"Zhang!" The voice on the other end of the phone said with an excitement he had never heard before, "Where are you?"
"Still at Grenoble, but going back to Paris soon."
"Okay, then you go back to Paris and come to the company."
"What's wrong?"
"What a good thing!" Jonathan's voice raised an octave, "Europe went crazy watching the video of your game yesterday! My phone hasn't stopped since last night!
Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal, Manchester City, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Juventus, Inter Milan, AC Milan, Bayern Munich--all of them are calling! All of them are fucking calling!
This time it's not a test, it's a direct offer of conditions, so you have to come over quickly and let's discuss it. The summer transfer window in July is not far away now, so we can slowly negotiate."
Zhang Kuang was stunned for a moment.
"All? They all quoted?"
"Yes, you heard it right, all the wealthy teams that I can count have made bids!" Jonathan's voice was trembling, "Zhang, you are no longer a newcomer playing in Ligue 1. You are the hottest player in Europe, bar none. Come here right away, we have to talk."
The phone hung up.
Zhang Kuang hurriedly packed things, but the four beautiful reporters were just paralyzed from exhaustion, not asleep, so they got first-hand information.
After Zhang Kuang left, they got up hard and started writing a press release. This was big news.
--
Zhang Kuang got on the earliest train and then set off towards Paris. On the train, he used his mobile phone to browse the news and read the reports related to him. After reading it, he was very satisfied.
Three and a half hours later, Paris, the office of SportCover agency.
Zhang Kuang The moment he opened the door, he was shocked by the sight in front of him.
The company is not big, with a total of six workstations and a conference room. When I usually work, it is quiet here, with only the sound of keyboard typing and the occasional phone ringing.
But today--
The phones were ringing one after another, and the landlines at every work station were ringing. Two interns each held a phone and answered it, their voices already hoarse.
Commercial Director Clara·Le Roy is sitting at his workstation, holding a mobile phone in his left hand and a landline handset in his right hand. There is also a laptop in front of him, with the email interface open on the screen.
"Wait a minute, my other phone is ringing... Yes, we have received your letter of intent from your club, but the specific terms need to be negotiated by Jonathan... Okay, I will pass it on..."
Clara hung up the landline and said to the mobile phone, "Please repeat your club's quotation? Weekly salary of 150,000 pounds? Signing fee? Okay, I've written it down..."
She saw Zhang Kuang coming in, waved to him and pointed in the direction of the conference room.
Zhang Kuang walks to the conference room.
Opening the door, Jonathan·Le Brown was sitting at one end of the long table, with a thick stack of faxes and e-mail printouts spread out in front of him. His hair was messier than usual, two buttons were unbuttoned at the collar of his shirt, and his tie was torn somewhere.
Newspapers from at least seven or eight countries are scattered on the table, including French, English, Italy, Spain, and German—the front pages of each language are related to Zhang Kuang.
"Coming?" Jonathan raised his head. There were obvious dark circles under his eyes, but his eyes were frighteningly bright, "Sit down."
Zhang Kuang sat down opposite him.
Jonathan did not say any pleasantries, but directly picked up a stack of faxes from the table and threw them in front of Zhang Kuang.
"Chelsea."
Zhang Kuang looked down - the fax was on official letterhead Chelsea Football Club, and the date was today. The content was a formal inquiry letter and a communication letter of intent from the players. The wording was very official, but the core information was very clear.
"Chelsea Head coach Ancelotti called me personally." Jonathan said, his voice hoarse but speaking very fast, "He did not go through the sports director, but directly called my mobile phone.
Do you know what this means? It means that Chelsea's desire for this player has gone beyond the normal transfer process. Ancelotti doesn't want to wait, he wants to get ahead of everyone."
"Oh? What did he say?"
"He said - 'Zhang Kuang is the player we need. He can play center, winger, and can solve problems by himself. Chelsea needs such a person now.'" Jonathan paused, "His exact words."
Zhang Kuang said nothing and turned to the next page to fax.
"Manchester United."
Jonathan's voice brought another emotion. "Ferguson didn't call in person, but his assistant coach Mike Phelan did. Manchester United's offer was very formal - weekly salary of 150,000 pounds, five-year contract, core player positioning, and offensive core."
