Chapter 231 The transfer period has begun, and the major giants: Manchester City, don't come over!
In a stand somewhere in the Etihad Stadium, Kevin De Bruyne, like the Manchester City fans at the scene, was watching the familiar figure on the field with some nervousness.
It is very difficult to score directly from a free kick. Even if you are a free kick expert, it is impossible to guarantee that you can score every time.
Lin Quan had used a free kick to score a winning goal in a game before. It was impossible for the opponent to be unprepared, so it would be even more difficult for him to score in this situation.
Lin Quan closed his eyes, looking for the feeling of scoring directly from a free kick.
Suddenly, he opened his eyes and moved.
When the Manchester City fans at the scene saw Lin Quan retreating step by step, they began to feel worried.
Can this ball go in? They all couldn't help but ask, but no one could answer them.
After retreating about eight or nine meters, Lin Quan took a close look at Liverpool's goal, then began to accelerate his run! Here it comes!
Everyone in the stadium, including Liverpool's goalkeeper, opened their eyes wide, afraid that they would lose sight of the result of the free kick if they blinked.
Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Lin Quan completed his run-up, swung his right foot and kicked the football hard.
With a bang, the football turned into a heavy artillery and flew towards Liverpool's goal.
The football passed the human wall and rose quickly.
In the human wall, Liverpool players including Suarez, Sturridge, Gerrard, Sterling and others all subconsciously turned around and looked at the football.
The football flew higher and higher in everyone's sight, as if it was about to fly high over the goal.
Did you hit it too high?
Seeing the flight trajectory of the football, everyone couldn't help but feel a little doubtful.
However, just when they thought the ball was about to fly into the stands, the football fell rapidly as if it was cast under some kind of magic.
Here we come!
Lin Quan’s famous skill – elevator ball!
Goalkeeper Mignolet squatted down suddenly and rushed towards the direction he judged the opponent would shoot.
If we don’t put out the fire now, it will be too late!
However, when he completed the save, Mignolet was not very confident.
The trajectory of the ball was completely contrary to common sense. If he had not studied Lin Quan's free kicks in advance, he would not have known how to save it.
However, even after studying it through videotapes and even practicing it with teammates.
But when he arrived at the competition venue, he was still extremely nervous.
Compared with the free kicks taken by his teammates, Lin Quan's free kicks are faster, more bizarre and more difficult to defend.
Mignolet widened his eyes and stretched out his hand towards the trajectory of the football he predicted, but touched nothing.
The football fell a little faster than he expected, almost brushing the bottom edge of his glove and flying into the net!
It actually went in! De Bruyne stood up suddenly and stared at the football flying into the net in amazement, unable to believe his eyes.
The fans at the scene had almost the same idea as De Bruyne and had not yet reacted when Lin Quan scored the goal.
It was only after three full seconds that warm cheers broke out at the scene.
Seeing that Lin Quan really scored the penalty, all the Manchester City players rushed towards Lin Quan like crazy.
Another buzzer-beater, Lin's free kick was truly amazing.
On the other side, Liverpool's players saw their three points turned into one point, and expressions of frustration and unwillingness appeared on their faces.
Suarez put his hands on his hips and looked helplessly at Lin Quan who was surrounded by his teammates, with mixed feelings in his heart.
When they were on the national team, they lost to the opponent twice.
He thought he could get revenge at the club, but unexpectedly his team was defeated by the opponent again.
Could it be that he would never be able to defeat him in his entire life? At this moment, looking at his teammates around him, Suarez remembered what his agent said to him before the game: Luis, Liverpool is not a strong team. They haven't entered the Champions League for a long time. Your teammates are limited in strength. It will only waste your time and youth here. You should go to a bigger and more powerful stage to chase the Champions League trophy and the Golden Ball.
Suarez looked back at his teammates around him and thought seriously about his agent's proposal.
Liverpool's captain Gerrard didn't know what Suarez was thinking, but seeing the unwilling expression on his face, he walked up, patted Suarez on the shoulder and comforted him:
"It doesn't matter, at least we broke their home winning record. Next time we return to Anfield, we will definitely win!"
Liverpool has been in very good form recently, and the team's performance has been improving steadily, so Gerrard has the confidence to say this.
Suarez nodded expressionlessly, but he was thinking in his heart:
If I leave Liverpool during the winter break, can Liverpool still beat Manchester City at home? …
Although he helped the team tie with the aggressive Liverpool in the final moments, Lin Quan could not be happy.
This game was just like the previous few league games, it was very tiring, at least he felt very tired psychologically.
"You came to watch the game? How did it feel?"
After the game, he received a call from De Bruyne, and only then did he learn that De Bruyne had come to the Etihad Stadium.
As the host, Lin Quan naturally had to do his best to be a good host, so he invited De Bruyne out and found a place for them to get together.
"I've watched your games on TV before, but this is my first time watching a game live. If I were to say how I feel about it, I think you are very strong and you deserve to be the leader of the Premier League!"
"Stop being polite. I asked you to help me find the problems in the team, not to flatter me!"
Lin Quan himself realized that there were problems with the team, but he couldn't find where the problems were for a while.
