Chương 148: Chapter 148: Transfer Market Opens, Major Powerhouses Engage in Frenzied Arms Race!
Chapter 148: Transfer Market Opens, Major Powerhouses Engage in Frenzied Arms Race!
"What's wrong? You look gloomy."
June 11th, ten days had passed since the end of the German Cup final.
In the mansion in the south of Munich, Lin Quan had just finished training.
Returning home, he saw Guardiola sitting on the sofa, and couldn't help but ask curiously.
"What's up with Bayern? They said they want to adjust the team's goals."
Lin Quan pondered. Could it be that they raised the goal to defending the Champions League title?
"When they hired me before, Bayern had just advanced from the group stage, the round of 16 hadn't even started, let alone the championship. So Bayern hopes I can lead the team to win the Champions League, which is their highest demand for me."
Lin Quan nodded. This request wasn't unreasonable, considering Bayern's strength and Guardiola's coaching abilities.
"And now?"
"Now? Now that Bayern has won the championship, the club's higher-ups told me they hope I can help the team transition smoothly without demanding the Champions League title."
"Isn't that a good thing?"
Lin Quan was puzzled. Although having pressure was also a good thing, there's only one Champions League title each year. With so many powerhouses in Europe, no one can guarantee they'll win the Champions League.
If Guardiola were really given the goal of defending the Champions League, the pressure on him would be too great. It would be like dancing with shackles on, leaving no room for him to play his own game.
Guardiola was a person with a strong personality. Presumably, he didn't like living this kind of life.
"Is it a good thing? Bayern's higher-ups setting this goal means they won't invest too much in the team's operation in the next few years, and the transfer budget will be very limited each year."
So, they're tight on transfer fees!
"How much budget did they allocate to you?"
Lin Quan was very curious about Bayern's summer transfer budget.
"30 million euros!"
Guardiola stretched out three fingers, feeling somewhat helpless.
"Really? With this amount, they can't even afford Götze!"
Götze had already announced his intention to transfer to Bayern. But because Borussia Dortmund's stance was very firm and they were not willing to sell cheaply, Bayern had to pay the 37 million euros buyout clause directly to activate the clause and bring Götze over.
If Bayern really only had a budget of 30 million euros, how would they buy Götze?
"Sell players to raise funds, like your former teammate Petersen at Werder Bremen. He's already been reserved by Werder Bremen for 3 million euros."
Guardiola already regarded Lin Quan as a Bayern player, so he had no intention of hiding any insider information.
Three million for Petersen seemed quite reasonable.
Considering Werder Bremen's lineup, even if Bayern offered five million euros, the other party would probably still ask for more money.
"Besides Petersen, Gomez also intends to leave. After the Champions League final, he approached me, trying to inquire about his tactical arrangement in the team."
"I told him I would continue to use Mandzukic as the main force, so Gomez expressed his desire to transfer. I agreed and let him contact his next club. Currently, he should have discussed it with the next club, and we're just waiting for the transfer window to start to complete this transaction."
Guardiola wasn't very good at using center-forwards and didn't rely on them much.
It wasn't until later when he suffered from not having a good center-forward that he happened to meet someone named Haaland.
Even if Gomez didn't actively request a transfer, Guardiola would probably still let him go.
Even the hero of winning the Champions League, Mandzukic, would probably find it difficult to secure an absolute main position in Guardiola's tactics.
Lin Quan nodded. It seemed that there hadn't been much change in this regard.
Gomez's next destination was probably Fiorentina in Serie A. The transfer fee offered by the other party seemed to be 20 million euros, with an initial payment of 16 million euros and a subsequent installment payment of 4 million euros.
This price was very cheap for a forward of Gomez's level.
When dealing with club heroes, Bayern showed grace and didn't stick too much to the transfer fee.
However, in this way, there wasn't much money left!
300,000 euros for Petersen, plus 16 million euros for Gomez, plus the original 30 million euros, which totaled 49 million euros.
If we deduct the 37 million euros for Götze, then we're left with only 12 million euros.
What can you get for 12 million euros in the transfer market?
It seems that only young talents under the age of 20 can be bought, and they can't be particularly outstanding ones.
As for stars in their prime, it's highly likely that they can't be bought.
