◎ [33 hours, 38 minutes, 29 seconds!] ◎
There is always a craving for gossip in human nature.
Listening to Sir Alex Ferguson’s lament, Tang Moumou finally couldn’t help but ask a question that had been on his mind for a long time: “That Special Talent Clause—did you really establish it back then for Kaká?”
Ferguson looked at the eagerness in his eyes and smiled. “I can’t say it was entirely for him, but he was indeed my original intention. It’s a pity he chose Milan later.”
As Kaká was one of his favorite players, Tang Moumou couldn’t help but say regretfully, “In my opinion, he was the most suitable midfielder for Manchester United among those you missed out on. Of course, Zidane was also good.”
Ferguson was a bit surprised. “Why? Are you saying Gascoigne and Ronaldinho wouldn’t have worked?”
The top midfielders he had failed to sign were not limited to just those two.
Seeing that the old man was actually willing to gossip with him, Tang Moumou whispered, “Forget Gazza. As for Ronaldinho… he probably wouldn’t have liked Manchester, and he wouldn’t have gotten along with you. So let’s forget about him. But Zidane and Kaká—one was a master of high skill, and the other was a magnificent attacker. Moreover, both were as strong as bulls; they definitely would have adapted to the Premier League and Manchester United.”
Magnificent…
That description made Sir Alex Ferguson look askance. “It seems you really like Kaká. But ‘strong as bulls’—Boss, do you think you bought a cattle farm?”
This was clearly an expression of dissatisfaction.
Tang Moumou then realized the old man might not understand the meme, so he could only explain: “No, no, no. I just feel their style and physique are more suitable for us.”
Conveniently, he dragged Real Madrid into it.
“If we’re talking about cattle farms… that would have to be Madrid’s ‘Royal Cattle Farm.’ After all, every time Real Madrid gives a new signing a medical, they praise the player for being as ‘strong as a bull.'”
Ferguson burst into laughter. “Royal Cattle Farm, haha! But you’re right, they do like to say that.”
Tang Moumou smiled as well.
However, now that his curiosity was satisfied, it was time to talk business.
Ferguson said, “David told me you have your own views on the club’s recruitment?”
At this question, Tang Moumou grew nervous.
After all, he didn’t want the old man to misunderstand and think he wanted to interfere in the team’s transfers as soon as he arrived.
Before he could speak, Sir Alex Ferguson waved his hand and said, “He said you only gave some suggestions and didn’t force the team to accept them. But Modrić and Godín are both players I admire and follow, which is why I wanted to chat with you. Among the players you recommended to him, there don’t seem to be any wingers. Do you think the current Manchester United doesn’t need signings in those two positions?”
Of course not.
Tang Moumou thought to himself: If I had enough time, I would even want to change the whole team for you, let you complete the fourth rebuilding of Manchester United, and even hope you could stay in the managerial seat for a few more years.
But his time…
He didn’t look at the constantly ticking Life Timer. Instead, he reserved this precious second for his beloved Sir Alex Ferguson.
“I just feel that the wings are not the positions where we need a blood transfusion the most. Besides, we still have Nani. If Nani can become a bit more steady and mature, he can also compete at the top level in that position.”
This was Tang Moumou’s heartfelt thought.
The world said that Balotelli was world-class below the neck but brain-dead above it. Nani was good at everything, but he had slight issues with his football IQ and vision, so much so that after Sir Alex Ferguson retired, he became “Nani-no-pass” among Manchester United’s “Four Dark Kings.”
“That kid,” Ferguson waved his hand, “he’s well-behaved off the pitch, but he easily loses his head on it. If he could overcome his flaws, he would indeed be an outstanding player.”
Tang Moumou nodded silently.
However, he knew very well that if flaws were so easy to overcome, there wouldn’t be so few top stars in this world.
“Back to Modrić,” Ferguson looked at the young chairman. “What makes you feel you must have him within 24 hours?”
Based on their previous conversation, he could judge that the young chairman before him was clear-headed despite his age. He was so clear-headed that it even made Ferguson think that buying Manchester United at such a high premium might be the most foolish thing he had ever done in his life.
So, what made him want to acquire Modrić in a similar manner?
He had to get an answer, or else he would be curious for a long time.
“Real Madrid is interested in him,” Tang Moumou said candidly. “I have some of my own channels and heard about this. Šuker is a Real Madrid legend. I think any Croatian player would find it hard not to love Šuker or be influenced by him. We might find it difficult to compete with Real Madrid. Now that La Liga isn’t over yet and the summer window hasn’t arrived, they haven’t acted. I think this is our chance.”
By the time the young man finished, Sir Alex Ferguson had a look of realization.
