Su Dong's Waterloo

As the new season drew closer, good news gradually began to emerge from Man City's transfer dealings.

First, they brought in Portuguese center-back Pepe from Bayern Munich for €30 million. Soon after, they signed Portuguese international Moutinho from Sporting Lisbon for €10 million, followed by Brazilian left-back Marcelo from Bayern Munich for €25 million.

The three transfers cost €65 million in total. Man City spent money as if it grew on trees, without even batting an eye.

What drew even more attention was that all three transfers were handled by the same agent: Mendes.

The Portuguese agent was thrust into the spotlight once again.

This was far from the first time.

Over the past few years, Mendes had been one of the biggest figures in the transfer market almost every summer.

After Cristiano Ronaldo last year, he had orchestrated another string of major deals this year. The Portuguese agent was a force to be reckoned with in European football, and everyone could feel his influence.

Of the three transfers, one was Su Dong's junior teammate at Sporting Lisbon, while the other two were his close friends at Bayern Munich. That immediately got media outlets around the world excited once again.

Rumors that Su Dong would transfer to Man City had long been raging. Neither Man City nor Bayern had stepped forward to deny them, but German media reported that Bayern was close to signing Stuttgart striker Mario Gomez.

Why sign Gomez?

The answer required no further explanation.

Everyone now knew that Su Dong was leaving. All that remained was the official announcement.

A transfer involving a superstar like Su Dong was usually a drawn-out soap opera, but this one had truly dragged on too long.

Ever since the Abu Dhabi group acquired Man City in 2008, Man City had been