This morning, Leeds United's official website updated with a message – the club officially announced that they will begin listening to offers from all clubs for Leeds United's right-back, Maicon, starting today. It's worth noting that this is the first time since Lee Shiguang took over Leeds United that the club has proactively announced the sale of a player on its official website! Although previous indications suggested that Leeds United would completely give up on Maicon this winter, their general manager, Alan, had clearly stated that Real Madrid had made an offer to Leeds United, leading us to believe that the two clubs had reached an agreement on Maicon's transfer. However, judging from today's announcement, it seems that Leeds United has not accepted the offer from the La Liga giants!
On Monday morning, the Yorkshire Post, Leeds United's mouthpiece, reported that Leeds United were actively trying to sell Maicon, with the phrase "listening to offers from all clubs" drawing attention. This implies that Leeds United are willing to listen to offers from even Premier League teams.
Premier League clubs, especially title contenders like Leeds United, generally don't sell players of Maicon's caliber to direct rivals during the mid-season transfer window.
Therefore, Leeds United's move immediately attracted the attention of major clubs in England, with Russian oligarch Abramovich being the first to make a move.
Since the club was closed for the day, Li Shiguang rewarded himself with a comfortable late sleep at home. However, around 10 a.m., his sweet dream was interrupted by a sudden ringing of his cell phone.
"Hello~" Still half asleep, Li Shiguang picked up the phone from the bedside table and pressed the answer button without even seeing who was calling.
"Boss! I've received three offers for Maicon in just the last two hours!" Allen's excited voice came from the other end of the phone.
Upon hearing this news, Li Shiguang's sleepiness subsided slightly, and he asked Allen, "Oh? Which clubs are involved?"
“But they’re all Premier League clubs.” Allen paused slightly, unsure if Li Shiguang was avoiding the topic, but after a couple of seconds of silence, he continued, “Liverpool offered €15 million, Manchester United offered €18 million, and Chelsea were the most generous. Marina called me and said Chelsea were willing to sign Maicon for €28 million!”
"Marina?" Li Shiguang seemed a little confused when he heard the name, as if he hadn't fully woken up yet. "Isn't Peter Kenyon the CEO of Chelsea?"
"It's Abramovich's female assistant. Although their CEO is Peter, after more than a year of dealing with them, I feel that this woman is the real mastermind behind Chelsea's transfer market!" Allen quickly explained to Li Shiguang.
After Allen mentioned it, Li Shiguang suddenly remembered who this Marina was. Wasn't she the famous "NO Sister" Marina Granovskaia? But in Li Shiguang's memory, she was supposed to become Chelsea's CEO a few years later. He didn't expect that she was already the behind-the-scenes operator of Chelsea.
“Hmm…” Li Shiguang thought for a moment, then gave Allen instructions, “Reject Liverpool directly, saying we won’t consider anything below 30 million euros. Then, give Marina a rough idea of Real Madrid’s offer, implying that 28 million euros is a bit insufficient. As for Manchester United, leave that to me.”
"OK."
Upon receiving the instructions, Allen quickly hung up the phone and went to carry out his duties.
Li Shiguang dozed off for a while before slowly getting out of bed. After washing up, he also woke up Young Master Chen, who was sleeping soundly in the guest room. After having breakfast at home, the two headed towards Thorpe Arch.
After arriving at the training base, Li Shiguang dismissed Chen Guanhai and returned to his office. As soon as he sat down, he took out his phone and called Ferguson.
As if he were holding the phone right in his hand, Ferguson's voice came through the phone after only two rings.
Hello, Li.
The old man's tone sounded relatively calm, so it seemed that last night's defeat hadn't affected him too much, Li Shiguang thought to himself, before greeting Ferguson as well.
"Hi Alex, have you had lunch yet?"
"Hahaha, how long has your family immigrated to England? How come you still haven't forgotten your Chinese ways? You greet people by asking if they've eaten yet."
"Of course, that's how my father taught me since I was a child. It's the highest form of greeting among Chinese people. I only asked you that because I consider you a good friend."
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Ferguson cut to the chase: "So, as my good friend, are you calling to tell me that you've agreed to our offer for Maicon?"
“Alex, there’s an old Chinese saying, ‘Even close brothers should keep clear accounts.’” Li Shiguang chuckled first before continuing, “Doing business isn’t that simple, is it? But it’s precisely because I consider you a friend that I’m calling you personally. I must honestly tell you two things: Calderon is also very interested in Maicon, and his offer is only 6 million euros less than Manchester United’s, but he’s included Sneijder in the deal! And most importantly, this guy is unethical; Maicon seems to have reached an agreement with him privately. As far as I know, Maicon seems to prefer going to Real Madrid.”
"Huh?" came the incredulous voice of the old sir from the other end of the phone.
Ferguson was a little surprised. He knew that Real Madrid wanted to buy Maicon, but he really didn't expect Calderon to offer 12 million euros in cash, plus Sneijder's price.
If Li Shiguang wasn't lying to him, then Manchester United has absolutely no advantage in this competition, since Sneijder is worth at least 10 million euros.
Just as Ferguson was considering whether to ask David for more money, Li Shiguang's voice rang out on the phone again.
"Also, Alex, Chelsea made an offer to us this morning. Roman's female assistant called Alan directly, and they offered 28 million euros..."
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