, who was sitting at the desk, heard this and raised his head slightly, looking at Sanchez in front of him, "What should I say?"

"It's still the same as before, not for sale." Sanchez emphasized the three words "not for sale".

"Not for sale?" Florentino was stunned for a moment, then laughed. Isn't this nonsense?

"These days, do they still have items in Chinatown that are not for sale?"

Before selling Falcao, Diego Costa, Otamendi, Aldervilla and Michu, they all said that they were not for sale, but as soon as the other party paid a price that satisfied them, that is, the so-called How could they refuse the termination fee?

"Uh..." Sanchez obviously also knew that Chinatown's reputation in this regard was indeed not very good, "but...Armando Marcos said that this time he was serious."

"Oh." Florentino nodded in realization, "That means you were not serious before?"

Sanchez was completely speechless, and he really didn't know how to answer.

Anyway, associating Chinatown with things not for sale gives people a very inconsistent and even funny feeling.

Everyone knows that this team has spent all their efforts and tried every means to build a new stadium, and even sold the naming rights of the stadium for the next ten years in advance. Does such a team have anything that is not for sale?

"What is James Rodriguez's current termination fee?" Florentino asked casually.

"Eighty million euros."

"Eighty million euros?" Florentino was a little surprised now, "Isn't it 60 million euros?"

"Uh..." Sanchez almost said it was your intelligence error, but he quickly swallowed his words, "The contract that was just renewed not long ago was raised from 60 million euros to 80 million euros. In addition, like Germany, Gea and Hazard even mentioned 100 million euros, and Isco and others also significantly increased their release clauses."

Florentino laughed loudly after hearing this, "Gao Han, this coward, is probably poached out of his phobia."

Sanchez couldn't help but smile, who could say otherwise?

It has only been two years since they were promoted to La Liga, but how many stars has Chinatown already sold?

If this had not been sold out, Chinatown would definitely have the strength to challenge for the La Liga championship, and they would not still be struggling for a top four spot in the league.

But there is nothing we can do. From a business perspective, if players are forced to stay, the salary alone may bankrupt Chinatown.

"Then just wait." Florentino thought for a while and sighed.

He doesn't plan to go to Gao Han again for this matter. It's not a good thing to always owe Gao Han a favor, but it would be very distressing to ask him to pay a transfer fee of 80 million euros, so he plans to think about it again.

At the very least, call the board of directors over to study it.

But Sanchez shook his head firmly and said: "We can't wait any longer."

"Can't wait any longer?" Florentino was a little surprised, "Why? Are other teams also interested in James Rodriguez?"

"No, it's not." Sanchez shook his head, "Chinatown will play the Champions League fourth qualifying round on Wednesday."

Florentino didn't quite understand, but he quickly understood what Sanchez meant.

He is a group boss and the chairman of Real Madrid, but he is completely different from the wastes like Calderon and Mijatovic. He is a very senior fan and he knows the rules of football very well.

According to the current UEFA terms, a player can only participate in European competitions for one team in a season. In other words, as long as James Rodriguez has played in the Champions League qualifying rounds, he will be considered a transfer. After arriving at Real Madrid, it is impossible to play in the Champions League for Galacticos, and can only play in the league.

Just imagine, what will the fans think if a team that joins a high-priced team cannot play in the Champions League?

Calderon and Mijatovic did such stupid things back then, making Real Madrid the laughing stock of the world. Florentino is not willing to repeat the mistakes of his predecessor, but Real Madrid can never stop China. City?

"This matter is indeed very difficult." Florentino said with a sigh.

He promised the board of directors and management that they must introduce a superstar this summer. However, looking at the entire European football transfer market, Real Madrid can only dig up superstars, and only a handful of them fit the long-term plan of the Galaxy. In fact, Neymar was originally very suitable, but he was defeated by Paris Saint-Germain.

If James Rodriguez is allowed to stay in Chinatown, Real Madrid will still get nothing this summer.

As long as the Colombian midfielder participates in the Champions League qualifying rounds, he is destined to stay on the team.

But the players are from Chinatown. Real Madrid can't allow Chinatown to use its own players in the game, right?

Florentino pondered for a long time, then knocked on the table, "Well, Angel, you go to Chinatown in person and tell Armando Marcos that we want to buy James Rodri." Gus, the price can be negotiated, but in any case we cannot allow him to participate in the Champions League qualifying rounds, so the price is raised to 60 million euros."

"I'm afraid..." Sanchez felt that it was still not enough.

"I'll call Mendes right away. I believe he still has some influence in Chinatown."

…………

…………

On August 17, the fourth qualifying round of the Champions League officially started.

