Good news, veteran fan Li Shiguang has been reborn and reincarnated as a rich second-generation.
Bad news, his father, who was Leeds United's largest shareholder, passed away right before...
Upon hearing Li Shiguang's words, Raiola immediately thought that Li Shiguang might be overthinking things.
Raiola knows Ibrahimovic's character too well. No matter how much money you offer him, he won't choose to join a team at this age that can't even play in the Champions League.
So after thinking about his words, Raiola replied, "Mr. Li, to be honest, based on my understanding of Zlatan, he probably wouldn't be willing to go to a team that can only play in the league right now. Also, there's something I must remind you: Juventus spent 16 million euros to bring Zlatan from the Netherlands to Turin. If you want to bring him to Leeds, you might want to be prepared for the expenses involved."
Even if Raiola hadn't mentioned it, Li Shiguang would have known this.
Without hesitation, he spoke to Raiola with a hint of mystery: "Don't worry about that, Mr. Raiola. If Leeds United can't even qualify for the Champions League, I certainly won't make an offer to Zlatan. As for the price, I can secretly give you a little insider information. In a few months, some things might happen in Italian football, so you'd better prepare in advance."
Raiola was completely baffled by Li Shiguang's words. He could understand the first half of the sentence, but he really didn't understand the second half at all. Just as he was about to ask Li Shiguang what he meant,
Li Shiguang wore a mysterious smile, pressed one hand down, and continued, "Mr. Raiola, I know what you want to ask, but don't rush me, I can't say too much right now. Let's continue talking about Zlatan. I won't let you do your work for nothing. If Zlatan can successfully come to Leeds United, in addition to paying you a considerable fee, I can also help you contact those young geniuses I've gathered around the world who don't yet have agents, and make you their agent. What do you think of this proposal?"
Upon hearing Li Shiguang's words, Raiola's previously puzzled eyes suddenly brightened, and a surge of joy rushed into his heart!
He had to admit that Li Shiguang's suggestion hit him right where it hurt!
Having long coveted the young talents of Leeds United, he had actually been eyeing this opportunity for a while. And for Raiola, who considers his agent career his life, what could be more appealing than having a team full of talented players under his wing?
"Really? Mr. Li, you're not joking with me?" At this moment, Raiola had already forgotten his life motto of not getting too close to club owners.
Li Shiguang nodded solemnly: "Of course it's true. I believe that with such an outstanding agent as you, these young men will have a smoother career path in the future!"
Years later, facts proved that Li Shiguang's decision was not wrong at all, because the good cooperative relationship established with Raiola from this point onwards also brought huge benefits to Li Shiguang.
After having lunch with Raiola, Li Shiguang returned to Leeds.
As soon as he landed, he received a call from Allen, who said that he had finalized the deal with Camoranesi. Of course, there were some minor hiccups along the way. At first, Camoranesi insisted on staying at Juventus, since Juventus had already reached the Champions League Round of 16. However, after learning that Juventus had decided to sell him and hearing Allen's offer of 85,000 euros per week, he agreed to the transfer after being persuaded by his agent.
Li Shiguang was also very happy to receive the news. With this, Leeds United's lineup for the second half of the season was basically completed, and the team would have enough players to rotate when facing a dense schedule.
For the next two days, he threw himself back into intensive training.
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On Saturday, Leeds United will host Manchester City at home.
Before the match, some media outlets hyped up a so-called "Chinese derby," but since Sun Jihai of Manchester City was just a player, there was a significant gap between him and Li Shiguang, who was both the club owner and head coach, so it didn't generate much discussion. Perhaps in the eyes of British fans, there's a fundamental difference between Li Shiguang, who was born in England, and Sun Jihai, a foreign player from China.
During the warm-up match between the two teams, Li Shiguang also met his fellow townsman. Unlike Dong Fangzhuo, Sun Jihai, who had already secured a starting position at Manchester City, had an outgoing personality. After the warm-up match, Sun Jihai took the initiative to approach Li Shiguang, and the two chatted warmly for a while.
Li Shiguang actually admires Sun Jihai, not only because of his famous 1v4 goal-line save, but also because of his peak ability. Even if you compare the starting right-backs of all 20 Premier League teams, he would be at least a mid-level player. If you add a bit of sentimentality, you could say he was above mid-level!
Since the Premier League winter transfer window will open after the match against Chelsea, Deisler and Chiellini will leave the team.
With the mindset of "I pay you a day's salary, so you have to keep working for me," Li Shiguang still included both players in the starting lineup against Manchester City.
Manchester City started the season in good form, even reaching the top 4 at one point. However, their form has dipped in recent rounds, with a string of defeats, and their points have now slipped to the middle of the table.
Before the match started, everyone, including Li Shiguang himself, thought that the game should be a foregone conclusion and that Leeds United should be able to easily take all 3 points at home.
The final result was indeed a score of 3 points, but the game was full of twists and turns, which was quite surprising.
Manchester City had already taken a 3-goal lead over Leeds United in just 30 minutes of the first half.
During halftime, Li Shiguang was furious in the locker room, berating the starters so badly they couldn't even lift their heads. Fortunately, Li Shiguang's outburst finally woke up the team, who had been sleepwalking in the first half.
Leeds United seemed like a completely different team in the second half, launching a furious attack from the start and scoring three goals in 15 minutes to tie the score at 3-3.
Li Shiguang then made a substitution, and Bale, who had just recovered from injury, did not disappoint Li Shiguang. In the 80s, Bale suddenly launched an attack outside the Manchester City penalty area and blasted a powerful world-class shot into the Manchester City goal.
Ultimately, Leeds United staged a stunning comeback in the second half, securing the three points with a narrow escape.
With the two teams ahead of them both losing their matches this round, Leeds United, after a period of slump, finally squeezed into the top four as the season was about to reach its halfway point!