Chapter 365 Isn’t it just money?

"Sporting Lisbon's Van Wolfswinkel with the ball..."

"Varane intercepted the ball beautifully and passed it to Javi Martinez."

"Javi Martinez passes again to Stroman."

"The Dutchman stopped the ball, turned around, passed it behind him with his left foot, and passed it over the top"

"Nice goal, Drogba"

"In the 87th minute of the game, Southampton scored again, 3-1"

"Drogba, the hero of Southampton's third goal, was also the best player in this game"

"Both of the Saints' goals came from his assists, one was to give Strootman a chance to score from a long distance, and the other was to help James Rodriguez score."

"Two assists and one goal, Drogba's performance was amazing"

The entire office was so quiet that the only sound was the commentator's roar coming from the TV.

And there was the overwhelming cheers from the fans in the stands at St. Mary's Stadium.

The two intertwined together, converging into an impressive wave of sound.

This is Southampton's devil's home ground

Watching Drogba and Southampton players cheering and applauding on TV, Manchester City chairman Al Mubarak sat on the sofa with a grim face.

But the sofa, which was originally soft and comfortable, now made him feel uncomfortable no matter how he sat on it.

“Southampton are too strong”

The Englishman in his fifties who was sitting on Mubarak's left sighed, shook his head and smiled bitterly.

He is Manchester City's director of football, Brian Marwood, a former Arsenal winger.

"Who says it's not true? The midfield composed of Stroman, Toni Kroos and Vidal completely suppressed Sporting Lisbon and made them unable to move. Once the midfield was suppressed, Sporting Lisbon was finished."

The speaker was John McBeth, the club's acting chief executive, who sat to Mubarak's right.

After former CEO Gary Cook stepped down in disgrace last year due to the email scandal, John McCabe has been temporarily acting in the position. He is doing quite well, but he is still some distance away from being promoted to the position.

Mubarak looked at the TV screen with frustration.

Although the two opposing teams have nothing to do with Manchester City, Manchester City is still sandwiched in the middle.

Not long ago, Manchester City suffered a crushing defeat to Sporting Lisbon and was eliminated from the Europa League.

Although head coach Mancini explained after the game that leaving the European arena would help the team focus more on the Premier League.

But such an explanation seems somewhat pale and powerless in the eyes of everyone.

Because now Manchester City is still behind Manchester United in the Premier League standings.

Besides, with the depth of Manchester City's current bench, fighting on two fronts is entirely feasible.

Giving up the European arena for the sake of the league is a reason that can only fool ordinary fans.

Didn’t you see that Southampton is fighting on four fronts and has won two championship trophies so far?

Could it be that the Saints' battle on four fronts is easier than Manchester City's battle on two fronts?

Thinking of this, Mubarak couldn't help but feel confused.

"Why can Southampton beat Sporting Lisbon so easily but we can't?"

This question from the club chairman startled both the people on his left and right.

How to answer?

Mubarak seemed not to notice the thoughtful and embarrassed looks on the faces of his two assistants on his left and right, and continued to talk as if to himself.

"In the midfield, we have Gareth Barry, Yaya Toure, David Silva, David Pizarro, James Milner, De Jong, Hargreaves and many other first-class and even top stars who are well-known in Europe and the Premier League."

"Why were these three unknown Southampton players able to suppress Sporting Lisbon so badly, but our midfield full of stars couldn't do it at all?"

Mubarak was not angry, but was just questioning his own doubts and confusions.

Brian Marwood and John McBiss looked at each other and saw what was in each other's eyes.

The chairman and the boss behind the scenes are dissatisfied with the current situation of the team.

From the acquisition of the team in 2009 to now, Manchester City has invested nearly one billion pounds in the transfer market, and its net investment is nearly 500 million pounds, which is many times more than Southampton. However, its performance in European competitions is much worse than Southampton.

More importantly, Southampton is a team in the English Championship.

Anyone who is in this situation will definitely be dissatisfied.

Finally, it was John McBiase who spoke.

"In fact, Southampton's midfield is also very strong. Strootman is the main midfielder of the Dutch national team and also serves as the vice-captain. He is considered the fastest rising midfield star in the Netherlands in recent years, and his momentum even surpasses De Jong."

"There's no need to mention Vidal, he's a key player for the Chilean national team and he shined in the World Cup in South Africa. He's also attracted the attention of many top teams. And Toni Kroos is a well-known talented midfielder who cost the Saints 60 million pounds..."

Mubarak heard this and waved his hand, "They didn't spend a penny."

Being interrupted, John McBiase gave a bitter smile in embarrassment.

There have been rumors among insiders that Toni Kroos was actually paid for by Abramovich.

Even the salaries of Toni Kroos, Drogba, Matic, Sturridge and others were paid by Abramovich.

It is said that it was because Abramovich and Yang Huan made a bet and lost badly.

Of course, this kind of thing can only be whispered among small circles, and no one will tell anyone else.

Just like after Southampton won the League Cup, they distributed millions of pounds in bonuses on the same day. Most people in the circle knew about this and were amazed at Southampton's generosity. Even some media knew about it.

But no one will announce it to the public.

Even Ferguson and Wenger remained silent this time

And this time Southampton acted more cleverly than before, leaving no room for error.

