"Now, the whole world is waiting to see what happens to us."
At Leeds United's AXA Centre, the meeting room was filled with laughter and cheerful chatter, completely different from the lifeless atmosphere outsiders might have imagined.
Lucas was even joking about the reporters waiting outside, emphasizing the words "good show."
According to insiders at Leeds United, the outside world had been waiting for the club to collapse for years.
But Leeds United never collapsed. Instead, they grew stronger and stronger.
Last season, they won both the Premier League and the Champions League, marking the highest point in the club's history.
Selling ten players in a single summer was an extraordinary event.
In a sense, the expectation that Leeds United would collapse was not entirely unreasonable.
"Then they'll definitely be disappointed," Gao Shen said with a smile.
Mbappe, Bernardo Silva, De Ligt, Dembele, Milinkovic-Savic, Arnold, Robertson, Kimmich, Rodri, and Felix—Leeds United sold ten players in one go.
However, the team still retained goalkeeper Alisson, key centre-back Ruben Dias, and captain Vardy. Leeds United's overall strength had undoubtedly been affected, but it was far from a total collapse.
In fact, many clubs, including Manchester City and Manchester United, had tried to sign Haaland, with some offering as much as £80 million, which would have been a record for a player under 19.
Vinicius and Rodrygo had also attracted interest from several clubs.
But Leeds United rejected all offers.
Manchester United had also expressed interest in Leeds' homegrown international Declan Rice, but the club refused to even open negotiations.
Leeds United's management knew exactly which players could be sold and which ones could not.
As for the forward line, after selling Mbappe and Dembele for high prices while the market was hot, Leeds United shifted their focus to developing Vinicius, Rodrygo, Sancho, Grealish, and Foden.
They also planned to give Haaland more playing time at centre forward.
In addition, there was Alvarez, the young forward from Argentina.
It was worth noting that young players from Brazil and Argentina had a high chance of obtaining work permits through special talent clauses. As long as the clubs pushed for it, there were basically no problems.
"I just spoke with Pochettino yesterday," Gao Shen said. "My suggestion to him was to use Bruno Fernandes and Valverde in midfield. The combination of these two will be very different from Bernardo Silva's, and our tactics will need to be adjusted accordingly. But I believe this pairing will still be very competitive."
Bruno Fernandes did have his weaknesses, but he had improved greatly over the past season. As long as tactics were built around his strengths and minimized his flaws, there should be no major problems.
Valverde was strong both offensively and defensively, highly dynamic, and capable of playing on the wing or in central midfield.
After Arnold's departure, Leeds United planned to develop Achraf Hakimi and Reece James at right-back. Both were strong attacking full-backs, and with Valverde covering the same flank, Leeds' right-side attack remained formidable.
On the left, both Cucurella and Alphonso Davies could fill the role. Davies had already featured in cup competitions last season, and Leeds had high hopes for him, considering him a key player for future development.
Cucurella's performances at Leeds had been inconsistent. If Nuno Mendes failed to meet expectations after joining the league, the club would look to make adjustments.
In central defence, Ruben Dias, Militao, and Jose Fonte had often played together last season. Gao Shen had initially considered recalling both Saliba and Fofana, but Borrell and Pochettino decided only to bring back Saliba, keeping Fofana at Saint-Étienne.
Thus, alongside the three main defenders, Saliba and Gvardiol would join the rotation for the new season.
Borrell rated Gvardiol highly and saw him as a key player for development.
From the current perspective, the defensive line appeared solid.
In midfield, alongside Bruno Fernandes, Valverde, and Calvin Phillips, Declan Rice had also made several appearances last season and performed impressively, even earning a call-up to England's UEFA Nations League squad.
Leeds United conducted a data analysis of Declan Rice's performances.
Last season, he averaged 2.9 tackles, 1.5 interceptions, and 2.7 clearances per match, with a pass completion rate of 86%.
Overall, he was slightly behind Rodri and Kimmich in passing, but his defensive contributions were on par with Rodri and even stronger than Kimmich's.
In aerial duels, Rice won 1.6 per match, compared to Rodri's 2.7.
