Including Florentino Pérez, the Real Madrid hierarchy generally trusted Gao Shen's judgment.
When Gao Shen strongly recommended Richarlison and Ferran Torres, Florentino immediately approved the deal and instructed José Sánchez to begin negotiations with Valencia and Everton as soon as possible, aiming to secure Ferran before the European Championship.
Back then, Barcelona had snapped up Jordi Alba just before the Euros, seizing the perfect opportunity.
Real Madrid was preparing to do the same.
As Gao Shen had said, taking advantage of Valencia's current financial troubles to sign Ferran now would mean that, even if they didn't use him in the long run, they could still sell him later at a good price. It was a deal worth making.
If Real Madrid could land both Richarlison and Ferran Torres, their squad would be even more complete.
Even with the introduction of five substitutions next season, they would have nothing to worry about.
After the meeting, Florentino invited Gao Shen and the others out for dinner.
Florentino praised Gómez and his team highly for their work over the past year at Real Madrid.
This was not just recognition from the president. Gao Shen's contributions had been widely acknowledged by the board, the Spanish media, and the fans. In fact, when it came to listing Real Madrid's heroes of the season, Gao Shen often appeared above Zidane.
Of course, Gao Shen had since moved into a behind-the-scenes role and naturally would not compete with Zidane for credit.
But whether it was Zidane or anyone else, when discussing Real Madrid's transformation over the past season, it was clear that, in addition to the heavy investment in signings, there had also been top-level strategic planning behind the scenes.
From player recruitment and team-building strategies to the appointment of the head coach, all had been carefully designed by Gao Shen.
Now, the team had won La Liga and the Copa del Rey and reached the Champions League final. This was clear proof of his contributions and had made everyone at Real Madrid aware of his value.
A year ago, they were struggling to finish in the top four. Now, they were strong contenders for the treble.
The biggest change was undoubtedly in the level of sophistication and planning.
Gao Shen remained humble as always, saying politely that he hadn't done much and that it was thanks to everyone in the club.
In the midst of this friendly atmosphere, a sudden phone call disrupted Gao Shen's focus.
...
The call was from Lucas.
The reason was simple: Leeds United had received an offer from Ratcliffe's team.
The British billionaire was currently in the final stages of acquiring Manchester United. With negotiations almost done, the transfer business was also moving quickly.
Ratcliffe's team had contacted Leeds directly with offers for Jadon Sancho and Bruno Fernandes, two of the top-performing players in the Premier League last season.
But the offer was truly baffling.
Sancho's current market value stood at 130 million euros, while Ratcliffe's offer was 160 million. However, only 20 million would be paid in four installments starting from the current 2020-21 season. Another 60 million would be paid over the next four years, and the remaining 80 million would be paid as performance-based variables, depending on how Sancho performed at Manchester United.
Bruno Fernandes was currently valued at 120 million euros, and the offer was 150 million, structured in a similar way.
Fernando Lucas said to Gao Shen, half amused, half exasperated, "This is the strangest offer I've ever seen."
So what made it so strange?
It wasn't just the installment payments. The variable transfer fee portion was absurdly high.
In European football, who had ever seen such a high percentage of variables?
The deal was already halfway done.
In total, the prices for both players seemed high.
160 million for Sancho. 150 million for Bruno. That sounded good.
But the reality?
Half of that amount was performance-based variables.
Had anything like this happened before?
Gao Shen wouldn't dare say it had never happened, but he personally hadn't seen it.
"Just reply with two words: get lost!" Gao Shen was visibly irritated.
Did they really think Leeds had to sell players to Manchester United?
Did they really believe this was a buyer's market?
Was Ratcliffe overestimating himself?
If this were a buyer's market and Manchester United was the only bidder, then maybe they'd have the leverage to propose such an unusual payment structure. But clearly, that wasn't the case now.
It was a seller's market.
Leeds also had plenty of financial strength and didn't need to sell their star players to help Manchester United strengthen.
Everyone knew player transfers were high-risk deals, which is why clubs were cautious.
Why are performance-based fees usually a small percentage?
To protect the seller's interests.
Now, Ratcliffe wanted to shift all the risk to Leeds with these massive variable components. But what's the issue?
