Mendes seemed to want to say something.
Li Shiguang waved his hand to stop him and said coldly, "Mr. Mendes, I came here with sincerity! I believe you are a shrewd businessman. In the world of football, every player or team has a corresponding price tag. Do you agree with this view?"
“Yes, I agree.” Mendes nodded quickly.
As a successful agent, Mendes hates it most when club management brings up things like loyalty and sentiment when he's negotiating salary increases or transfers for players.
He completely agreed with what Li Shiguang said. To be honest, this was the first time Mendes had heard such a thing from a club owner.
Even someone as cold-blooded as Florentino Pérez never expressed such explicit meaning in front of Mendes.
“In that case, just tell me frankly which club Cristiano wants to join!” Li Shiguang said to Mendes. “I consider myself a decent coach, and Leeds United’s squad is more than capable of satisfying Cristiano’s ambitions. So, the only thing left is money. How much salary do other clubs offer him? I can raise it by at least a third!”
Faced with Li Shiguang's aggressive attitude.
Having been caught off guard by Li Shiguang for saying the wrong thing, and fearing he would offend Li Shiguang and not get any benefits, Mendes finally gave in. He replied with a bitter face, "Alas... Mr. Li, please make sure you don't spread what I said. If it does, it will have some impact on Cristiano's reputation."
Li Shiguang nodded, quite satisfied with Mendes' attitude after his defeat.
Although he knew that Ronaldo wanted to go to Real Madrid.
But Li Shiguang still wanted Mendes to say it himself. This kind of violation of agent principles, like Raiola before, once it happened, it would happen again...
“Cristiano wants to go to Real Madrid.” Seeing Li Shiguang nod, Mendes didn’t hesitate and said directly, “And if nothing unexpected happens, Real Madrid will make a formal offer to Manchester United this winter.”
"Just as I suspected." Li Shiguang leaned back comfortably in his chair, his tense face instantly relaxing, a smile playing on his lips. "Looks like I wasn't wrong."
Mendes was a little confused by Li Shiguang's expression. He subconsciously leaned forward and tentatively asked, "Mr. Li, are you aware of this matter?"
“What’s there to hide?” Li Shiguang shook his head, his eyes full of disdain. “Alex is a good friend of mine. Every time we talk about Cristiano, he gets all worked up and says that someone wants to buy him! Coincidentally, Mr. Perez is also a good friend of mine, and he has expressed his admiration for Ronaldo to me more than once. Add to that all the rumors circulating outside, and I’m not stupid. I can figure it out with just a little bit of the information!”
"Then why did you insist that I say it..." Mendes muttered under his breath.
But there were only a few people in the private room, so no matter how low you spoke, everyone could hear you.
Simone couldn't hold back and burst into laughter on the spot, which slightly warmed up the somewhat cold atmosphere in the private room.
After Simone finished laughing.
Li Shiguang smiled again, looked at Mendes, and said softly, "Mr. Mendes, if it's Real Madrid, I think we can compete fairly. Furthermore, I can assure you that if you can help me persuade Cristiano, I can pay you an extra fee as a token of my gratitude for your efforts in this deal."
If you heard this promise in other player transfer deals...
Mendes will definitely be very happy, after all, this is almost like a windfall, why not take it?
But Li Shiguang wanted to buy Cristiano Ronaldo.
Since Mendes signed Ronaldo, Ronaldo has told him no less than 20 times in the past five years that he wanted to play for Real Madrid since he was a child.
Faced with a player with such a strong dream of playing for Real Madrid, Mendes didn't know how to persuade him!
After thinking it over for a while, Mendes decided to tell Li Shiguang his true thoughts. It would be best if Li would back down, but if not, he wouldn't have to offend this big shot again.
"Mr. Li, I must tell you the truth, it will be really difficult for you to buy Cristiano!"
Li Shiguang did not respond, but instead gestured with his right hand, indicating for Mendes to continue.
"If you want this deal to go smoothly, we need to solve many problems, and frankly, they are all very difficult to solve! First of all, there's the club. Let's not even talk about whether Ferguson is willing to let him go. Even if they are, as you just mentioned, Cristiano is an ambitious person. Even putting aside his childhood dream of playing for Real Madrid, in terms of club reputation and influence, your Leeds United can't compare to Real Madrid! This is a very real issue, and we can't avoid it!"
“Hmm...that makes sense.” Li Shiguang nodded calmly. “Go on.”
Seeing that Li Shiguang wasn't angry about what he had just said, Mendes calmed down a bit and continued, "Secondly, there's Cristiano himself. Joining Real Madrid has been his dream since he was a child. I know him, and with his personality, it would be very difficult for me to change his dream!"
"Finally, there's his family! Cristiano's sister, including his mother Dolores, has had enough of England's gloomy weather. They've told me and Cristiano many times that they want to go back to sunny Spain. And Cristiano, in particular, respects his family's wishes!"
Is there anything else?
"There's just one last bit."
"you say."
Mendes picked up his coffee, took a sip to moisten his throat, and said with a serious expression, "The last point, and the most important one! Even if we quietly resolve all the previous issues, Cristiano still has three years left on his contract. If Ferguson doesn't release him, then your wish to bring Cristiano in this year will definitely fall through."
“If we can eventually convince Manchester United to release him, then based on my understanding of the Glazer family, they will definitely not sell Cristiano to you so easily! They will definitely make the sale of Cristiano public, which will attract many top clubs, including Real Madrid, to compete for him!”
"Finally, let's go back to the beginning. Faced with offers from numerous top clubs with far better historical records than Leeds United, what do you think Cristiano will choose?"
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