Rijkaard could hardly believe his ears; he stared wide-eyed at Li Shiguang.
There was a pause of two or three seconds.
Then he turned and glanced at Ferguson.
Seeing that Ferguson was chatting with Ronaldo and not paying attention to him.
Rijkaard then turned his head back, lowered his voice, and said in a somewhat anxious tone, "Li! Don't talk nonsense! There's no such thing!"
"Do you think I'm stupid? If not, why were you looking over there just now?" Pointing at Ferguson, Li Shiguang ruthlessly exposed Rijkaard.
“That wasn’t an ultimatum!” Seeing that Li Shiguang remained unmoved, Rijkaard tried to explain, “We just talked about some things related to the team…”
"Stop!"
Li Shiguang reached out and interrupted Rijkaard.
He wasn't interested in the details of the conversation between Laporta and Rijkaard.
"Frank, I'm serious. If... I mean, if you really get fired from Barcelona, would you be interested in finding another job?"
By this point in Li Shiguang's speech, Rijkaard had already begun to understand what he meant.
He frowned as he looked at Li Shiguang, his eyes filled with questions.
Change jobs?
I'll be your assistant coach?
Rijkaard was a bit bewildered by Li Shiguang.
I'm the head coach who led Barcelona to the Champions League title, so making me an assistant coach seems like a bit disrespectful.
Seeing Rijkaard's expression, Li Shiguang knew he had misunderstood and quickly explained, "It's not what you think. Leeds United is still short of a sporting director. I think this job, which would keep you away from dressing room conflicts, might be more suitable for you, provided you're interested!"
Sports director!?
Rijkaard's eyes lit up when he got the answer!
This was indeed a direction he hadn't considered.
For over a year, the numerous problems in the Barcelona dressing room have left Rijkaard exhausted. If he were to leave Barcelona, the position offered by Li Shiguang might actually be a good option!
Li Shiguang also noticed the change in Rijkaard's expression, knowing that the Dutchman had been somewhat swayed by his words.
So he quickly pressed his advantage: "Frank, seriously consider my proposal... To be honest, if you join Leeds United, you'll definitely be a media darling this summer!"
What's the meaning?
Rijkaard didn't understand the meaning behind Li Shiguang's words, and his eyes became strange again. However, this time Li Shiguang didn't explain. After all, Rijkaard wasn't a member of Leeds United yet, and it was impossible for him to know that he was pursuing such a big news story as Cristiano Ronaldo!
Seeing that Li Shiguang did not intend to speak again, Rijkaard did not press the matter further, but instead asked another question rather weakly.
“Li…I’m curious, Laporta only spoke to me this morning, so how do you know about this from all over England? Do you really know some kind of mysterious Eastern witchcraft, as the media says?”
"Don't listen to the gossip from those unscrupulous media outlets." Li Shiguang blinked and gave Rijkaard an answer that greatly surprised him. "Actually, I was just guessing!"
"A guess!?"
"Yes, Frank... Laporta spent nearly 100 million euros last summer to strengthen the squad, hoping to bring Barcelona back to the top of Spain and Europe... But as you know, the situation for Barcelona isn't optimistic so far this season! I'm also the club owner, so I should know Laporta's thoughts better than you do..."
····
Li Shiguang and Rijkaard did not talk for very long.
When Li Shiguang noticed that Ferguson had finished his conversation with Ronaldo and turned his head back in his direction, he consciously shut his mouth and simply made a phone call gesture to Rijkaard with his right hand hidden underneath.
The three bigwigs chatted for a while longer.
It finally came to five o'clock.
The host of the lottery ceremony also carried a transparent glass tank onto the stage.
The eight balls that will be pulled out one by one from the glass tank later will determine the matchups for the quarterfinals of the 2007-2008 UEFA Champions League.
A short video recording the start of the group stage.
Today's draw guest, German Franz Beckenbauer, walked onto the stage with a smile.
"What is he laughing at?" Ferguson, somewhat disapproving of Beckenbauer, chimed in with a complaint.
Li Shiguang chimed in, "They don't have to worry about the upcoming quarterfinals draw, so why can't they laugh?"
Ferguson burst into laughter at Li Shiguang's words: "That's right, after all, Bayern Munich didn't even qualify for the Champions League this season, hahahahaha."
We were chatting.
Beckenbauer had already taken the first ball out of the glass tank, and as he turned over the paper with the team's name on it, the words written on the paper appeared in real time on the big screen behind the stage.
Rome!
The first one drawn was the only remaining Serie A team!
Next.
Schalke 04, Fenerbahce, and Arsenal were drawn.
Roma and Schalke 04 are in the upper half of the bracket, while Fenerbahce and Arsenal are in the lower half.
Beckenbauer didn't do anything dramatic on stage; after placing the note with "Arsenal" on it on the table, he quickly put his hand back into the glass tank.
Stir it vigorously.
They pulled out the fifth sphere, and inside this sphere was Rome's opponent.
Three seconds later.
The answer has been revealed.
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