"Hello, Mr. Li."

As soon as Li Shiguang put the phone to his ear, Calderon's not-so-happy tone came through the phone.

“Hello, Mr. Calderon,” Li Shiguang said with a faint smile, but his words sounded rather cold. “Is there something you need? After our last conversation, I thought we had nothing more to discuss.”

“Don’t be like that, Mr. Li.” Calderon wasn’t angry; instead, his tone became somewhat ingratiating. “There are no permanent enemies in business, don’t you think?”

Even though Calderon had lowered his stance a bit, Li Shiguang's reply still sounded somewhat sarcastic: "Oh? So, Mr. Calderon, you're here today to talk business?"

“Of course!” Calderon replied affirmatively, then went straight to the point, “Mr. Li, I understand that Leeds United has put Maicon up for sale, and it seems that many clubs have made offers to you. Real Madrid previously tried to buy Maicon from Leeds United, and even though we didn’t reach an agreement at the time, I believe you wouldn’t refuse us making another offer to Leeds United, would you?”

Hearing Calderon explain his purpose.

Li Shiguang's expression became even more interesting. He knew very well that, barring any unforeseen circumstances, his early purchases of Marcelo and Alves had already paid off.

However, since Calderon dared to threaten him with Maicon last time, Li Shiguang couldn't possibly let it go without getting revenge.

So he replied in a rather indifferent tone, "Of course, we will listen to all offers from all clubs, but Mr. Calderon, I need to remind you first that you have many competitors, and they are also very wealthy!"

As a seasoned veteran of the business world, Calderon naturally understood Li Shiguang's implication. Since he had already reached an agreement with Capello, Calderon didn't mince words and directly stated his offer: "Mr. Li, I know what you're saying, but Real Madrid isn't afraid of any competitors! I'm making this call today with the utmost sincerity. As you said last time, 35 million euros—I want to sign Maicon!"

Unlike the previous offer, Calderón met Li Shiguang's demand of 35 million euros, but he also removed Sneijder from the deal. After all, Real Madrid had already spent so much money, and they could only turn around and sell Sneijder for a few million more to recoup their losses.

As soon as Calderon finished speaking, Li Shiguang replied without hesitation: "I'm sorry, 35 million euros was the previous price. The price will increase appropriately during the Christmas period, Mr. Calderon."

This answer made Calderon, who was confident about the offer, pause. He took the phone from his ear to his face and stared at the phone in disbelief.

At this moment, Calderon really wanted to buy a plane ticket immediately, rush to England, grab Li Shiguang, beat him up, and then force him to listen to what he had just said!

Is this even human language?! Am I buying groceries?! And prices are going up for Christmas?!

After mentally unleashing a torrent of profanities at Li Shiguang, Calderon suppressed his anger and spoke: "Mr. Li, this joke is not funny. As far as I know, the offer of 35 million euros is the highest among all the offers we've received so far."

“I’m not joking, Mr. Calderon. Goods are more expensive during holidays; it’s a tradition in my hometown,” Li Shiguang said nonchalantly. “Of course, I’m not forcing you to buy. You can choose to make an offer after the Christmas holidays, like next summer. But by then you might need to look for Maicon at other clubs, since he’s quite sought after right now.”

"You son of a bitch! If I could wait until next summer, would I be calling you today?" Calderon almost blurted out those words.

Just as Calderon was about to retort, Li Shiguang's voice came through the phone again.

"Fine, Mr. Calderon, I won't argue with you anymore. 40 million euros plus Sneijder, I can agree to this deal right now."

Sensing that Calderón was on the verge of exploding, Li Shiguang also felt that he had vented his anger, so he took the initiative to propose an offer specifically for Real Madrid.

“That’s impossible, Mr. Li. I can accept 40 million euros, but with Sneijder included…” Calderon paused before continuing, “You know, Sneijder is worth around 10 million euros now. The board will definitely not agree to this deal.”

In fact, Calderon himself didn't care whether or not to include Sneijder in the deal, since he was no longer in Capello's plans for the second half of the season, and 10 million euros was basically a negligible amount for Real Madrid.

However, if he were to agree to such a deal too easily, it would undoubtedly damage his reputation on the board. Considering that Florentino was still watching him closely, Calderon rejected Li Shiguang's proposal without hesitation.

When Li Shiguang noticed Calderon using the word "board" when rejecting his proposal, he immediately understood. His eyes darted around, and he offered another solution: "Or, Mr. Calderon, 40 million euros is the price for Maicon's transfer to Real Madrid. Then I'll offer Real Madrid 2 million euros to loan Sneijder until the end of this season, and then spend another 5 million euros to buy him next summer. His wages during this period will be covered by Leeds United. I don't think your board would reject this proposal."

"Hmm... let me think about it." Li Shiguang's words made Calderon fall into deep thought. Li Shiguang on the other end of the phone stopped talking and quietly waited for Calderon's reply.

It must be said that this is indeed a very constructive suggestion. If it's a loan... the board probably won't refuse, since Sneijder is no longer in Capello's plans!

Perhaps it's worth taking a gamble. As Capello said, making a record signing in the winter transfer window would boost his reputation at Real Madrid!

After thinking for about half a minute, Calderon seemed to have made a big decision, his eyes revealing a hint of determination, and he replied.

“Mr. Li, then I wish us a pleasant cooperation. At the latest, I will send someone to Leeds to sign the contract with Mr. Allen!”