Just as Brazilians liked AC Milan and Argentines liked Inter Milan and Real Madrid, for Croatians, Real Madrid would also be their first choice. This was partly due to the influence of their idols and partly due to Real Madrid’s success in commercial operations.
“You’ve considered it very thoroughly.” Ferguson smiled and patted the young chairman on the shoulder, then said, “But why should we fear competing with Real Madrid? We are the best club in the Premier League and one of the best in the world. In the past five years, we’ve reached the Champions League final three times. How many years has it been since Real Madrid even touched the grass of a Champions League final?”
Tang Moumou: “You’re right.”
After all, he really couldn’t bear to tell the old Gaffer that in two years, he would see Real Madrid win four titles in five years, leaving everyone in the dust. And as for Manchester United… it was all tears just thinking about it.
However, Sir Alex Ferguson was right. As a reincarnator, he might have been influenced by his memories of the future.
In this summer of 2012, just after the 2011/12 season ended, Ferguson’s prestige and Manchester United’s appeal were far beyond what they would be in later years.
Seeing the young man’s expression suddenly become relaxed, Sir Alex Ferguson also smiled kindly and deliberately asked, “Do you still want to bring him to Manchester United in 24 hours?”
Tang Moumou nodded with sincere emotion, almost without thinking.
“I still want to, because I like him.”
He liked him enough to want to see him wear the Red Devils’ jersey at the end of his life.
Although Ferguson didn’t agree in his heart, since the young man really liked him that much—liked him so much that he didn’t want any accidents to affect the transfer—why should he stop him?
Just as he was about to educate the young man about the Spurs Chairman, Levy, he saw the boy look at him with shining black eyes, as if he had suddenly remembered something.
“Sir Alex Ferguson, Spurs have a good young striker, really good.”
Ferguson: “…”
Kid, of all things to learn, why must you learn from that pedophile Wenger?
However, after the young man introduced him in detail, the Gaffer retracted his view. Because the striker the young chairman introduced, named Harry Kane, was already 18 years old.
“I think our scouts must have observed him because he’s always been a member of the national youth teams. Since we’re going to do business with Spurs anyway, we can bring him to Old Trafford along the way.”
As Tang Moumou spoke, he felt a bit excited.
We have Wayne Rooney now, and we’ll have Harry Kane in the future. The two generations of British stars—we can catch them all in one net.
Since the conversation had turned to the frontline, Tang Moumou thought of Robin van Persie again. As a Manchester United fan, he naturally liked “General Van,” but he also had another choice in his heart—Ibrahimović.
In his memory, Ibrahimović would transfer to Paris Saint-Germain this season. From a fan’s perspective, if Ibrahimović were also brought to Manchester United, such a frontline configuration would be enough to support the team’s attack for several seasons to come.
However, after weighing the pros and cons, he decisively gave up on that idea.
First was the issue of age. Wayne Rooney was the youngest of the three at 26, in his prime. Robin van Persie was 28 this year. Ibrahimović was 30. Although he knew Ibrahimović would still be going strong in his late thirties as a locker room treasure, and he knew Robin van Persie would start high and end low at United, aging prematurely, that was only his memory. He couldn’t use his memory from the future to convince others.
Secondly, there was the issue of wages. The top earner at Manchester United now was undoubtedly Wayne Rooney, with a weekly wage of about £250,000. If Robin van Persie and Ibrahimović joined Manchester United, their weekly wages would obviously be a bit lower than Rooney’s, but not by much—at least £220,000, right?
Manchester United’s wage structure followed a “big pot” model. Besides Rooney’s top wage, there was Rio Ferdinand at £180,000, followed by a large group earning between £65,000 and £100,000. Although it didn’t seem high, the problem was the number of players. If Sir Alex Ferguson didn’t plan on a large-scale clearing of players this summer to free up wage space, keeping two guys with a combined weekly wage of over £400,000 might be a bit difficult.
Besides the wage issue, the transfer fees for the two also had to be considered. Robin van Persie was at Arsenal; making the Professor sell him willingly was clearly impossible. Ibrahimović didn’t have that problem, but the issue was that his agent was Raiola.
In Sir Alex Ferguson’s autobiography, the only agent he ever cursed at was Raiola. Even if Raiola hadn’t made a move on the Manchester United youth academy yet, buying Ibrahimović would likely attract that “Fat Shark.”
Therefore, signing both Robin van Persie and Ibrahimović was definitely unrealistic. Such a beautiful dream should be left for his eternal sleep.
Meanwhile, after dialing five times, David Gill finally got through to Spurs Chairman Levy.
After the season ended, Levy had headed straight to the United States to accompany his sick wife, which was exactly why he had missed the first four calls.
