A One-Hour Race Against Time! Manchester United Raises Its Offer for Tang Long, but Manchester City Snatches Ranocchia!

In this sweltering July filled with the incessant chirping of cicadas, the fans' feelings were varied.

Icardi's Pound Sterling 80 million signing was like a boulder thrown into a pond, creating a huge wave in the Premier League!

"The Argentina top scorer who scored 40 league goals in a single season has come to the Premier League!"

Whether it's the traditional Premier League Big Four or Premier League financially well-funded second-tier teams like Tottenham Hotspur, Everton, and Southampton, all are feeling a strong sense of crisis.

In order not to fall behind Manchester United in the transfer market, they have spent a lot of money.

Chelsea spent €27 million to buy 28-year-old Spain striker Pedro from Barca, and then immediately splashed out €26 million on Augsburg defender Baba, who was only 21 years old.

Liverpool have been very quick, spending a combined €90 million on two strikers, Benteke and Firmino, and they are also eyeing Burnley winger Ings. This summer, their spending could easily exceed €100 million.

The €25 million acquisition of Inter Milan Guarin was far from satisfying Tottenham Hotspur's appetite, and they went on to buy South Korea striker Son Heung-min from Bayer Leverkusen for €30 million. Notably, Tottenham Hotspur Paulinho, whose place was taken by Guarin, was brought to the Chinese Super League by Evergrande for €14 million.

As a team whose checks are stained with black oil, Manchester City is naturally no exception.

They acquired Sterling for €63 million and Otamendi for €45 million, bolstering both their attacking and defensive lines.

However, Manchester United's Icardi cost close to 100 million euros, Manchester City felt that their transfer spending was clearly insufficient.

While they are competing with Chelsea for Tang Long – according to La Gazzetta dello Sport, after a back-and-forth battle, both clubs' latest offers for Tang Long have risen to Pound Sterling 58 million, equivalent to €69 million!

Transfer expert Di Marzio believes that Tang Long's final transfer fee will definitely be over 70 million euros, and Chelsea and Manchester City will have to continue tormenting each other.

Ausilio, of course, watched from the sidelines, remaining calm and collected.

He's not in a hurry at all. There's still a month before the transfer window closes, plenty of time. Even if both teams only increase their offers by 500,000 euros each time, I'll still have the leisure to play along with you to the very end.

It's like an auction; only the highest bidder gets Ausilio's final hammer blow!

But at this very moment, a third party intervened!

[9:30 AM]

Ausilio's inbox suddenly received an offer from Manchester United, starting with 70 million euros!

Ausilio carefully checked Manchester United's email address and looked at the electronic seal of Manchester United on the offer letter. He couldn't help but rub his hands together excitedly and did a high-knee jog in his office.

My goodness, it finally broke 7! Hahaha~

Accelerate, accelerate, keep accelerating!

[9:35].

Ausilio immediately sent the screenshot to Manchester City and Chelsea.

Manchester City's Chief Operating Officer, Begiristain, was furious!

Even through the phone receiver, Ausilio could hear the thumping sound of his feet.

"Manchester United are such bastards! Why did they have to do this now? Aren't they trying to create more chaos than they already are?!"

"Haha, you can't say that," Ausilio said calmly, suppressing a laugh as he fanned the flames. "Think about it, if Don is paired with Icardi, that's a guaranteed 40 Premier League goals! In my opinion, your red neighbors aren't necessarily here to drive up the price; they genuinely want Don. You'd better watch out!"

"They can't afford a damn Tang. Icardi alone has emptied their transfer budget. As far as I know, they poured the transfer budget originally intended for Martial and Depay into Icardi. They sold Di Maria to Paris Saint-Germain at a loss of 12 million euros, and they still need to add new players. They're out of money!"

Begiristain's fury played right into Ausilio's hands.

"Brother, don't rush. The business world is like a battlefield. There's an ancient China story called 'Besieging Wei to Rescue Zhao,' have you heard of it? Let me tell you about it."

