Starting With Real Madrid

Barcelona, Joan Gamper Sports City.

When Barcelona president Sandro Rosell walked into the executive meeting room, he found several key senior staff already present.

Executive vice-president Bartomeu, vice-president of finance Javier Faus, and sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta were all seated and waiting.

"What's going on?" Rosell asked anxiously.

Bartomeu and Faus both turned to look at Zubizarreta, who had initiated this high-level meeting.

"I just received a fax from Valencia."

As he spoke, Zubizarreta stood up and distributed copies of the fax to his colleagues.

"Valencia's sporting director Braulio Vázquez said Real Madrid have officially submitted a €15 million offer for Jordi Alba."

The fax was essentially to notify Barcelona, since the club had already submitted an offer for Alba and the two sides had entered negotiations. Valencia was obligated to inform Barcelona of this new development.

"Damn it!" Rosell cursed angrily. "Is the news reliable?"

"It's confirmed. It's real," Zubizarreta replied.

"Weren't they in England? Who sent the fax to Valencia? Also, they already have Marcelo and Coentrão. Arbeloa can also play left-back. Why do they need another one?" Rosell was clearly agitated.

"Based on intelligence I gathered from various sources, I suspect it was Gao Shen who didn't want Coentrão."

Although it was just Zubizarreta's speculation, he felt confident in his assessment.

"You know, Real Madrid spent heavily in 2009 and again over the last two years. Now they're under financial pressure, so Gao Shen doesn't have much room to maneuver in the transfer market."

"After the smoking incident came out, Coentrão has fallen out of favor with fans. Selling him now could recoup around €20 million. Spending €15 million on Alba makes financial sense."

Even with that explanation, Rosell was still upset.

What is value?

Alba is a player developed by our La Masia academy. After flourishing at Valencia, we were the first club to target him.

So what does it mean for Real Madrid to swoop in now?

Rosell gritted his teeth, then turned to Zubizarreta. "Have you spoken to Alba's agent?"

"I did."

"What did he say?"

"He's kept the same stance. He thinks we shouldn't waste time over a €3 million price difference."

Since Abidal underwent a liver transplant, Barcelona had been actively looking for a new left-back.

Juan Vargas' form had declined in recent years, and the club wanted to push him by bringing in competition—hence the focus on Alba.

This former Barcelona youth product had played well at Valencia and had even been called up to the Spanish national team for the upcoming European Championship.

Barcelona had entered talks with Valencia, who wanted €15 million. But Barcelona stuck to €12 million, refusing to budge because they knew Valencia were in financial trouble and needed cash.

At the same time, Barcelona hoped that Alba and his agent would put more pressure on Valencia, possibly through public comments or even a formal transfer request.

But so far, Alba had not taken any such action.

In contrast, Arsenal's Alex Song was far more proactive.

The Arsenal captain made it clear to Barcelona that as long as the wages were right, he would confront Arsenal head-on.

Barcelona's offer for Song was around €15 million, a great value considering his market valuation on Transfermarkt was €27 million.

But Wenger was powerless.

If a player was determined to leave, there was little Arsenal could do to keep him.

Barcelona had used the same tactics in both transfers, but the unexpected twist was Real Madrid's sudden involvement.

"His agent also reminded us that Alba's release clause is €40 million. If Valencia decide not to sell and Alba performs well at the Euros, the price could be even higher by then."

Zubizarreta's words made Rosell fall into deep thought.

"What do you think?" the Barcelona president asked.

"I think we have to compete with Real Madrid. We've already gone public with our interest. Backing down now would be too late," Bartomeu said.

"But our finances are tight right now. Competing with Real Madrid for players isn't going to be easy!" Faus frowned.

As vice-president in charge of finance, ever since Rosell took office in 2010, Faus had been constantly dealing with budget issues and debt.

He had never known a moment of peace.

"Why don't we wait a bit longer?" Faus suggested.

Zubizarreta immediately objected. "We should either buy now or give up. Waiting will only hurt us. Alba is the starting left-back for the national team and will definitely perform well at the Euros. Then…"

He paused before continuing, "Besides, Real Madrid are moving quickly. I'm afraid they'll get there first."

Both sides made good arguments, leaving Rosell and Bartomeu caught in the middle.

All this because of that damn Gao Shen.

