Capello ultimately agreed to Calderon's proposal. He had seen the video of the kid named Marcelo, and in terms of ability alone, he should have no problem playing in La Liga.
However, the main reason that prompted Capello to agree was something Calderon mentioned.
Compared to Cicinho, a seasoned veteran, Marcelo, although also a South American player, is a newcomer, making him easier to manage.
After the two reached an agreement, Calderón immediately called Lopetegui and arranged for him to fly directly to Brazil the next morning, making sure to bring Marcelo back to Madrid during the winter.
····
the next day.
Brazil.
Lopetegui landed in Rio de Janeiro around 4 p.m. Without even having time to eat, he went straight to Fluminense FC as soon as he left the airport. But 10 minutes after stepping into Fluminense's gates, he received some terrible news.
Marcelo has been signed, and it was Leeds United who signed him!
Calderon was struggling with the steak in front of him when Lopetegui called.
Upon hearing the news that Marcelo had been signed by Leeds United, he was so excited that he almost broke his plate with a knife.
Calderon slammed his fork and knife onto the table, his face ashen. He turned off his phone's speakerphone and held it to his ear, cursing, "Are you kidding me?! I've never heard of Leeds United being interested in him before! When did this happen?"
“It’s true, Ramon. As soon as I mentioned wanting to sign Marcelo, they told me that Marcelo had already been signed by Leeds United earlier this month, and they had even loaned him to Real Sociedad.” Lopetegui’s voice was full of helplessness.
Since he hadn't heard any news about Marcelo's transfer beforehand, Lopetegui didn't call any acquaintances in the area before coming. As a result, as soon as he stepped into the club, God played a cruel joke on him!
"Where is the player himself? Have you seen him in person? Did he sign a contract with Leeds United? He would rather be loaned to a relegation-threatened team like Real Sociedad than come to Real Madrid?" Calderon seemed furious; he simply refused to believe it.
Lopetegui knew Calderon didn't want to be taken advantage of by Li Shiguang, so he quickly reminded him, "Calm down, Ramon. The staff here have clearly told me that Marcelo signed a contract with Leeds United at the beginning of the month, and he may have already bought his plane ticket to England. Our top priority now is to find another target immediately, otherwise there really won't be any good full-backs on the market."
"Yes, I was too hasty." Calderon, after all, was the helmsman of Real Madrid, the Galacticos. Hearing Lopetegui's reminder, he immediately calmed down. "Lopetegui, I'll hang up now. I need to go ask Denildo right away and see if he's willing to sell their full-back!"
Without waiting for Lopetegui's reply, Calderon immediately hung up the phone and then began searching for Denildo's number in his contacts. But for some reason, as he scrolled through the contacts, he felt a strange unease...
A moment later, Calderon found Denildo's phone number, shook off his unease, and pressed the call button hard.
soon.
Denildo's cheerful voice rang out on the phone: "Good evening, old friend. It's rare to get a call from you. What's up?"
"Good evening, Denildo." After the greeting, Calderon got straight to the point, "I do have something to ask you. I wanted to ask if your full-back is for sale?"
"Fullback?" Calderon's bewildered question left Denildo momentarily confused. He hadn't heard anything about Real Madrid showing interest in his fullbacks before, so he tentatively asked, "Left or right?"
"The right side!" Calderon added, perhaps feeling that wasn't clear enough, "The one who won the UEFA Cup Player of the Year award last year, I heard that Laporta inquired about your price before."
"Ah, you mean Alves!" Denildo exclaimed, then dropped a bombshell on Calderon: "We've already sold him! The contract was signed at the beginning of the month."
"What?!?! You sold it to Barcelona?!?!?!" Calderón's voice suddenly rose.
"Oh, no, it was sold to Leeds United at the beginning of the month, and it will be officially listed on the transfer window in a few days..."
Beep~ Beep~ Beep~ Beep~
Denil hadn't finished speaking when he heard the busy tone of the caller ID. Confused, he glanced at the disconnected phone, thinking to himself, "How could that old bastard Calderon be so rude..."
····
"Ramon, are you sure you're not joking with me? Marcelo and Alves were bought by Leeds United right under your nose, and you didn't hear a thing?" Capello no longer cared whether the person on the other end of the phone was his boss or not; he only cared whether he would have to continue using Cicinho, that piece of trash, after the winter break!
Hearing Capello's clearly complaining tone, Calderon's voice had lost its previous confidence: "Fabio, now is not the time to talk about this. You've seen the scouting reports up to the end of last month. I just want to ask if there are any right-backs you think are suitable. If so, I'll arrange for someone to contact them immediately."
“No!” Capello said firmly. “The three most suitable candidates are all at Leeds United right now. Or I’d like Gary Neville. Can you ask Ferguson if he’s willing to sell?”
"Damn it!" Calderon couldn't hold back and blurted out a curse. He preferred to believe he could buy Maicon rather than Gary Neville.
Sensing Calderon's anger, Capello was the first to calm down. He advised, "Ramon, to be honest, I really don't understand you this time. Real Madrid isn't short of money. Why bother arguing with a young man like Li Shiguang? Just get him for 35 million euros. Then promote it well and make him the most expensive signing of the winter transfer window. It might even be a good thing for us!"
After listening to Capello's words, Calderon on the other end of the phone fell into a long silence.
He always thought he had Li Shiguang completely under his control in the Maicon transfer, but he never expected that he would be the one to suffer in the end.
Moreover, given the current situation, it seems I have no choice but to take the initiative to approach Li Shiguang and restart negotiations with this young man...
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
