Chapter 986: Sacrifice

Camp Nou, Barcelona, ​​Spain.

In the president's office, Vice President Bartomeu and Sports Director Zubizarreta are reporting the latest transfer progress to Barcelona President Rosell, but it is obvious that everyone's expression is not relaxed.

It can even be said that it is a bit solemn.

"I just contacted Mendes, and he has clearly told me that Chinatown is doing its best to retain Alba." Zubizarreta looked solemn, "Although this Barcelona player just publicly expressed his desire to return to Barcelona at the celebration after winning the European Cup, Chinatown still hopes that he will change his mind."

"Mendez?" Rosell was a little surprised to hear this name.

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

At this time, Rosell 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 has a long-term contract with Chinatown. Alba has no choice but to stay if Chinatown does not sell him. He may even choose to stay in the team in the end.

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 it has not succeeded. This has brought Barcelona a miserable season, and it has suffered setbacks in the Champions League and the league.

The poor results of last season and the departure of head coach Guardiola have put heavy pressure on the management of Barcelona. If Alba cannot be bought this summer, it will undoubtedly bring a great crisis of trust to the management of the team, especially considering that once the season starts, the team's performance will be ups and downs again, then...

Rossell is very clear about his current situation. He came up on Laporta's shoulders and his position is not solid. Later, he offended Cruyff and Guardiola one after another, which shook his position inside and outside the club. If he can't stabilize the situation as soon as possible and win people's hearts, he may not be able to work for long.

"Why is Chinatown suddenly unwilling to sell again?" Rosell asked in a deep voice.

Bartomeu and Zubizarreta looked at each other. In fact, Chinatown has never said that it wants to sell Alba.

"According to the reliable information I have obtained, Chinatown has recently launched strategic cooperation with many Chinese companies, such as Huawei, which has begun to enter the European market in recent years. Although their stadium income is very low, Armando Marcos's business operation ability is extremely strong. Chinatown has achieved a balance between income and expenditure last season."

"Last season, Chinatown's start performance was not ideal, and the club was also under a lot of pressure. It is said that Gao Han is also very dissatisfied with the team's annual sales. Under the situation of balanced income and expenditure, Chinatown began to do its best to retain players and ensure the stability of the team's lineup, hoping to continue to perform well in the new season."

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

"To put it bluntly, it is just that they have tasted the sweetness of the Champions League and are reluctant to let it go."

After listening to this, Rosell suddenly remembered that UEFA had just announced that Chinatown's share of the prize money and broadcasting fees in the Champions League last season was as high as 40 million euros, which was higher than the three major La Liga giants and ranked third in Europe, with a surge in income.

It is estimated that it is with this income that Chinatown has enough confidence to keep people.

"In fact, before the European Cup, they have begun to loosen up. I believe that as long as we paid the termination fee at that time, Chinatown will definitely let people go, but now..."

Zubizarreta did not finish his words because he saw that Rosell and Bartomeu's faces were not very good.

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 in the European Cup. But now, Alba shined in the European Cup, and Chinatown is obviously going to raise the price.

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

"Of course, I don't think Chinatown wants to sell people. Alba's intention to return to Barcelona is obvious, and I received news that Chinatown is closely investigating Malaga's left back Monreal. This player performed well last season, and it is obvious that he is preparing for Alba to leave the team."

"Monreal?" Rosell 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 clear.

Barcelona's requirements for players are definitely higher than other teams. Players like Adriano and Maxwell are also the main players in other strong teams, but in Barcelona, ​​they are barely even substitutes.

"Do we have other substitutes?" Bartomeu asked with concern.

"Yes, Atletico Madrid's left back Felipe, but the price offered by the Colchoneros for him is also very high, at least more than 40 million euros, and it's not easy to negotiate." Zubizarreta replied.

Twenty-seven-year-old Felipe and twenty-three-year-old Alba, how to choose is indeed a problem.

Rosell stood up from his seat in distress, turned around and walked to the window, with his back to Bartomeu and Zubizarreta, and he felt very uncomfortable.

Teams like Barcelona have never been responsible for training players. Poaching is the norm for big teams. This is true for Real Madrid and Barcelona. However, the team's outstanding youth training in recent years has given fans an illusion 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, the team's performance in competition was excellent, but the management was average, which made the team unable to spend as much money as Real Madrid. Therefore, the first thing Rosell did after taking office was to cut spending. Later, he had a disagreement with Guardiola over the reduction of the coaching team.

But Rosell knew very well that Guardiola could leave, but Barcelona could not be without a championship for two years, otherwise, his term as chairman would be over.

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Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, Madrid, Spain.

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

Altintop, Gago, Drenthe, Sahin and Las Diarra have all left the team.

But on the other hand, the coaching staff wanted to continue to strengthen the midfield, which made Florentino very puzzled.

"What is the situation now?" Florentino asked in a deep voice.

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

Some of the players who left the team this year have just joined the team for a year, and they are going to be sent away?

In addition to the above players, Canales, who was once highly expected by the club, is also leaving the team, and the local youth training Granero has also been sent to the transfer market. These two players are local rookies that the club has vigorously cultivated, especially Canales.

Sanchez also sighed in his heart. Mourinho is indeed a master who spends money like water. In his opinion, Real Madrid's money is just a stack of paper. The players bought are more like his experimental products. If they can be used, they will be used. If they can't be used, they will be thrown away. Even the richest team can't stand him doing this.

Let's not talk about anything else. Let's talk about Sahin. The transfer fee is 10 million euros, and he was sold after one year?

"I think we should hire a technical director as soon as possible to take full charge of the club's transfer affairs. More importantly, he can control all matters of the team from formation to management to transfers, rather than just listen to the head coach's opinion." Sanchez suggested.

Since the departure of the team's general manager Valdano, Mourinho has been in control of the competitive field, but he has problems in 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 it? How much did it lose?

"Chinatown's management structure is actually really worth learning from. General Manager Armando Marcos is fully responsible for daily operations and business operations, and Technical Director Cantarero is responsible for overall competitive affairs and transfer operations, and he can control the club's technical and tactical style and team formation strategy."

The term technical director has been very popular in recent years. Many Premier League teams have been learning from it, and Chinatown is one of the best. Cantarero is also the most successful and capable technical director in Europe, and has been poached by many teams.

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 in the first place to make up for the impact of the main players leaving the team.

Even if it was like last season, when four absolute main players left in one go and the entire central axis was lost, Chinatown withstood the pressure and chased all the way in the late season, returning to the top four, and reaching the semi-finals of the Champions League. Cantarero played an indispensable 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 the technical director.

But Real Madrid is not other teams.

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

"We are Real Madrid. We will only sign the best and most outstanding players in the world or in Spain. As long as we identify this goal, does it make any difference whether there is a technical director or not?"

Sanchez was speechless. He knew that Florentino would not easily admit his mistakes.

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

"Since Mourinho needs a midfielder, then introduce a midfielder. Arbeloa is about to turn 30. From the European Cup, Carvajal is the future of Spain. This cup basically established his main position. Moreover, he is from the surrounding area of ​​Madrid. We should lock in this Spanish international in advance."

From the performance of the European Cup, Carvajal and Arbeloa have become a clear contrast. Everyone can see that Carvajal performs better and is more in line with the aesthetics of Spanish fans.

"For the frontcourt attacker, talk to Chinatown about Aubameyang." Florentino said.

Sanchez carefully recorded it, "There is one more thing."

"What?"

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

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

"Ask Mourinho about this." Florentino waved his hand impatiently.

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

"Why are you asking me about this?"