With left-backs like Marcelo and Coentrão already at Real Madrid, why did they need to go after Alba?

He was raised at La Masia. Would he even consider going to Real Madrid?

"We need to find a way to get Alba to reject Real Madrid publicly. Then we'll raise our offer and raise the funds. The finance department has to work something out. Let's move forward with this plan," Rosell concluded.

With the president making the final call, there was no more debate.

Everyone realized that with just one sentence from Gao Shen and one fax from Real Madrid, Barcelona would now have to pay several million more.

Infuriating!

…

Lass Diarra finally transferred to Anzhi in the Russian Premier League.

The French international left the top European leagues at the prime age of 27 to join the Russian side, sparking widespread curiosity and criticism from the French media.

But Diarra insisted repeatedly that he didn't go to Anzhi for the money.

Still, aside from money, it was hard to understand why he would choose to leave Manchester United, especially in a way that led to a falling out with Ferguson, effectively closing the door to any future in the top four leagues.

With that precedent, who would dare to sign him now?

After offloading Diarra, Ferguson once again made an offer to Leeds United, still aiming to sign French defensive midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin, offering £15 million.

But Leeds United once again rejected the offer.

Ferguson responded in a media interview by expressing interest in Fulham midfielder Mousa Dembélé.

The Belgian had just one year left on his contract and was drawing attention from Chelsea, Arsenal, and Tottenham. Fulham, however, were demanding £25 million.

In contrast, Schneiderlin met the criteria for English youth training, having spent three full years in English football before the age of 21.

This made him highly desirable for Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham, and Manchester United.

Now, every young player with domestic youth training credentials, ability, and potential is highly sought after.

At the end of May, Mourinho returned to the Premier League and rejoined Chelsea.

Schneiderlin's name appeared clearly on his transfer list. Chelsea made an official offer, raising their bid for the Leeds midfielder to £17 million.

That was a high price for a young player who had only played in the Championship.

But considering Schneiderlin's excellent performance in the League Cup last season and the fact that he was only 22 years old, his potential made the price acceptable.

Just as Leeds United were hesitating, Manchester United, who had already offered £20 million for Dembélé and been rejected by Fulham, turned around and submitted a £20 million offer for Schneiderlin.

This offer was impossible for Leeds United to refuse. They immediately accepted.

It was clear that Ferguson was determined to win a major trophy before retirement. To that end, he had fought with United's management for a significant transfer budget.

In addition to a midfielder, United were also targeting a striker, with Karim Benzema of Real Madrid on their radar.

…

After Schneiderlin successfully joined Manchester United for £20 million, Leeds United sold another player. Winger Yannick Bolasie transferred to newly promoted West Ham United for £10 million.

The reason was simple. Thanks to parachute payments, the wealthy West Ham could offer a higher salary than Leeds. Bolasie, already approaching his peak, wanted to cash in. Leeds had no choice but to let him go.

As June approached and the European Championship drew near, the Premier League transfer market was already in full swing.

Liverpool, under new head coach Brendan Rodgers, were determined to rebuild.

In a battle with Chelsea, the Reds successfully signed Adam Lallana from Leeds United for £25 million. They also signed Belgian striker Benteke and Clyne, a member of the England Olympic team, for £20 million and £15 million respectively.

Those three transfers cost Liverpool a combined £60 million—a massive outlay.

This time, their American owners were very generous.

Liverpool's transfer window was seen as a success. They managed to beat out multiple rivals to land both Lallana and Benteke.

A few days later, Leeds United announced the transfer of their main midfielder Paulinho to Chelsea for £20 million.

This was another major signing.

As a midfielder, Paulinho had won the Championship Bronze Boot last season. His performance had been phenomenal, attracting bids from Chelsea and Tottenham. After losing out on Schneiderlin, Chelsea ramped up their pursuit and signed Paulinho.

Tottenham then secured Fulham's Mousa Dembélé for £22 million.

Just before the start of the European Championship, Leeds United made another announcement. Their starting goalkeeper Courtois had been sold to Real Madrid for £20 million.

That was the seventh player Leeds had sold this summer.

Yet so far, they had signed only one player—José Fonte—raising concern in the media.

Selling off so many players didn't seem like the behavior of a newly promoted team.

Could it be that Leeds United were just trying to cash in on their Premier League status?

(To be continued.)

***

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