If you are a brother, come and play football

Chapter 257 The King of Land Balls' Adopted Son (Please Subscribe)
"Is Marco Lanna playing for Roma?"

Maldini changed the subject and asked.

“Yes, he’s been doing well lately,” Totti gestured. “You know, there are women who like to pity others, and that woman is very good to him.”

That's really great.

Lu Deyang nodded and said.

Lanna is in such a terrible state.

After all these years, I finally have a life of my own.

"Deyang".

After his teammates left, Maldini said in a low voice.

"Does this mean you want me to let you go? Don't worry, I won't joke around with you for no reason."

Lu Deyang said.

“No, it’s like this,” Maldini said somewhat awkwardly, “Adriana hopes you can visit her during the holiday after the next match day. She wants you to be Christian’s godfather.”

"Shouldn't it be Billy?"

Lu Deyang asked.

“There are two godfathers in Sicily. They say the world is dangerous and children are safer with two fathers,” Maldini said with a shrug.

Lu Deyang smiled and nodded.

Many customs are based on local conditions.

Just like those nomadic tribes who like to use their wives and daughters to entertain guests, the environment on the grassland is too harsh, and the chances of children dying young are very high. They don't care whose child is, the more children they have, the greater the probability of having an heir.

The situation with the Sicilian godfather is similar.

It's not because of the Mafia; Sicily's extreme poverty is what led to the Mafia's rampant activities, and that's why more Godfathers are needed.

The British royal family is even more unusual; on average, each prince has more than five godparents.

When there's a need for this, regulations are nothing but bullshit.

"Okay, I'll go."

Lu Deyang nodded and said.

"That's good, no need to bring any gifts."

Maldini gave these specific instructions.

He wasn't entirely in favor of this.

The main issue is that once the child has a godfather, finding another famous one seems like an attempt to curry favor with the powerful and wealthy.

However, Adriana is right. He can't guarantee his son will play football. Having a rich and famous godfather at least ensures he won't be unable to find a job when he grows up.

In the field of football, he and Costacurta can help the children, but what if the children don't want to develop in that area?
Italians are very similar to Chinese people in this respect, and even more so in that they prefer living with their children.

9 month 1 day.

With the transfer window closed, media outlets worldwide are summarizing the transfer activity.

This summer, Italy's total transfer spending reached £1.55 million, La Liga £1.18 million, and the Premier League £9700 million.

Without the transfers of Lu Guowang and Redondo, La Liga would likely be in first place.

Mijakovic, Suker, and Seedorf transferred to Real Madrid; Rivaldo transferred to Deportivo La Coruña; Barcelona's target was snatched away, after buying Portuguese goalkeeper Baía, they successfully snatched Parma's target Chiesa, spending only $300 million more than Ronaldo.

After losing Chiesa, Parma signed Thuram and then tried to buy Shearer, but Shearer insisted on returning to his hometown of Newcastle to play. After Milan rejected their attempt to sign Marco Simeone, Parma spent $300 million to bring in Manchester United veteran McClair, which successfully bolstered their attacking line.

In the Yongchao region, Chelsea continued to benefit from Serie A, bringing in Di Matteo; Middlesbrough bought Ravanelli from Juventus for half the price of Shearer, and also brought in Porto's Brazilian midfielder Emerson; Manchester United bought Poborsky after Ronaldo and Desailly, ending their summer spending spree, and overall still made a profit of tens of millions in transfers.

The only thing that really bothered Lu Deyang was that Juventus had brought in that bald guy.

Unfortunately, Milan doesn't have a place for him. Even if it were free, Milan would hardly consider Zidane. Baggio and Ludjohnsen are already fiercely competing for the left wing, and Sacchi generally doesn't assign the number 10 position.

Just like Ancelotti once rejected Baggio.

Even if you clearly demonstrate your ability, some coaches will still refuse.

Not to mention that Zidane has only played in Ligue 1 so far.