The player would be playing for Manchester United.
Take it to the extreme, what if Manchester United deliberately sabotaged Leeds by buying their stars and benching them? Then Leeds wouldn't see a single euro from the performance-based clause.
What kind of fool would agree to that?
Just because the offer was higher?
Or perhaps Ratcliffe wasn't the fool. Maybe he thought everyone else in football was.
"Fernando, one more thing," Gao Shen said coldly.
"Go on," Lucas replied.
"From now on, any other club can pay in installments when buying from Leeds. But Manchester United must pay in full. Tell them this was my decision!" Gao Shen said firmly.
On the other end of the line, Lucas was stunned.
This was basically saying, "We won't sell to you. And you shouldn't even try to buy from us."
Paying in full, upfront, was almost impossible.
Of course, Ratcliffe had other shady tactics. After signing a player, he could mortgage their registration to the bank to borrow money, just like someone mortgaging their home for a loan.
This was doable in the UK. Most famously, when Manchester United signed Wayne Rooney from Everton, they mortgaged his registration to the bank.
In such cases, Leeds would receive cash, and how United settled it with the bank was none of their concern.
"This guy thinks we're idiots. Let's show him who the real idiot is," Gao Shen said coldly.
If, after all that, they still chased Leeds players, what would that make them?
Ratcliffe had gone on record saying he wanted to rebuild Manchester United this summer in a way that reflected English tradition. This included signing several Leeds players like Sancho and Bruno Fernandes.
...
After hanging up, Gao Shen returned to the Real Madrid dinner.
Florentino and the others noticed his expression and asked curiously what was going on. Gao Shen didn't hide anything. He told them about the offer and made it clear he had already rejected it.
"He'll be furious," Florentino said with a chuckle.
Everyone nodded knowingly.
Based on how things were handled, this tycoon did seem rather arrogant.
"Well, that's how the British are sometimes. Many are still clinging to the glory of their old empire. And then there are the Americans, running around promoting their NBA preseason games," Florentino added with a smirk.
The playoff system? It was a joke.
Americans looked at European football and found it inefficient and unprofitable, especially with the league's community-based initiatives.
Gao Shen had heard more than once that, at the Premier League owners' meetings, American owners questioned why the league's revenue should be shared with lower-tier clubs.
When promotion and relegation were mentioned, they often responded, "Why not just get rid of it and become like the NBA?"
That way, everyone could earn more, and the competition wouldn't be so intense.
This was the biggest cultural gap between American and European sports.
Gao Shen didn't care about Ratcliffe.
To put it bluntly, Leeds United's financial strength was no worse than Manchester United's, especially with Gao Shen behind them.
In terms of influence, he was not necessarily beneath Ratcliffe.
Even if Ratcliffe was a British lord and a local tycoon, Gao Shen's status in European and global football was extraordinary.
If it came to a showdown, who was afraid of whom?
Besides, the players belonged to Leeds United and were under long-term contracts. As long as Leeds didn't want to sell, no one could say otherwise once Gao Shen made the call.
...
While Gao Shen and Florentino were dining, PSG's southern expedition had arrived in Madrid.
That evening, Gao Shen found time to visit the hotel where PSG was staying.
Many people might not realize it, but this was the first time in PSG's history that they had reached the Champions League final.
Before this, their best result in European competition was winning the Cup Winners' Cup in the 1995-96 season.
It was also a question that arose when PSG joined the G14.
When the G14 was founded, of the 14 original clubs, only PSG had never won the Champions League. The other 13 had all been champions.
When the G14 expanded in 2002 to include Arsenal, Bayer Leverkusen, Lyon, and Valencia—four clubs that had also never won the Champions League—many joked that it was done to ease PSG's embarrassment.
This highlighted PSG's lack of success in Europe.
Now, with the club reaching the Champions League final for the first time, they naturally hoped to go even further and possibly defeat Real Madrid to claim their first European title.
Gao Shen, of course, encouraged them and hoped the players would continue to give their best.
Yes, he had said something similar to the Real Madrid players earlier at Valdebebas.
But he wasn't the least bit embarrassed.
Because no matter who wins in the end, Gao Shen is the real winner.
(To be continued.)