Chapter 302: Sky-high price! Premier League giants officially poach players!
In the last game before the World Cup, Roma faced Torino at home. That day was November 13th, and there were only 7 days left before the opening of the World Cup on November 20th. After Mourinho and Chen Xiaoliang discussed and understood the opinions of the locker room, they decided to give all the players participating in the World Cup a holiday in advance except goalkeeper Patricio, so that they could go and meet up with the national team.
This is not simply out of favor, but because the World Cup is held in winter, so there is no winter break this season, and the overly dense schedule makes it easy for players to get tired or even injured.
Even if he doesn't take a holiday early, he will still rotate.
In addition, Italy missed the World Cup, and the Italian players in the team naturally had no World Cup mission. Therefore, in terms of lineup rotation, Roma's loss in the starting lineup was not too great.
The reason why Patricio was not allowed to leave the team early is, firstly, because he has given way to 23-year-old Diogo Costa and become the second goalkeeper in the current Portuguese team, and secondly, because the physical consumption of the goalkeeper is not great and does not need to be rotated deliberately.
In this way, Chen Xiaoliang led his teammates to play the last game before the World Cup.
In the 20th minute, Pellegrini took a corner kick from the right side. Torino midfielder Ricci hit his arm when he headed the ball and the referee awarded a penalty kick.
But when Pellegrini was standing on the penalty spot ready to take the penalty, VAR reminded the referee that the ball first hit his head and then deflected onto his arm, which was an unintentional handball, so the referee changed the decision, and Pellegrini witnessed what it means to have a cooked duck fly away.
Mourinho also repeatedly complained to the fourth official on the sidelines.
Affected by this, Roma, eager to establish a lead at home, played more impatiently. In the 25th minute, Torino made a cross from the right side, and midfielder Linetti went around between Mancini and Ibanez and headed in a beautiful header.
0-1, Roma lost the ball first.
Mourinho rushed to the sidelines and yelled at the two central defenders, and kept pointing two fingers at his eyes, meaning that they must focus on the field and keep an eye on the actions of the opposing players.
This act of disrupting the game immediately drew opposition from Torino coach Ivan Juric, and the fourth official also asked Mourinho to return to the marked command area.
Playing away from home and leading by one goal, Torino completely gave up the attack, and all the players retreated into their own defensive third zone. Ivan Juric also replaced a midfielder and two forwards with two defenders in the second half. Roma shot 27 times but still couldn't score a goal.
Faced with such a dense defense that was almost rogue, Kva's breakthrough on the left was not effective. In the densely packed penalty area, even if he passed one player, there was always a second one right behind him. After all, he was the 21-year-old Georgian Messi, not the 21-year-old Messi imported from Argentina.
Chen Xiaoliang's long shot also seemed a bit helpless, facing several layers of defensive formations like security doors inside and outside the penalty area. In addition, Torino's players also learned from the experience of previous teams and only blocked Chen Xiaoliang. A row of people blocked all the shooting routes and breakthrough routes. No matter how Chen Xiaoliang shot, they used their bodies to block the gun hole.
In the 89th minute , the game ushered in a dramatic scene.
Kova, who was off the ball, was brought down by Torino right-back Kofi Gigi with a throw-like move one meter outside the penalty area.
Kvadrat himself and the Roma players around him all raised their hands in protest. Chen Xiaoliang even rushed to the referee to appeal, but the referee refused to make a penalty and even refused to watch VAR.
Seeing that the score could not be tied, Mourinho, who was already furious, completely exploded. He rushed to the sidelines and shouted at the referee, questioning his professional ethics and ability.
The result is predictable. The stern referee Lapuano came over and gave Mourinho a red card and sent him to the stands.
The reason he gave was very clear, that is, the video assistant referee Luigi Nasca clearly told him that Torino defender Kofi Gigi did not commit a foul.
The reason why Mourinho was so angry with the referee team in this game was not only because of the unfair penalties on the field, but also because Luigi Nasca himself made a serious misjudgment in the game where Spezia lost 3 to 4 to Lazio last season. He was also serving as a video assistant referee at the time.
In that game, he and the referee Luca Pareto turned a blind eye to Lazio's obvious offside and also chose not to watch the VAR replay. After the game, they were punished by the Italian Referees Association and were suspended from refereeing matches until the end of last season.
Unexpectedly, Luigi Nazca, who made a comeback this season like Hu Hansan, not only failed to improve his professional ability, but also repeated the same ridiculous mistake.
