"No, why would I buy a 30-year-old striker?"

Li Shiguang immediately refuted Allen's statement. Although he knew that Henry had two years of outstanding performances after going to Barcelona, ​​this did not fit his assessment of Leeds United as a black market. After all, a few years later, an old player who was about to retire would certainly not fetch a good price.

“I was just saying…” Allen breathed a sigh of relief, “Knowing you as I do, you probably wouldn’t like a striker that old.”

But Allen immediately wondered, if he wasn't going to buy it, why did Li Shiguang bring him here to ask him this question?

Perhaps sensing what Allen was thinking, Li Shiguang smiled and steered the conversation in another direction: "Allen, do you think we can get our hands on that kid from Barcelona?"

Barcelona? A child?

Allen was taken aback by the wide range of questions Li Shiguang had asked. He then realized that Li Shiguang was probably referring to Messi. After thinking for a moment, he shook his head and replied, "It's difficult, or rather, almost impossible."

"Huh?" Allen's decisive answer surprised Li Shiguang.

But before he could ask why, Allen continued to share his opinion.

“Boss, I’ve been with you for so long, I know what kind of players you like. As for Messi, after we had a bit more money last year, I contacted him through an intermediary and his father, who is also his agent. Putting aside his outrageously high release clause, first of all, this kid himself doesn’t want to leave Barcelona! And since Inter Milan’s commotion last year, just at the beginning of this month, Barcelona approached him to renew his contract, and the release clause has gone straight to 150 million euros!”

"What? That tall?" Li Shiguang's eyes widened, his lips twitched, and his face was full of disbelief.

I knew you were expensive! But I never imagined you were this expensive in 2007!

I can't afford it!

He had only remembered it on the spur of the moment and hadn't checked it with the system, so Allen's answer really surprised him.

"So... are we still going to buy it, boss?" Seeing the unhappy look on Li Shiguang's face, Allen covered his mouth and asked with a sly smile.

Li Shiguang quickly denied it: "Buy my ass! Buying him would bankrupt Leeds United! Frank is crazy, is Messi capable of playing 1v11 or something?"

"Hahahaha." Li Shiguang's words turned Allen's smirk into a loud laugh, but after laughing, he still didn't understand why Li Shiguang suddenly jumped from Henry to Messi. "But boss... what does Henry's transfer have to do with Messi?"

"Sigh~" Li Shiguang sighed and then explained, "What I was thinking was, if Barcelona really spends a lot of money to buy Henry, and then their finances get tight, wouldn't we be able to take the opportunity to help Laporta out? To be honest, after these two games, I'm quite envious of that kid!"

Seeing his boss's disappointment, Allen tried to persuade him: "Boss, forget about Messi! But I think we can try to make an offer for another Barcelona player if you like him."

"who?"

"Their center forward, Samuel Eto'o."

"Eto'o? He wants to leave?"

“Yes!” Allen nodded vigorously. “I have some inside information. This kid isn’t having a good time at Barcelona. Not only is he being outpaid by Ronaldinho, but Rijkaard has also started asking him to give up some of his shooting opportunities to Messi, but he’s not very willing! Besides, Barcelona already has three center forwards: Saviola, Falcao, and Eto’o. If they buy Henry as well, there will be too many players crammed into the center forward position, won’t there?”

Eto'o? Barcelona might not sell him, Allen's words made Li Shiguang fall into deep thought.

Allen didn't know, but Li Shiguang did. After Barcelona signed Henry, he and Eto'o could actually coexist!

Because starting next season, Ronaldinho, whose form was already declining, will suffer a sharp drop in performance due to injuries and a chaotic personal life. As a result, he was dropped by Rijkaard, and Thierry Henry replaced the Brazilian in the left winger position. However, Falcao, who was sold to Barcelona by Rijkaard, is indeed a variable!

But since Allen had proposed this idea, Li Shiguang felt it was worth a try.

In terms of ability, Eto'o is undoubtedly one of the top strikers in world football, and his age is also perfect—at 26, he's in his prime. Most importantly, he's easy to sell! If I remember correctly, Mourinho really likes him. In a couple of years, after Mourinho goes to Inter Milan, I can resell Eto'o to him and maybe make a fortune!

“Okay!” Li Shiguang nodded in agreement with Allen’s suggestion. “Then you need to keep an eye on this matter. Once it’s confirmed that Henry has reached an agreement with Barcelona, ​​you should immediately contact Laporta and Eto’o’s agents!”

····

The Champions League quarter-final draw took place as scheduled in the second week. This time, Li Shiguang didn't make a special trip. After sending Simeone and Allen over, he comfortably watched the draw ceremony from the sofa.

Once the quarterfinals are reached, the rule of avoiding teams from the same group will no longer apply, which means that any of the three Premier League teams could become opponents.

In comparison, among the quarterfinalists, only PSV Eindhoven and Valencia can be considered the two teams with relatively weaker strength on paper.

Li Shiguang naturally hoped to draw them, especially PSV Eindhoven. After all, he had already beaten Koeman twice in the group stage. If they met again this time, Leeds United would have an absolute advantage, at least psychologically.

Moreover, according to historical records, Liverpool, who were replaced by Leeds United, were drawn against PSV Eindhoven in this round!

But neither God nor UEFA seemed willing to grant his wish.

At the draw ceremony, Valencia was the first team to be drawn, and Chelsea became their opponent.

Leeds United were the second team to be drawn, but their opponent was not PSV Eindhoven, as Li Shiguang had imagined!

After the draw paper, which Li Shiguang had placed high hopes on, was slowly opened by Florentino, the guest of the draw, AC Milan's name appeared in Li Shiguang's eyes!

Holy crap!? What kind of lousy hand did Florentino Perez have?! If I remember correctly, AC Milan were the Champions League champions this year!

Seeing this result, Li Shiguang couldn't hold back any longer and jumped up from the sofa to yell at Florentino on the screen...