Super Marshal

Camp Nou Stadium, Barcelona, ​​Spain.

In the chairman's office, Vice Chairman Bartomeu and Sports Director Zubizarretta are reporting the latest transfer progress to Barcelona Chairman Rosell, but it is obvious that the expressions on everyone's faces are not relaxed.

It can even be said to be a bit solemn.

"I just got in touch with Mendes, and he has clearly told me that Chinatown is doing its best to retain Alba." Zubizarreta looked solemn, "Although this Barcelona native just celebrated his victory in the European Cup , openly expressed his desire to return to Barcelona, ​​but Chinatown still hopes that he will change his mind.”

"Mendes?" Russell was a little surprised to hear the name.

Bartomeu reminded from the side: "He is Alba's agent and has a deep relationship with Chinatown."

At this moment, Russell understood.

There is no doubt that everyone in the world knows that Alba wants to return to Barcelona, ​​but the problem now is that Chinatown wants to retain him, and he still has a long-term contract with Chinatown. His arm cannot twist his thigh. China If City doesn't sell, Alba has no choice but to stay in the team.

This is undoubtedly a result that Barcelona does not want to see and cannot accept.

Since last year, Barcelona has been trying to poach Alba, but has failed. This has led to Barcelona ushering in a miserable season, suffering setbacks in the Champions League and the league.

Last season's poor results and the departure of head coach Guardiola have put heavy pressure on Barcelona's management. If Alba cannot be bought this summer, it will undoubtedly bring a lot of trouble to the team's management. A crisis of confidence, especially considering that once the season starts and the team's performance fluctuates again, then...

Russell is very clear about his current situation. He stepped on Laporta's shoulders, and his position is not strong. Later, he offended Cruyff and Guardiola one after another, which made his reputation inside and outside the club. His position has been shaken. If he can't stabilize the situation as soon as possible and win over people's hearts, he may not be able to work for long.

"Why did Chinatown suddenly refuse to sell again?" Russell asked in a deep voice.

Bartomeu and Zubizarreta looked at each other. In fact, Chinatown never said it would sell Alba.

"According to the reliable information I have received, Chinatown has recently entered into strategic cooperation with a number of Chinese companies, such as Huawei, which has begun to aggressively enter the European market in recent years. Although their stadium revenue is very low, Armando Marcos' business operation capabilities But it is extremely strong, and Chinatown achieved break-even last season.”

"Last season, Chinatown's start was not ideal, and the club was under a lot of pressure. It is said that Gao Han was also dissatisfied with the team selling players every year. With the balance of payments, Chinatown began to do its best to retain Players, ensure the stability of the team's lineup, and hope to continue to perform in the new season."

As soon as Zubizarreta finished speaking, Bartomeu on the side snorted and smiled.

"To put it bluntly, I just tasted the sweetness of the Champions League and I can't bear to let it go."

After hearing this, Russell suddenly remembered that UEFA had just announced not long ago that Chinatown's match bonus and broadcast fee share alone in the Champions League last season was as high as 40 million euros, three times higher than La Liga's. The wealthy families are even higher, ranking third in Europe, and their income has skyrocketed.

It is estimated that with this income, Chinatown has enough confidence to retain people.

"In fact, before the European Cup, they had already begun to relent. I believe that as long as we paid the termination fee at that time, Chinatown would definitely let him go, but now..."

Zubizarretta didn't finish his words because he saw that Russell and Bartomeu's faces were not very good-looking.

At first, he insisted on taking action before the European Cup, but the two big bosses of the club were a little hesitant and wanted to wait and see again at the European Cup. But now it's better. Alba shines in the European Cup. China The city is obviously going to raise prices on the ground.

In order to ease the awkward atmosphere in the office, Zubizarreta immediately coughed twice.

"Of course, I don't think Chinatown doesn't want to sell people. Alba's intention to return to Barcelona is obvious, and I have received news that Chinatown is closely inspecting Malaga's left back Monreal. This player He performed well last season and was obviously preparing for Alba's departure."

"Monreal?" Russell clicked his tongue twice.

"This player may meet the requirements of Chinatown, but for us Barcelona..." Zubizarreta didn't finish his words, but his meaning was already clear.

Barcelona's requirements for players are definitely higher than those of other teams. Players like Adriano and Maxwell are considered to be the main players in other strong teams, but when they come to Barcelona, ​​they are not even substitutes. They all mixed in very reluctantly.

"Then do we have any other substitutes?" Bartomeu asked with concern.

"Yes, Atletico Madrid's left-back Felipe, but the price the Sheets have set for him is also extremely high, at least more than 40 million euros, and it's not easy to negotiate." Zubizarreta replied.

How to choose between the 27-year-old Felipe and the 23-year-old Alba is indeed a question.

Russell stood up from his seat in distress, turned around and walked to the window, with his back to Bartomeu and Zubizarretta, feeling very uncomfortable in his heart.

