Godfather Of Champions

Chapter 673: Wealth of An Entire Nation

“Gabriel Agbonlahor! Agbonlahor! This is his third goal in this game! Agbonlahor scored a hat trick in less than eight minutes! Oh, ho ho—poor Manchester City!” “The cheers at Villa Park stadium were thunderous cheers as if there had been an earthquake here. The vigor stunned the visiting Manchester City fans, who sat dazedly in their seats as they watched that kid darted along the sidelines.

His name was Gabriel Agbonlahor and had been Aston Villa’s rising new star for the last two seasons. Now he was the absolute leading player in this game.

The Manchester City manager, Mark Hughes stood on the sidelines with his arms across his chest as he looked on helplessly at the celebratory crowd around him.

Just eight minutes earlier, his own team had just turned the score to 1:1 thanks to Elano’s penalty shot. He was still plotting how to take three points from this away game to give the new boss a perfect gift for their first meeting when over here, Aston Villa’s number 11 had already scored three goals in a row and completed a hat trick…

After the game, the away Manchester City team lost 1:4 and became the laughingstock of the media. Having just became a billionaire, they were crushed on the field which made people gleeful. It looked like there were a lot of people who hated the rich in England…

Once they returned to Manchester from Birmingham, the first thing that Mark Hughes did was to go to the club’s owner and tell him that the summer would be over soon if he still did not make a move—Manchester City were slow to make a move in the transfer market due to Thaksin’s problems earlier. Except to buy back Shaun Wright-Phillips, there was no other move to be commended about.

Before he could leave to look for his boss, an Arab man in a white headscarf found him.

“Good morning, Mr. Mark Hughes.” That man was very polite.

Hughes did not know him, but he was not surprised. Since the club changed its owner overnight, the number of unfamiliar faces had increased.

“I’m Mr. Fahim’s a.s.sistant, Osamu.”

“Ah, Mr. Osamu, good morning. What can I do for you?”

In fact, it could probably be estimated that Osamu looking for him was equivalent to Fahim looking for him.

“Mr. Fahim thinks the team should make some big changes. He wants Mr. Hughes to come up with a list and give it to him.”

In the face of such a good thing, Hughes shook his head and said, “Mr. Osamu, I have no doubt that Mr. Fahim wants the team to be stronger. But now that the new season has already begun, implementing big changes in the lineup will only bring about worse results. Of course, we need to adjust the current squad, but not now.”

“In that case, can you tell me which areas the team needs players the most at the moment?”

This time Hughes immediately blurted out, “Strikers.”

Indeed, Manchester City’s forward line was terrible.

The game against Aston Villa looked like something was wrong with the rear defensive line, but in fact the root cause was in the forward line. When the striker could not pose a threat to the enemy’s goal, the other side’s offensive would be unbridled.

After Thaksin took owners.h.i.+p of the team last season, he brought in a lot of new people to the team, but the quality was really underwhelming …

The first thing that Mark Hughes did since he took over this summer, was to clean up the players he did not need in the team. He drove away five strikers in one go on the forward line.

Corradi was sold to Reggina Calcio, Bianchi was sold to Turin, Samaras sold to Celtic, while the contracts of d.i.c.kov and Mpenza were terminated by the club.

The only strikers left in the team that could be used were Va.s.sell, Benjamin Mwaruwari, Bojinov and Sturridge. Sturridge was the team’s future star, but he was still a little young.

Looking at this lineup, there was hardly a goalscorer among them. Moreover, looking at the top five teams in the Premier League, every single one of them had a leading goalscorer. Manchester United had Rooney, Ronaldo and Tevez, Liverpool had Torres, a.r.s.enal had Adebayor and Eduardo da Silva, Chelsea had Drogba, and Nottingham Forest had van Nistelrooy.

The Manchester City new boss’s bold and visionary words held a prominent position in the media. As a team that had always wanted to win all the champions.h.i.+p t.i.tles and reach the Champions League, it was wretched not to have a striker who was of a good enough level….

The position suggested by Mark Hughes also received Osamu’s approval. He nodded and said, “It won’t be long before you, Mr. Mark Hughes, can have a lot of world-cla.s.s strikers.”