The Italians at that time had a much stronger sense of superiority than they did later in the Premier League.

However, Lu Deyang didn't care. He had already played against Maradona, the Three Musketeers, and the Three Musketeers, so what difference would it make if he became a football king?

On September 8th, Serie A finally kicked off with its opening match.

Milan thrashed Verona 6-1 at the San Siro, with Lu Deyang scoring twice and providing a hat-trick of assists in the first half, eliciting gasps from the Rossoneri.

Too cruel.

The opponents had almost no way to get past the halfway line.

Lu Deyang can create enough threat with just a casual pass.

The two sides had a shot ratio of 26 to 4 after the match, which was roughly equivalent to Manchester City playing against Young Boys. However, Guardiola's team had stronger control and was able to achieve a shot ratio of 27 to 0.

On his day off, Lu Deyang took the princess to Maldini's house.

Maldini's family lived in the Fiera district of Milan, located in the southwest of the city center, not far from the San Siro.

What's even more interesting is that later, a large-scale development project took place in this area, and Maldini's house value skyrocketed.

There are ways to make money through policy, all over the world.

There is a pedestrian street near La Vieira, but the Maldini family's area faces away from the commercial district, and each house has its own yard.

Shevchenko recounted in his autobiography that he, Beckham, Neymar, and a few others were playing pickup football at home. The ball often ended up in the neighbor's yard, but luckily they had plenty of balls and were having fun, often shouting "Goal!" just like when they were kids. Not long after, Maldini came out carrying four balls and asked them if they wanted their balls back.

Houses in this area, close to Milan's city center, are indeed not cheap.

However, Lu Deyang believes that Redondo's choice to live in a high-end apartment is mainly due to his desire to avoid trouble.

He doesn't have high requirements for space, but rather for quality of life.

Having a security guard at the apartment entrance already saves a lot of trouble.

“This area is quite nice, let’s buy one too,” the princess said after taking a few glances.

"Sure, but Paul might not be happy."

Lu Deyang said with a smile.

"Then don't keep bullying Maldini next time," the princess said irritably.

Lu Deyang curled his lip and said, "You have no idea how annoying he was when he was young. He would say things like, 'If you beat me, I'll treat you to a trip,' as if beating me was so easy."

"It happened many years ago, there's no need to remember it."

The princess said irritably and went up to ring the doorbell.

"coming!"

Before long, the horse captain's wife appeared before them, and she immediately let out a high-pitched scream: "God, Paul, the princess is here, come out quickly."

Lu Deyang and the princess exchanged a glance, both showing helpless expressions.

A similar thing happened when I first met my Manchester United teammates.

Europeans have a deep-seated appreciation for nobility.

Maldini, wearing a shirt and carrying a child, walked over, paused for a moment, then turned to Lu Deyang and asked, "What kind of greeting should I give?"

"Don't worry about it so much."

Lu Deyang waved his hand and said, "Miss Spencer is my girlfriend. Doesn't that feel much better?"

"Come in quickly."

Adriana spun around twice on the spot and said.

"It's not like we're meeting for the first time, no need to be so polite," Lu Deyang joked. "You weren't this excited when we met before."

"You're not an aristocrat."

Adriana said irritably.

Lu Deyang shrugged and said, "You and your husband both spoke in a very unpleasant tone. Is the Maldini family's tradition of bullying honest people something you started in your generation?"

Maldini immediately raised his middle finger and said, "Come and meet your godson."

Lu Deyang handed the gift to Adriana and went up to look at the eldest son.

"Want a hug?"

Maldini asked, but instead handed the child directly to Lu Deyang.

The King of Land Balls suspected that he did it on purpose.

The three-month-old baby is chubby and fair-skinned, and looks quite adorable.

The eldest son stared at Lu Deyang with wide eyes, showing no fear whatsoever.

Lu Deyang held him and swung his arms back and forth, humming, "There once was a ship that put to sea. The name of that ship was the Billy o' Tea. The winds blew up her bow dipped down, Oh Blow my bully boys blow huh..."

