Pellegrini's Fury! Manchester City Secretly Sign Gündoğan-Was Guardiola Pulling the Strings?
"Gündoğan? Who sent him? Who made this decision!"
On January 1, 2016, the first day of the new year, Manchester City manager Pellegrini threw a tantrum in his office.
The reason was that the club staff in charge of transfer registration informed him that the club had reached a Borussia Dortmund with Borussia Dortmund of the Bundesliga for the transfer of Germany midfielder Gündoğan.
Barring any unforeseen circumstances, he will transfer from Borussia Dortmund to Manchester City in a few days for a transfer fee of approximately 30 million euros.
Pellegrini felt a sudden wave of dizziness!
His body, over sixty years old, trembled uncontrollably.
He had certainly heard of Gündoğan; the 25-year-old Germany midfielder was Borussia Dortmund's key defensive midfielder.
With excellent vision, superb technique, and a beautiful long-range shot, he is a top-class midfielder.
However, neither Pellegrini himself nor his scouting team ever included Gündoğan on their shortlist, let alone made a transfer offer for him.
But now they're telling me he'll be coming to Manchester City in a few days!?
So, the team had already secretly agreed to this transfer a long time ago, but didn't inform me at all.
Good heavens, does the entire club even respect me as the head coach?!
Furious, Pellegrini stormed into CEO Begiristain's office and had a huge argument with him.
Begiristain confirmed the incident, but could only offer Pellegrini words of comfort.
"Gündoğan is an excellent player, and the club has been pursuing him aggressively for a long time. His arrival at Manchester City will definitely be a great help in achieving our season goals, which is a good thing!"
However, Pellegrini showed no appreciation whatsoever.
"Our season goal? Our goal this season is to win the treble! We're already leading our opponents by a full 7 points in the league!"
"As for the UEFA Champions League, are you blind? Gündoğan played in European competitions while playing for Borussia Dortmund. According to regulations, he joined Manchester City in the second half of the season, so we cannot register him for the UEFA Champions League. Please cancel this transfer immediately!"
CEO Begiristain firmly stated that it was impossible.
Because the team has already agreed on the transfer fee with Borussia Dortmund and is discussing salary with Gündoğan and his agent, the transfer will be completed within three days, and no one can change that.
Pellegrini's face darkened.
After realizing that he couldn't change the fact that Gündoğan was coming, he kept pressing Begiristain for details about who made the decision and why he, the head coach, wasn't informed beforehand.
Pellegrini believes the matter was handled terribly. Gündoğan is indeed a good player, but as Manchester City's manager, he has the right to know about the team's activities in the transfer market. Otherwise, it is a lack of respect and a huge insult to his many years of coaching career!
Begiristain, however, remained vague and evasive, changing the subject.
It's just that the Abu Dhabi United Group attaches great importance to Gündoğan; this is a decision made by the higher-ups, and he himself has no right to interfere.
"Mr. Pellegrini, I regret to inform you that this was Mr. Guardiola's decision!"
The mystery was only solved when the business director Berrada, suddenly walked in.
Guardiola greatly admires the Germany midfielder and has informed Manchester City that, if possible, he hopes Gündoğan will transfer to Manchester City in the winter transfer window to adapt to half a season in the Premier League and practice his English in preparation for his official takeover.
Begiristain glared at Berrada, seemingly condemning him for saying such things at this time.
Whether it's Pellegrini, Begiristain, or Berrada, all three know that, barring any major surprises, Guardiola will succeed Pellegrini as Manchester City's manager next season.
However, in Begiristain's view, it was rather awkward to bypass Pellegrini and insert someone Guardiola wanted.
As CEO, he had no choice but to do so because Guardiola had secured the support of the head of the Abu Dhabi United Group and received unanimous approval from the top management of City Football Group, who believed he was the only one capable of leading the Blue Moon team to Europe dominance!
Begiristain had expected Pellegrini to fly into a rage and yell upon hearing this reason;
After all, for a coach in his sixties, having the tea grow cold before he even leaves is a hard thing to accept for anyone!
To his surprise, Pellegrini paused for a moment upon hearing this, remained silent for about ten seconds, then nodded expressionlessly, turned around and left without saying a word.
Looking at the Chile's tall but slightly hunched back, Begiristain felt a pang of sadness, realizing that what he had done was indeed unkind.
But Business Director Berrada didn't care at all.
"Mr. CEO, we don't need to feel guilty. When Pellegrini first came to the club a few years ago, he knew he was Guardiola's backup plan. This day was bound to come. As the club's management, we just need to boldly follow the board's requirements and push things forward."
After saying goodbye to Diletta at Manchester International Airport and watching her flight take off for London, Tang Long felt a pang of reluctance.
He had one hand in his pocket, kneading the crescent-shaped pendant that Diletta had given him.
Time flies, another year has passed.
Towards the end of the meal, Diletta's face turned red and she was sweating profusely from the spiciness, which reminded Tang Long of some of their past experiences in Milan.