Mark Hughes was alarmed instead. He feared the club would waste time on the players who would not come at all. He hurriedly said, “I hope it’s as soon as possible. We don’t have much time, Mr. Osamu. The summer transfer window only had half a month left. If we can’t find anyone, we have to wait until January…”

“Please rest a.s.sured on this, Mr. Hughes. We have a big plan, but it will take time. Don’t worry. The striker position will be fulfilled at the first instance.”

With that, Osamu turned and left. He was now a busy man. Although the Manchester City club had a general manager, this personal a.s.sistant was better to employ in front of Fahim…

Mark Hughes shook his head as he looked at this Arab man’s back. It had only been a week from the initial excitement over a huge influx of capital pouring into the club to the current calmness. Because he had seen first-hand how the star players simply rejected Manchester City.

Manchester City was not Chelsea in those years. For most of the players, it lacked appeal. Some things could not be achieved simply by having money.

Abramovich’s money was only one reason Chelsea was so attractive during that time. The most important reason was that, with the foreshadowing of Hoddle, Gullit, Vialli and Ranieri, Chelsea was already an emerging power outside the Premier League’s traditional top three at the time. In addition to being in the top four in the league for a long time, they were basically considered certain to be a powerhouse for winning the FA Cup and the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup. Under such circ.u.mstances, they could immediately take on a new lease of life with the capital injection.

Manchester City was different. Although they represented Manchester longer than Manchester United which was an outsider, their results were really a tragic sight. Their best results were four FA Cups and one UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup which happened a long time ago, which held no appeal to the players today. More people just thought of them as a traditional Premier League mid-stream team.

How many world-cla.s.s players would condescend to join this team that might not even be able to play in next season’s UEFA Europa League just for the money?

According to Hughes’ train of thought, Manchester City’s rebuilding required at least three to four years, through small victories and trophies to re-establish their foundation and change Manchester City’s image as a low-level team in everyone’s mind. Then it would be the road to becoming a powerhouse…

However, his new boss was impatient and obviously could not wait that long. Furthermore, he had a lot of inestimable pounds. He admitted himself that he was buying time with money. He wanted Manchester City to become the world’s number one team that all the world-cla.s.s star players scrambled to join overnight. He was serious about the team becoming the new Manchester United and new Real Madrid.

Mark Hughes now felt that sitting in the Manchester City manager’s position was not an enviable job. With such an ambitious club owner who knew nothing about football and a second-rate team… the harsh reality made him feel like he was sitting on the edge of a volcanic crater. If he did not produce the results, the boss would dismiss him and not reflect on what went wrong with his strategy. The most commonly seen and simplest way was usually to change the managers. Therefore, the poor manager became a scapegoat. He not only lost his job, but also had a stain on his coaching career.

※※※

After the first round of the league tournament ended, Tony Twain once again made the headlines in the sports pages of various media outlets. His words in his post-match press conference that “someone doesn’t want us to win” offended the English Football a.s.sociation and the Referees’ a.s.sociation, and for which he received a fine of fifteen thousand pounds as well as a one-match ban from the Football a.s.sociation.

mocked that Tony Twain was probably the manager with the greatest number of bans in modern football history. They unceremoniously pointed out that Twain was a “moron who speaks from his a.s.s instead of using his head.”

This time Twain did not fight back because he was “m.u.f.fled” by the club. Evan Doughty barred Twain from shooting his mouth off and cause trouble for himself and the club again. Thanks to Twain’s big mouth, Nottingham Forest had become the most difficult “thorn on the side” in the eyes of the English Football a.s.sociation, the Referees’ a.s.sociation and the Englsih Premier League committee. No matter the occasion, they would always receive some “special treatment” that no one else enjoyed.

As a result, Twain was very quiet. He sullenly looked on as the media taunted and sneered.

At this point, another incident happened which distracted the media’s attention. No one laughed at him anymore, but this situation made him even more annoyed.

Manchester City had announced that they had already issued a blank cheque to Nottingham Forest for their leading striker, van Nistelrooy!

If it were successful, it could be the significant transfer in the world. Never before had a club been so contemptuous of the rules of the world like Manchester City. The other clubs would plan and calculate meticulously with the sale or purchase of players and try to maximize the benefits. There would be a lot of behind-the-scene stories every year at the negotiating table during the transfer window. The team managers, professional agents, players and managers together were scenes right out of a movie.