Therefore, Mourinho is naturally mentally prepared to fight to the death with the referee team. In his philosophy of dealing with things, when encountering pressure, he must fight back, and when encountering injustice, he must give a strong counterattack. The words "appeasement" and "forbearance" do not exist in his dictionary.
Sure enough, the referee Lapuano seemed to feel that he was a little emotional, and realized that Mourinho and Roma players reacted so violently, there might really be a problem with the video referee team, but the cards that had been taken out could not be taken back, and the game had to continue.
In this situation, Chen Xiaoliang called on all the backcourt players to press forward and join the attack, while raising his right hand while controlling the ball, giving tactical instructions to break through the penalty area. He also activated a skill that he hadn't used for a long time [Good at Motivating the Audience], constantly encouraging and motivating the home fans to increase the momentum of their cheers, and every time the Roma players competed for headers or shot, they issued a uniform roar to boost the players' morale and state.
Driven by the unfair penalty and encouragement from the captain and fans, Roma players completely changed the outcome of the game in the last five minutes.
In the 91st minute, Chen Xiaoliang held the ball in the middle and attracted the block of three midfielders. He made a lob pass to Kwa who was wandering on the left side of the penalty area. However, before Kwa received the ball, he was tripped again by Kofi Gigi who had just hugged and thrown him.
This time, facing the boos from the whole stadium, the referee Lapuano decisively awarded a penalty kick.
Pellegrini scored a goal towards the bottom left corner of the goal and Roma tied the score 1-1!
Torino tried to delay time after the kick-off, but facing Roma's all-out pressure, their possession of the ball did not last long and they were forced to kick the ball forward.
Chen Xiaoliang once again held the ball in the middle outside the penalty area.
More than 50,000 fans watching the game at the scene all stood up. They did not expect that this game, which seemed to have no suspense, would have such ups and downs and a plot that lasted until the last moment.
Chen Xiaoliang took a step to the right and made a powerful long shot. In order to avoid the moving wall of people blocking the ball, he chose to kick the ball with the bottom of his inner instep.
Torino goalkeeper Vanja Savic flew to the right and raised his left hand high up, but although he failed to touch the ball, the rapidly falling ball hit the crossbar and bounced back!
Spinazzola chased back and passed the ball back to Chen Xiaoliang.
It was already the 94th minute. The Torino defense, which had just been saved by the crossbar and was still in shock, continued to arrange three people to spread out horizontally on the penalty area line to block Chen Xiaoliang.
Chen Xiaoliang dribbled the ball to the right half of the court, shifted the ball from the strong side to this side, then kicked his right foot again, this time sending a half-high pass to the left rib.
There is not much time left, and when the shooting route is blocked, no one can guarantee that a long shot will score a goal, no matter how strong the long-range shooting ability is.
But he can use his unparalleled presence to attract the opponent's defensive focus and create space for his teammates.
The ball flew to the left, bounced on the ground, and then rolled in front of Matic who was standing one step outside the penalty area on the left.
Chen Xiaoliang had already rushed into the penalty area at this time. His original intention was to move to the strong side, then pass the ball to the weak side, let Matic cross the ball, and then he and almost all the other teammates would complete the last header attempt in the penalty area. If he failed, he would die.
Unexpectedly, Matic didn't stop the ball, but kicked it horizontally with his left foot. The ball bounced twice on the grass and rolled towards the goal almost sticking to the grass!
Because Cesco, Abraham, Mancini, Chen Xiaoliang and others were ready to fight for the last ball near the right goal post, Torino goalkeeper Vanja Savic consciously moved to the side of the goal to save any possible header.
Unexpectedly, Matic made a sudden attack, and the dense crowd in the penalty area blocked Vanja Savic's sight, making him unable to react immediately.
By the time he reacted, the ball had already rolled into his own goal.
"A decisive blow! A decisive blow!"
At this moment, no matter which language is used in the live broadcast room, the commentators are shouting this word passionately.
All Roma players rushed towards Matic excitedly.
The 34-year-old Matic, who had fought hard for the entire game, no longer had the energy to run and celebrate. He just stood there with his hands outstretched, waving his arms and shouting.
Mourinho in the stands stood up and pumped his fist, while continuing to point fingers at the refereeing team, which he considered to be dirty, and muttering to himself.
Finally, after Turin restarted the game, referee Lapuano blew the final whistle.
Roma fired 33 shots throughout the game, and after missing a penalty and receiving a red card, they still relied on their unyielding will to defeat their opponent.
At the press conference after the game, Mourinho did not restrain himself at all. Not only did he angrily denounce the referee team for almost ruining a game, he also repeatedly asked the Serie A League why they allowed a referee with serious professional incompetence and who had already been punished to take up the same position again and again, and why they repeatedly put problematic referees in Roma's games.