After listening to Ausilio's explanation over the phone, Begiristain's eyes lit up.

"I see, you want me to drive up the price of your center- Ranocchia? Haha, that's interesting!"

After a difficult back-and-forth, Manchester United agreed to sign Inter Milan captain Ranocchia for €30 million.

For Manchester United, Ranocchia is a must-have. This player, who came from the youth team as a midfielder, can make up for the shortcomings of Manchester United's defensive line in terms of ball distribution and improve the control of the game in the midfield and defense.

Manchester United have already agreed on the details of the contract with Ranocchia, and the transfer is a done deal once he passes the medical.

Begiristain understood Ausilio's meaning. At this crucial moment, a surprise intervention from outside the club would give Manchester United a boost. Even if they didn't ultimately make the purchase, it would be enough to make Manchester United back down from Tang Long's transfer.

However, Begiristain, on the other end of the phone, covered the receiver and spoke with Manchester City manager Pellegrini for two minutes.

He made an amazing decision!

[9:45].

He told Ausilio that Manchester City were going to make a formal offer for Ranocchia, but this time it wasn't about raising the price; it was about actually getting him.

"35 million euros, my price is fixed. You sell it to me, and I'll double the commission. Let's get to the paperwork done right away, how about it?"

In the recently concluded season, runners-up Manchester City conceded 38 league goals, six more than champions Chelsea.

The defensive line, in particular, exposed the problem of insufficient height.

Actually, the two main center-backs Mangala and Kompany, are alright. One is 188cm and the other is 190cm, both of which are standard Premier League center-back physiques.

However, both of them are prone to injury; it's always one of them who gets injured, and throughout the entire season, they each only made a little over 20 appearances in the league.

Pellegrini had no choice but to temporarily field the 35-year-old veteran Demichelis.

Demichelis's best position is actually defensive midfielder, but this season in the Premier League, he has made over 30 appearances as a center-back, including a whopping 28 starts. He is undoubtedly Manchester City's main center-back, more than either Kompany or Mangala, which is both laughable and frustrating.

However, this Argentina veteran is only 184cm tall and has a slender build, weighing less than 80kg, which often puts him at a disadvantage in physical confrontations in the Premier League.

In addition, as he gets older, he is gradually becoming unable to keep up with the high-level pace of the Premier League.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, Manchester City will not renew his contract when it expires in 2016, allowing him to leave as a free agent.

Pellegrini was looking to add a tall center-back, Ranocchia, at 195cm, would be a good choice. He readily agreed!

During this brief two-minute exchange, COO Begiristain suddenly realized that Ranocchia was not only an excellent mid-career Italy national team center-back, but also Tang Long's captain.

Bringing him to Manchester City quickly might greatly help in facilitating Tang Long's personal desire to transfer there.

His idea, along with a fixed price of 35 million euros, was presented to Ausilio and received a positive response.

"Haha, you've got some ideas! As far as I know, these two get along quite well. I won't argue with you anymore, it's settled then." Ausilio was unusually straightforward for once.

Fearing that things might change and Ausilio might back out, Begiristain immediately took the club's private jet from Manchester to Milan to finalize the transfer contract.

[11:58], The plane takes off.

Ausilio sat in his office eating his pizza delivery, waiting for Begiristain, feeling a great sense of accomplishment.

He thought to himself, "Let's not even talk about the double kickback. Very few Italy center-backs play abroad, so their market value isn't high to begin with. Manchester United's offer of 30 million euros is almost the maximum. But with just a casual remark, I increased the owner's transfer revenue by 5 million euros. Doesn't that demonstrate my negotiation skills as a sporting director?"

This was even more exciting than Icardi's record-breaking Serie A transfer, which cost almost three times as much!

From now on, if anyone in the Italy sports director circle talks behind my back and says I'm incompetent, I'll just spit on them!

My grandpa doesn't hold back; he slapped him across the face right away, haha!