Everyone in the circle knows what can be said and what cannot be said.

This is the unspoken rule of the industry.

"Southampton's entire lineup is very reasonable. Strootman, Toni Kroos and Vidal have three different styles. Bielsa integrated them together and the effect was brought out."

Brian Marwood was a professional basketball star, so he looks at problems in a professional and sharp way.

"Compared to Toni Kroos, who was brought in with a lot of money but only performed mediocrely, Stroman can be said to be the strongest thigh in Southampton's midfield this season. Passing, organization, defense, offense... He is proficient in almost everything."

"This player can be said to be one of the Saints' most improved players in the past two seasons. From being selected for the Dutch national team, to being a substitute, to being a main player, and now being an important member of the Dutch national team's midfield, and even serving as the national team's vice-captain, this player's strength has improved rapidly, which is evident."

"Vidal is good at both offense and defense, a typical penalty zone to penalty zone player, playing a role similar to Yaya Toure. Toni Kroos is a midfield commander with the demeanor of a general, but he still needs to be further polished and grown. It's a pity that his price tag of 60 million pounds is still a loss. Only Stroman is the most eye-catching and his performance is the most impressive."

Mubarak looked at Brian Marwood. "Didn't Mancini say before that the team lacked a solid central defender and a midfielder with excellent organization and passing abilities?"

"Yes," Marwood nodded immediately, "As for central defenders, AC Milan's Thiago Silva, Juventus' Chiellini, and Southampton's Javi Martinez are the three players we are considering."

"In the midfield, there are three players, Strootman from Southampton, Modric from Tottenham, and Witsel from Benfica."

As a midfielder, Gareth Barry is considered to be very good among English players.

But compared with players like Modric, Stroman and Witsel, he is still inferior.

"Javi Martinez, Stroman?"

Mubarak read the names of the two players as if he was muttering to himself.

Javi Martinez moved to Southampton last summer.

But as soon as the Spanish international arrived in England, he immediately withdrew from his original midfield position to center back.

The result was that this change of position brought out the commander of Southampton's defense.

He is a solid and experienced defender, accurate and decisive in passing the ball, has the ability to organize the ball, and has the overall view of the game.

With the assistance of Varane, Gary Cahill and Nastasic, Southampton's defense cannot be said to be top-notch, but it fits very well with the team's entire tactical system.

"Will Southampton sell?" Mubarak asked suddenly.

Brian Marwood was stunned for a moment, then shook his head, "I don't know, but there should be a chance. I heard that the Saints are planning to negotiate a contract extension with Stroman."

The so-called contract renewal talks either mean that the player's contract is about to expire, or that the player has performed well and is asking for a salary increase.

Stroman has only joined the team for two seasons and his contract will not expire so soon.

So, it can only be the latter.

"Now there are many teams eyeing Stroman. Real Madrid, Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool and Roma are all very interested in him. In addition, there are reports that Barcelona, ​​Real Madrid, Manchester United and Bayern Munich all want to introduce Javi Martinez."

When Mubarak heard this, he felt envious and jealous, and at the same time, he shook his head and smiled with a bit of distress.

"It seems that this saint is full of treasures."

John McBeath took the opportunity to interrupt and said with a smile: "Who said no? Neymar, Isco, Varane, Carvajal and other young players have already attracted attention. The team performed well in the Europa League this season. Now they beat Sporting Lisbon 3-1 at home in the semi-finals and have one foot in the final. I'm afraid these players in the team are all being targeted."

With so much competition, the players' values ​​naturally soar.

John McBiase's words reminded Mubarak.

The season is about to end, and if you want to make transfers or recruit players, you have to seize the time now.

Many fans think that the most troublesome part of a transfer is negotiating the transfer fee, but that is not actually the case.

The most time-consuming part of a transfer operation is often the negotiation of personal treatment between the club and the player, as there are too many side details.

Therefore, for many star transfers, the club and the player's agent often first agree on personal treatment, and then conduct in-depth negotiations with the other club on the transfer price.

John McBiase also had his own plans in mind.

He is now acting CEO while City are looking for a CEO, and once the person is chosen, he will have to go back to being his manager.

But if he can participate in and be responsible for the team's transfer operations during this agency period, then even if a new CEO comes in the future and he is deprived of the title of CEO, he can still participate in the transfer operations and his power will be much greater than before.

By then, he will still be a member of Manchester City's core management.

Mubarak didn't think too much about it. After all, this is the practice in the transfer market.

So the Middle Eastern man nodded and said, "As for Javi Martinez and Stroman, go and talk to Southampton immediately."

John McBiase nodded in agreement.

"Oh, yes, there is also Neymar, this star is also quite good, let's see if Southampton is willing to let him go"

"Okay." John McBiss was excited.

Among the three transfers, even if only one is successful, it would be a great achievement.

Mubarak had his own plans.

Next season, Southampton will be promoted to the Premier League.

With the fighting power shown by the Saints this season and the team's huge lineup, the competition in the Premier League next season is bound to become extremely cruel.

Manchester United, Chelsea, Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur, and Southampton

Seven teams compete for the top four in the league, how fierce

In this case, it would be better to poach talents first, which would both weaken competitors and strengthen one's own strength.

Isn’t it just money?

Just dig a few more barrels of oil

Small matter