Before the derby of the century, there was endless news about Real Madrid.
First up was the La Liga monthly awards.
As we all know, the Premier League selects the best of the month, including players and head coaches. It is an honor for all involved, and La Liga has begun to follow suit.
Starting from September this season, the Spanish Professional Football League officially launched the monthly awards, including Coach of the Month and Player of the Month. The same applies to the Spanish Second Division.
In the selection for La Liga's Player of the Month, Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo and Di Maria, as well as Atletico Madrid's Diego Costa, were all strong contenders. All three were among the best performers in La Liga in September.
In the end, Di Maria beat Ronaldo and Diego Costa to win the first Player of the Month award in Spanish football history.
For Coach of the Month, Barcelona's Martino and Atletico Madrid's Simeone were the leading contenders. But in the Madrid derby in September, Simeone was slightly inferior and lost the game.
Martino and Gao Shen, both unbeaten, became the main competitors.
In the end, Gao Shen had the last laugh.
Real Madrid swept both monthly awards for the first time in La Liga history.
The ceremony was held on the afternoon of the day Real Madrid departed for Barcelona. After training, the awards were presented directly at Valdebebas. Both Gao Shen and Di Maria received their trophies.
This was also a great boost for Real Madrid.
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Before Real Madrid's joy at sweeping both awards had faded, Italy's Tuttosport brought more good news.
The 40-man shortlist for the 2013 Golden Boy Award was officially announced. Real Madrid had three players shortlisted, namely Jesé, Pogba, and Varane. All three were born in 1993.
This also made Real Madrid one of the clubs with the most selected players in European football.
Another club with three players selected was Leeds United.
The players from the White Rose on the 40-man Golden Boy shortlist were Cancelo, Harry Kane, and Filipe Luís.
These three have performed well in the Premier League this season, and their selection is well deserved.
But Leeds United had another record unmatched by any other team. In addition to these three, Icardi, Kondogbia, Pogba, and Marquinhos all came through Leeds United's youth setup.
In other words, Leeds United contributed a total of seven players to the 40-man Golden Boy shortlist.
Tuttosport ran a special feature on Leeds United's youth academy, praising the White Rose for outstanding work in youth development and the remarkable results achieved over the past two seasons.
You know, in last year's Golden Boy selection, Leeds United were already a major presence. This year, seven players were shortlisted at once. Although four were sold, they should still be credited to Leeds United.
Such an impressive hit rate is enough to attract the attention of all European football.
Tuttosport commented that Leeds United are rising rapidly and becoming an emerging force in European football.
There was not much suspense about this 40-man list. Basically everyone knew the likely winner was Real Madrid midfielder Paul Pogba.
He shone at Leeds United last season and led France's youth team to win the World Youth Championship in Turkey in the summer. He then moved to Real Madrid for a massive 60 million euros and has delivered eye-catching performances again this season. If Pogba does not win this award, who would?
If Pogba wins, it would also set a record, with Real Madrid taking the European Golden Boy in back-to-back years, since Isco won it last season when he had already transferred to Real Madrid.
There are clubs that have won the Golden Boy twice, such as Manchester United, where Rooney and Anderson both won it. But only Real Madrid would have won it two years in a row, which is undoubtedly a great honor.
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Following the news about Player of the Month and the Golden Boy, El Confidencial dropped a bombshell.
The world's richest man is here.
As Real Madrid's general assembly approached, news about Florentino's report emerged one after another. The most talked about topic was the Bernabéu renovation plan.
At this sensitive moment, a story suddenly broke in Spain's financial sector that American billionaire Bill Gates had spent 113.5 million euros to buy 6 percent of the shares of the Spanish construction company FCC, becoming its second-largest shareholder.
The Spanish government responded positively, saying this showed Bill Gates' confidence in the Spanish economy.
Bill Gates quickly followed up, stating he was full of confidence in Spain's economy and expressing strong interest in further investment. The newspaper also revealed that Bill Gates had visited Florentino at the ACS Group.
FCC is currently the largest construction service provider in Spain, larger than Florentino's ACS, though the two have extensive cooperation. This visit was obviously not about the two construction firms, but about Real Madrid.
According to El Confidencial, Florentino said Real Madrid planned to renovate the Bernabéu in 2016 and hoped to cooperate further with Bill Gates and Microsoft, such as with the Bernabéu's management software systems.
