The Godfather of Football

Gary Cook never thought that he would have the opportunity to be treated so grandly by the media.

When he was in Milan, dozens of reporters from all over the world sent him on the plane, and when he arrived at Manchester International Airport, dozens of reporters were waiting for him.

If it was normal, Gary Cook would be ecstatic to put on a show, but now he was in no mood at all.

When he walked out of the airport gate, countless reporters swarmed up and blocked him to ask about the latest progress of introducing Kaka, but he repeatedly refused to answer any questions about the transfer, and when a reporter asked whether this rush back was related to the recent series of storms in Manchester City, he also said he would not respond.

In contrast to the serious Gary Cook, Joorabchin, the famous agent still had his harmless signature smile, but he also kept silent rationally. He knew the current situation very well and it was inappropriate to say anything.

After a group of reporters tried hard to stop them, they finally got rid of the entanglement and boarded the reception car that had been waiting here for a long time, heading to Manchester City Stadium.

"Fuck!" Gary Cook cursed angrily as soon as he got on the car. He really felt like he had a headache now. If he could, he would not hesitate to beat someone to death, to beat that damn Mark Hughes to death.

When he was in Milan City and AC Milan were negotiating the final transfer of Kaka, Mark Hughes' Manchester City lost a lot in England. They first made their debut in the FA Cup and lost 0:3 at home to the relegation team Nottingham Forest in the knockout stage. Then they lost 0:2 to the Pompey Legion Portsmouth away in the Premier League and 0:1 to Wigan at home.

This battle made Manchester City slip to the 15th place again, just one step away from the relegation zone.

Kaka's transfer was not finally negotiated. Berlusconi, the chairman of AC Milan, who had agreed to let Manchester City negotiate with Kaka for personal treatment, called Gary Cook at the last minute to announce that the transfer was cancelled and Kaka would stay in AC Milan.

This would make Manchester City lose face. I believe that countless people are now ridiculing Manchester City. At least from the perspective of nouveau riche spending money, Manchester City is the worst spender, because Chelsea won the championship in the first season, while Manchester City is still fighting for relegation, which is definitely not what Manchester City fans want.

After arriving at the City Stadium, Gary Cook and Joorabchian got off the car and went straight to the chairman's office.

When they arrived at Mubarak's office, the latter was answering a phone call. He looked very serious and spoke in a very polite tone. It was obvious that the person on the phone was far superior to him. If Gary Cook guessed correctly, it should be Al Fassim, the owner of the Abu Dhabi consortium.

There are actually only two people in the Abu Dhabi consortium who are involved in the daily management of Manchester City. In addition to Mubarak, who serves as the chairman, there is another group shareholder who is responsible for daily operations. The latter is still in Italy and has moved to Turin with a team of lawyers, hoping to win Juventus's chief goalkeeper Buffon to fill the vacancy of losing Kaka.

There was originally another candidate, Inter Milan's Ibrahimovic, but Inter Milan's offer for Ibrahimovic was a bit outrageous, saying that if you don't have 150 million, don't come, which made Gary Cook give up directly.

But this can't be blamed on Inter Milan's lion's opening. The reason is very simple. The whole world knows that you are chasing superstars. Who will be soft-hearted to you? Didn't you see that even a bankrupt Valencia shouted out a sky-high price of 90 million euros to David Villa? Just imagine, what else can't be done in this crazy world?

"I can guarantee it, believe me!" Mubarak was heard saying to the phone, and then hung up the phone.

He sighed deeply, looked up, and saw Gary Cook sitting in front of him, and Joorabchian, who served as the team's transfer consultant. Since helping Manchester City introduce Robinho, the latter has become like Manchester City's Pini Zahavi.

"First of all, we must not be relegated!" Mubarak directly stated this bottom line.

Of course, Manchester City is not yet at the point of relegation. After all, such a large-scale signing, if it is relegated in the end, it will definitely be a big joke, and it will make the Abu Dhabi consortium completely a laughing stock of the world.

"Robinho is dissatisfied with the current situation of the team. He has some conflicts with Mark Hughes. Get rid of him!" Mubarak is more like an order, because he is the boss of Manchester City and the only decision maker under Al Fasim.

"I met Mark Hughes. He wanted a center forward. I promised to give it to him!" Mubarak said this and looked at Joorabchin. "How about Ibrahimovic?"

Jorabchin smiled awkwardly and shook his head, "150 million. If you insist, it probably won't be much cheaper!"

Mubarak spread his hands, speechless, without saying anything, but with a puzzled and helpless look on his face.

"I said that if you introduce big-name stars during the winter transfer, you will be slaughtered. Kaka's 120 million is crazy, and we are in too much of a hurry. Now the whole world knows that we want to introduce a striker. Even Valencia has called out a sky-high price of 90 million euros to Villa. I can't do anything about it!"

Mubarak slapped his forehead hard, and then looked at Gary Cook. The latter's ability in this area was almost zero, and he didn't even have football transfer negotiation skills. Therefore, in many cases, Manchester City's signings were... Have to rely on Horabchian.

