This was the first time Li Shiguang had heard his hometown language since his rebirth. He carefully examined the boy opposite him and vaguely felt that he was familiar with him, as if he had seen him somewhere before, but he couldn't remember where.
From Li Shiguang's expression, the boy knew that the man opposite him had understood his Mandarin, so his smile became even brighter. He took the initiative to walk over, extended his left hand, and said, "Hello, my name is Dong Fangzhuo, from Ningxia Province."
Upon hearing the name, Li Shiguang finally remembered who this person was. He extended his hand and gently shook hands with Dong Fangzhuo, replying, "Hello, my name is Li Shiguang."
Li Shiguang is very familiar with this man who became famous in China as a teenager, joined the prestigious Manchester United, and later ruined his career due to various messy things in China.
Ferguson originally liked him very much, and even Rooney played as his substitute.
But who knew that perhaps because of his early fame, he later became lax in training and careless in matches, which already made Ferguson very disappointed in him.
Later, due to other reasons, he chose to play through pain after being injured, but the injury never healed and he was eventually released by Manchester United and retired early.
Dong Fangzhuo smiled and nodded, then continued, "I rarely see Asian faces here. Are you here as a tourist?"
Upon hearing Dong Fangzhuo's words, Li Shiguang showed a look of sudden realization. After all, in this era, the number of Chinese students studying in Europe was far less than that 20 years later.
Then he replied, "I'm here for tourism, or more accurately, to watch tomorrow night's Champions League final."
Upon hearing that Li Shiguang was also there to watch the Champions League match, Dong Fangzhuo happily reached out and patted Li Shiguang on the shoulder, saying with a smile, "What a coincidence! I'm here to watch the game too! Which team are you a fan of?"
Upon hearing Dong Fangzhuo's question, Li Shiguang answered without hesitation: "I am an AC Milan fan."
Seeing that Li Shiguang didn't seem to recognize her, Dong Fangzhuo chatted with Li Shiguang for a few more minutes, then turned around to pay for the items she had just selected and left.
Afterwards, Li Shiguang selected a lot of things and left the small shop with the owner's farewell. He had to put the things back at the hotel first, get a good rest in the afternoon, and attend a very important appointment in the evening.
Moreover, the encounter with Dong Fangzhuo suddenly sparked an idea in Li Shiguang's mind.
It just so happens that the person he's meeting tonight is Florentino Pérez, the head of Real Madrid.
Real Madrid, which he owns, is one of the most suitable partners for his plan!
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At 6 p.m., Li Shiguang, who had changed into a custom-made suit, appeared on time at the entrance of a high-end Western restaurant in Taksim Square.
As soon as he entered, a tall man wearing sunglasses came up to him, looked Li Shiguang up and down, and asked, "Are you Mr. Li?"
Li Shiguang nodded and replied, "It's me."
After confirming Li Shiguang's identity, the tall man bowed slightly to Li Shiguang, then stepped aside and said, "Hello, Mr. Li, please come this way. Mr. Perez is already waiting for you in the private room."
The man then led Li Shiguang to the door of a private room, and Li Shiguang pushed the door open and went inside.
Pushing open the door to the private room, Li Shiguang saw a man he had only ever seen on television before sitting on the sofa next to the dining table. He was Florentino Pérez, the creator of Real Madrid's "Galácticos".
Li Shiguang greeted him immediately: "Mr. Perez, it's a pleasure to meet you." Then he looked at the middle-aged man with slightly gray hair.
Florentino, now only in his fifties, stood up with a smile, dressed in a well-tailored suit, and politely nodded slightly to Li Shiguang, saying, "It's a pleasure to meet you too, Mr. Li. Please have a seat."
Li Shiguang found it hard to believe that the seemingly friendly man in front of him was the "cold-blooded" head of Real Madrid as described by the media.
In recent years, under Florentino Pérez's leadership, Real Madrid can almost be called the most successful club in the world.
Superstars like Ronaldo, Figo, Zidane, and Beckham all joined this "Galacticos" team under his financial offensive, not only winning the 2002 Champions League title but also surpassing Manchester United to become the "richest" football club in the world.
Last year, however, with the arrival of Owen, Real Madrid, having assembled seven superstars, began to decline. The biggest reason for this was that manager Camacho was unable to control the dressing room, leading to his resignation after only three rounds of the league. His successor, Ramon, also left during the winter transfer window. It wasn't until Luxemburgo took over that the situation gradually stabilized, but Real Madrid ultimately only finished second in the league, watching their arch-rivals Barcelona lift the La Liga trophy.
Seeing this situation at Real Madrid, Florentino Pérez sent an offer to Leeds United for Sneijder before the season was even over, wanting to continue his money-driven tactics and rebuild the team in the summer transfer window.
In his previous email reply, Li Shiguang did not explicitly reject Florentino's offer, but rather said he wanted to consider it. So, after learning that Li Shiguang was going to Turkey to watch the Champions League final, Florentino arranged a meeting with Li Shiguang through Allen before the match.
After exchanging a few pleasantries with Li Shiguang, Florentino got straight to the point, asking Li Shiguang, "Mr. Li, regarding Sneijder's transfer, you didn't explicitly reject Real Madrid in your last email, so today I'd like to hear your thoughts in person."
Seeing that things were getting down to business, Li Shiguang changed his posture from leaning on the sofa and sat up straight, replying, "Mr. Perez, actually, I was already quite satisfied with your last offer. The reason I didn't give you a clear answer wasn't because I wanted to talk to you about Sneijder's price again, but because I wanted to meet with you to see if there's room for cooperation between us."
Upon hearing Li Shiguang's words, Florentino showed a puzzled expression. At the same time, he thought to himself, "You're a team that's just been promoted to the Premier League, and you still have tens of millions of dollars in bad debts. What good is there for you to do with Real Madrid?"
Seeing Florentino's puzzled expression, Li Shiguang smiled slightly and continued, "Mr. Perez, I wonder if the eligible young players in Real Madrid's youth academy would be willing to play for the first team?"
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