Chapter 300: Chapter 300: Paris Saint-Germain's Official Offer Shocks the Entire Football World

Chapter 300: Paris Saint-Germain's Official Offer Shocks the Entire Football World

When the French Team Newspaper revealed this insider news, it immediately caused an earthquake in the football world.

"200 million euros? Are they crazy?"

"I remember hearing news from England two years ago that Manchester City had offered 200 million euros for Messi!"

"Yeah, that did happen, and Barcelona rejected it!"

"If Messi was worth 200 million euros two years ago, then considering that and inflation, PSG's offer isn't that outrageous!"

"Manchester City signed Lin Quan for free, right? If they really sell him to PSG, they'll make a pure profit of 200 million!"

"Manchester City doesn't need the money, right? If they sell Lin Quan, where will they find a replacement?"

"What about buying James Rodriguez?"

"Ha, Barcelona already raised their offer to 88 million euros for James. If Manchester City wants to buy him, it will probably cost 90 million euros. Selling Lin Quan for 200 million and then buying James for 90 million just to make 110 million and disrupt their entire tactical system? That's crazy!"

"Indeed, unless Manchester City has gone mad, they won't agree to this transfer. Besides, James can't replace Lin Quan!"

While regular fans could discuss this transfer rumor calmly, Manchester City fans were in a panic upon hearing the news.

"Lin Quan won't leave, right?"

"Absolutely not, Lin Quan is our Blue Moon's non-transferable asset. Just 200 million won't take him away, impossible!"

"But what if Lin Quan wants to leave?"

This question caused even more panic among Manchester City fans...

To keep Lin Quan, many fans went to his social media accounts, leaving comments in droves, begging him to stay at Manchester City. Some even went to the club's official website, demanding the team keep Lin Quan.

"Lin has made great contributions to the team; the club shouldn't sell him!"

"If the club dares to sell Lin for money, I will never step into Etihad Stadium again in my life!"

"Please, someone come out and clarify, dispel the rumors! Tell us Lin will stay at Manchester City next season!"

The number of fans leaving messages on the official website was so large that it quickly caught the attention of the club's staff. They were confused, as they hadn't heard anything about selling Lin Quan. So they quickly issued a statement on the website to dispel the rumors.

Seeing the club's statement, the fans breathed a sigh of relief.

Besides Manchester City fans, there were two other groups of fans particularly concerned about this news: PSG fans and Barcelona fans. PSG fans were thrilled, almost ready to celebrate. Although they already had a superstar like Ibrahimovic, he was getting old and didn't match up to the likes of Lin Quan.

Lin Quan was different. He was not only very young but also had skills that equaled or surpassed the best players. If they could sign such a top-tier star, PSG's strength would increase significantly.

Imagining a front line with Ibrahimovic, Lin Quan, and Cavani, PSG fans couldn't help but get excited. If they had this lineup in this year's Champions League knockout stage, how could they have lost to Real Madrid?

Longing to avenge Real Madrid, PSG fans couldn't wait to see Lin Quan in their team's jersey!

However, PSG fans were a bit too optimistic. Upon hearing the club's intention to sign Lin Quan, PSG's top star Ibrahimovic immediately expressed his dissatisfaction.

"If the club insists on signing that Spanish kid, I will leave Paris Saint-Germain!"

When Cavani joined PSG, Ibrahimovic managed to make him a supporting player because he believed he was stronger. But facing Lin Quan, who had greater skill and fame, Ibrahimovic lacked that confidence. If Lin Quan joined, Ibrahimovic would likely become a supporting player, which he couldn't accept.

Like when he couldn't coexist with Messi at Barcelona, he didn't believe he could coexist with Lin Quan at PSG. If Lin Quan came, he would have to leave.

PSG tried to persuade Ibrahimovic to stay, but that didn't mean they would give up on signing Lin Quan. They just wanted a backup plan in case the transfer failed. They didn't want to lose both Lin Quan and Ibrahimovic.