So, we still need to sell players.
"The midfield of Bayern is a bit crowded, so I plan to clear out some people. Among Gustavo and Martinez, I prefer Martinez."
The implied meaning was that Gustavo had to leave.
Gustavo had very few appearances this season. He only played twice in the league, with few opportunities to take the field.
So, Lin Quan wasn't surprised that he was being cleared out.
Considering Gustavo's age and ability, if he were put on the market, he could probably be sold for around 15 million euros.
So, Guardiola's transfer budget could probably be around 27 million euros.
With this money, at most, they could only buy a decent player.
"I wish we didn't have to buy Götze. In that case, I'd have 65 million euros in my hands, and I could try to bid for Busquets."
Guardiola sighed. He genuinely admired the young player Busquets.
There's no question about his abilities, and you can see his outstanding performance on both offense and defense.
Moreover, what people praised most about Busquets was his clever mind.
This guy knew exactly what to do on the field.
At critical moments, he could even use the acting skills of La Masia to deceive the referees and get a yellow card or something.
Compared to Busquets, although Götze was younger, to be honest, he wasn't the type Guardiola wanted.
If there was no Lin Quan, buying Götze would be a good choice.
But with Lin Quan, this deal seemed a bit redundant.
Although Götze's ability was indeed good, there was some overlap with Lin Quan in terms of position.
If Bayern had a very generous transfer budget, then spending 37 million euros to buy Götze wouldn't be a problem.
This would strengthen the team's lineup and weaken the strength of direct competitors in the league.
But, with a limited budget, being stuck with a 37 million euro transfer budget for Götze, Guardiola wasn't happy.
Lin Quan, who was beside him, didn't say anything. He was thinking:
Did Bayern include the 30 million euros signing fee they gave me in this year's transfer budget? If so, then I'm also the culprit for Guardiola not having enough money to buy players...
...
July 1st, the transfer window officially opened.
Barcelona, who had already negotiated all the conditions with the Brazilian superstar, couldn't wait to announce Neymar's transfer news.
Barcelona spent a huge sum of 57 million euros to bring this highly anticipated superstar back from the Brazilian league.
Neymar's arrival further strengthened Barcelona's strength on the wings.
People were looking forward to the chemistry between him and Messi.
Barcelona took the lead, and naturally, their league rivals Real Madrid couldn't sit still.
Real Madrid first bought Isco for 30 million euros, and then the next day announced the signing of Real Sociedad's young star Asier Illarramendi for 32 million euros.
Barcelona spent 57 million euros, and Real Madrid spent 62 million euros. In terms of spending money, Real Madrid had never been afraid of anyone.
But this wasn't the biggest deal yet; Real Madrid was in contact with Tottenham's winger Gareth Bale.
According to rumors, if this deal could be reached, it might refresh the transfer fee record in the football world.
Where there's buying, there's selling.
After getting rid of Mourinho, many of the players he brought in would be cleared out.
Sure, here's the translation of the text:
Among them, Özil joined Arsenal for a price of 50 million euros.
El Pipita Higuaín joined Napoli for a price of 37 million euros.
In addition, players like Carleone and Albiol also left through transfers, and Kaká, who was released from Real Madrid, returned to Serie A and joined his former club AC Milan for free.
After the two giants of La Liga began to take action, other powerhouses couldn't hold back either.
Paris Saint-Germain in Ligue 1 once again spent lavishly, snatching Napoli's star player Cavani for a price of 64 million euros.
Another Ligue 1 powerhouse, Monaco, also joined the arms race, spending 60 million euros and 45 million euros respectively to buy Atletico Madrid's striker Falcao and Porto's rising star James Rodriguez.
In the Premier League, both Manchester clubs couldn't resist making moves.
With the investment from Middle Eastern tycoons, Manchester City made generous moves in the transfer market, spending over a hundred million euros to respectively buy Fernandinho, Jovetić, Negredo, and Navas.
Meanwhile, Manchester United spent 32 million euros to buy Fellaini.
...
One multimillion-euro deal after another kept happening, making this year's transfer market several times crazier than the previous year!
However, in the Bundesliga, especially at Bayern Munich, things seemed quiet.