Zhang Kuang pondered for a moment. He knew Manchester United's future trajectory - after Ferguson retired, Manchester United would experience a long trough period.
Even though Ferguson is still there, Manchester United's competitiveness is declining year by year. Therefore, in his heart, Manchester United PASS has been lost. Although he is a cultivator, he is still in an inhuman state. Football is an 11-person sport, and he cannot do everything by himself.
So, Manchester United, he can't save it, and he won't go either.
"Manchester City."
"Manchester City is the most positive." Jonathan pulled out a piece of paper from the table, "Their football director flew over directly. Paris arrived last night and is now staying at the Bristol Hotel.
He said he could meet and negotiate at any time. The personal terms offered by Manchester City were probably the best among all teams - a weekly salary starting at 200,000 euros, with no upper limit.
When Mancini called, he said something - 'Zhang Kuang comes to Manchester City, he is the core of our tactics, and the whole team plays around him.'"
Zhang Kuang was silent for a few seconds.
Manchester City, rich and ambitious! There will be a future in the future, but that will be the Guardiola period, but there is a high chance that Guardiola will not like a player like him.
Because he understands this bald coach. The bald coach has too strict tactical requirements. Sometimes he can pose a threat with three or two kicks, but he has to complete the goal through complicated passes. He can't stand this.
The logic of Guardiola is: use extreme ball control to kill the "accidentality" of the game.
Manchester City, let's talk about it.
The results of the current Mancini era are a bit up and down. Mancini is a first-class coach, but not a top coach. He is a bit soft and can easily lose control of his emotions. Although he has won some league championships, it is difficult for him to make any achievements in UEFA Champions League.
Besides, this can be an alternative. After all, there is a lot of money. The worst thing is that he will leave before Guashuai comes. Manchester City.
"Arsenal."
"Wenger made the call in person." Jonathan's expression became subtle, "He said a lot of things, but the core meaning was just one - Arsenal has no money to give." The salary is high, but Arsenal has the best young player training system. If Zhang Kuang goes to Arsenal, he will become the next Henry."
Zhang Kuang almost laughed, next Henry?
How many championships did Henry win in Arsenal? Zero UEFA Champions League. What was the situation of Arsenal in those years? Fighting for fourth place every year and selling out the captain every year.
"Arsenal Don't think about it." Zhang Kuang said.
Jonathan glanced at him and put a cross on Arsenal's fax.
"Tottenham Hotspur also called, but I don't think there's any need to think about it."
"No need."
Jonathan put Tottenham Hotspur's fax aside and continued to scroll down.
"La Liga. Real Madrid."
He picked up a fax and read, "Real Madrid's official inquiry letter did not include specific personal terms, but their sports director told me privately that Real Madrid can offer a weekly salary of about 150,000 euros, and the signing fee will be discussed separately."
Pellegrini - their head coach - said something after watching your video, 'Zhang Kuang is more comprehensive than Drogba and can cooperate with Cristiano Ronaldo like Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo'. Of course, this may be just a polite comment."
Zhang Kuang shook his head, not to mention that it is impossible for him to compete with Cristiano Ronaldo for the core. What is more important is to look at the current lineup of Real Madrid: Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaká, Benzema, Higuaín.
Real Madrid's forward line is already overcrowded. If he goes to Real Madrid, who will he replace? The highest probability is to replace Higuaín and let him play center.
Forget it, forget it, he has no dream of being an emperor. If Cristiano Ronaldo leaves Real Madrid, he can consider giving Real Madrid a try.
"Barcelona?" Zhang Kuang was a little surprised.
"Barcelona also asked about the price." Jonathan pointed at the fax, "But their attitude was rather ambiguous. Guardiola watched your video.
But Barcelona's current front line includes Messi, Ibrahimović, Henry, Pedro, Bojan--Messi are the absolute core, Ibrahimović is the main center. If you go to Barcelona, at most they will be rotation players."
Zhang Kuang nodded, Barcelona didn't consider it, he couldn't be a substitute for anyone.
Next, Bayern Munich, Inter Milan, AC Milan, Juventus, etc. all have their quotations. It's really a headache to look at Zhang Kuang one by one.
He really didn't think carefully about where he wanted to transfer. He thought it was something he would worry about at the end of the season.