Soon after, several media outlets and financial institutions released new investigations and forecasts.
This further confirmed Sevilla's financial problems.
For a team with championship ambitions, selling its star players was a devastating blow.
It deeply hurt the fans.
The supporters were ready to revolt.
Sevilla had been a strong force in La Liga, finishing in the top four—sometimes even second—multiple times in recent seasons.
They certainly had the potential to challenge for the title.
But the club's dilemma was that this potential was fragile at best.
If Real Madrid had a 40% chance,
Barcelona held 30%,
Deportivo La Coruña and Valencia shared 25%,
then Sevilla clung to the last 5%.
If they built their squad and invested based on that slim chance, they would end up losing everything.
But fans would never accept the club giving up on competing for the title.
It was an impossible situation.
The pressure fell squarely on Sevilla.
Their financial crisis could no longer be hidden.
The reality of selling their stars could no longer be denied.
At times like this, the club had one last trick for survival—playing the sympathy card.
As long as you claimed the team's situation was dire enough that you had no choice but to sell your stars, fans could understand.
So Sevilla admitted that selling Ramos, Baptista, and other key players was due to financial troubles.
They greatly exaggerated the crisis.
Some fans were swayed by the story.
But many others still felt deeply disappointed.
Just when Sevilla was reeling, the man at the center of it all—Sergio Ramos—finally broke his silence.
In an interview with Marca's Clara column, Ramos declared:
"I will never blame Sevilla—that's where my home is."
"The fans there supported me and raised me."
"When the team needs me, I'll do anything for them."
"If that need means trading me to raise enough funds, then I'm willing to shoulder that responsibility to save the club and move on."
"So I hope Sevilla fans will stop blaming the club. They've done their best with the resources they had."
"It's just that I can no longer wear the Sevilla shirt."
"The next time we meet, we might already be opponents."
"But I will always remember that I was once a Sevillista!"
The interview was even accompanied by emotional background music.
Who could resist that?
Sevilla fans instantly hailed Ramos as a hero of the club.
A true player who sacrificed himself for the team—
Even though he was only nineteen!
Sevilla embraced Ramos' goodwill, echoing his words with their own reluctant farewell.
They dramatically declared that his actions deserved to be remembered in Sevilla's history books—worthy of the club's Hall of Fame.
The club, by appealing for sympathy, won the fans' understanding and continued support.
And Ramos, by doing the same, became the fans' hero.
One has to admit, the power of the media can be astonishing at times.
Later in the interview, Ramos also expressed his affection for Real Madrid.
Since he had joined, he said, he would give everything to this team.
If Sevilla was his home, then Real Madrid was his second home.
Home: Really?
He also stressed how thrilled he was by Luxemburgo's faith in him.
He hoped to play under Luxemburgo and prove his worth.
Luxemburgo was delighted with these comments, replaying them over and over.
Everything was unfolding exactly as he expected.
Ramos was deeply grateful to him and would become an important weapon in his fight against the Spanish clique—and against Su Hang.
And most importantly, Ramos was a defender.
Whenever Luxemburgo wanted someone neutralized, Ramos could be assigned to mark them.
Even Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, or Zidane saw their performances dip significantly when tightly marked.
Luxemburgo felt very optimistic about the coming season.
So what if Little Su Hang had become captain?
Next season, Real Madrid would officially enter the Luxemburgo era.
Florentino had deliberately set up Luxemburgo and Su Hang as rivals, balancing football authority and club management.
But soon Luxemburgo would leave Florentino with no choice but to rely only on him.
If Su Hang knew Luxemburgo's thoughts, he would surely object.
He would say: Why can't I be the one with the power to choose?
...
Compared to Real Madrid's signings, the departures this summer were even greater.
The one that pained Luxemburgo the most was Samuel.
His performance last season wasn't bad, but it fell far short of what Real Madrid had expected.
They had paid superstar money for a defender, and what they got was an ordinary one.
Woodgate had also underperformed.
Florentino made it clear—one of the two had to go.
In the end, Woodgate stayed.
The reasoning was that Samuel had played enough matches to show he wasn't what Real Madrid needed.
Woodgate, on the other hand, had been injured often and played too little—so the club decided he still deserved another chance.
Samuel was furious.
So fewer appearances are actually a plus at Real Madrid, huh?
Su Hang: Sorry, that one's on me.
Seventeen million euros—that's what Inter Milan paid for Samuel.
He had arrived for twenty-five million.
In just one year, Real Madrid lost eight million.
Meanwhile, England's Ballon d'Or winner Michael Owen was sold back to the Premier League, joining Newcastle United.
Owen had been a solid substitute last season.
But Real Madrid didn't need solid substitutes—they needed a striker who could stand alongside Ronaldo.
Owen had cost only €12 million.
Now he was sold for €18 million.
A profit of €6 million in one year.
That alone nearly covered Samuel's loss.
Inter Milan also paid €2 million to sign Solari, whose contract was expiring.
Solari had struggled to find space in Real Madrid's midfield and attack, but he still wanted to prove himself.
Of course, this also had to do with his limited standing in the squad.
If he had enjoyed Guti's influence within the Spanish clique, he likely wouldn't have left—since his playing time wasn't much different from Guti's.
Other players, like Juanfran and Borja, were loaned out: Juanfran to Espanyol, Borja to Mallorca.
Borja left in tears after sharing one last drink with Su Hang—no one knew if he would ever return.
Raúl's supposed heir, Portillo, transferred to Club Brugge in Belgium.
Since Raúl had already stepped down as captain, it was only natural his "successor" should also move on.
What, was he going to become Su Hang's heir instead?