After watching the video of the press conference, fans left messages saying that when Mourinho was at Manchester United, he would not get a penalty kick as long as there was no dead player in the penalty area.
But no matter what, the 3 points are a fact.
Although the league has only been played for 15 rounds, the first half of the season has actually ended due to the World Cup.
In this round of matches, Napoli continued their winning streak, beating Udinese 3-2 at home in the last minute. With 12 wins, 2 draws and 1 loss in 15 games, they have 38 points and continue to closely follow Roma, which is at the top of the list, with a 2-point disadvantage.
AC Milan ranked third with 33 points, Juventus and Inter Milan ranked fourth and fifth with 30 points each, and Lazio and Atalanta ranked sixth and seventh with 27 points each.
Judging from the state and strength shown in the first 15 rounds, this season's championship battle will be between Roma and Naples, while the three northern powers will compete for two Champions League places, and the remaining European places will be decided between second-rate teams such as Lazio and Atalanta.
According to the original season schedule, the remaining players of the team did not take a holiday. They will stay at the Trigoria base for training, especially physical training.
On the one hand, it is to recover from the physical fatigue in the first half of the season, and on the other hand, it is to reserve physical strength for the second half of the season.
In January, not only will the league resume, but all the missed games in November and December will also have to be made up. At the same time, the Italian Cup will also start, and the schedule will be very tight.
In addition, in mid-January, the team will fly to Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, to participate in the Italian Super Cup against AC Milan.
After the Champions League draw in February, the knockout round of 16 will also begin, and the main pressure will be on the second half of the season.
Taking into account that the players participating in the World Cup will finish the game at different times due to the different performances of the national teams, after discussing with the locker room represented by Chen Xiaoliang, the club decided to advance the winter break to December 10th to December 24th.
December 5th is the start of the World Cup knockout stage, and players who were eliminated in the group stage will return to the club one after another. The 24th is exactly one week after the final on the 18th. Even if they win the championship and return home to participate in the celebration, this time is enough for the players to return to the club for recovery training.
Before that, Pinto, based on Mourinho's advice, arranged for the team to go to the United States on the other side of the Atlantic for a relaxing training session.
The team played two friendly matches on November 25 and November 28 respectively with Beckham's Miami Inter and the famous Major League Soccer team Los Angeles Galaxy.
Mourinho also fielded young players, mainly Volpato and Tacirovic.
The final scores of the two games were 0-0 and 3-3.
However, what surprised the club was that, despite being in the United States and during the World Cup cycle, Chen Xiaoliang's brief appearance and participation in the club's commercial activities still attracted tens of thousands of Chinese compatriots and Asians from all over the United States, and the attendance of the two friendly matches was surprisingly full.
In particular, many Asian and even Latin girls appeared in the stadium holding Chen Xiaoliang's posters, or waited outside Miami International's training ground, just to get their loved ones' autographs or take photos with them.
The management team headed by Pinto was aware of Chen Xiaoliang's market appeal, but they did not expect that he would have such strong market power outside of Hongguo.
This also affected the decision of the Roma board on a certain matter.
On November 17, after several days of warm-up, the famous British media person Piers Morgan finally released his exclusive interview with Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo on the Internet.
This interview received mixed reviews, but it did drop a devastating bombshell on world football before the opening of the World Cup.
Subsequently, under tremendous pressure, Manchester United officially announced the termination of its contract with Ronaldo.
But the outside world didn't know that they sent a transfer offer to Roma the day after the official announcement.
Mourinho once thought that it was Pinto who took the initiative to reveal the secret to Manchester United, because the number they gave was the same as the penalty fee in Chen Xiaoliang's contract - 150 million euros.
However, Manchester United, which has been called the "price-raising club" by many media in recent years, does not want to be a sucker again, especially after signing Brazilian winger Antony for 100 million before the season, who was nicknamed a spinning top by fans. They are unwilling to be bid on by other clubs after the transfer news is made public.
But they may not know that there is a saying in the Red Country that truth will come to light sooner or later. Moreover, in the Premier League, there is another giant club that is far more hungry than them when it comes to buying players. That is Chelsea, whose record has only gotten worse since Tuchel was fired.
The new owner, Burley, got the news of Manchester United's move from somewhere and also made an offer of 150 million to Roma to buy Chen Xiaoliang.
