It was already June after the Champions League final.
The day after the final, Leeds United held a massive city-wide parade that drew fans from all over Leeds and even the surrounding Yorkshire region. At its peak, the crowd exceeded 400,000 people, an absolutely frenzied celebration.
Elland Road, Westfield Shopping Centre, and High Street all seized the opportunity to launch promotional events, riding the wave of Leeds United's Champions League triumph to create a huge buzz.
The influx of away fans and tourists from around the world made the city more lively than it had been in decades.
After the parade and the celebrations the next day, the team hosted a grand victory banquet, and by that evening, the players had officially gone on holiday and headed off in different directions.
The main reason was that the UEFA Nations League was about to begin, and players from England, the Netherlands, and Portugal, who had reached the semi-finals, needed to report to their national teams.
This was also why many top clubs were dissatisfied with UEFA.
There were already too many competitions, yet UEFA still managed to introduce the Nations League.
Now look what's happened. The Champions League final was scheduled for June 1, but the Nations League semi-finals were on June 5 and 6.
This placed a lot of pressure on Leeds United's players.
For example, the match on the 5th in Guimarães, Portugal, was between the Netherlands and England.
De Ligt, Rashford, Sancho, Alexander-Arnold, Kalvin Phillips, Declan Rice, Vardy, and Grealish were all rushing there.
Then the other match in Porto was Portugal vs Switzerland, featuring Félix, Rúben Dias, Bernardo Silva, and Bruno Fernandes.
It wasn't hard to imagine the immense pressure the players faced, not only from the games themselves but also from the exhaustion of travel.
How much prestige could such a competition really carry?
The big clubs were completely justified in accusing UEFA of caring more about profit than player welfare.
The problem was, this was an official tournament. With national interest at stake, who dared to ignore it?
If it were a friendly, the club could negotiate with the national team to rest the players and give them a break after a long season. But not this time.
By the time the Nations League final ended, it was already mid-June. And by early July, pre-season training for the new season would begin.
This was only a temporary situation. The competition was still in its early stages and lacked prestige.
If UEFA reformed the system in the future, especially by increasing prize money to boost the competition's status and make the matches more intense, its impact on clubs would undoubtedly grow.
The power struggle between football associations and the professional leagues had a long history, dating back to the birth of the Champions League and continuing into the future.
The UEFA Super League and the Nations League were merely extensions of this long-running tug-of-war.
...
While the world was still immersed in the joy of Leeds United's first Champions League title, every department of the club was already operating at full throttle.
This was also a key trait of club operations.
When the players had time off, the club got busier.
Real Madrid, led by José Ángel Sánchez, personally came to Leeds to contact and negotiate with the club. The first issue on the agenda was the transfer of their star forward, Kylian Mbappé.
This transfer saga had been going on for more than two years. As early as last summer, Mbappé was close to joining Real Madrid, but Gao Shen stepped in and persuaded him to stay. This summer, however, the deal for the French superstar, who had won the Premier League Golden Boot, the Champions League Golden Boot, and the European Silver Boot, was essentially done.
Real Madrid had already contacted Leeds United and agreed to their €250 million asking price, but there were still many contract details that needed to be handled and negotiated. The two sides' teams were working intensively on the matter.
In addition to negotiating the transfer fee with Leeds United, Real Madrid's representatives also needed to discuss salary and benefits with Mbappé's camp.
This was also an extremely complex process.
Many fans might think that when it comes to salaries, the club just gives a total amount and that's it.
But no.
Clubs weren't stupid. They feared players might become complacent after signing big contracts. So the contracts typically consisted of a base salary plus performance-based bonuses, including goal bonuses, assist bonuses, appearance fees, title bonuses, minimum appearance guarantees, individual award bonuses, and so on.
A whole set of very complex clauses to balance the interests of both the player and the club.
In short, if you wanted to earn the full amount, you had to deliver results.
This made the negotiations especially complicated.
At the same time, José Sánchez also discussed the transfer of Dutch center-back Matthijs de Ligt with Leeds United.
This key player for the Champions League-winning side had been outstanding in both the Premier League and Champions League. Leeds United were asking for €120 million, but Real Madrid were only willing to offer a maximum of €100 million, so there was still a sizeable gap between the two parties.
However, on June 5, in the Nations League semi-final held in Guimarães, the Netherlands faced England. Rashford scored first for England, but in the 73rd minute, De Ligt equalized for the Netherlands, sparking a comeback.
The Dutch went on to score two goals in stoppage time to defeat England 3-1.