They had yet to announce the addition of new players, and they couldn't even complete confirmed transfers like Götze's.
This made outsiders sense something unusual.
Bayern's general manager, Hoeness, felt a lot of pressure. When reporting to the club president, Rummenigge, he hesitantly said:
"When we recruited Götze, we promised to guarantee his main position and playing time.
But if we sign Lin Quan now, their positions would overlap, and Götze's playing time and main position may not be guaranteed."
Hoeness implied to Rummenigge that they could only choose one of these two players.
Rummenigge was also troubled. Bayern had been in contact with Götze for a long time.
In order to impress this shining star of the Bundesliga, Bayern had offered very favorable conditions.
Now that Götze had already announced he would join Bayern, if they backed out now, it would be a big mess.
So, regardless of the circumstances, this deal needed to continue.
Bayern's reputation couldn't be tarnished, and buying Götze for 37 million euros was definitely a sure bet.
Götze's performances in the league and Champions League were evident to all. No one could deny his talent and potential.
But the problem was, Lin Quan was also very strong, even stronger than Götze!
His achievements at Werder Bremen were equally stunning, especially compared to Borussia Dortmund's empty-handed season last year.
Lin Quan led the weaker Werder Bremen to win the German Cup, and even directly eliminated Bayern Munich on the field.
Even if others didn't acknowledge Lin Quan's strength, could Bayern, who lost to him twice, deny his abilities?
"Can we negotiate with Götze's side again? We can ensure fair competition within the team."
Rummenigge didn't want to give up on Lin Quan. If they missed this chance to sign him for free, there might not be another opportunity in the future.
"Alright, I'll talk to his agent, but I think their willingness to compromise is slim.
You know, Götze was an absolute core player at Borussia Dortmund, but here, he's just a main player, not the core. For Götze, this itself is a concession."
"So asking for further concessions would be difficult!"
Rummenigge nodded, knowing that the chances were slim, but still let Hoeness give it a try.
At the same time, he called Sammer, asking him to contact Lin Quan's side and see if they were willing to let Götze be a substitute.
Bayern wasn't a small club; they were a powerhouse. They had many games to play each season.
League matches, cup matches, Champions League, Club World Cup, Super Cup... playing fifty or sixty games in a year was common.
If Lin Quan could accept being a substitute, playing twenty or thirty games wouldn't be a problem.
But would Lin Quan accept it?
The answer was no.
Upon hearing Sammer's condition, Perreira didn't even think about it and directly refused:
"Mr. Sammer, considering Lin's performance in the Bundesliga, making him a substitute would be absurd, don't you think?"
Sammer certainly thought it was absurd. Lin Quan not only scored 42 goals last season but also contributed 21 assists.
Both his goal and assist numbers broke Bundesliga records.
Making such a superstar with top-notch stats a substitute was only possible if you met someone with an exceptionally good temperament. Otherwise, normal people wouldn't agree.
But Sammer came with Bayern's mission, so he could only press on:
"Mr. Perreira, Lin Quan is only seventeen years old. It's quite unbelievable for him to play as a main player at Bayern at this age."
This was an attempt to bring up Lin Quan's age, but Perreira didn't buy it at all:
"Heh, among the top clubs in the five major leagues, there are quite a few teams willing to give Lin Quan a main position and guarantee his playing time. If Bayern insists on this, then my player will have to go elsewhere!"
Sammer knew that the other party wasn't bluffing. Lin Quan was indeed in high demand in the transfer market.
So he didn't dare to continue the conversation and could only go back to report to Rummenigge.
Coincidentally, Hoeness also returned.
Just like Sammer's situation, Götze's side didn't accept the so-called fair competition either.
It seemed like they heard the wind and knew that Bayern was contacting Lin Quan.
This made him and his agent very annoyed, feeling that Bayern had deceived them.
But the problem was, Götze had already announced he would join Bayern. Now, even if they wanted to back out, it was too late.
They couldn't let Götze go back to Borussia Dortmund, could they?
It was said that Götze had been afraid to go out recently at Borussia Dortmund.
Some extreme fans even surrounded his residence, burning his jerseys outside his home.
Rummenigge's mouth twitched slightly upon hearing this news: Götze was really in a sorry state, wasn't he?
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