Dan Friedkin, the Roma owner who is based in the United States, personally took over the handling of the two offers. In addition to flying to Miami to comfort the team, he also communicated with Pinto, Mourinho, and Chen Xiaoliang's agent Riise separately about the matter.
A price of 150 million euros is very tempting for any club, and once this deal comes true, it will break the transfer fee records of the Premier League and Serie A at the same time, second only to Paris Saint-Germain's 222 million euros for Neymar and Mbappe's 180 million euros.
Dan Friedkin did not expect this to happen so quickly. According to his original prediction, it might take 1-2 years for Chen Xiaoliang to attract the big money of the Premier League giants. But he is a car salesman after all. Pinto and Mourinho, who are well versed in the transfer market, had long foreseen that this event was destined to happen soon.
Especially in the past few seasons, the transfer market has become increasingly inflationary. Young people with a little talent can cost as little as 80 million and as much as 100 million. Chen Xiaoliang's current explosive performance is completely worth the price.
A spinning top can be sold for 100 million yuan, and Chen Xiaoliang, who has both feet intact, is sold for 150 million yuan, which seems cheap to Roma fans.
In 15 league rounds and 6 Champions League group matches, he scored 13 goals and provided 13 assists in a total of 21 games, directly creating 26 goals, averaging 1.24 goals per game.
This means that as long as Chen Xiaoliang comes on the court, Roma's game will start with a 1-0 lead.
What's more, his steals, interceptions and average running distance per game still top the charts in Serie A this season. At a time when giants are generally short of midfielders, a young man with both offensive and defensive capabilities and who has not suffered any serious injuries would only be worth 150 million in a year or two, only a car seller would think that his price would depreciate as soon as he is sold.
Both offers from the two Premier League giants triggered Chen Xiaoliang's termination clause, and the club must immediately notify the player and his agent.
But the club's opinion is still very important. If the player wants to stay, the club can step in to retain the player, or it can offer some additional financial conditions to help keep the player.
If the player does not want to stay, the club can inform the player and agent of the opinion as soon as possible, so that the player can leave faster and exchange for cash.
Dan Friedkin was tempted. 150 million euros in Serie A means he could buy outstanding players like Inter Milan's three midfielders Barella, Brozovic and Calhanoglu, whose combined value is 140 million euros. In La Liga, he could buy two Casemiro players.
As for good players with certain strength like Pellegrini and Mancini, this number can almost buy half a team.
Pinto did not comment, because the boss's opinion already represented his inner thoughts. From the perspective of a professional manager, this was a deal that was enough to help Roma get rid of all debts, maintain transfer investment for about three years, and add a highlight to his personal resume.
However, another reason why he did not express his opinion was that he knew Mourinho would be furious. He chose to remain silent so that Mourinho could direct his anger at the boss instead of himself.
Mourinho was as resolute as Pinto expected, but he did not express his position in an angry way.
He clearly told Dan Friedkin that he had to keep Chen Xiaoliang until the end of next season at all costs, because in his estimation, after the young players in the team had some running-in this season, they would try to go further in the Champions League, and then get some reinforcements in the summer. Then next year would be the best time to challenge the Champions League title.
He is confident that he can convince Chen Xiaoliang not to trigger the penalty clause and stay in the team.
Dan Friedkin did not comment at first until Mourinho said, "If you sell him this winter, I will resign." Then he was forced to respond.
But he can only guarantee that the club will not choose to sell Chen Xiaoliang now if he is willing to stay, but he cannot guarantee anything about next summer.
Although somewhat disappointed, Mourinho believed that as long as things did not happen immediately, there would be a turnaround over time. He chose to communicate directly with Chen Xiaoliang alone.
Chen Xiaoliang was much calmer than Mourinho imagined. To him, 150 million did not have much to do with him. What was more important was Roma's attitude and the situation of its potential next club.
He told Mourinho that if the club worked together to make Roma the dominant team in Serie A and fully competitive in the Champions League, he would be very willing to stay here for a long time.
If the club wants to exchange himself for cash, he will also consider all aspects of the future owner.
Obviously, Chelsea, which is in chaos at this moment, is not a good choice. Although Manchester United, which has been criticized by Ronaldo, seems to be better than Chelsea, Chen Xiaoliang cannot give up Roma's Champions League knockout match and switch to a Europa League team that has frequently changed coaches and has fluctuating results in recent years.
The two people's goals are very consistent, so the communication is very smooth.
Riise received contract offers from both teams. Chelsea offered an ultra-long contract with a weekly salary of 350,000 pounds for 10 years. It was obvious that they wanted to spread the transfer fee and various expenses over a ten-year period.