[15:02] Begiristain arrived at Inter Milan club, where Ausilio came downstairs to greet him. The two continued to discuss other details of Ranocchia's transfer.

[16:08] Benevento, a city in southern Italy, an airport.

Ranocchia, accompanied by his wife and children, and carrying large bags, was checking in.

An hour later, he will fly to Manchester with his family to undergo a medical examination at Manchester United.

From Serie A to the Premier League, from Inter Milan to Manchester United, Ranocchia showed no excitement whatsoever.

He silently placed four or five suitcases onto the rolling luggage rack for check-in, then held his daughter's hand and watched his wife talk to the airport staff to print out the tickets.

"Daddy, I'm hungry, I want pizza," the four-year-old daughter said weakly, tugging at Ranocchia's clothes.

Ranocchia, who married young and became a father at 23, patted his daughter's head, squatted down, and said, "Alice, be good, we're about to board the plane. When we get to Manchester, I'll buy you pizza."

"Dad, I want to play cat's cradle with my sister Perotti. She plays with me every day before nap time at kindergarten."

"... Alice, when you get to Manchester, you'll make lots of new friends. They'll also know how to play cat's cradle, even more tricks than your sister Perotti."

If you had to describe Ranocchia's current feelings with a song, it would be, "Actually, I don't want to leave, actually, I want to stay."

This tall, handsome, long-haired 27-year-old man was born in a small town in southern Italy.

Like many people from southern Italy, he had very conservative family values.

His parents and in-laws all lived in southern Italy.

A player's career is very busy, with almost no holidays throughout the season.

However, whenever the team gives him a holiday of more than two days, he will take his wife and children back to his hometown in the south to visit his parents and relatives and ease his intense homesickness.

In Milan, his four-year-old daughter is living happily, making many good friends at the local kindergarten, and they have even made a pact to attend the same primary school together in two years.

He was unwilling to leave Italy under any circumstances.

What's more, next year is the 2016 UEFA European Championship!

Conte's national team played with a three-man defense, a complete transplant of Juventus's three veteran defenders.

After a successful season at Inter Milan, Ranocchia received a call from Conte.

During the phone call, Conte highly praised Inter Milan captain's performance this season and encouraged him to continue his efforts. He said that if he continues his excellent performance next season, he will be able to play as a key player for the national team in next year's UEFA European Championship.

From this perspective, Ranocchia felt that staying at Inter Milan was the best option.

Playing domestically makes it easier for Conte to come and observe his matches in person.

Thinking of this, Ranocchia cursed "Damn Ausilio!" in his mind again!

At that moment, a man wearing Inter Milan jersey nervously approached and asked, "Captain, can I take a picture with you?"

A smile finally appeared on Ranocchia's face.

"Okay, but don't call me captain anymore. I'm not your captain anymore."

Fans had obviously learned about Ranocchia's move to Manchester United through the recent flood of news, but they still told him:

"No, thank you for your four years at Inter Milan. Wherever you go, you will always be our captain!"

After taking photos with the fans, they thanked them and left.

Ranocchia then saw his back; it turned out he was wearing Tang Long's number 99 jersey.

Upon seeing this scene, the tall man felt a sudden pang of sadness and sighed.

"Tang is leaving, and so am I. All the other teammates are leaving too! Whether Tang goes to Chelsea or Manchester City, we'll be opponents on the field from now on. Sigh, I wish I could go to Manchester City too."

After checking in and dropping off their luggage, Ranocchia took his wife and children to security and then headed to the boarding gate.

[16:25]

"PazzaInteramala--"

His phone rang; the ringtone was the Inter Milan team anthem he had used for four years.

Upon seeing it was Ausilio, he said impatiently, "What is it? Speak!"

"My dear captain, where are you now?"

I'm at the airport.

"Airport? Which airport? Where are you going?"

"Benevento Airport, I'm heading to Manchester United for my medical. I'm about to board, so I'm not going to talk to you anymore." Ranocchia felt annoyed upon hearing this voice.