Manchester City is still in the stage of buying bones with a lot of money. There is really no other way except using money to pave the way.

"Does Kaka still have a chance?" Mubarak asked.

Joorabchian shook his head, "If my estimate is correct, AC Milan will no longer agree, and Kaká will not transfer to Manchester. Someone should have made Berlusconi change his mind. I heard that now Florentino's return to Real Madrid is very popular, and he will definitely buy superstars as soon as he comes."

This analysis makes it somewhat clear that compared with Real Madrid, it is useless no matter how much money Manchester City gives.

"I heard that Chelsea made an offer for Tottenham Hotspur's Andy Carroll, is it true?" Mubarak asked, referring to Andy Carroll and Ashley Young. It was recommended by Joorabchian, but Mubarak and Gary Cook, who wanted to win superstars, finally chose to operate Kaká.

"Chelsea has made an offer of 20 million euros to get Drogba's successor, and Tottenham Hotspur seems to be showing signs of agreeing!" As an insider, Joorabchian has relatively good news channels. reliable.

Drogba has been affected by injuries and head coach rejection this season, and his performance is not very satisfactory. Chelsea also needs a stable scorer in the frontcourt, so Pini Zahavi wants to get this Carroll, who has the title of the most promising striker in England for the next ten years, allows Carroll and Rooney to form the striker combination of the England national team to promote a local brand.

Twenty million euros is indeed high enough for a backup center, but considering Carroll’s local attention and his outstanding performance in the cup, no matter from which perspective, Chelsea It was obvious that this deal was done too well.

Tottenham Hotspur's aura has been too dazzling in the past two years.

This team that plays offensive football has become the focus of fans all over the world. The reporting rate is very high, and there is almost no negative news. Moreover, the results of this team are very ideal.

In the 21st round that just ended, they defeated Wigan 5:0 away from home, and in the 18th round of make-up in midweek, they beat Newcastle 3:0 away from home, and then again in the 22nd round. In the first round of White Hart Lane, they slaughtered Pompeii Legion Portsmouth 6:0. You know, Portsmouth had just humiliated Manchester City.

Fourteen goals were scored in three consecutive games and no goals were conceded. Such an outstanding record really surprised everyone.

Sometimes Mubarak finds it very puzzling. Why does other people's teams seem to be very simple and smooth, but his own team always stumbles and encounters problems of this kind?

Perhaps it is so awkward for a layman to lead an insider!

On January 20, Tottenham Hotspur defeated the British Championship team Burnley 3:0 at home. Carroll and Ashley Young both started. The England center scored a goal, and the Danish teenager Eriksen and Ramsey each scored one goal.

Tottenham Hotspur eliminated the English Championship team from the League Cup with a total score of 7:1 and joined Manchester United in the League Cup final.

This battle made Carroll famous again, and also made Manchester City, whose introduction of Kaká failed, immediately make an offer to Tottenham Hotspur, and the first offer was 5 million euros higher than Chelsea. To the tune of twenty-five million euros.

Peter Kenyon has the potential to be a profiteer. He was still considering whether to accept Chelsea's offer. As soon as he received the offer fax from Manchester City, he immediately responded with a fax to increase Carroll's offer. to 40 million euros, and immediately afterwards, he announced his rejection of Chelsea's transfer offer, but did not explain the reason.

After Manchester City received the feedback from Tottenham Hotspur, Mubarak was furious, because Tottenham Hotspur had just been tempted by Chelsea's offer of 20 million euros, and now seeing Manchester City's intervention, they immediately raised the price. The high price is obviously too outrageous, and it is clear that Manchester City is to be slaughtered as a fat sheep.

Chelsea CEO Pini Zahavi blamed Manchester City, believing that Manchester City's behavior destroyed the rules of the transfer market and created a bubble in the transfer market. "It's hard for me to imagine a player who can't even start in the Premier League." It’s crazy that a player who is on the list would be elevated to such an extent!”

But on the weekend, Tottenham Hotspur ushered in the FA Cup, and their opponent was Swansea from the English Championship. This time Carroll did not score, but he had an outstanding performance in the game, and with two Assists, helped Eden Hazard and Ramsey score, and was elected the best player of the game.

January is the stage for the League Cup and the FA Cup, and Carroll's performance in this series of cup matches is quite impressive. Coupled with media reports and publicity, Carroll is even more famous.

And as the transfer deadline approached, Manchester City became more and more passive. Finally, on January 26, club CEO Gary Cook and transfer consultant Joorabchian, together with the players who returned from the setback in Italy, The transfer team, a group of five people, traveled south to London to start final negotiations with Tottenham Hotspur.

After eight hours of intensive negotiations, the two sides finally reached an agreement. Carroll and Ashley Young finally transferred to Manchester City at a package price of 50 million euros, which also became the largest signing in the winter break.

In an interview that night, Mark Hughes welcomed the team's move to introduce Carroll. He believed that Carroll already had the potential to become a top star. He admired Carroll's dominance in the penalty area and said that the English genius center forward would shine in Manchester City.

