Ron acted quickly, calling Li Shiguang back 10 minutes later, saying that Raiola happened to be in Milan and he also wanted to meet with Li Shiguang.
Then Li Shiguang sent the name of the hotel he was staying at to Ron, asking him to pass it on to Raiola, and to arrange to chat at the hotel the next morning.
Raiola was initially confused when he received Ron's call, but his interest was piqued when Ron said that his boss wanted to meet him.
Unlike other agents, he has no friends among his peers and never cultivates close relationships with club owners or managers. Since his debut at the age of 25, Raiola has been extremely confident in his judgment and has earned the trust of his players. In every player transfer negotiation, he always strives to maximize the interests of both the player and himself. In recent years, he has orchestrated the transfers of Bergkamp, Nedved, Emerson, and Ibrahimovic, making a fortune each time.
As for why he, who has never liked getting too close to club owners, would be interested in Li Shiguang, we have to start with the transfer of Howard.
At the time, Li Shiguang was amazed that he had made more than 10 million euros from Howard in just four months.
From this point on, he began to pay attention to Leeds United and Lee Shih-kuo. In his subsequent observations, he discovered several alarming points. First, Lee Shih-kuo almost always brought in young players at extremely low prices during transfers, and these young players were often able to perform beyond their market value in a very short period of time.
At first, he thought Leeds United's scouting team was very strong, but he knew Ron's level. Later, in a conversation with Ron, he learned from some snippets that all these players were discovered by Li Shiguang and then sent by scouts to conduct on-site inspections. This discovery made Raiola feel terrified! He really couldn't understand how Li Shiguang, who rarely left his house, knew about these potential players.
During this summer transfer window, Li Shiguang's moves shocked Raiola once again. After Leeds United sold Adebayor and two other players, Raiola did some serious calculations and found that Li Shiguang had made nearly 80 million euros in a year with an investment of less than 10 million euros.
The precision with which they select players is simply astounding! Even Raiola, who is usually very self-assured and believes he has world-class insight, couldn't help but exclaim, "That's terrifying!"
Amazed, he made a decisive move. After hanging up with Ron, he immediately set off from Milan, the fashion capital, and rushed to Turin, a city in northern Italy. He was extremely eager to meet the young Leeds United owner and personally learn from him his talent selection methods!
Li Shiguang had no idea that Raiola had rushed over overnight. He slept soundly in the hotel that Allen had booked for him. The next day, just after Li Shiguang finished eating the breakfast delivered by the hotel, his phone rang.
As soon as the call connected, a warm voice came through: "Hello Mr. Li, I'm sorry to bother you so early. This is Mino Raiola. I've arrived at your hotel."
Li Shiguang paused for a moment, then looked at the time on his phone before replying, "Um... Mr. Raiola, if I'm not mistaken, it's only 8:30. Did you leave Milan before dawn?"
Raiola chuckled: "Haha, to be honest, Mr. Li, I came from Milan last night and stayed at the same hotel. I might even be right next to you right now."
Hearing Raiola's answer, Li Shiguang was speechless. "Brother, is it really that serious? I'm not going to run away, why are you being so eager?"
But he still took the initiative to say, "Then please wait a moment, Mr. Raiola. I just finished breakfast. Shall we meet in the hotel coffee shop in 20 minutes?"
After receiving Li Shiguang's invitation, Raiola quickly hung up the phone, straightened her suit, and hurried out to the coffee shop downstairs.
Twenty minutes later, Li Shiguang, who arrived late, met the agent, who was gradually gaining fame in the world of football, in the coffee shop.
But the current Raiola is not the image Li Shiguang saw on TV before. Perhaps because he is only in his thirties, he is not as fat as he would be a few years later. He looks very energetic, wearing a dark blue suit with a brown tie, and is standing next to his seat, smiling at him.
As Li Shiguang approached, Raiola extended her right hand and said with a big smile, "Welcome to Italy, Mr. Li. You are even younger than I imagined!"
Li Shiguang smiled and shook hands with him before inviting him to sit down together.
Raiola had already ordered two cappuccinos, but Li Shiguang didn't like them, so he asked the waiter to replace them with tea. He then took the initiative to start a conversation.
“Mr. Raiola, I’ve been wanting to meet you for a long time. I happened to be in Turin on business, so I asked Ron to make an appointment with you. I didn’t expect you to come all the way from Milan overnight. In my hometown dialect, I’m flattered.” To make sure Raiola understood what he meant, Li Shiguang tried his best to make his facial expression very friendly while speaking.
Raiola clearly sensed Li Shiguang's goodwill and shook her head with a smile, "Mr. Li, you're too kind. Actually, I've wanted to meet you for a long time. When I received Ron's call last night and learned that you wanted to meet me, I was very excited, so I rushed over overnight. I hope that the call just now didn't bother you too much."
Raiola's answer left Li Shiguang a little confused. He thought, "I didn't tell Ron that I wanted to talk to you about player transfers, so why are you so excited?"
But before he could voice his question, Raiola spoke up again: "Mr. Li, if I may ask, did you come to Turin for some kind of deal with Juventus?"
Actually, Raiola wanted to ask Ron about this on the phone yesterday, because Ron is the agent for several Juventus players. When he heard that Li Shiguang had come to Turin, Raiola's first thought was that Leeds United and Juventus must have reached a deal for a player and were now trying to discuss the player's personal contract. However, Ron didn't bring up that direction on the phone, so Raiola didn't ask in the end.
When Li Shiguang heard Raiola's question, he secretly admired the man's sensitivity to the transfer market, but unfortunately, Camoranesi was not one of his players.
So Li Shiguang shook his head and replied, "I'm sorry, Mr. Raiola, I can't tell you about things that haven't been confirmed yet."
"I have something else to discuss with you today. For the next six months, I hope you can help me persuade Ibrahimovic to come to Leeds with a high salary!"
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