"Mendes has really become much more disciplined."
The day after having dinner with Mendes, Lucas and Borrell couldn't help but chuckle to themselves while reporting their work.
"What's wrong?" Gao Shen asked curiously.
"Today, Nuno Mendes' agent suddenly called me, saying that the player couldn't reach an agreement with Sporting Lisbon on terms and wanted to transfer to Leeds United. Just over a month ago, they rejected us."
"Nuno Mendes?" Gao Shen tried to recall the name, but unfortunately, he didn't remember it.
Lucas and Borrell were not surprised.
Given Gao Shen's current status, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say he's extremely busy. Where would he find the time to deal with such trivial matters?
Let alone a 16-year-old prodigy from Portugal who has just begun to show his talent, even the young players from Leeds United's academy might not all be recognizable to him.
The ones he truly remembered were mostly those nurtured by Leeds United over many years, along with the players Lucas and Borrell frequently mentioned in front of him, such as Ansu Fati, Pedri, Gavi, Musiala, Camavinga, and Gvardiol.
As for the rest, he probably didn't remember any of them.
"A young African-Portuguese full-back who plays on the left wing, very fast. Our scouting team is very optimistic about him. Moreover, he hasn't signed a professional contract with Sporting Lisbon yet, so we tried to negotiate with him, but we couldn't reach an agreement."
"The player isn't happy?"
"No, that's not it. Sporting Lisbon just wasn't willing to let him go. If we tried to poach him, it would cause a lot of trouble," Borrell explained. He added that UEFA and FIFA are now paying close attention to the transfer of youth players and have been cracking down on it severely.
If Sporting Lisbon didn't make a fuss, it would be fine. But if they did, Leeds United would be in trouble.
"Then why did they agree now?" Gao Shen asked, somewhat surprised.
Then it dawned on him. "His agent is Mendes?"
"Strictly speaking, he's a player under Mendes' Gestifute company," Lucas explained.
Gao Shen laughed. "Mendes is a shrewd fellow."
Those who can succeed in European football are rarely mediocre. They are all extremely shrewd.
Because European football today is a vast arena of fame and fortune.
Just like Mendes' Gestifute, is it merely a player agency?
No, that's wrong. The company has a wide range of businesses, and player brokerage is just one part of it.
For example, he has invested in quite a few clubs, though his shares are small and mainly for business purposes.
Furthermore, he purchased third-party ownership of many players.
Speaking of this, many people probably think of the transfer when Manchester United signed Portuguese player Bebe, the striker Ferguson bought for nine million euros. He is still playing in La Liga.
How did that transfer from Guimarães to Manchester United happen?
It was all due to Mendes' operations.
Gestifute owned 40% of his rights. When he was sold from Guimarães to Manchester United, Mendes earned 3.6 million euros, which was incredibly lucrative.
Of course, there are times when they lose money too. For example, Atletico Madrid's Adrian Lopez transferred to Porto in 2014 for 11 million euros, with Gestifute holding a 40% stake. However, a year later, the Spanish international was only worth 5 million euros, and after several transfers, he became a free agent that summer.
There were also reports that Mendes signed Adrian because Atletico Madrid owed him money, and he used the player to settle the debt. But the exact details are probably only known to the parties involved.
At least on paper, Adrian's transfer was a huge loss.
In addition to the brokerage and investment business, Mendes' company also ventured into other areas such as boxing and cycling.
It's worth mentioning that before acquiring Wolves, the Chinese investors behind the club had already invested in Gestifute, holding a 20% stake. That explains why, after buying Wolves, they handed over operations to Mendes and established a strategic partnership.
It was actually a very smart move. Since the Chinese investors were unfamiliar with European football, it was safer to let Mendes handle it.
"Mendes is a smart guy. He knows what he should do."
Since Mendes offered a promising young player like Nuno Mendes to Leeds United, doing them a favor, there was no reason for Leeds United to refuse.
They would continue to interact as before, as long as Mendes didn't cross any serious boundaries.
More importantly, while fans might not know about Mendes' previous setback at Leeds United, other agents surely did. They would likely be more cautious when dealing with Leeds United in the future.
They now knew what they should and shouldn't do.
Don't treat Leeds United like before.
...
The UEFA Nations League final was held at the Gathering Stadium in Porto, Portugal.
Host nation Portugal faced the Netherlands.
The match was closely contested, and finally, Bernardo Silva dribbled into the penalty area and passed the ball back to Guedes, who unleashed a powerful shot that hit the back of the net.