"He will be Manchester City's forward scoring guarantee for the next ten years. With him in front, we will be unstoppable!"

As for Ashley Young, Mark Hughes felt that this English winger would be a powerful supplement to the team's wing. With Robinho playing as the second striker, he and Wright Phillips formed two wings, which would make Manchester City's wing attack more sharp and more threatening.

But the biggest winner of the winter transfer is Tottenham Hotspur. While almost everyone is amazed and admired by Tottenham Hotspur's transfer operation, quite a few peers have expressed that they will stay away from Tottenham Hotspur's players. Tottenham Hotspur has also been put together with Porto and Lyon by the media, and the three teams are collectively known as the three major black shops in Europe.

When Porto was negotiating, it raised the price of Pepe, who was originally intended to be sold to Inter Milan for 9 million, to 30 million euros; and Lyon sold Mohamed Diarra, who was originally intended to be sold for 8 million, to 26 million. In comparison, Tottenham Hotspur's means of slaughtering Manchester City seem to be a little more polite.

However, selling Carroll and Ashley Young at a package price of 50 million euros is also amazing.

After Tottenham Hotspur announced the transfer of Carroll and Ashley Young, the team also worked non-stop to promote young player Eden Hazard from the youth team to the first team. The Belgian teenager also performed well in the youth team and played for the first team in the league and cup many times. It is not a problem to fill the vacancy left by Ashley Young.

One in and one out, Tottenham Hotspur received 50 million euros, which is really too black!

Regarding Tottenham Hotspur's transfer policy, fans understand it on the one hand, after all, the team currently needs to raise funds to invest in a new stadium, but on the other hand, they are also worried about whether such a large-scale sale will affect the team's performance?

But soon, Tottenham Hotspur used a 5:0 home victory over Stoke City in the 23rd round of the league to reassure everyone about the team, and what is more gratifying is that Ribery's state has recovered greatly in this game. He made one pass and one shot in the game, and his performance was quite good.

The trident of Van Persie, Ribery and Messi was the most promising offensive combination for Tottenham fans last season. This season, with the joining of David Silva and the increasing stability of Yaya Toure, Tottenham's midfield has become more and more skilled and excellent after forming a midfield iron triangle with Fabregas.

Almost all Tottenham fans have high hopes for Ribery, believing that as long as the trident revives, Tottenham's offensive power will become stronger than ever before.

After 23 rounds of matches, the league standings have undergone a dramatic change.

After Liverpool survived the Christmas schedule and entered January, they surprisingly ushered in three consecutive draws in the last three rounds. On the contrary, Manchester United, since drawing with Tottenham in December, Ferguson's team has ushered in six consecutive victories. The state of fire is indeed surprising, and it has been chasing Tottenham all the way.

After 23 rounds of the league, Tottenham Hotspur scored 60 points with an impressive record of 19 wins and 3 draws, ranking first in the league standings, while Manchester United ranked second with 53 points, surpassing Liverpool and Chelsea, while Arsenal still ranked sixth, and its performance still did not improve very well.

However, after enduring the successive victories of Stoke City, Tottenham Hotspur won the team of the month, Ye Qiu also won the coach of the month, and Messi won the player of the month. However, in the first game after February, in the 24th round of the league in the middle of the week, Tottenham Hotspur was tied 0:0 by Bolton away, and the winning streak came to an end temporarily.

But Tottenham Hotspur's 23 league games unbeaten also surprised everyone, and even quite a number of fans were calling for the team to continue this winning streak, preferably to surpass the unbeaten records of Arsenal and Chelsea.

But Ye Qiu himself was not very positive about this unbeaten record in the league. He felt that such a continuous unbeaten record brought heavy psychological pressure to the players, so he never mentioned the continuous unbeaten record when he was interviewed by the outside world.

On February 7, in the 25th round of the Premier League, Tottenham Hotspur was tied 0:0 by Arsenal at home.

Wenger's team obviously learned all the tricks of Ferguson, and steadily set up a solid formation at White Hart Lane, and paid the painful price of two red cards of Clichy and Eboue, and successfully took a point from White Hart Lane. Alexander Song showed surprising strength in the midfielder position for the first time.

But Tottenham Hotspur did not get any benefits. Ribery, who had just performed slightly better, was injured in this game. Team doctor Peter Brandt determined that he pulled his groin during a stop and would be out for at least four weeks.

Ribery missed the start of this season, and after his return, Ye Qiu did not dare to use him boldly. After the winter break, his performance improved, but now he has suffered a groin strain, which can be said to be a disaster.

But the real disaster is obviously not just that. In the FA Cup round of 16 knockouts, Tottenham Hotspur, who played with a semi-substitute lineup, lost 1:2 to Manchester United away and was eliminated.

To make matters worse, the team just returned from Manchester with a bitter defeat, and immediately ushered in the third round of the league at Stamford Bridge. For Tottenham Hotspur, whose lead has been successfully shortened to three points by Manchester United, this battle is a must-win game, and it cannot be lost!