Football: Starting from the 05 World Youth Championship

Despite being influenced by the media and fans outside the training base, Lin Feng still demonstrated the qualities of a professional player once inside.

He diligently completed every training exercise assigned by the coach, ensuring that off-field factors did not affect the team's normal training and preparation.

Even so, he could clearly sense that the atmosphere within the team was somewhat oppressive.

After training, Zanetti found Lin Feng in the locker room and inquired about his condition with concern.

"Lin, are you really leaving?"

When Zanetti raised this question, Torres, Beckham, Figo, and others all stopped what they were doing and pricked up their ears to eavesdrop.

Seeing Captain Zanetti's concerned expression, Lin Feng smiled and said:
"If I wanted to leave, I wouldn't be here now."

Torres couldn't help but interject:
"But those rumors outside..."

Vieira, who has extensive transfer experience, stepped forward and said:
"That's the problem. Since Lin Feng hasn't expressed any intention to leave the team, these rumors outside are either deliberately spread by our opponents to disrupt our preparations and training, or..."

He didn't finish his sentence, but everyone present understood his unspoken meaning.

It wasn't Lin Feng himself who wanted him to leave, but the club.

This conjecture sparked different thoughts among many members of the team.

Lin Feng is the absolute core of Inter Milan. If he leaves, Inter Milan's tactical system will have to be completely overhauled.

This presents an opportunity for some players, such as Cambiasso and Stankovic, who are direct competitors of Lin Feng.

But for some other players, it's not good news.

For example, forwards like Torres and Cruz, as well as veteran players like Figo and Beckham.

Some of them joined or stayed at Inter Milan because of Lin Feng.

If Lin Feng is sold by Inter Milan, then there's no point in them staying at Inter Milan; they might as well go to overseas leagues to make money and retire.

……

"President Moratti, we must resolutely reject the offers from Real Madrid and Manchester United for Lin Feng, otherwise it will affect the team's normal training and even internal unity!"

As the rumors from the outside world intensified, they began to affect the team's normal training.

Inter Milan's club manager, Branca, approached President Moratti and earnestly said:
"Lin Feng is the future of our team. Inter Milan cannot do without him. Last year's Champions League title was just the beginning of our great Inter Milan era. If we want to build a dynasty for Inter Milan and catch up with or even surpass AC Milan's international influence, we need more honors!"

Blanca genuinely had no idea what Moratti was thinking. Why would he choose to concede defeat when the situation was so favorable?
He's finally made it through all these years, and now that he's finally succeeded, he wants to give up!
This is really puzzling!

Over the past few years, during his time as Inter Milan's manager, Branca worked tirelessly to clean up the messes left behind by Moratti's impulsive player purchases.

Thanks to his meticulous planning, Inter Milan has achieved great success in transfers over the past few seasons.

They signed Cambiasso and Figo from Real Madrid for free, and secured Grosso before the World Cup even started.

They snatched Crespo on loan before AC Milan could, stopping Vieira from returning to the Premier League.

Each of these transfers reveals his shrewdness and competence.

Compared to Moratti's transfer policy, which relied solely on personal preferences and resulted in reckless spending, Branca's transfer strategy is clearly more targeted.

By carefully calculating and buying players according to the team's needs, not only can you spend less money, but you can also achieve better results.

Thanks to his and his colleagues' tireless efforts, Inter Milan has become stronger and stronger, and its future is becoming brighter and brighter.

In this case, we only need to maintain this for a few more seasons.

Inter Milan can rebuild the Inter Milan dynasty, and he will surpass Moggi and others to become the most successful manager of all Serie A teams.

However, Moratti's sudden surrender caught him off guard, causing Blanca to panic.

After listening to Blanca's words, Moratti sighed:

"As you said, maintaining the current squad certainly gives us a chance to challenge for the Champions League title again, but at what cost?"

Since Inter Milan won the championship, many veteran players have been dissatisfied with their current salaries and have demanded a pay rise.