"Huh? So fast? Can you slow down? You don't need to go to Manchester United." Ausilio's speech noticeably quickened upon hearing that Ranocchia was about to board the plane.

"Why?"

"Because I sold you to another team that was a better fit for you."

Upon hearing this, Ranocchia was about to explode!

If his daughter hadn't been there, he would have loved to unleash a few Italy curses.

"Ausilio! I'm a person, not a bag of chips on a shelf that you can just toss around! My family and I spent the whole night packing, I rented a house in Manchester in advance, and my wife even contacted an international school there. I've barely slept these past few days because of all this!"

"I've finished all that, and my flight is taking off in 30 minutes. You're telling me I don't need to go to Manchester? You think I'm some kind of monkey being played with in front of the cathedral?!"

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone, followed by laughter.

The monkey Ranocchia mentioned refers to the monkey show performed by Gypsies in front of the Duomo di Milano.

It's a popular tourist destination, attracting many visitors. The naturally nomadic Gypsies gather here, entertaining people with their comical monkey tricks and earning tips in euros from tourists.

"Ranocchia, listen to me, your flight won't be canceled. You're still flying to Manchester, but not Manchester United, it's Manchester City," Ausilio said, his laughter subsiding.

Ranocchia paused for a moment, "Manchester City? Isn't it Manchester United? What happened?"

At that moment, inside the Inter Milan club, a man answered a phone call from Inter Milan's sporting director, Ausilio.

"Hello Ranocchia, this is Begiristain, Chief Operating Officer of Manchester City. To make a long story short, I'm here to offer you terms."

"A five-year contract, we talk about weekly wages here. If you convert that to what Italy players usually call their net annual salary after tax, it's 4 million euros a year. As far as I know, that's 500,000 euros more than the contract Manchester United offered you."

Ranocchia remained silent on the other end of the phone.

He was unwilling to tear up the contract he had drafted with Manchester United for a mere €500,000 difference.

After all, his salary at Inter Milan was only 2.5 million euros after tax, while Manchester United's offer of 3.5 million euros was a significant increase.

This makes him seem untrustworthy.

"By the way, which school will your daughter attend?" Begiristain continued when there was no response.

"Manchester Carmel International Kindergarten," Ranocchia glanced at his wife, "My family says it's the best kindergarten in Manchester."

"No, no, no, you don't understand. Your daughter is only four years old. She's too young. She should go to Julia Bella Kindergarten. It's a private kindergarten in North Manchester, run by Italy and only open to Italy children. Your child will definitely make many new friends there."

Ranocchia was quite surprised to hear this; he hadn't expected that a Manchester City executive would discuss his daughter's kindergarten with him, and he immediately gripped his phone tighter.

"Also, your wife has an Italy NPF3 nursing certificate, which is mutually recognized in the UK. I can help you with the paperwork. By the way, how is her English?"

"She's alright, she can communicate in basic ways. You asked about this because..." Ranocchia was quite surprised. How did this guy even know that my wife is a nurse?

"Give me six months, and I'll hire the best private English tutor in the UK to provide professional guidance, guaranteeing she'll reach an IELTS score of 8.0 or higher. Then, I'll use my connections to get her a job as a nurse at Manchester Central Hospital. What do you think?"

Ranocchia was completely dumbfounded!

His girlfriend's situation is quite unique.

She's my childhood sweetheart, not some supermodel or anything like that.

Despite her boyfriend's high salary, she continued working as a nurse.

My girlfriend had to quit her beloved job for this trip to Manchester.

She hopes to continue working as a nurse in the UK and pursue her career, rather than becoming a full-time housewife who only goes shopping and browsing.

"Oh my god, is this real?!"

The wife cried out excitedly.

Earlier, seeing her husband standing there blankly answering the phone, the woman became suspicious and moved closer to listen in.

She became happier and happier as she listened, until she heard that she could continue working as a nurse in UK. She was overjoyed and hugged her boyfriend tightly.