Teams like Barcelona have never been responsible for cultivating players. Poaching is the norm for wealthy teams. This is true for Real Madrid and the same is true for Barcelona. However, in recent years, the team's excellent youth training has created a kind of feeling among fans. The illusion is that La Masia's talent supply is sufficient to meet the requirements of the first team.

But this is wrong.

During Laporta's tenure as chairman, although the performance in sports was outstanding, the business performance was average. This made the team unable to burn money like Real Madrid. So the first thing Russell did after taking office was It was to reduce expenses, and later there were differences with Guardiola over the reduction of the coaching staff.

But Russell knows very well that Guardiola can leave, but Barcelona cannot go without a championship for two years, otherwise, his work as chairman will be over.

…………

…………

Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, Madrid, Spain.

In the chairman's office, Florentino was also listening to general manager Sanchez's report on the latest transfer progress. The look on his face was equally ugly because he heard news he didn't want to hear.

Altintop, Gago, Drenthe, Shaheen and Lass Diarra have all left the team.

But on the other hand, the coaching staff wants to continue to strengthen the signings in the midfield, which makes Florentino feel very puzzling.

"What's going on now?" Florentino asked in a deep voice.

He felt that Real Madrid's transfer was like child's play, like a fool's errand.

Some of the players who left the team this year have just joined the team for a year. Are they about to be sent away?

In addition to the above, Canales, who once had high hopes from the club, is also leaving the team, and local youth training Granero has also been put on the transfer market. These two players are both local players that the club has vigorously cultivated. Rookies, especially Canales.

Sanchez also sighed secretly in his heart. Mourinho is indeed a big spender. In his opinion, Real Madrid's money is just a pile of paper, and the players he bought are more like his guinea pigs. Use it and throw it away if it can't be used. No matter how wealthy the team is, they can't support him from doing this.

Let’s not talk about anything else, let’s just talk about Shaheen. The transfer fee was 10 million euros and he was sold after one year?

"I think we should hire a technical director as soon as possible who will be fully responsible for the club's transfer affairs. More importantly, he can control everything from formation to management to transfers, rather than just relying on the head coach's dictates. ” Sanchez suggested.

Since the departure of the team's general manager Valdano, Mourinho can be said to have monopolized power in the competitive field, but he has had problems selecting and employing people, which has caused the team to suffer a lot of losses for no reason.

Yes, it is indeed commendable that he won the La Liga championship, but how much did the club invest in this? How much was lost?

"The management structure of Chinatown is actually worth learning from. General manager Armando Marcos is fully responsible for daily operations and commercial operations, and technical director Cantarero is responsible for overseeing athletic affairs and transfer operations, and he can Control the club’s technical and tactical style and team strategy.”

The term "technical director" has become very popular in recent years. Many Premier League teams are learning from it, and Chinatown is one of the best. Cantarero is also the most successful and capable technical director in Europe. He has been praised by many football players. Team poaching.

In the past few years, Chinatown has sold many players, and each time it was the main players, but Cantarero was always able to introduce suitable players to Chinatown as soon as possible to make up for the impact of the main players leaving the team.

Even if they lost four of their absolute main players and lost the entire central axis like last season, Chinatown withstood the pressure and chased all the way in the latter part of the season to return to the top four and win in the Champions League. Reaching the semifinals, Cantarero played a major role.

There was news before that Pochettino might leave the team, but it is said that Cantarero has already found a suitable candidate in advance.

This is the role of a technical director.

But Real Madrid is not another team.

"We don't need a technical director." Florentino replied forcefully.

"We are Real Madrid. We will only sign the best players in the world or in Spain. As long as we set our sights on this goal, does it make any difference whether we have a technical director or not?"

Sanchez was speechless. He knew that Florentino would not easily admit the mistakes he had made.

"Then... what should we do now?" Sanchez took a deep breath and asked with concern.

"Since Mourinho needs a midfielder, then bring in a midfielder. Arbeloa will be 30 years old soon. From the perspective of the European Cup, Carvajal is the future of Spain. This cup has basically laid the foundation for Since he has secured his main position, and he is from the area around Madrid, we should lock in the Spanish international in advance.”

Judging from the performance of the European Cup, there is a clear contrast between Carvajal and Arbeloa. Everyone can see that Carvajal performed better and is more in line with the aesthetics of Spanish fans.

"As a frontcourt attacker, talk to Chinatown about Aubameyang." Florentino said.

Sanchez recorded it seriously, "There's one more thing."

"What?"

"Di Maria is not satisfied with his current position in the team. He hopes to enter the main lineup. Otherwise, he will consider leaving the team."

The Argentine can be said to be another victim after James Rodriguez joined. The first one was Sneijder, who has now left the team.

"Ask Mourinho about this kind of thing." Florentino waved his hand impatiently.

…………

…………

At the same time, in the Chinatown Youth Training Center in the southern suburbs of Madrid, Gao Han smiled bitterly.

"Why do you have to ask me this kind of thing?"