Therefore, even without signing any new players, Inter Milan's financial pressure this year will be much greater than last year.

But that's not the most crucial point. The most crucial point is that for the past few decades, everyone at Inter Milan has been holding back a strong desire for the championship, and the powerful fighting spirit that has emerged from that desire.

But with Inter Milan's successful championship win, many players have lost their fighting spirit.

In addition, Inter Milan's squad is a year older overall, so even with the same lineup, their fighting power may not be as high as last year.

Moreover, teams like Manchester United and Real Madrid are targeting Inter Milan as their hypothetical rival, making massive recruitment drives in hopes of avenging last year's defeat.

Therefore, Moratti believes that Inter Milan's chances of defending their title this year are not high, unless he is willing to spend a lot of money to bring in a batch of excellent players in the transfer market to strengthen each position.

This influx of fresh blood will stimulate the veteran players in the team, preventing them from resting on their laurels and becoming complacent.

But with transfer fees soaring in the football world, how much would it cost to make such a reinforcement?

“You are the club manager, so you should be very clear about the club’s debt problems, but you may not know about my family’s financial situation.”

Seeing that Blanca was still unwilling to give up, Moratti had no choice but to reveal the truth to him.

The oil refinery business run by the Moratti family is facing enormous difficulties due to the combined effects of rising oil prices and the economic downturn in Italy.

Costs such as freight and crude oil prices are rising rapidly, while the economic downturn has led to a contraction in demand, causing their profits to plummet.

The reason he was able to spend so much money over the past decade or so was because his family business was thriving and he didn't need that much money.

But now, with the family business facing difficulties, he has no choice but to tighten his belt and live frugally.

Just maintaining Inter Milan's normal annual operations and repaying the club's debts requires an investment of 1.5-2 million euros, which is no small sum.

At least for Moratti right now, it's a considerable burden.

Furthermore, having fulfilled his wish to win the championship, he felt a sense of relief and was no longer willing to make any more irrational investments.

Blanca remained silent for a long time after hearing this. His boss had already put it so bluntly, so he couldn't say anything more. Finally, he could only make one request:
“If you really want to sell Lin Feng, then don’t rush to accept offers from Manchester United and Real Madrid. 80 million is not his true value. I think Lin Feng is worth at least 100 million.”

In Branca's view, since Lin Feng was destined to leave, they should try to squeeze out every last bit of value from him. That way, at least the revenue from selling him could make up for Inter Milan's losses, and the extra money could be used to buy some good players in the transfer market to fill the void left by Lin Feng's departure.

But his proposal was rejected by Moratti:
"As long as the price is right, I will not put any obstacles in Lin Feng's transfer."

"He is the team's greatest contributor. We owe him, not the other way around!" Branca opened his mouth to say something, but seeing Moratti's firm attitude, he could only sigh inwardly and swallow his words.

……

After Real Madrid raised their offer, it was expected that, like before, the offer would go unanswered.

However, unexpectedly, Inter Milan responded to Real Madrid's offer two days later.

In their response, they neither directly agreed to nor rejected Real Madrid's offer, but instead repeatedly emphasized Lin Feng's importance to Inter Milan, conveying only one message:
Need more money!
Normally, the person making the offer would be very dissatisfied with such an exorbitant price demand.

Real Madrid, however, were overjoyed upon seeing Inter Milan's response.

"Chairman, great news! Inter Milan has finally relented!"

Sporting director Mijatovic immediately reported the good news to Real Madrid president Calderon.

Calderon breathed a sigh of relief after hearing Mijatovic's report:

"Add another 500 million to the original price and see Inter Milan's reaction!"

For Real Madrid, money is not an issue.

If Florentino can burn through hundreds of millions of euros to build a Galácticos team, why can't I, Calderón, do the same?

To remain president of Real Madrid for a long time, one must find ways to keep the fans, especially the members, happy.

The best way to please the fans is to bring in big-name stars to the team and help it achieve excellent results.