The song with a strong rhythm really interested the eldest son.

He stretched out his hand and giggled at Lu Deyang.

"You two seem to get along very well."

Adriana came out with coffee and snacks and said.

"I have never met anyone who doesn't like me."

Lu Deyang said with a smile.

He and Adriana were very familiar with each other, so there was no need for formalities.

Maldini opened his mouth as if to speak, but then closed it.

He couldn't argue with Lu Deyang.

"What song is this?" Princess asked, sitting on the sofa and staring at Lu Deyang, her eyes practically bulging with curiosity.

As a mother, she loved seeing this.

"Forgot about the pirate song."

Lu Deyang said, "When Christian grows up, I'll take him to the Caribbean to make a living."

"I'm afraid you'll get killed by the Americans."

Maldini complained.

Lu Deyang gave a thumbs up and said, "I didn't expect you to know that there are US military bases in the Caribbean. Back in Sampdoria, they didn't pay much attention to international news."

Maldini rubbed his forehead and said, "I don't want to pay attention either, but Adriana said that reading more news is the only way to avoid losing money in business."

“That’s right. American policies have a huge impact on Europe. If you can seize the opportunity, you can make a lot of money, just like Moratti and his group,” Lu Deyang said.

Samsung started when Japan surrendered; they bought rice from Japanese warehouses through the Americans.

Such opportunities are rare, but the US has a large military budget.

You can make a fortune by being any kind of supplier to the Americans, or even by selling raw materials.

"You'll have to wait a little longer; my specialty dish takes a bit of time to prepare."

Adriana peeked out from the kitchen and said.

"It's nothing, that's why I came here. Paul always says you cook well."

Lu Deyang said with a smile.

Adriana winked at Paul Ma, suggesting that the second son might be born early.

"If you are interested in horse racing, you can invest in horse racing."

The princess suggested, "I've heard that some horses can make a lot of money."

"Yes, the cost of breeding a thoroughbred horse can reach hundreds of millions."

Lu Deyang nodded and said.

The Rock of Gibraltar is familiar to every Manchester United fan.

The gist of the story is that Manchester United's shareholders were so pleased with the team's achievements that they gave half of the horse to Ferguson.

He probably meant the revenue from the competition, several million pounds.

However, Ferguson believed that the £300 million included in the breeding costs. This is the story of their falling out and Ferguson's support for the Glazers.

It's hard for outsiders to understand this, but that's probably how it is. If your coach does a good job, you might get a few million pounds as a bonus, but even the richest person wouldn't give you hundreds of millions of pounds in breeding fees as a bonus.

Even though Abramovich is so rich, he only gives coaches and players gifts like cars; he only lends them yachts to play with, he doesn't give them away.

If you want to receive a gift of the yacht level, you have to be an emperor-level figure.

"I'm not very familiar with that stuff, but is the insemination fee really that expensive?"

Maldini asked, somewhat surprised.

"Of course, if you're interested, we can buy a horse together. I do have some friends in England."

Lu Deyang said.

Keeping horses at a horse farm is not cheap, and buying a horse is even more expensive.

Overall, however, buying a good thoroughbred horse is definitely a profitable business.

This requires not only money but also connections; it's an industry that originated from aristocratic sports.

"I'll discuss it with Adriana later."

Maldini said excitedly, "We can also call Billy. He's been having trouble with investments lately. You know, players of a certain age all start thinking about investments."

"After all, a professional career is only so long."

Lu Deyang said.

Some clubs are charitable; after a team's legend retires, they are given a job similar to a promotional ambassador, where they can easily earn millions of dollars a year in addition to participating in some activities.

However, this situation does not currently exist in the football world.

After retiring, apart from coaching, other jobs in the football world pay far less than what players earn as players.

That's why players of this era are particularly fond of starting their own businesses.

Players like Maldini only earned a few million dollars a year, which was much less than the income of later players.