Manchester United offered a five-year contract worth £200,000 but with high bonuses.
The news was soon leaked by well-known transfer reporters such as Romano. Real Madrid also released the news through its mouthpiece "Marca" that they will make a move to sign Chen Xiaoliang and Mbappe in the summer. The former will form a new ceremonial midfield with Camavinga, Joan Ameni and Valverde, while the latter will replace Benzema and serve as the team's striker.
After a week of pretense, Riise made it clear to both clubs that he was not prepared to transfer.
Manchester United gave up its second offer, and Chelsea was originally prepared to make a second offer to further increase Chen Xiaoliang's weekly salary, but soon they sent a new transfer application of 120 million euros to Roma. The target was none other than Enzo Fernandez, who made a big splash at the World Cup.
During the winter break, Chen Xiaoliang flew directly to Qatar from the United States with Helena, Cesco, Kwa and others, and watched several knockout matches on site, including the final in which Argentina won the World Cup.
His two teammates, Enzo and Gvardiol, became completely popular through this World Cup.
For many players, the World Cup is a top platform where “ten years of hard work goes unnoticed, but one day of success becomes known to the world.”
When everyone returned to Rome to regroup, a celebration party was held for Enzo and Gvardiol at the Trigoria base, and the two also showed their medals to their teammates and coaches.
Although he is also receiving unanimous attention from the giants, Gvardiol, who is on loan, does not have any pressure. His parent team is RB Leipzig. Roma has no control over his transfer, and RB Leipzig has always been willing to let go of players if a satisfactory price is offered.
Enzo was in a dilemma.
First of all, with the promise to keep Chen Xiaoliang, Enzo's 120 million became a huge and irresistible temptation.
Besides, it is true that Pinto believes that the team cannot do without Chen Xiaoliang, but Enzo is far from being indispensable.
Moreover, the price of 120 million is enough to buy a qualified replacement in the winter window.
After learning of the club's opinion, Enzo also intended to leave.
Chen Xiaoliang had a private conversation with him, and Enzo had no reservations about this teammate whom he admired most besides Messi.
"Captain, in the national team, ahead of me is the great Lionel Messi, no one will compare me to him."
"Whether it was Aguero and Higuain in the past, or Di Maria and Lautaro now, in my eyes, anyone next to him is just a supporting role, not to mention me who is only 21 years old."
"It's different here. All the young players playing in Europe will live in your shadow. People will compare me with you all the time because you are only 18 years old."
"Messi took me to win the World Cup, and I performed well. I won the World Cup Best Newcomer Award, but I know that if you can appear in that place, this award is destined to be yours."
"Now, while the World Cup is still hot, Chelsea is eager to recruit talents. They are willing to pay such a high transfer fee for me and also agree to give me an annual salary of 10 million euros."
"It's not that I don't have confidence in myself, but I don't know if there will be any team willing to pay this price for me in the summer when the World Cup is forgotten and all that remains are the impressions of the league and the Champions League."
"Because even if we achieve fantastic results, when people mention Roma, the first person they think of will be you. Here, I will always be your supporting role."
"If the club wants to keep me, I might consider staying here to finish the Champions League, but now the boss has clearly told me that he wants to send me away in exchange for cash, so if I stay, I will be in trouble."
"I want to play in the Premier League and go to a real big club. That way, I will continue to be noticed by the entire football world, and this annual salary will greatly improve the lives of me and my family."
After hearing this, Chen Xiaoliang didn't say anything more to try to keep him.
For professional players, the golden age of their lives is only 10 years. During these 10 years, they have to earn enough money to spend for a lifetime and to support their family.
Ten years is neither short nor long. Enzo has been very open with me, so there is no need for me to give him any high-sounding eulogy.
He said to Enzo: "Riise will help you with the transfer. I wish you all the best in London."
Enzo held Chen Xiaoliang and said, "Captain, let's go together. This way, I can continue to stand behind you and pass the ball to you and help you defend."
Instead, Chen Xiaoliang patted Enzo on the shoulder like an elder brother and said, "We will definitely meet in the Premier League in the future, but not now."
He pointed in the direction of Mourinho's office: "If it weren't for him, I might not have had the chance to become a player. I owe him this favor, and I must repay it."
After seeing Enzo off, Mourinho came to ask Chen Xiaoliang how the talk went. Chen Xiaoliang told him truthfully that he did not try to keep Enzo.
Finally, he added: "Coach, you are right. We cannot expect every boss in the world to treat football as a pure game and hobby like the white turban and Abramovich. This boss..."
Chen Xiaoliang shook his head when he said this.