The highly anticipated Chinatown also started its first official game of the new season, visiting Denmark and challenging Odans away from home.

But Chinatown's Champions League debut was not a success.

The La Liga team held 62% of the ball in the entire game. Except for the number of fouls, all other statistics basically crushed Hortense, but they were never able to break down the Danish ball on the offensive end. team door.

Not only that, in the 84th minute, Hordans midfielder Andreasen scored the Chinatown goal with a counterattack, causing this new Champions League team to suffer an away defeat in their debut.

After the game, the entire European football world was in an uproar.

Last season's La Liga super dark horse could not beat a Danish team this season. This made everyone very dissatisfied with the debut in Chinatown, especially center Pellet, who did not show the slightest threat. One has to wonder whether he has what it takes to be the main force in Chinatown.

Aspen even satirized the team on its front page, saying that Chinatown's attempt to compete in the Champions League with a player who can't even play in the Eredivisie is simply suicidal. This defeat is just the beginning.

Chinatown head coach Pochettino said in an interview with the media that losing one goal in an away game was within the acceptable range.

"After all, it is our first time to play in the Champions League and it is the first game of the new season. The players are indeed nervous and we have not performed as well as we should. But I believe that when we return to the Broker Stadium in a week, We will successfully get the right to advance.”

As for the team's core midfielder James Rodriguez not appearing in the game roster, Pochettino's explanation was exactly the same as the management's previous clarification. The Colombian had just returned to the team and was not fully ready.

"We all know that he has just experienced a busy summer. He performed very well in the America's Cup and the U20 World Cup, but it also made him very tired, so after returning to the team, his first task is not to compete, but to Get ready for the upcoming new season."

Regarding whether James Rodriguez will participate in the second round, Pochettino said that everything depends on the player's condition and physical condition.

Soon Spanish media unearthed the inside story, believing that the reason why James Rodriguez did not appear on the pre-match roster was because he took the initiative to contact the head coach and management before the game, hoping to transfer. real Madrid.

But this news was immediately refuted by agent Mendes.

The Portuguese said that James Rodriguez had just renewed his contract with the club and would not do such a thing.

Chinatown officials quickly gave an explanation, saying that the rumors in the outside media were all false.

Moreover, in a public training session after the game, James Rodriguez seemed in high spirits and interacted closely with head coach Pochettino, without seeming to be at all conflicted.

As a result, it was quickly revealed that Real Madrid had reached an agreement with Chinatown.

"According to insiders, Real Madrid has been making offers for James Rodriguez more than a month ago, which have been continuously raised from the original 50 million euros to the current 65 million euros, but China City have always refused to sell James Rodriguez."

Compared with Chinatown's defeat in the first round of the Champions League qualifying round, Paris Saint-Germain got off to a good start in the Europa League, defeating Diff Dugger 4-0 away from home and basically advancing to the official competition ahead of schedule.

After returning to France, he ushered in the third round of Ligue 1. He beat Valenciennes 4-0 at home. Suarez performed two passes and one shot. His performance was very eye-catching and he was elected as the best player of the game. Drogba was also a winner. Pass and shoot, great performance.

Only Neymar misfired again in this game, which made people a little worried.

However, at the press conference after the game, Gao Han refused to answer questions raised by the French media about the transfer rumors of Chinatown player James Rodriguez, and said that if anyone asked again, he would leave early.

After Chinatown returned to Spain from Denmark, it ushered in the first La Liga game of the new season. James Rodriguez once again missed the starting point, and the young player Isco started.

As a result, with the score tied at 0-0 in the first half, within just three minutes of the start of the second half, Ibrahimovic and Messi scored two goals in the 48th and 51st minutes respectively. Then Pedro assisted Messi to score another victory in the 80th minute, helping Barcelona seal the victory in advance.

Chinatown waited until the 85th minute before Hazard assisted Aubameyang to score a goal.

In the end, the Chinatown League lost 1-3 at home in the first round, and Pellet's performance was disappointing again.

Two consecutive losses have caused Chinatown to encounter a strong crisis of confidence, especially regarding James Rodriguez's starting lineup and Pellet's strength, which have attracted widespread attention.

The voices among the fans calling for James Rodriguez to start are getting louder and stronger.

Even Marca reporter Matayana reminded Chinatown management in a column that reaching the Champions League group stage will earn at least 20 to 30 million euros in income, which is crucial for Chinatown with a weak foundation.

Keeping James Rodriguez has become a broad consensus inside and outside Chinatown, and has also forced Chinatown and Real Madrid to a dead end.

In the second leg of the Champions League fourth qualifying round, will James Rodriguez play or not?