What are your teammates doing when you were in England?

Maldini asked curiously.

"Real estate and catering."

Lu Deyang thought for a moment and then said.

Most of the successful British players go into real estate.

Besides Neville, there are also people like Rogers.

“The real estate market is also good; someone told me prices here will go up,” Maldini nodded and said.

“Then you could try negotiating with the bank for a lower interest rate to buy several properties, and then sell them in a few years. You can also use them as collateral when you need money,” Lu Deyang suggested.

This is how rich people play.

Having connections at the bank allows one to potentially obtain significantly more collateral.

That's how those people do business.

Zhao Junqi, who was blacklisted, simply bought a small company and borrowed 6000 million yuan. Then he borrowed money from institutions, and similar to the Glazers' acquisition of Manchester United, he acquired a listed company in installments. Finally, he used the shares of this company as collateral to raise 30 billion yuan to make up the down payment. In the end, he released news to drive up the stock price and fleeced the shareholders. He only spent 200 million yuan to register the small company and made 30 billion yuan with nothing.

Similar things happen in financial markets all over the world.

However, some people acquire companies and then run them well, instead of exploiting the investors.

Thinking of this, Lu Deyang decided to intercept Glazer.

Buying Manchester United is a sure way to make money.

He could have bought it outright with cash without even using leverage, held it for over 10 years, and then sold it to the Saudis for £60 billion.

The key is that without the vampire, Manchester United's performance would be much better.

This is definitely something worth planning.

It would be best to let the Glazers play first, expose their tactics and intentions through the newspapers, and then buy Manchester United as a savior.

Otherwise, Manchester United fans wouldn't know what good thing Lu Guowang did.

Before Glazer, he never thought it could be done like that. The club paid off tens of millions of pounds in loans to the owner every year and gave them more than 2000 million pounds in management funds.

If they had switched to a less well-known club, they would have been completely ruined.

While the group was chatting, the doorbell rang again.

After Maldini opened the door, Lu Deyang pulled the princess up with him.

It is Cesare Maldini and his wife.

"Deyang, it's so nice to see you."

Cesare smiled and opened his arms.

"Good day, Cesare, Mrs. Melissa."

Lu Deyang greeted him.

"It would be great if you transferred to Inter Milan."

Melissa Maldini joked.

She was an Inter Milan fan, but after marrying Paulo Maspaolo's father, she naturally became a Milan fan as well.

“Paul didn’t say he invited you, otherwise I would have brought more gifts today.”

Lu Deyang said.

Cesare Maldini asked with a smile, "Why don't you introduce your girlfriend?"

"Diana Spencer".

Lu Deyang said, pulling the princess aside.

Cesare took off his hat, placed it on his chest, and bowed, while Melissa Maldini giggled.

The eldest son in Lu Deyang's arms also laughed along with his grandmother.

Melissa quickly opened her arms to take the eldest son and started playing with the child.

Older people love their grandchildren.

However, the Ma family is large; Cesare himself has six children, with Ma Paul being the fourth and the eldest boy in the family.

After the Cesares sat down, they began to recount embarrassing stories from Paolo Maldini's childhood.

Parents like to say this.

Lu Deyang looked at the anxious Ma Baoluo and wanted to laugh, so he gave him a reassuring look.

As long as you don't offend Lu Qiuwang, your dark history won't circulate in the team.

Mabal and Cesare don't look that alike; his eyes, in particular, resemble his mother's.

“Back then, the kids would all do their homework at the same table. We didn’t have such good conditions when we played football,” Cesare remarked.

"As times progress, the pursuit of spiritual values ​​is even higher in peacetime, and football is the world's number one sport."

Lu Deyang said with a smile.

Cesare glanced at his grandson in his wife's arms and said, "I hope he can inherit our jersey. He's my first grandson."

Indeed, the daughter's child is her grandson.

This is even more pronounced in Italy, where there is a strong preference for sons over daughters.

