After Li Shiguang finished speaking, there was a brief silence on the other end of the phone, with only Laporta's soft breathing remaining.

"Are you serious?" A moment later, Laporta's panting voice came through the phone.

Um?

Li Shiguang thought Laporta would reject him outright, but he didn't expect to receive this reply.

His heart suddenly burned with excitement.

That's Messi! If they could really buy him from Leeds United, what kind of astronomical price would he fetch in a few years?!

So Li Shiguang quickly asked, even addressing Laporta more formally: "Of course I'm serious. From what Mr. Laporta is saying, is this business deal worth discussing?"

“Of course!” Laporta’s voice was so firm it sounded like he was praying to God. “150 million euros, money in, the person is yours!”

Li Shiguang: ? ? ?

Are you fucking messing with me?

150 million euros! I must have had a brain fart to buy that!

“Mr. Laporta, isn’t this going a bit too far? I asked you in good faith, and you’re just messing with me?” Feeling offended, Li Shiguang’s voice immediately turned cold, and any goodwill he had towards Laporta vanished.

Seemingly sensing Li Shiguang's anger, Laporta quickly explained, "No! Li, you misunderstood me! Let me explain..."

It turns out Laporta wasn't lying; he really did want to sell Messi.

The reason is simple: since Messi was promoted to the first team in 2004, his greedy father has asked Barcelona for a pay rise no less than four times.

Until his last contract renewal, Messi, who had just turned 19, was already earning a staggering 5 million euros a year at Barcelona.

To put this into perspective, Henry, who is about to join Barcelona, ​​only earns 6.8 million euros a year!

What upset Laporta was...

He had initially strongly opposed agreeing to Messi's father's salary increase request in such a short time, believing it would be detrimental to Barcelona's salary structure and locker room unity.

Although Laporta is the chairman of Barcelona's board of directors, the decision to renew Messi's contract was made after discussions among the entire management team. His voice alone did not play a significant role at this time. In the end, Barcelona met Messi's father's demands, renewed Messi's contract, and increased his release clause to 150 million euros.

If someone is willing to pay a €150 million release clause, Laporta will do everything in his power to persuade the board members to let him go!

After listening to Laporta's story, Li Shiguang suddenly remembered that he seemed to have seen similar news reports in his previous life.

It is said that Messi asked Barcelona for a raise nine times during his time at the club, and later, because Messi led the way in frequently asking for raises, other key players followed suit.

This put an unbearable strain on Barcelona, ​​so much so that after Messi left, Laporta sold 25% of Barcelona's television broadcasting revenue for the next 25 years to alleviate the financial pressure.

However, these are all news reports, and Li Shiguang has no idea how accurate they are.

But judging from Laporta's current attitude, it's true that Messi's father likes to give his son a raise!

Realizing the seriousness of the problem, Li Shiguang immediately withdrew his idea of ​​buying Messi.

Let's set aside the question of whether the 150 million euros is worth it.

If I impulsively buy him to Leeds United, what if his father keeps pestering me for a raise for Messi? That would be incredibly annoying!

Forget it, forget it, I can't afford to mess with them.

Realizing he had almost gotten himself into trouble, Li Shiguang immediately stopped himself from buying Messi and changed the subject.

"Hahaha, Hoan, I was just joking. I can't afford to buy a player with that much money. If you really want to sell, you can ask the Russians in London."

"Sigh... I knew it." After hearing Li Shiguang's words, Laporta muttered and sighed, "I didn't actually intend to sell him. I just casually replied when you suddenly asked about it."

“Right, right, let’s get back to the main topic.” Li Shiguang brought up Barcelona’s two offers again. “Toure and Pique, I’ll sell them to you as a package for 40 million euros, isn’t that cheap?”

Upon hearing the price, Laporta's lips twitched involuntarily, and he asked helplessly, "Li, do you have any special feelings about the number 40 million?"

What does that mean?

Laporta's words left Li Shiguang somewhat bewildered: "No? Why do you say that?"

“Last time you sold Maicon to Calderon for 40 million euros...and this time again…” Laporta hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but couldn’t.

"Then you've misunderstood me!" Upon hearing Calderon's name, Li Shiguang protested in protest. "Huo An! You're not like that despicable Calderon! We're friends! I sold him the goods for 40 million euros because he was pulling strings behind my back, and I had to collect some interest! But I sold them to you for 40 million euros because Toure and Pique are really worth 40 million euros!!"

So I should be grateful to you?

Laporta almost got caught up in Li Shiguang's words.

What do you mean by selling it to him for interest, but selling it to me for real value?

Isn't that still 40 million euros? What's the difference?

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