De Bruyne happened to be here, so he wanted De Bruyne to help him analyze the situation from an outsider's perspective.
"Well, I think there are some problems with your team's offensive system in the frontcourt. Your teammates are more used to you organizing the offense in the frontcourt. Once you go to the front, there is no organizational core in the frontcourt, and the offense will not be threatening."
Lin Quan thought about it and realized that after he went to the front line, the threat to Liverpool's goal dropped sharply. The situation was indeed as De Bruyne said.
"The club has already started thinking about this issue. They plan to make a signing in the winter break and buy a top midfielder to solve this problem."
De Bruyne's eyes lit up when he heard this. Top midfielder? Then does he have a chance? "Oh, really? Which top midfielders have you set your sights on?"
He asked tentatively without showing any emotion, trying to get information from Lin Quan.
"Modric from Real Madrid, Iniesta and Fabregas from Barcelona, Kroos from Bayern!"
"No more?"
“No more!”
Seeing De Bruyne's disappointed expression, Lin Quan laughed: "Haha, don't worry, I have recommended you to the club!"
Realizing that he had been tricked by Lin Quan, De Bruyne also wanted to turn the tables. He pretended to be hesitant and said:
"Although I can reluctantly accept Manchester City's invitation, Chelsea may not agree to my transfer to you!"
Lin Quan nodded: "That's true. After all, we are direct competitors in the league. Chelsea certainly doesn't want to see us strengthen our team."
Mourinho is a top coach and he should be able to see the problems within Manchester City.
In this situation, it is normal for Mourinho not to want to let go.
However, De Bruyne performed very poorly under him and has been completely excluded from the team's roster.
In this case, Mourinho may not have a clear enough understanding of De Bruyne's strength.
Maybe he will think that De Bruyne's transfer to Manchester City is a good thing. After all, this way, he can not only make money from Manchester City, but also influence Manchester City's discovery of other top midfielders.
If Manchester City really buys a midfielder of the level of Modric or Fabregas, it will be even worse for Chelsea.
Therefore, Lin Quan feels that as long as Manchester City’s offer is high enough, there is a great possibility that Chelsea will agree to release the player.
After all, Chelsea also needs to recruit players during the winter break. It is rumored that they have already had contact with Basel and plan to bring Basel winger Salah to Stamford Bridge during the winter break.
In addition, Mourinho also plans to bring his favorite player Drogba, who is wandering in the Turkish Super League, back to Chelsea to further strengthen the team's forward line to solve the problem of weak forward line that is giving him headaches.
All these signings cost money, and Mourinho's relationship with club owner Abramovich and manager Emnaro is currently strained. The transfer funds he can get may not be sufficient. If he does not sell players, he may not have the money to buy the players he likes.
…
After finishing the game with Liverpool, the next day, Manchester City continued to face the challenge of Crystal Palace at home.
Thanks to Lin Quan's goal in the 76th minute of the second half, Manchester City defeated their opponent with difficulty.
After this victory, Manchester City won the half-season championship of this season's Premier League with a 9-point lead.
After 19 rounds of competition, their record is 16 wins, 3 draws and 0 losses, with 51 points.
This result created a record in Manchester City's team history. Unfortunately, they were 1 point behind Chelsea in the 2005-06 season and failed to break the half-time record of the Premier League.
The Chelsea team under Mourinho created an amazing record of 17 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss in the Premier League, with 52 points. It is the team with the highest points in the first half of the Premier League so far.
And Chelsea also won the Premier League championship that season as they wished, thanks to their huge lead.
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With Chelsea's successful example in the past, the fans of the Blue Moon can breathe a sigh of relief after winning this half-time championship.
They are currently 9 points ahead of second-placed Arsenal, which is still a huge advantage.
Judging from Arsenal's habitual collapse in the latter part of the season, as long as Manchester City does not collapse even more severely, the possibility of winning the league title is very high.
However, Manchester City is not without hidden worries.
Although they won the game, Manchester City's form is still bad.
Neither team scored in the first half, which is very rare at the Etihad Stadium.
There were indeed problems with Manchester City's offense, which made the Blue Moon fans generally worried.
Chelsea has been plagued by a weak forward line, and their performance this season has declined significantly, with Everton almost overtaking them in league points.
If Manchester City follows Chelsea's footsteps, it will be hard to say what will happen in the second half of the season.
Because of this, Manchester City is more determined to recruit players during the winter break.
On January 1, 2014, the winter transfer window for the five major leagues officially opened.
The major teams that have already locked in their respective recruitment targets have waved their checks and made offers to their favorite targets.
The first to take action was Manchester City's neighbor Manchester United. After the transfer window opened, the Red Devils immediately offered Chelsea 30 million pounds in the hope of bringing in the opponent's midfielder Mata.
Like De Bruyne, Mata is not the kind of player Mourinho likes.
After Mourinho returned to Chelsea, Mata's appearances and scoring efficiency have declined sharply.
This season he has only played 14 games for Chelsea, including 10 league games, 2 League Cup games and 2 Champions League games.
Mata only scored one goal in these 14 games, and that was in a low-level game like the League Cup.