However, Tang Long quickly detached himself from these romantic feelings.
I just saw off a good friend, and now another old friend is coming.
This is a very important person; in his heart, she is far more important than Diletta.
Berni is coming to Manchester!
After retiring, this Inter Milan's third-choice goalkeeper began a second spring in his professional career in the United States, across the Atlantic.
Over the past six months, his music career in New York has been booming and thriving.
His Tianjie Band, not only gained fame in the United States, but also frequently received invitations from music fans in Europe.
After his last tour in Milan, Berni has finally arrived in Manchester, UK, to begin his second Europe tour.
After finishing training in the morning, Tang Long and Ranocchia went to see a concert by the Berni band.
Although Berni, as a guitarist, did not sing, his passionate guitar playing was a unique highlight of the concert. His ten fingers strummed the strings, bringing the entire concert to a climax!
"Uncle Bei is still as passionate as ever," Ranocchia said with a smile.
"I think Berni is a musical genius whose talent was wasted on being a goalkeeper. He should retire sooner," Tang Long joked.
During the dinner the following evening, Tang Long personally told Berni that he should retire earlier Berni pursue music;
The bald Italy man, however, looked utterly disdainful.
Berni said that being able to play as Inter Milan's third-choice goalkeeper is the most comfortable thing in his career, and there is no better job than being a third-choice goalkeeper.
"Back when I was at Inter Milan, I was just there to meet the quota for European competition youth training! Training was a joke, and during matches I'd just sit on the sidelines watching the game for free, drinking water, waving towels, and if I didn't like an opponent, I'd rush to the sidelines and yell at them. Getting a red card didn't matter, I could still make hundreds of thousands of euros a year! Wasn't that great? Without that money, how would I go to New York to make music?"
Ranocchia nodded, grinning as he echoed.
"That's right. Being the third-choice goalkeeper for a top Italy team is practically a job you can just lie down and relax. I remember one game against Roma, Uncle Bei and Totti got into a fight, one was yelling at each other on the field, the other off the field, and in the end they both got red cards, hahaha, and Mr. Mancini was secretly laughing to himself on the sidelines!"
As the three chatted, the topic naturally turned to football again.
First, he looked back on his time at Inter Milan.
Tang Long asked about Bonazzoli, who used to be a junior teammate of Inter Milan.
Berni said the kid is doing well now; Candreva no longer dares to bully him, and the two have become good brothers.
"The day before I came to Manchester, Candreva was still bragging to me on the phone, saying that Bonazzoli had scored 8 goals in 18 league games, 4 of which were assisted by him, and asked me to say good things about him to my cousin whenever I could, hahaha!"
The topic then shifted to Manchester City.
Berni helped Tang Long a lot when he was with Inter Milan.
Do you remember back in November 2014, when Tang Long was unexpectedly promoted to the first team as a youth player?
No one cared about his minor role, except for Berni, the equally inconspicuous third goalkeeper, who took good care of Tang Long.
Not only did they explain a lot of the ins and outs of the football field to him, but they also helped him understand Italy football culture in the shortest amount of time.
Tang Long trusted Berni a lot, so he told Berni about what had happened in the Manchester City dressing room.
Berni particularly enjoyed listening to the recent the Sun's paparazzi incident.
"Not bad, Tang. You've improved. You handled this very well. A traitor like Nasri doesn't deserve to be a teammate. He should be dealt with!"
Berni added that if this were in Italy, he could contact the Southern Mafia with a single phone call and have Nasri's Achilles tendon severed, leaving him in a wheelchair for life and never able to play football again.
Tang Long laughed and said there was no need for that, that would be too cruel. He had already entrusted Nasri to his good brother Guarin.
"Not bad! Guarin is a kind-hearted boy, he will definitely treat Nasri well." Berni said with a wicked smile.
The three of them got more and more into their conversation and even started drinking.
Tang Long and Ranocchia only had a small beer;
Berni, on the other hand, was drinking strong liquor by himself, getting himself completely drunk.
Tang Long said, "But there's something that Ranocchia and I still don't understand: among those who participated in the gathering at Captain Kompany's house that day, who leaked it to the Sun, adding to the trouble?"
"That day, Agüero told me privately that we must unite, crack down on the gangs in the locker room, and find this mole!"
Berni was so drunk he could barely keep his eyes open. He only managed to reply with a warning, "Be careful of what he says, 'we'," before collapsing onto the table and starting to snore.
On January 3, the 20th round of the Premier League kicked off as scheduled.
After a 19-round cycle, Manchester City's opponent in the 20th round is none other than Tottenham Hotspur, the London powerhouse from the first round of the league!
This time, Manchester City will host their opponents at home.
Before the match.
Tang Long received another provocative text message from Guarin.
[Don Nasri has been completely subdued by me these past few days, now it's my turn to deal with you in Manchester City!]