Around 6 p.m., Adriana prepared dinner.

This time is a little early for the Italians, but just right for Lu Deyang.

Adriana is Venezuelan.

Her dishes combine the best of Venezuela and Italy; papaya pudding is a traditional Venezuelan dessert, while other meats and seafood, along with fresh vegetables, also suit Italian tastes.

The meal was a success, with both hosts and guests enjoying themselves.

The princess ate quite a lot as well.

She's not very good at cooking, but she's quite particular about food.

Italian food suits her eating habits better.

The two walked home, but halfway there the princess couldn't walk anymore, so Lu Deyang carried her on his back for five kilometers.

The incident made the newspaper the next day.

Since returning to Italy, reporters have been paying much more attention to Lu Guowang's private life; perhaps they are interested in the princess.

"The reporter took the photos like they were from a movie; the composition was excellent."

Redondo commented on the training.

“I remember Dejan was always ranked very high in the magazine’s poll,” Totti said from the side.

“That’s true, but those selections also consider fame, otherwise how could Maradona have been selected?” Redondo added from the side.

Maradona was far from handsome, even before he gained weight.

Another day passed as the group chatted about magazine rankings.

In the Italian Super Cup, Milan defeated Empoli both home and away to advance to the next round. The Champions League group stage draw has also been released, with Milan placed in Group D.

Group A consists of Ajax, Rangers, Auxerre, and Grasshopper Zurich, and this group is the weakest.

Group B consists of Atletico Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, Rozvidev, and Steaua Bucharest.

Group C consists of Juventus, Manchester United, Fenerbahce, and Rapid Vienna. This is the toughest group to play in, and Manchester United should be very reluctant to play against a Turkish team.

Milan's Group D is of average strength, with Porto, Rosenborg, and IFK Göteborg. If they fail to advance from this group, it's entirely their own fault.

At that time, there were at most two teams in the major leagues. If the youth training of those small country powerhouses was not good, they would be easy prey.

This grouping is quite satisfactory.

On September 11, Milan hosted Porto in their first group stage match at the San Siro Stadium.

The entire Milan team has high expectations for this season's Champions League.

Lu Deyang's transfer made them want to get more.

More than one teammate has expressed similar sentiments.

Even Baresi consistently showed great friendliness towards Lu Deyang. It's worth noting that Baresi didn't have a friendly attitude towards Van Basten either, as he viewed foreign players as simply there to make money in Milan.

Filippo Galli returned to the starting lineup and was in a good mood.

While changing clothes, they asked, "How did you feel when you won the seventh championship?"

"I didn't feel anything," Lu Deyang said with a smile. "Back then, there were matches every two days. Everyone was exhausted, mentally drained. We didn't even know which day was the final. Suddenly, a final would appear out of nowhere, you understand?"

“Yes, sometimes we don’t even get 24 hours of rest before the next game,” Redondo added from the side. “Many people sleep on the bus, mainly because it feels like the games never end.”

"That sounds terrifying."

Maldini nodded and said.

"I'm fine. Fernando is an absolute key player; he should have played more than 90% of the games."

Lu Deyang said.

"My agent told me that Manchester United's reluctance to pay appearance fees is probably because I play too many games each season," Redondo said with a shrug.

A burst of laughter erupted in the locker room.

At this point, every player wants to earn more money.

Even Maldini and Baresi had different ideas.

Baresi is more like a player like Valerón, who, although he can't just take a salary of 30, is willing to give everything for the club.

Older generations of players are more willing to put in the effort in this regard.

After chatting with his teammates for a few minutes, Lu Deyang decided to participate in the lottery.

[Your good brother Francesco Totti is very handsome, yet he has never cheated, which is quite rare. Therefore, you've drawn a player who isn't very handsome but is known for cheating. Ding! You've obtained a single-match trial card for the 2003-2004 UEFA Champions League Final, Porto vs. Monaco, featuring Andersson Luis de Sousa.]

(End of this chapter)