Compared with his phenomenal performance and absolute core position in Chelsea in previous seasons, Mata's current performance and status in the team have declined seriously.
Unable to secure an absolute starting position and playing time, the Spaniard gradually began to want to leave.
In order to be able to participate in the World Cup, Mata was unwilling to sit on the bench at Stamford Bridge, so he expressed his intention to leave.
After Scholes retired, the Red Devils Manchester United really needed a top midfielder, and Mata going to Manchester United seemed to be a good result for both parties.
Mourinho did not try to keep Mata. Instead, the club manager Emnaro contacted Mata at the instruction of Abramovich.
Mata is definitely an important contributor to helping the Blues win the Champions League, and Abramovich has feelings for such old players.
But Mata was determined to leave, and Emnaro's attempts to retain him were unsuccessful.
So, after some bargaining with Manchester United, the two teams finally reached an agreement at a price of 37 million pounds, and Mata officially left the Blues and joined the Red Devils.
This transfer makes sense, but it is still unexpected.
Mata had been Chelsea's backbone and core for the past few seasons, but he was quickly abandoned after Mourinho's return. It's true that a new emperor chooses new ministers! This transfer between Chelsea and Manchester United made Lin Quan and De Bruyne a little worried.
Without Mata, Chelsea's competition in midfield seems less fierce.
Maybe De Bruyne will get a chance to play?
Will this affect De Bruyne's transfer?
"Uh, do you think Chelsea will let you go now?"
De Bruyne was not too sure either: "I don't know, it shouldn't have any impact, right? We still have Oscar, William and Hazard in the team!"
Oscar and Hazard are players that Mourinho likes very much. Mourinho regards Hazard as his own Messi and he wants him to play in every game.
Oscar is also very highly regarded and even appears before Mata in the order of appearance.
After that come Mata, William, Moses and others, and then it will be De Bruyne's turn.
So the departure of Mata does not have that much impact on De Bruyne.
Just as the two were discussing De Bruyne's transfer, according to Real Madrid's mouthpiece AS, Premier League tycoon Manchester City made an offer to Real Madrid for 45 million euros, hoping to introduce Real Madrid's midfield star Modric.
If Real Madrid accepts this offer, this transfer will become the highest transfer during the winter break.
However, faced with Manchester City's offer, Real Madrid rejected it without a second thought.
Manchester City did not give up. They continued to increase their offer and once again launched an attack on Modric with a price of 50 million and an annual salary of 7 million euros.
This price is exactly the same as the transfer fee when Ozil joined Arsenal, and anyone with a discerning eye can see that Real Madrid made a huge profit from Arsenal in Ozil's transfer.
Considering Ozil's current performance in the Premier League, he is not worth 50 million at all, 35 million is about right.
Modric has not been with Real Madrid for long. Although he has shown the spirit of a great general in the game, considering that the price when he joined Real Madrid was only 35 million euros, for a midfielder, his value has increased by 15 million euros in one and a half seasons, which is quite exaggerated.
In addition, the annual salary offered by Manchester City is too high, and they are worried that the players themselves will not be able to resist the temptation and will be abducted by Manchester City.
Therefore, facing Manchester City's offer, Real Madrid began to hesitate.
Should we earn this money? "We can't let Modric go. We have finally stabilized the framework of the main lineup. Now is the time to make an effort to win the championship. If we let him go at this time, will we still want to win the league championship? Will we still want to win the Champions League?"
Ancelotti expressed strong opposition to the transfer. As a coach, he naturally did not want to see the tactical system he had worked so hard to build collapse due to the lack of a certain player.
Real Madrid currently has very good records in the league and the Champions League. After spending a huge amount of money to introduce Bale, their goal is the Champions League trophy.
At this time, we certainly cannot sell the core midfielder of the team just for a little money!
So, Florentino made a decision: "Reject Manchester City's offer. In addition, notify Modric's agent that we need to re-sign a contract with them, and the club will give Modric a salary increase!"
Modric's current annual salary is 4.5 million euros after tax, and the price offered by Manchester City is half as high.
Real Madrid can reject Manchester City's offer, but they cannot just reject the offer without any response. At this time, they must not only use the main position and emotional cards to retain the players, but also give them a salary increase. Only by taking this two-pronged approach can the players not become dissatisfied with the club.
Real Madrid plans to offer Modric an annual salary of 6 million, which is the second highest in the team, on the same level as Casillas and Ramos, and second only to Ronaldo and Bale.
Modric has only been with the team for over a year and the club has already given him a pay raise. I wonder what other players will think when they hear the news and whether they will also ask for a pay raise?
When Florentino thought of this, he felt a headache.
Damn Manchester City, why did they make an offer for Modric? Just one offer has caused our salary system to collapse! Damn the oil guys!
Manchester City expected Real Madrid's rejection. They were not discouraged, but immediately shifted their target and set their sights on Bayern midfielder Kroos.
On January 4, according to the Munich Daily, Manchester City offered Bayern 35 million euros in the hope of taking Kroos away.
Now it's Guardiola's turn to have a headache! Please give me your monthly vote!
(End of this chapter)