"Honey, let's not go to Manchester United, let's go to Manchester City instead, okay?"

The four-year-old daughter watched as her mother suddenly hugged her father, not knowing what had happened, and just giggled foolishly.

[16:45]

(Check-in for flight RG7682 to Manchester has begun. Please board in an orderly manner!)

As the announcement came on, passengers in the waiting room stood up and headed towards the boarding gate with their bags and luggage.

"Okay! Mr. Begiristain, I'm willing to sign a five-year contract with Manchester City. I'm boarding now, see you in Manchester!"

"Alright, I'll be right next to Ausilio. I'll take care of your original contract with Inter Milan, and don't worry about housing. Oh, and I'll send you a phone number now. When you arrive in Manchester, contact our colleague, and we'll send you to the medical room by car. If everything's fine, we'll sign the new contract that day. Have a pleasant journey! Remember, don't answer any calls from Manchester United after you land! Okay, that's all. Goodbye!"

"Mr. Begiristain, please tell Director Ausilio that I'll treat him to coffee whenever he visits Manchester."

After hanging up the phone, walking down the boarding corridor, Ranocchia was so excited that I really wanted to do a sprint and slide on my knees!

"Let's go to Manchester!"

The three of them boarded the flight, laughing.

Ranocchia wondered if he could be Tang Long's teammate in the new Premier League season.

Based on the way Manchester City's operations director acted, Ranocchia felt the chances were very high.

Thinking of this, the handsome Italy man suddenly became full of energy, as if he were standing on the grass of the Etihad Stadium, not on the carpet of an airplane.

[16:50]

Mr. Begiristain let out a long sigh of relief, then wiped the fine beads of sweat from his forehead.

That was so exciting!

It's like a life-or-death delivery service in the nick of time!

If I hadn't immediately flown from Manchester to Milan on my private jet, finalized all the transfer details in less than an hour, and then contacted Ranocchia right away, if I had been delayed by just one more hour, Ranocchia would have been on the plane without a signal, and as soon as the plane landed, he would probably have been picked up by Manchester United.

Once someone falls into their hands, things can get complicated!

Despite his efforts to remain calm during his conversation with Ranocchia, he was actually incredibly nervous inside.

If we can't convince him in the shortest amount of time, once the plane takes off, it'll be all over.

This was the first time Begiristain had done something like this since joining Manchester City, and things went much more smoothly than he had imagined.

He and Ausilio gave each other a high five in celebration!

"How about it? My method works, right? I know what he needs, so I provide it for him. Southern Italy value family ties, which is different from the UK back home. Some things money can't buy, and they're very receptive to that! Did you hear that? This kid was cursing me one minute, and the next he's offering to buy me coffee," Ausilio laughed.

"You're something else," Begiristain gave Ausilio a thumbs up. "Looks like Manchester United isn't very humane; they didn't provide what I mentioned."

Ausilio said, "If Sir Alex Ferguson were still at Manchester United, he would have thought things through even more thoroughly than I have, but Van Gaal wouldn't have considered these things, and that's the difference between him and Ferguson."

Begiristain said, "This is our first collaboration in the summer transfer window, a good start, and I hope that the collaboration will continue to be successful regarding Tang's transfer."

Ausilio flashed his sly smile again.

"Tang's situation is very special; you need to show even more sincerity."

[19:05]

The flight from Benevento carrying Ranocchia and his family of three landed at Manchester Airport.

Ranocchia landed, he called that number.

He followed instructions and did not go directly to the exit where Manchester United's pick-up personnel were waiting. Instead, he took his checked baggage and left through a small side door, got into a black MPV, and went directly to the Manchester City club's medical laboratory for a medical examination.

It wasn't until Ranocchia quickly passed the medical examination and signed the contract that things changed.

Manchester United staff were still anxiously waiting at the airport, repeatedly calling Ranocchia.

"Where is he? Where did he go? Someone that big should be easy to spot. Could he have gotten lost?"