After the match, Real Madrid's negotiating team immediately raised their offer to €110 million, but Leeds United stood firm on their €120 million asking price, closing the gap between the two sides.
Meanwhile, a negotiating team from Paris Saint-Germain, led by CEO Nasser Al-Khelaifi, also arrived in Leeds.
Many rumors claimed PSG were determined to sign Mbappé, but in reality, the target of this trip was Ousmane Dembélé.
This two-footed winger had delivered outstanding performances in recent seasons, racking up goals and assists. With excellent ambidexterity and explosive attacking ability, Tuchel had said before that he would be very pleased if Dembélé joined.
However, signing this French winger wouldn't be easy.
Real Madrid were also interested in Dembélé, and Leeds United had set the price at €150 million.
Those familiar with the club knew that Leeds United had built a reputation over the years for holding firm on its valuations. No matter how much they wanted to sell, they rarely wavered from their asking price.
But there was one advantage in negotiating with Leeds United. As long as you paid the price, you could take the player.
Also, Leeds United's relatively modest wage structure made their players attractive to potential buyers.
Of course, that was the theory, but in reality, negotiations were still necessary.
We were talking about tens of millions of euros. How could there not be negotiations?
It was fair to say that even after the Champions League final, the media and fans worldwide remained focused on Leeds United.
It was under these circumstances that Leeds United received a bizarre offer from Liverpool.
...
"Origi is valued at €20 million, Shaqiri at €25 million, and Lovren at €20 million."
"These three players, valued at €65 million, are included in this transfer offer."
At Gao Shen's home in Cheshire, Lucas and Borrell were reporting the latest developments to Gao Shen and Su Qing.
Liverpool had submitted a formal offer to sign Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson, both of whom currently commanded high valuations. Alexander-Arnold was priced at €120 million and Robertson at €80 million.
Liverpool's bid was actually quite generous, offering a full €200 million, which met Leeds United's valuation.
But what was strange was that they wanted to include three players as part of the deal.
These three weren't particularly special. Origi was only 24, Shaqiri 27, and Lovren, the oldest, was 30. However, the Croatian center-back did fit the mold of a playmaking central defender Leeds United preferred.
When the club received the offer, they were left speechless.
It was a bit amateurish.
"What do we want these three players for?" Gao Shen asked rhetorically.
Lucas and Borrell immediately laughed.
"They said the offer was personally approved by Liverpool owner John Henry. Maybe they're trying to free up cash, since they almost missed out on the top four last season."
The Premier League's top-four race was extremely intense, with six strong teams competing for four spots.
This season's top four were Leeds United, Manchester City, Arsenal, and Liverpool.
Arsenal was actually the club least affected by the butterfly effect. During Wenger's tenure, they had signed a striker named Icardi. As a result, the Argentine had avoided the troubles of his previous life and shone at Arsenal, performing exceptionally well.
On the other hand, Manchester United and Chelsea, who had invested heavily, failed to make the top four, which left Liverpool very nervous.
Manchester United and Chelsea would surely come back strong next season.
If they didn't strengthen their squad, would they just wait to be knocked out of the top four?
"Liverpool's revenue has grown rapidly in recent years. Their matchday income and commercial revenue have both risen, not to mention broadcast fees. Although John Henry has that American pride, he's still a sharp businessman," Gao Shen analyzed.
"Exactly." Lucas nodded. "I heard that when he first took over, Liverpool was a mess. The club only had about 200 employees. All the retail and hospitality boxes at Anfield were outsourced, so the club didn't make much profit, and the stadium facilities were terrible."
"But in recent years, matchday income has doubled. They've also taken out low-interest loans to expand the stadium. Their revenue is growing quickly, and they have a lot of potential. But the Premier League competition is also extremely fierce now."
The Premier League might look glamorous, but in reality, club operations were a chaotic mess.
Liverpool's situation was a common one. Usually, it was only after capital injection and infrastructure upgrades that clubs saw increased revenue and, in turn, higher market value.
That was why foreign investors were drawn to the Premier League.
"So, Liverpool is rich now." Gao Shen laughed.
"Tell Michael Edwards that we don't want those three players. If Liverpool wants to buy, then pay the price."
Gao Shen didn't mind selling Alexander-Arnold and Robertson. Leeds United had players ready to step in.
There were Achraf Hakimi, Alphonso Davies, Cucurella, and Reece James.
Leeds United's strong depth and the rise of young talent gave them real confidence.
"Understood," Lucas nodded.
"By the way, Mendes has arrived in Leeds."
Gao Shen frowned. "What's he doing here?"
(To be continued.)