Holy crap, those two old bastards, Morse and Benitez, are still up to their old tricks!
This was Li Shiguang's first reaction when he heard Milner say that Liverpool wanted to buy him.
If I remember correctly, after Leeds United won the Championship title last year, Liverpool made an offer for Milner, but their offer was only 15 million euros. After much consideration, Li Shiguang rejected it. I didn't expect that this year they didn't even make an offer, but went straight to Milner's agent. Damn!
However, given Liverpool's current situation, you have to admit that Milner is exactly the kind of player they need right now.
Ever since Alonso was poached by Benitez to Leeds United, the lack of protection behind Gerrard when he pushed forward in the attack during the second half of the season has been a problem for Benitez. So as soon as the season ended, he urged Morse to contact Milner's agent, which led to the scene in Li Shiguang's office today!
After suppressing his excited expression, Li Shiguang thought for a moment before nodding and saying, "I understand. I won't stop you from leaving, but James, I have to remind you that Liverpool will only be playing in the UEFA Cup next season."
Milner's face lit up with a hint of joy: "Thank you, boss! I know that, but more than playing in the Champions League, I think what I need right now is more playing time!"
After the two reached an agreement, Li Shiguang said seriously, "There's something I need to tell you in advance: player transfers involve the club's direct interests, so you need to have your agent tell Morse that I will only accept offers no lower than last year's price."
"Of course! I'll tell him in a bit!"
Milner was also very happy. As long as Li Shiguang agreed to release him, his move to Liverpool would be half done. The remaining negotiations over the price would be beyond the control of a small player like himself.
Shortly after Milner left, Li Shiguang received a call from Morse.
As soon as the call connected, Morse's loud voice came through the phone: "Lee! Good afternoon!"
Li Shiguang rolled his eyes and said irritably, "Mr. Morse, hearing your greeting suddenly makes me want to call Steven's agent!"
Morse naturally knew what Li Shiguang was talking about, and he quickly expressed his apology: "Don't be like that, Li, I admit I was a little anxious, but at least I didn't contact the player directly, right? As soon as I got the news that you had agreed to release him, I called you immediately."
“But the person you want to buy is, after all, my Leeds United captain, and we just had a friendly collaboration not long ago, so I think you should follow the normal procedures!” Li Shiguang’s tone was already tinged with anger.
Liverpool were indeed in the wrong first, and Morse couldn't find the right words to defend himself in the face of Li Shiguang's anger.
For a moment, only the soft breathing of the two people could be heard on the phone.
"16 million!"
Finally, Morse chose to break the silence between the two by offering a direct price.
"Impossible!" Li Shiguang replied quickly, his tone still indifferent.
“Mr. Li, Milner’s agent told me that you won’t be putting too many obstacles in this deal!”
"I did say that, but only on the condition that your offer cannot be lower than before!"
Morse almost laughed out of anger at Li Shiguang. So, 16 million euros is lower than 15 million euros?
"How much do you want?" Seeing that Li Shiguang was being completely unreasonable, Morse's tone became urgent.
"23 million euros!"
"This is robbery! 17 million euros! No more than that!"
"Let me remind you again, Mr. Morse, you're looking to buy Leeds United's captain for 20 million euros. Anything less than that is out of the question!"
Li Shiguang had Morse's psychology figured out.
Liverpool only won the FA Cup this season, and Leeds United also took their Champions League spot, which the board found hard to accept.
He must strengthen Liverpool's squad in the summer transfer window to try and turn things around next season. If he can buy Milner, he can strengthen his team while weakening direct competitors, which would be an incredibly good deal.
However, there are very few ready-to-use defensive midfielders available on the market now, let alone a versatile player like Milner. This is why Morse contacted Milner's agent immediately upon hearing Benitez's request.
Seeing that Morse did not reply immediately, Li Shiguang decided to add fuel to the fire and continued, "Moreover, Mr. Morse, you are indeed the only ones making offers for Milner right now, but Milner is about to go to Germany. If he performs well in the World Cup, you may have a few more competitors then."
Li Shiguang's subsequent statement became the final straw for Morse. Although it was known that he was mostly selling anxiety, the uncertainty of the World Cup was an undeniable fact. There had been many cases in the past where previously unknown players were discovered by big clubs through the World Cup and their market value skyrocketed.
Ultimately, Morse agreed to a price of 20 million euros, and the two reached a verbal agreement to sign a formal contract after the summer transfer window opens.
After hanging up the phone with Morse, Li Shiguang breathed a sigh of relief. The first deal of the summer window had been closed, and the price was satisfactory to him.
Now that we've made money, the next step is to spend it!
Li Shiguang plans to secure the services of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Fabio Cannavaro before the World Cup begins.
As for Sun Jihai, Leeds United sent an offer email last week, and Manchester City should not reject the €5 million offer.
A few days later, Li Shiguang took Lina to Italy. As soon as they stepped out of the terminal at Caselle Airport, Li Shiguang spotted Raiola's chubby face in the crowd.
It's been almost half a month since the "Calciopoli" scandal broke out. A few days ago, Raiola officially submitted a transfer request for Ibrahimovic, clearly informing Juventus that Ibrahimovic wanted to leave in the summer transfer window.
However, the entire Italian football scene was indeed in turmoil during this period, and Juventus, at the center of the storm, was in complete chaos. On May 11, all members of the Juventus board of directors resigned, and during this power vacuum, no one responded to Raiola's application.
Until yesterday, Raiola received a call from Juventus' interim general manager, Carlo Santabano, who expressed his willingness to discuss the transfer of Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Raiola immediately reported this to Li Shiguang.
Thus, today's trip to Turin came about.
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