But Manchester City’s emergence broke the traditional transfer rules. First, it provoked Manchester United, Real Madrid and the other big clubs. Then it tried to seduce the star players of other teams. Now they made an even more amazing move—they threw money which the other teams saw as a lifeline, around like it was dirt. That way, they acted as if they looked on high over all living things, and then used a cold and conceited voice to inform the others, “How much is your player worth? Name your price, there is no one in the world that we can’t buy. Don’t think small and drag your feet. Give a number and write however much you want. If you write too low, I may say you are not sincere.”

Twain was furious.

He found Evan and Allan and said, “Did the Manchester City club really issue a blank cheque?”

Evan pulled a check out of a folder and handed it to Twain. He said, “They really give it.” His smile was a little odd, maybe he felt awkward. Allan sat on the side and was silent.

Twain saw that it was really blank on the check. Not a number was on it. It was just waiting for him to play the numbers game. “Are these idiots putting on a show? Are they sincerely coming to us to buy or to show off to us that they have the wealth of an entire nation?”

In fact, Manchester City’s owners did have the wealth of an entire nation—because they were basically the country, the United Arab Emirates.

Despite this fact, Twain would never allow them to show off on purpose, especially in front of him.

d.a.m.n, I have to count my pennies this summer while you’re living large. With a flick of your hand, here comes a blank check. Are you mocking me?

Hearing Twain’s complaint, the odd smile on Evan’s face deepened. Twain could be sure his smiled was an awkward one while Allan continued to remain silent.

“What do you think?” Twain had not lost his head to anger yet. He knew the both of them needed to be consulted.

“Tony, we’ve got to listen to you with regards to any deals with the players.” Evan said.

Twain looked at Allan again.

Allan spread his hands and said, “Evan is right. The team is your area of command, Tony.”

“That is to say, I am full responsible for this matter, and you won’t get involved?” Feeling uneasy, Twain asked again.

Evan just laughed and did not reply. Allan raised both his hands and replied, “If you’re worried, we can sign an agreement in black and white…”

Twain interrupted his words and said, “I didn’t mean that, Allan.”

“I mean we really won’t interfere with your work. We all respect every decision you make. After all, you led the team to where it is today.”

“Thank you.” Twain gravely nodded his thanks and said to Allan, “Please help me call the media to Wilford. I’m going to have a press conference… All the media.”

Allan nodded and didn’t ask him what he was going to do at the press conference—any fool would know what he was going to do.

“You can’t let a seemingly thirsty person wait too long. We’ll give them an answer this afternoon.” Twain snickered.

※※※

There was one more thing Twain must do before the press conference. Out of respect for the player’s personal will, he must go and talk to van Nistelrooy to hear his thoughts on the matter.

Van Nistelrooy knew of the matter before Twain, who did not believe for a second that Manchester City did not contact him and his agent in private.

The Dutchman’s answer was rather straightforward, which touched Twain. He said, “I did not want to leave here, boss. I hope to retire here if possible.”

“But the Arab’s offer is very tempting, isn’t it?” Twain was not entirely convinced. He was afraid that these were just pretty words for show.

Van Nistelrooy laughed, “Actually they also gave me a blank check and said to my agent to fill out whatever amount I want.”

Twain cursed the Arabs for being ruthless in his mind. Imagine how many players could withstand such temptation of any amount of pay package…

F**k you Arab show-offs! So, what if you have oil? Excavate all you want. In a few decades the oil will be finished. I want to see what you can use to act so arrogantly at that time!

Tony Twain from a poor family abused roundly inside. He felt extreme and unbalanced.

“Then you…” Bracing himself, Twain was really worried about van Nistelrooy’s defection.

“I gave it back.” The Dutch striker shrugged.

Twain almost went straight up for a hug.

“I don’t play football to make a lot of money. I’ve made enough money. Right now, … I just want to enjoy football. I like playing here.”

“You’re a good brother and really loyal!” Twain blurted this sentence in Mandarin. Not caring that van Nistelrooy did not understand, he patted the other man hard on the shoulder.

Van Nistelrooy did not know what the boss had said. He just looked at him laugh and let him pat him on the shoulder.

※※※

Now that he knew van Nistelrooy’s thoughts on this, Twain had no qualms about what he was about to do—he was not worried about what would happen with Manchester City, but about this affecting his relations.h.i.+p with his player.