While Rice wasn't yet at Rodri or Kimmich's level, his numbers were already impressive.
After all, Rodri was 23, Kimmich was 24, and Rice was only 20.
In comparison, Rice had far more room to grow.
This reflected Leeds United's current transfer philosophy: they sold players around the age of 24, when they had reached a certain stage of development.
The reasoning was simple. At 24, players were entering their prime—both highly valuable and commanding larger salaries.
If they stayed beyond 26 or 27, their market value would drop, and selling them for big money would become unrealistic.
Buying clubs were not foolish either; they considered how many productive years a player could still offer.
Looking at Leeds United's roster over the years, most players sold were around 24. The club promoted young players around 20 and developed them gradually.
For example, with Rodri and Kimmich gone, younger players like Declan Rice and Joan Amelien now had the chance to step up.
Rice had already proven himself and earned a starting spot, while Amelien, at 19, was entering a crucial development phase. Together, they could hold Leeds United's midfield steady.
For the attacking midfield roles, in addition to Bruno Fernandes and Valverde, Camavinga had already featured as a substitute in cup matches, Enzo Fernandes was highly rated by Borrell, and with Pedri in the mix, Leeds had an impressive depth of young midfield talent.
It was clear that Leeds United's decision to sell key players had been carefully planned rather than impulsive.
Leeds United even adjusted their objectives for the season. Their target was to finish in the Premier League's top four, qualify for European competitions, and advance from the Champions League group stage.
In other words, they were positioning themselves as a top-four contender.
But this was temporary. With such a young squad, the focus was on development.
Once these players matured in a season or two, Leeds United's ambitions would surely rise again.
...
The new Ligue 1 season kicked off on August 9, with Paris Saint-Germain hosting Nîmes.
The Premier League was also set to start around the same time, while La Liga began a week later.
Therefore, Leeds United and Paris Saint-Germain's summer training camps started almost simultaneously.
Before PSG's camp began, Gao Shen travelled to Paris to join the team at their Saint-Germain training base.
His company's performance analysis division had already moved to Greater Paris, with all systems fully set up.
This included a massive analysis screen on the training field and a dedicated monitoring office.
New team doctor, nutritionist, performance experts, and data analysts—all staff were in place, making final preparations for preseason.
To focus on team integration, Paris Saint-Germain even declined an invitation to the International Champions Cup, opting instead to stay in France for training, hoping the squad could better adapt to the sweeping reforms.
After arriving in Paris, Gao Shen met with Nasser and Blanc, among others.
They were all very pleased with PSG's transfer activity that summer. Although the club had spent heavily, every signing was proven and promising.
Pogba and Varane needed no introduction as French national team pillars. Dembele had performed brilliantly in both the Premier League and for France, making him one of the top right wingers in world football.
Both Nasser and Blanc had followed Gao Shen's recruitment plan closely and executed it well.
Now that the players had arrived, preparations could finally begin.
Gao Shen was satisfied with PSG's current squad. He believed it was highly competitive, with strong bench depth and a well-balanced age structure.
The team included experienced veterans like Thiago Silva, prime-age stars like Kanté, Pogba, and Varane, and promising young players such as Nkunku and Lo Celso.
More importantly, PSG had a superstar like Neymar, whose individual brilliance could decide games.
Gao Shen expressed confidence in the new season, but emphasized that the key challenge now was team cohesion and maintaining form—a long-term process.
Especially for a superstar like Neymar, motivating him to maintain top-level performance throughout the entire season would require skill and patience.
Another issue was PSG's recurring injury troubles. Neymar, for instance, had missed large portions of recent seasons, which was unacceptable for a team with such ambitions.
Although Nasser and Blanc had been in professional football for many years, after Gao Shen took over and initiated deep reforms, even they were shocked to discover just how chaotic the club's internal structure had been.
It was almost alarming.
But it was precisely this realization that made them appreciate Gao Shen's work even more.
He and his team were essentially performing a full-body MRI on Paris Saint-Germain—identifying every hidden issue, repairing weaknesses, and rebuilding the entire system.
From the very first day of preseason, PSG already looked like a completely new team.
(To be continued.)