What could make the Manchester United CEO call four times in a row?
The Jewish businessman, with his business senses fully tingling, immediately thought of Manchester United’s new owner.
Buying Manchester United in 24 hours. Not only were the media and fans shocked, but he was also incredibly surprised. That was 5 billion euros!
But after the shock passed, he felt regretful. Why did such a “rich sheep” choose Manchester United? If he had chosen AC Milan, Inter Milan, or Atletico Madrid, maybe they could have done a few deals.
Now, seeing Gill’s call, his first reaction was: Damn it, Manchester United wants to buy Bale!
Once the call was connected and the two had exchanged the usual extreme British pleasantries, Gill was the first to state his purpose.
“Dan, let’s get down to business. We have a new owner; you must have seen the news, right?”
“Of course, I saw the news,” Levy said directly. “He hasn’t set his sights on Gareth (Bale), has he? If it’s Gareth, we don’t even need to talk.”
He didn’t want to sell Bale to Manchester United, or any other top Premier League team.
Thousands of miles away, Gill silently rolled his eyes. As if your Tottenham is capable of competing for the title. If we opened your trophy room, it would surely be full of spider webs and mouse holes!
But since they were the ones asking for a favor, Gill could only say patiently, “No, it’s not Gareth. He is certainly an outstanding player, but our owner prefers Modrić.”
Modrić?
Upon hearing this name, Levy said almost reflexively, “He is also not for sale. We have no intention of putting him on the market.”
“Alright, man, why the cold attitude?” Gill said deliberately. “I know you don’t want to lose him, but he is the player our new owner most wants to buy after acquiring the team. I’m telling you this frankly both because of my respect for you and because our new owner has a quirk—he’s an impatient young man who hates long, drawn-out transfers and likes to settle everything in one day. For example, our club. Now he’s very interested in Modrić, but I’m not sure if such a young man will still be so obsessed with him tomorrow. So we have 24 hours to negotiate this deal. If it’s not settled, then the deal is off. Man, you should understand what I mean, right? Opportunity knocks but once. We only have 24 hours. And our first offer for Modrić is £30 million, far above the market rate. It should have already reached your office in London. How about it? Let’s talk.”
As he said this, Gill saw his assistant signaling to him. They had obtained the contact information for Modrić’s agent!
This was clearly good news. The Jewish man on the other end also went quiet, as if he were thinking about something.
Gill said thoughtfully, “Man, you have enough time to think. Shall I call you back in a few minutes?”
Levy agreed.
After hanging up, Gill took the document from his assistant and found that Modrić’s agent was actually his wife, Vana Bosnić.
Gill carefully looked at Vana’s information and studied Modrić’s weekly wage and bonuses at Spurs, then dialed Vana’s number. After all, the offer was sent and the phone call was made; now they should inform the player’s agent.
The call went through smoothly.
A few minutes later, Gill, who was still chatting warmly with Vana, noticed an incoming call. He smiled knowingly, apologized to Vana, saying he had an urgent call to take, and promised to call her back in half an hour.
The Croatian powerhouse immediately expressed her understanding. After all, the transfer window had opened, and it was normal for the Manchester United CEO to be busy with various matters.
However, after the call was hung up, she walked out of the room with immense joy and found her husband, who was shirtless and playing with their children.
“Luka!” she called her husband’s name. As he turned around, she rushed straight at him. A few seconds later, she pulled her husband tightly into her arms.
“Luka! You’re going to Manchester United! You’re going to Manchester United!”
Trapped in his wife’s bear hug and almost suffocating, Modrić: “…”
“Manchester United’s CEO called me personally! He said that young chairman of Manchester United admires you very, very much and wants to bring you to Old Trafford in 24 hours! We need to pack our bags; it’s best to fly back to London as fast as possible.”
Modrić, who had been at the vacation spot for less than 10 hours, looked seriously at his wife, wondering if she was overly excited.
“Honey, we’ve been at the resort for less than 10 hours. And we haven’t heard anything from Spurs. There’s no need to be so urgent, is there?”
“That’s why we’re going to London,” Vana said decisively. “Gill promised me he’d give Levy a price he couldn’t refuse. He even told me their first offer to Levy was £30 million. And your personal terms were just sent to my email. I’ve looked at them; it’s a weekly wage second only to Rooney and Ferdinand. But the problem is, their young chairman wants you so much that he wants to finalize this deal within 24 hours. For that, he is willing to pay a premium. So time is tight. Gill suggested we go to London and wait.”
Modrić: “…Honey, can you rephrase that?”
A man “wants you” so much—don’t you think that sounds a bit strange?