"Bill Gates recognizes the significant brand value Florentino has built for Real Madrid over the years and hopes to sponsor the Bernabéu. He is also willing to donate an additional 1 million euros in the name of the Bill Gates Foundation to work with Real Madrid on social and sports programs."
El Confidencial revealed that Real Madrid hoped to sell the stadium's naming rights for 200 million euros over 10 years.
This would undoubtedly be the most expensive stadium naming fee in professional football history.
However, El Confidencial also reported that, to successfully sell the naming rights and rename the Bernabéu as Microsoft Stadium, Florentino needed to convince all Real Madrid members and the board at the general assembly.
"This is undoubtedly very difficult."
If Real Madrid's members could not be convinced, neither Bill Gates nor Microsoft would accept a proposal that included sharing the name with the Bernabéu.
The report also noted that Microsoft had long wanted to enter the sports world. Internet giants such as Google, Amazon, and Facebook were also ambitious in this area, and some had already begun making contacts.
"During their training camp in the United States, the management of Leeds United met with Google and Facebook in California, and even went to Seattle to visit Amazon. All sides expressed interest in cooperation."
El Confidencial believed that amid an economic downturn, football was becoming a hot target for Internet giants.
Compared with their huge annual marketing and promotion budgets, sponsoring a football club is just a drop in the bucket, and they barely notice the cost.
This report quickly caused a huge reaction in Spain.
At the pre-match press conference before Gao Shen led the team to Barcelona, a reporter asked his opinion on the matter, and Gao Shen said he had not received any information.
"This is not something I should be asking about. If you had not told me, I would not even know about it."
Gao Shen reiterated that as head coach, he is only responsible for the team on the pitch and not for other matters.
But after the press conference, Gao Shen made a special call to Butragueño to find out the details.
After all, Leeds United are also recruiting investors now.
Butragueño clearly told Gao Shen that Bill Gates had indeed discussed Microsoft sponsoring Real Madrid with Florentino.
Before the two bosses met, both teams had already communicated.
"But this is very difficult to do. Many members, and even board members, have already made it clear that they do not want to change the name of the Bernabéu, so this will probably be hard to achieve."
Clear and straightforward.
The longer a club's history, the heavier the burden it carries.
Just like the advertisement on Barcelona's shirt front, if Barcelona had not taken a roundabout path, it would not have been easy for them to put a sponsor on their chest.
"Barcelona has always wanted to sell the stadium naming rights. After all, it brings at least 20 million euros a year. But the name Camp Nou cannot be lost, so it is very difficult," Butragueño said, clearly conflicted.
As a Real Madrid legend, no one really wants to sell the naming rights.
Ask yourself, would it be enjoyable to turn the Bernabéu into Microsoft Stadium or Gates Stadium?
But as a club executive, he had to admit that such a large sum every year is very tempting.
Some may think Real Madrid is a membership-based club that cannot make a profit, so why make so much money?
The answer is simple. Is it not a good thing to use the money to improve player salaries or buy another star?
"If I asked you to choose, what would you choose?" Butragueño asked Gao Shen in return.
Gao Shen laughed helplessly. "Do not ask me about this kind of thing. I do not know how to choose."
This is indeed hard to resolve.
Just like Leeds United, when they planned a new stadium, many fans suggested keeping the name Elland Road, in the name of tradition.
But Leeds United's approach is more palatable.
According to Lucas's idea, the nearby road will remain Elland Road, but the naming rights of the stadium will be sold.
Of course, this matter has not yet been settled, and the club still needs to guide the fans. But by comparison, Leeds United's pressure will be much smaller.
After all, they were a bankrupt club, and their fans are more understanding of the club's need to make money.
After sinking to the lower leagues for so many years, life has only just improved. How could they want to see the club fall again?
"No more talking, we have to leave," Gao Shen said, about to hang up.
"Be careful when you get to Barcelona," Butragueño reminded. He would not travel with the team this time, as he had other things to do in Madrid.
"Also, remember to wear earplugs. This trick used by Barcelona fans is always effective."
Gao Shen laughed. He was already used to such away treatment.
As long as Barcelona fans did not smash the windows of the Real Madrid bus, Gao Shen would be happy enough.
After all, smashing bus windows is a regular activity among Barcelona fans.
As for playing instruments and singing in front of the Real Madrid team hotel, that is even more common.
"Do not worry, wait for my good news," Gao Shen said confidently.
He was full of confidence for this match.
(To be continued.)