Chapter 33: The three major European agents are here?
By late October, it was already late autumn in Scotland.
Although this country surrounded by the sea is located in a high latitude, the winters are not too cold due to the temperate maritime climate.
What's more, the league and continental competitions have reached the climax of the first half, and the booming football market makes this winter in Glasgow seem particularly warm.
In addition to attracting the attention of Scottish Premier League teams and fans in the Red Country, Chen Xiaoliang's outstanding performance has also attracted the attention of his parent club Tottenham Hotspur, who have been sending special personnel to keep a close eye on all aspects of his situation.
The news that Sun Jihai had been to Glasgow had been spread by paparazzi tabloids, and scouts from clubs such as Manchester United and Chelsea were also photographed appearing at Ibrox Stadium.
Although Tottenham is currently ranked second in the Premier League, Mourinho was in the limelight after leading his team to a 1-6 away win over Manchester United at Old Trafford, and it felt like "the special one" was back.
But he always missed the young man from the Red Country who he had loaned out for training, and even once questioned himself, wondering if he should have loaned him out in the first place.
Even if Mourinho does not make a decision, Tottenham's notoriously miserly owner Levy will not let go of such a cash cow.
Seeing that Rangers Club signed new sponsorship contracts one after another because of Chen Xiaoliang's arrival, and vigorously promoted a wave of popularity in the seemingly limitless Red Country market, he often gave Mourinho the cold shoulder for this matter.
It's just that the team's league performance is booming now, so he can't get angry.
In the past few days, Tottenham has sent a letter to Rangers, and their attorney will soon appear in Glasgow to renegotiate a new contract terms with Chen Xiaoliang.
Dave and Gerard had thought about buying out Chen Xiaoliang and keeping him. They knew the guy's competitive and economic value better than anyone else.
But Levy directly offered a lump sum price of 35 million pounds, demanded a one-time payment, and refused any bargaining, which was something the Rangers club could not afford.
35 million pounds may be just a drop in the bucket for top clubs like Manchester City and Manchester United, but even so, these big clubs have to make complex and careful judgments before spending this much money on a 16-year-old Asian player.
Even if the money comes from oil wells.
What’s more, this is for a Scottish Premier League team that has just recovered from bankruptcy a few years ago.
You should know that Rangers Club's current annual cost budget is only 45 million pounds, which includes the annual salaries of players and employees and various management expenses.
This means that buying Chen Xiaoliang would cost the club nearly three quarters of its entire budget.
In the past twenty years since the rise of money-driven football, the transfer market has undergone tremendous changes.
Even many old and strong teams in the five major leagues, such as Lyon, Schalke 04, Sevilla, Ajax, etc., can no longer shake the giants at the top of the pyramid, and have completely become talent training bases.
However, both clubs have a trick up their sleeve when it comes to renegotiating the contract.
They all wanted to influence Chen Xiaoliang more in the future, so they recommended agents with whom they were close to him, so that they could also gain greater benefits for their respective clubs in the signing of various contracts, sponsorships, and agreements.
Mourinho recommended his agent Mendes.
Mendes is undoubtedly the number one agent in world football today. Working with him even means that you have already stepped half a foot into the top teams.
However, since his most important pillar player Cristiano Ronaldo had the idea of leaving Juventus, and the winter transfer window was approaching and a large number of players needed to deal with transfer contracts, Mendes really couldn't spare the time to go to Glasgow to meet a young man from the Red Country.
Although he had seen Chen Xiaoliang's videos, he had seen so many short-lived geniuses that he couldn't even remember .
Levy also recommended a man, his fellow countryman, British Jew, and Bale's agent, Barnett, who had unparalleled resources and channels in the UK, and whose business scale was no less than Mendes'.
However, when Barnett, who was ready to set off, was checking the information about Chen Xiaoliang collected by his men, he unexpectedly discovered paparazzi photos that seemed to show him and Cheryl having a tryst in the suburbs.
Barnett does not want this incident to affect his nearly 20-year partnership with Ashley Cole, especially since the latter is now a member of Everton's coaching staff.
I can only give up.
Gerrard also recommended someone, his good friend.
But what neither Chen Xiaoliang nor Gerrard expected was that on the same day of the agreed meeting with that person, Raiola, the super agent hated by many club owners and coaches, showed up outside Gerrard's residence uninvited.
Although he had heard of Raiola's reputation and did not quite agree with his greedy behavior, Gerrard, who had only been a head coach for three years, did not want to offend the super agent.
What's more, he has no authority to decide on the signing intention on behalf of Chen Xiaoliang.
The number of players signed by Raiola is far less than that of Mendes and Barnett, but many of them are currently popular superstars, such as Haaland, Pogba, Donnarumma, De Ligt, Verratti and so on.
Moreover, one characteristic of the players he signs is that he likes to support and build momentum for potential new stars from a young age .
A classic example is when Manchester United coach Sir Alex Ferguson let 19-year-old Pogba sign with Juventus on a free transfer, angrily calling him "a piece of shit" and "the rubbishiest agent I've ever seen".
The legendary star Ibrahimovic handed over all his agency business to Raiola as early as when he was in Ajax. After more than 20 years of cooperation, the two have become like father and son.
Those who love him are open-hearted to him! Those who hate him regard him as a devil!
In this way, Chen Xiaoliang and Raiola met in Gerrard's living room.
"You guys talk among yourselves. I won't get involved." Gerard walked away tactfully.
Raiola immediately began his infectious lobbying.
"Listen, believe me, you are a genius, and you are a genius from Asia, from the Red Country."
Raiola's fat body did not slow down his sharp speaking speed at all.
“Do you know what this means?
Kane, let's consider him as England's top player, but how many years can he stay in this position? Sancho, Rashford, Greenwood, Sterling, some people can surpass him and replace him.
Even Messi and Ronaldo have people who love them and people who hate them.
And you, you have 1.4 billion people behind you. To these 1.4 billion people, you are the only one, the only one that cannot be replaced! There has never been anyone like you before, and there won’t be anyone like you in the next 30 years!
The contract is signed today. After the winter break next year, I will ensure that you will appear in a quasi-top club, Ajax, Dortmund , Monaco, Porto, I will arrange a place suitable for you.
Play there for two years, and with my help, you will become a superstar that clubs like Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester City want to sign with record-breaking checks after you have a gorgeous stat sheet, an all-powerful highlight video and the hype of sports media all over the world! "
