"Haha, I know everyone is waiting for me to announce more transfer news. So..."
At that, David Dein paused slightly, creating a little suspense.
However, the uncontrollable smile on his face gave him away. Clearly, there was more big news to come.
Without keeping everyone in suspense any longer, David Dein readily announced, "Fifty million euros. David Beckham!"
When announcing this news, he could not even be bothered with a lengthy introduction. He simply gave a figure and a name.
But that was already enough!
Perhaps in the eyes of professionals, Gianluigi Buffon and Alessandro Nesta carried more weight than David Beckham.
But in the United Kingdom, David Beckham was undoubtedly the darling of fans and reporters alike!
Do not forget, he was a homegrown United Kingdom star. That alone naturally placed him a level above the "outsiders."
In the Premier League, domestic players of equal ability had always commanded higher fees than foreign players. That was common knowledge, after all—the United Kingdom's homegrown-player status was valuable.
Domestic fans naturally favored local players a little more.
Strictly speaking, given David Beckham's level and fame at the time, he was absolutely not worth the astronomical price of fifty million euros.
But there was no helping it. He had been the most popular player in the United Kingdom in those years, without question.
On top of that, he was transferring from Manchester United to Arsenal. The two clubs were old rivals, so how could Alex Ferguson possibly agree to let him go without taking a huge bite out of them?
When David Dein first made inquiries, Alex Ferguson had flatly refused. He said that even if he sent David Beckham down to the reserves, he would never sell him to Arsenal!
But when faced with the check in David Dein's hand bearing