Since it was a negotiation between the club, it wasn't convenient for a professional agent like Raiola to attend with Li Shiguang. So, after Li Shiguang gave a brief introduction to Juventus' current temporary management, Raiola took his leave.
Since the Serie A season had ended, Li Shiguang and his companion did not go to the Condinasa training ground, but instead went to Juventus' headquarters building on Via Ferraris.
After sitting for a while in the conference room on the fourth floor, Li Shiguang met with Juventus' interim general manager, Carlo.
Earlier, Carlo had learned from Raiola that Leeds United wanted to buy Ibrahimovic, so Carlo, who had been working non-stop for the past few days, didn't bother with formalities with Li Shiguang and sat down to start bargaining with him.
Compared to former general manager Moggi, Carlo, who holds a master's degree in statistics from Harvard University, doesn't understand football. He was forced into the role to help Juventus manage the transition period, so he doesn't care who the club sells; he only cares about how much profit the sold players can bring to Juventus.
In fact, Li Shiguang's offer helped Carlo a lot.
Following the "Calciopoli" scandal, current investigations indicate that Juventus is highly likely to be relegated to Serie B next season. If relegation is confirmed, Juventus will have to sell some star players to compensate television broadcasters and sponsors. Rather than waiting for the official relegation announcement and having their star players snapped up at bargain prices by top clubs, it might be better to sell some players before the final result is announced, perhaps at a price that will satisfy the board.
With this in mind, Carlos did not haggle too much with Li Shiguang over the price, and the two eventually reached a deal for 21 million euros.
After acquiring the Swedish striker, Li Shiguang then proposed to buy Cannavaro for 7 million euros. After some bargaining, Cannavaro finally agreed to Li Shiguang's offer of 6 million euros plus some additional clauses, stating that the club would have no objections as long as the player agreed.
Ibrahimovic has agreed to join Leeds United, but through Raiola's feedback, Li Shiguang knows that Cannavaro is still hesitant about joining Leeds United. Even though his agent Federer urged him to make a decision soon, Cannavaro has been dragging his feet, saying that they will discuss the matter after the World Cup.
Now that he was in Turin, Li Shiguang wanted to resolve this matter at the same time. After all, in his memory, Real Madrid officially announced Cannavaro's signing not long after the World Cup ended, which meant that the two sides must have reached an agreement during the World Cup, or maybe even earlier!
So after leaving Juventus headquarters, Li Shiguang called Raiola and asked him to tell Cannavaro's agent, Federer, that he wanted to talk to Cannavaro in person.
After receiving Raiola's call, Federer immediately contacted Cannavaro, who was at home with his wife and children. After obtaining his consent, Federer called Li Shiguang and said he would come over to pick up Li Shiguang and Lina later.
After lunch, Li Shiguang and Lina, accompanied by Federer, headed to Cannavaro's home next to the Condinaza training facility.
Cannavaro's wife, Daniela, opened the door and led everyone inside. After that, Daniela went to take care of the children, leaving the living room to her husband and Li Shiguang's group.
After everyone was seated, Li Shiguang broke the silence first: "Fabio, I'm very happy to be able to talk to you face to face today."
Cannavaro was a little embarrassed, after all, such a big boss had personally come to his home to talk to him about the transfer. A simple smile appeared on his face: "You flatter me, Mr. Li. I didn't expect you to come all the way to Turin... It is my honor to meet you."
In fact, Li Shiguang had met Cannavaro in person before, but that was more than ten years later. After retiring, Cannavaro joined Lippi's team and came to China to coach a Chinese Super League club. As a fan, Li Shiguang had seen him from afar in the stands.
As a Chinese football fan, I have a natural affinity for this Italian who will make some contributions to Chinese football in the future.
But since we're talking business now, Li Shiguang doesn't intend to waste any more words.
He raised an eyebrow: "Fabio, we both have limited time, so I won't waste any more words with you. Federer should have told you a few weeks ago that Leeds United had extended an offer to you, but you haven't responded yet. So I want to know your true thoughts. You know, Juventus is very likely to be relegated to Serie B next season, while Leeds United has at least secured a Champions League spot!"
Upon hearing Li Shiguang's direct question, Cannavaro's face showed a hint of hesitation: "Mr. Li, Juventus's ownership for next season is still...."
Li Shiguang waved his hand rudely, interrupting Cannavaro: "Fabio, I should know more about this issue than you do. There is a 99% chance that Juventus will be relegated to Serie B next season, and your league title this season may even be revoked by the Italian Football Federation. If you don't believe me, you can ask Mr. Federer next to you for confirmation."
Cannavaro wanted to retort, but seeing Federer nod at him, he had no choice but to give up on saying the words that were already on the tip of his tongue, and lowered his head in silence.
Seeing that he didn't speak, Li Shiguang softened his tone a bit: "Fabio, although I don't know why you're a little reluctant to join Leeds United, I'm here today with sincerity. If you agree, in addition to giving you a higher personal treatment than you are now, I can also promise you that as long as your competitive form doesn't decline significantly, you and Kompany will be the main center-backs for Leeds United, and Pique and Silva will become your rotation substitutes."
After Li Shiguang finished speaking, he saw Cannavaro raise his head, and he was overjoyed, knowing that he must have guessed correctly!
Indeed, this is what Cannavaro is most worried about.
He wasn't unaware of Leeds United's history. Cannavaro knew that Li Shiguang liked to use young players, after all, his former teammate Camoranesi was now at Leeds United, and the two had communicated in the past six months. He knew that Camoranesi was no longer a guaranteed starter at Leeds United, and there was a young Frenchman competing with him.
He is 33 years old this year.
Cannavaro is very afraid that if he goes to Leeds United, he will become a substitute for the young players...
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