Portugal defeated the Netherlands 1-0 to win the inaugural UEFA Nations League title.
Cristiano Ronaldo won the Golden Boot with three goals, Bernardo Silva was named the best player of the tournament, Ruben Dias was the final's MVP, and Frenkie de Jong was selected as the best young player.
It's worth mentioning that Leeds United veteran Jose Fonte remained a key central defender for Portugal, partnering with Ruben Dias, proving he was still going strong despite his age.
Bernardo Silva, the midfield maestro of the Champions League-winning team, also helped Portugal win the UEFA Nations League with an outstanding performance. Although the title wasn't of high prestige, it was still a European-level championship, and his fame soared as a result.
This immediately stirred up the European transfer market.
In particular, Manchester City's Pep Guardiola later praised Bernardo Silva, saying that the Portuguese midfielder was already one of the best in the world.
Everyone knew that David Silva was already 33 years old and Rakitic was 31. Of the core players Gao Shen had left at Leeds United, only De Bruyne was still in his prime.
Therefore, signing a top-class midfielder became a major focus for Manchester City in the summer transfer window.
With Guardiola's comments, Bernardo Silva naturally entered Manchester City's radar.
The British tabloid The Sun first reported that Manchester City had listed Bernardo Silva as their top transfer target for the summer, with Guardiola even willing to pay a transfer fee of 130 million euros, which would set a new record in the club's history.
Before this, Manchester City's biggest signing had been goalkeeper Ederson, but that situation was special because Neuer's long-term injury forced them to reinforce their goalkeeping position.
Even then, it only cost 90 million euros.
Manchester City's willingness to pay such a staggering amount for Bernardo Silva was bound to ignite the European transfer market.
"The most crucial reason is that the Leeds United midfielder is only 24 years old."
His youth was undoubtedly a major factor in his high valuation.
Manchester City's sudden intervention made the already volatile transfer market even more unpredictable.
Especially after the German magazine Kicker reported that Kimmich had received an invitation from German powerhouse Bayern Munich.
However, Leeds United reacted swiftly, immediately denying any possibility of Kimmich transferring to Bayern and stating that the German midfielder was an important member of the team and not for sale.
"We are in talks with Kimmich about a contract extension. He will not leave Leeds United."
But as fans commented on Leeds United's Twitter account...
Does Leeds United have any players who are not for sale?
In addition to Kimmich, Bayern Munich also hoped to sign Manchester City's Leroy Sané.
The talented winger performed excellently in the Premier League last season and was highly valued by Guardiola. Bayern also had high hopes for him and was willing to spend 100 million euros to bring Sané back to the Bundesliga.
As described by Kicker, Bayern Munich had finally decided to rise again after years of silence.
Besides Kimmich and Sané, Bayern were also eyeing De Ligt, and if they failed to sign him, they would consider Lucas Hernandez from Atletico Madrid.
"Bayern Munich is determined to build a team that is highly competitive in European football this summer."
...
While Leeds United, the team that had drawn worldwide attention, had yet to make a move, news had already broken in La Liga.
Antoine Griezmann officially transferred to Barcelona.
Atletico Madrid's star player moved from the Rojiblancos to Barcelona for a record-breaking 120 million euros.
This deal immediately set off a chain reaction in the transfer market, shocking everyone and sparking a frenzy.
Soon after, Premier League side Arsenal announced the signing of 24-year-old striker Nicolas Pepe from Ligue 1's Lille for a record-breaking 85 million euros. Pepe scored 22 goals and provided 11 assists in Ligue 1 last season, an impressive performance.
Arsenal believed that the arrival of the Ivorian winger would further enhance their attacking power.
If Griezmann's transfer amazed everyone, then Nicolas Pepe's 85 million euro deal shocked the world, as it was simply unbelievable that a Ligue 1 winger could command such an astronomical price.
Coincidentally, Tottenham Hotspur also announced shortly afterward that they had signed French midfielder Tanguy Ndombele from Lyon for a transfer fee of 60 million euros plus 10 million in add-ons, for a total of 70 million euros.
Even more astonishing, Tottenham offered a weekly wage of £200,000 to acquire the French midfielder.
In some ways, that wage was even more shocking than the transfer fee itself.
This made it clear to the whole world that a crazy European summer transfer window had officially begun.
All the media and fans were now watching European football closely.
From Griezmann to Nicolas Pepe to Ndombele, everyone knew this was just the beginning.
At the very least, the most valuable team, Leeds United, hadn't even started yet.
(To be continued.)