Barcelona fans, meanwhile, were watching the drama unfold with mixed feelings.

"200 million euros, those Qataris really have more money than sense!"

Such a high transfer fee was something Barcelona couldn't afford. Their fans believed that the club could keep promoting talent from their youth academy rather than spending so much on outside players. Lin Quan, a former Barcelona player, stirred complex emotions. He could perfectly fit Barcelona's tactical system, as shown in his performance for the Spanish national team. But bringing him back to Camp Nou would be extremely difficult.

PSG's offer served as a preview. In the future, if Barcelona wanted to bring back their youth academy gem, it might cost them even more.

"Football transfer fees are inflating way too quickly!"

"Yeah, a few years ago, tens of millions were record-breaking. Now it's in the billions!"

"I thought Ronaldo's near 100-million-euro transfer fee record would last for years, but it's about to be broken, doubled even. These damn oil tycoons are burning too much money!"

Thinking about the billions it might take to bring back Lin Quan made Barcelona fans resent the Middle Eastern consortiums.

"It's all their fault. Without them, transfer fees wouldn't have inflated so much in such a short time."

PSG is backed by the Qatari consortium, which has invested heavily in football over the years. The skyrocketing transfer fees in football are indeed connected to them.

The Qatari consortium's heavy spending is partly to promote the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Buying PSG and entering the top European leagues was one of their major promotional moves. They also bought many star players to expand their influence as much as possible.

Stars like Ibrahimovic, Cavani, and Thiago Silva were bought with high prices by the Qatari consortium. When Ibrahimovic joined PSG in 2012, his salary was as high as 15 million euros, more than Messi and Ronaldo at the time.

If Abu Dhabi's consortium's acquisition of Manchester City opened the era of money in football, the Qatari consortium undoubtedly took it further, inflating the football bubble rapidly.

Unlike Mansour's Abu Dhabi consortium, which is now building a football empire with long-term plans, the Qatari consortium seems more like they're playing a game.

After buying PSG and many players, PSG won two Ligue 1 titles in three years. This performance justified the Qatari consortium's investment and achieved their promotional goals.

But everything is afraid of comparisons.

Even though both teams spend heavily on star players, Manchester City is undoubtedly more successful than Paris Saint-Germain (PSG).

After all, Manchester City won the Champions League, and PSG did not!

If Manchester City had not won the championship last season, the performance of PSG might still be acceptable to the Qatari consortium.

But after Manchester City's victory, the Qatari consortium, which has been in a constant rivalry with the Abu Dhabi consortium, couldn't sit still any longer!

The French Ligue 1 is ranked lower among the top five European leagues, and the competition is not as fierce as in the English Premier League.

This means that their two Ligue 1 titles are far less valuable than those in the Premier League, and they are almost completely overshadowed by their rivals.

How could they stand this?

So, seeing Manchester City's core player Lin Quan shine in the World Cup, the Qatari consortium had an idea: why not just offer to buy Manchester City's core player?

If they could lure Lin Quan to PSG, just the news of this transfer would create a huge sensation among football fans worldwide.

A transfer fee of 200 million euros, setting a new record, would generate a much bigger buzz than the signings of Ibrahimovic and Cavani.

And if they manage to sign Lin Quan, Manchester City's well-established tactical system would collapse completely.

Next season, Manchester City's performance would inevitably plummet, and on the contrary, PSG might take off.

Even if the transfer doesn't succeed, the hype around a 200 million euro offer for Lin Quan could still draw a lot of attention and publicity.

Either way, PSG stood to gain, so how could they miss this opportunity?

Therefore, the rumor reported by L'Équipe wasn't baseless.

PSG had every reason to submit this offer, and they certainly weren't short on money.

As for whether Lin Quan was worth 200 million euros, that was up to professional analysts to evaluate.

And the professional institution hired by the Qatari consortium, based on all the data collected about Lin Quan, concluded that: Buying Lin Quan at this price would absolutely be a sure win!