Among young players, no one is more suitable for Real Madrid's requirements than Lin Feng!

Although the other player was not among the three stars that Calderon promised to bring in during his campaign, Lin Feng's performance over the past season proved that he is a better player than Kaká, Ronaldo, and Robben.

Bringing him in would have a far greater impact than bringing in these three!
So if he can bring Lin Feng to the Bernabéu and give Real Madrid fans a big surprise, then the fans' and members' support for him will definitely rise.

"Heh, Florentino is thinking of taking me down. I'll poach the players you've got your eye on first, then let's see how you manage to bring me down!"

……

The football world is small, and news of Real Madrid raising their offer quickly reached Ferguson's ears.

Upon hearing this news, his eyes widened in surprise:
No, Inter Milan really intends to sell Lin Feng?
What were you thinking?!

Are you willing to sell such an excellent player?
If Ronaldo hadn't wanted to leave, he would have loved to keep him at Manchester United for life!

"Sir, should we follow suit?"

Manchester United's sporting director asked somewhat hesitantly, "Real Madrid's latest offer has reached 8500 million euros, which is nearly 2000 million euros higher than the football transfer record."

Manchester United, because of its stingy American owner, is not as financially free as Real Madrid.

The price of 8500 million is really beyond Manchester United's budget. If they don't sell players, they probably won't be able to afford this deal.

"Of course we'll go for it! Opportunities to buy players of this caliber are rare. As for the money, you don't need to worry about it. I'll personally go to Mr. Glazer to explain the matter!"

Although Glazer was stingy, it cannot be denied that he was an excellent businessman.

Signing Lin Feng could bring long-term and huge benefits to Manchester United's future, both on the sporting and commercial fronts.

I believe he has the vision to see these things.

It's a pity that the elder Glazer suffered a stroke last year; I wonder how his recovery is going.

If he hasn't recovered yet, then he'll have to deal with his sons.

Compared to his father, the Glazers, Ferguson had less confidence in his sons.

……

Just as Real Madrid, Manchester United, and Inter Milan were arguing over Lin Feng's transfer fee.

Lin Feng also received a visit from a football mogul at his home.

The person who arrived was none other than José Mendes, the agent for both Mourinho and Cristiano Ronaldo.

"Mr. Jorge, what brings you here?"

Lin Feng and Mendes were not familiar with each other; the two had almost no interaction.

But Mendes didn't stand on ceremony at all; instead, he spoke naturally, as if he were an old friend he had known for many years:

"Hehe, I'm here to recommend myself!"

“I have some influence in the Premier League, La Liga, and Serie A, and I know some people who might be helpful for your upcoming transfer.”

After listening to Mendes's words, Lin Feng looked at him seriously and said:

“Mr. Jorge, you should know that I have an agent.”

"Yes, I know, but I think I might be better suited to be your agent."

"What's the reason?"

Lin Feng is no three-year-old child; he won't be intimidated by a few words from the other party.

He admitted that Mendes is indeed very capable, has extensive connections in the football world, manages a large number of well-known stars, and has handled many successful transfers.

If a young player joins his team, they can leverage his network to land a spot in a top league or even join a top club.

But Lin Feng is not an unknown young player; he is already an internationally renowned superstar.

For top stars, there is never a shortage of potential clubs. Even top clubs can easily be chosen if they want to.

Therefore, they don't need to be subservient to agents; on the contrary, agents should actively curry favor with them, just as Mendes is doing now.

“I have many players under my management and close relationships with some club executives. If you transfer in the future, I can get them to help you integrate into the team more quickly.”

Lin Feng nodded slightly, signaling him to continue.

"Besides the players, I also have some excellent head coaches under my command, such as Mourinho. If you go to their team, because of my relationship, your cooperation will be very pleasant, and they will regard you as a confidant, and even formulate tactics around you."

"Furthermore, to show my sincerity, I can reveal some information to you in advance: there's a 90% chance that Mourinho will be Real Madrid's new coach!" (End of Chapter)