After the afternoon training, all the reporters did not go outside the training ground to stop the star players. Instead, they all rushed to the press conference hall of the Wilford training base.

While the leading character had not yet come, there were reporters who speculated as to the purpose behind Twain suddenly taking the initiative to gather everyone to hold a press conference.

There were actually two incidents involving him recently. One matter was his provocation of the Football a.s.sociation and made them fly into a rage. The other was the “blank check gate” that only recently occurred.

Majority of the reporters chose that it had something to do with the “blank check” because they felt that Twain was not one who would step out for a press conference to do with a ban and a fifteen thousand pounds. Otherwise he would have done so once every few days.

When Twain and Allan Adams appeared at the press conference together, the room gradually quieted down.

Allan sat next to Twain, who stood in front of a pile of microphones. He made a “stop” gesture and said, “I’m not going to take any questions about the situation and will not take too much of everyone’s time.”

He then took a folded piece of paper out of his pocket and unfolded it to show the reporters below the stage.

“This is the blank check that the Manchester City Football Club gave us.” He said, pointing to the piece of paper.

The reporters with good eyesight could see that Twain did not lie to them.

Sure enough, it had something to do with Manchester City, who had been in the limelight lately.

Manchester City used its wealth and offended a number of clubs recently. There were also many people in the media industry who did not like them. Now Manchester City had finally came to Nottingham Forest. One team became arrogant because it suddenly became rich while the other was naturally arrogant… This group decided to watch the show.

“They asked us for van Nistelrooy this morning and gave a completely blank check for us to fill in the numbers. I would like to thank them for their generosity, and I decided to give them an answer in front of all the media as a mark of respect. My reporter friends are my witnesses.”

With that, he took a pen out of his pocket and swept the pile of microphones, cell phones, and recording pens on the table. He leaned down and started to fill in the numbers on the check.

After he lifted the pen and put it down, the whole room suddenly became quiet. The reporters who sat closer, craned their necks to see the numbers Twain had put down.

They only saw Twain’s wrists going in a circle, another circle and yet another circle…

After about thirty seconds, his hand still had not stopped and the room remained silent.

In fact, before coming, Allan did not know what kind of answer Twain would give Manchester City. He was as curious as the reporters below. So, he glanced from the side…

That was when Twain screwed on the pen cap and picked up the check—he was finished.

Following which, he waved to the cameramen at the back and said, “You can come up and shoot. You can’t shoot anything from there, can you?”

A group of reporters carried their equipment and rushed up. They aimed the cameras in their hands and the camera lens at Twain.

Seeing that everyone had come, Twain was satisfied and unveiled the check again to show it to the camera.

“That’s my answer.” He had a brilliant smile on his face.

It was not just the photojournalists who rushed. The other reporters also came up with their notebooks. They were all shocked when they saw the numbers on that check…

9999999999999999999999999999999.

No one could immediately figure out how much this was. To be honest, they might perhaps not be able to calculate how much money this was even if they were give more time. The densely packed Arabic numeral “9” completely filled the blank part and was dizzy to look at, not to mention counting.

“Mr. Twain, how … how much is this?” A reporter stammered and asked.

“I don’t know.” Twain smiled.

“Huh?”

“I simply filled it out.” Twain’s smile remained unchanged on his face. “I only stopped when it was all filled up.”

In this way, Twain held his casually filled-in check as he stood in front of the reporters. The flashes were going off like crazy and the room momentarily went bright white. Twain’s eyes could see nothing but white light. However, he kept smiling and held the check.

Sitting next to him, Allan Adams rubbed his temples. He thought he was going crazy, looking at this scene in front of him.

Mark Hughes was in desperate need of a world-cla.s.s striker to help his new boss achieve his goals. Al Fahim also showed the generosity of being a boss. With the wealth of an entire nation, the rich and overbearing Manchester City Football Club tried to bring in Nottingham Forest’s leading striker, Ruud van Nistelrooy and gave him a blank check. The transfer deal would be a success as long as the Forest team filled in van Nistelrooy’s value on top. Whereas Nottingham Forest had filled in the offer as they had wished but…

If truth be told, the Manchester City Football Club, with its wealth of an entire nation, probably could not afford this sum of money.