Even without considering the massive publicity benefits this transfer would bring to the Qatari consortium, simply bringing Lin Quan to the Parc des Princes would already be a good deal at this price!

Cristiano Ronaldo, Messi, and Lin Quan are currently the three strongest players in world football.

These three are superstars with a market value far beyond what money can buy.

The Qatari consortium wasn't worried about spending money; they were worried that Manchester City would reject their offer!

And undoubtedly, Manchester City would reject their offer! When PSG's first offer was made, Manchester City, though surprised, didn't even consider it and directly refused.

Manchester City's stance was firm: Lin Quan is not for sale, no matter the price!

The Qataris seemed to have anticipated this, so they weren't discouraged. Since the direct offer didn't work, they decided to approach the player himself and see if they could persuade him.

So, the day after the rumor spread, Lin Quan received a call from his agent, Pere.

"So, the offer from PSG is real?"

Lin Quan had noticed the rumor online yesterday and initially thought it was fake, but after receiving Pere's call, he realized it wasn't that simple.

"Yes, Paris Saint-Germain really made a 200 million euro offer!"

When Pere answered, he himself felt a bit unreal.

Unbeknownst to him, Lin Quan's market value had already soared to this extent? That's 200 million euros!

This amount might exceed the total value of most average teams in the top five European leagues! For many teams, this amount is enough to build a very decent squad, but PSG was willing to spend it on one player!

It's truly extravagant to the extreme!

"Manchester City didn't agree, did they?"

Lin Quan asked. Manchester City wasn't short on money either, so they probably wouldn't agree to such poaching, unless they were out of their minds.

"Yeah, Manchester City rejected their offer!"

"So you're calling me because PSG couldn't get through with a direct offer, so they approached you with their terms?"

Lin Quan immediately guessed the purpose of Pere's call. When a direct offer fails, contacting the player privately and working on his mindset is a common tactic in football.

For example, when Bale transferred to Real Madrid, to negotiate with Tottenham, Real Madrid first contacted Bale, persuaded him, and made him refuse to train and play, forcing Tottenham to let him go.

But Tottenham's chairman Levy was tough and refused to budge, insisting on a high price even after Real Madrid's other option, Lin Quan, signed with Manchester City.

"Yes, would you be interested in hearing PSG's terms?"

Pere was somewhat tempted by PSG's offer because, according to agent commission rules, if the transfer succeeded, he would get a 10% commission, amounting to 20 million euros!

He had never seen so much money in his life!

Given such a high commission, it's no wonder many agents encourage their players to transfer.

"I'm not interested. I don't plan to leave Manchester City for now, and I'm even less interested in moving to Ligue 1!"

Lin Quan was satisfied with his current life at Manchester City. The team's roster was well-assembled, and they were strong competitors in both the league and the Champions League.

Moreover, the club and owner Mansour treated him very well, and he wasn't someone who would betray the team.

Besides, if he were to transfer, it would only be back to La Liga.

In England, the weather was the biggest downside for Lin Quan.

Manchester's weather was cold, damp, and very changeable, sometimes raining several times a day.

The damp cold was hard to bear, especially for someone like Lin Quan, who was used to the warm and sunny Catalonian coast.

Seeing Lin Quan uninterested, Pere sensibly didn't press the issue further.

During the World Cup, he wanted to focus on playing without being disturbed by various transfer rumors.

Although Lin Quan wasn't planning to leave, Manchester City still felt the pressure.

Pellegrini, who was in Brazil watching the World Cup, was stunned upon hearing PSG's offer!

Damn, it's like their home was being robbed? Lin Quan was his most important player; if Lin Quan was poached, what would happen to Manchester City next season? He immediately called the club. After confirming that the club had refused PSG's offer, he felt relieved.

However, he couldn't completely relax. What if Lin Quan was moved by their sincerity and wanted to leave? So, Pellegrini personally went to the Spanish training camp to visit Lin Quan.

(End of this chapter)

Thank you for the support, friends. If you want to read more chapters in advance, go to my Patreon.