Chapter 772: Sell, why not sell?

After talking with President Luiz Filipe Vieira and General Manager Rui Costa at the Estadio de Luz, Yang Huan, accompanied by the two, went to visit Benfica's training base.

As the flagship team of Lisbon, Benfica's training base is not in Lisbon, but in a small town called Seixal in the Setúbal district in the south of Lisbon.

Seixal and Lisbon are just across the wide Tagus River, facing each other from afar.

Benfica's training base is located on the banks of the Tejo River.

Standing at the gate of the Seixal training base, you can see the beautiful scenery of the Tejo River at the end of the road from afar.

You can even see the bustling city of Lisbon on the other side of the river from afar, which has its own unique charm.

Tourism has always been one of Portugal's economic pillars, and the scenery of the Tagus River has always been loved by tourists.

Although Benfica's finances are not abundant, they are not stingy at all in their investment in the training base.

The area is not small. The first team and the youth training camp are both here, sharing a training building, but the facilities are very complete and have everything. Many of the equipment are even very advanced. It is a very modern training base.

Not to mention in the Portuguese Super League, even in Europe, it is definitely second to none.

This also reminded Yang Huan of the training base of the Premier League team.

It's true that comparing yourself with others will make you angry!

Although the Premier League teams are very wealthy, their ideas are still quite old-fashioned. They are willing to spend a lot of money on players, but are very stingy and stingy when it comes to spending on training bases.

Therefore, in the Premier League, apart from the top teams, there are many teams whose training bases are terrible.

On this point, Yang Huan really thinks that Benfica’s philosophy is worthy of recognition.

After visiting the Seixal training base, Yang Huan, accompanied by Vieira and Rui Costa, took a stroll along the Tagus River. Then the group returned to Lisbon and had dinner at Wangjiang Pavilion.

It was during this dinner that Yang Huan mentioned Oblak's transfer.

The Slovenian player will officially replace Brazilian goalkeeper Arthur as the main player after the winter break, and has performed well in the Portuguese Super League, which has been highly recognized by the Southampton scout team.

However, this player is not well-known at the moment and his value will not be too high.

However, since the ownership of Oblak also involved a third party, Vieira could not give Yang Huan a direct answer, but he promised that he would do his best to facilitate this transfer.

After agreeing on Oblak's transfer, the two sides discussed the current situation in European football.

Vieira mentioned something that interested Yang Huan very much, that is, Singaporean Chinese tycoon Lim Rong Hock had taken over Valencia, and the Bats had already made offers to several players in the Benfica team.

It is obvious that with Lin Rongfu's financial support, the rise of Valencia is only a matter of time.

But the terrible thing is that he found Jorge Mendes as his partner. He is really stupid and has a lot of money.

This piece of news also once again confirmed Yang Huan’s previous point of view.

That is, in the next few years, more and more international capital and consortiums will target the football and sports industries.

In the past few years, the development speed of football and sports industry is so fast and the market is so large that it is difficult for anyone who is slightly familiar with and understands this field to refuse this opportunity.

Therefore, for Yang Huan, the time left for him to expand his territory is getting shorter and shorter. If he does not seize the opportunity now, it will be too late to regret it later.

Thinking of this, Yang Huan became more determined.

After having dinner with Vieira and Rui Costa, Yang Huan returned to the hotel.

At this time, Begiristain, who went to Lisbon Sporting to make contact, was already waiting for him in the hotel.

For Begiristain, who has extensive connections in Portugal, borrowing the training base of Sporting Lisbon is a piece of cake and not a big problem.

What really worries Begiristain is the current situation facing Atletico Madrid.

"Master Huan, recently, many teams have contacted us, including Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester United, Bayern Munich and Barcelona. They have all expressed great interest in our players."

No wonder Begiristain is worried.

Atletico Madrid has had two seasons of outstanding performance. Last season it was the La Liga champion, and this season it reached the Champions League final. But now it is facing this kind of poaching that is almost leading to its disintegration. How can it not be worried?

If any of them is not handled properly, Atletico Madrid's performance will plummet.

By that time, all the good situation that had been painstakingly built up over the past two years would have been completely wasted.

Yang Huan understood Begiristain's concerns, but he also had his own considerations, "What does Simeone say?"

"I asked for his opinion and he said to follow the club's decision!"

Yang Huan nodded, knowing what was going on.

There are only two options left for Atletico Madrid now.

One option is to do everything possible to retain the players, but this requires the club to renew the contracts with the players and pay a higher price.

The advantage of doing this is that the team can avoid disruptions and maintain its existing competitiveness to the greatest extent possible.

But the downside is that if the metabolism is not handled properly, Atletico Madrid may very likely encounter the embarrassing situation of Inter Milan.

Another option is to carry out drastic restructuring of the lineup, sell players who do not fit the team's long-term plan, introduce a group of young and powerful stars, and promote the rejuvenation of the lineup. This option is also the most in line with Atletico Madrid's current business strategy.

The advantage is that the team does not need to bear heavy operating costs and can take this opportunity to complete its metabolism.

But the downside is that the team's performance is likely to be affected and fluctuate.

In order to renew his contract with Simeone, Yang Huan personally flew from Southampton to Madrid and had a meeting with him, during which he mentioned this matter.

Now it seems that Simeone's attitude is to follow Yang Huan's opinion.

This is not surprising. The club belongs to Yang Huan, and only Yang Huan can decide what kind of philosophy he wants to use to run the team. As for Soriano and Begiristain, they are just managers, and Simeone is just the head coach. In matters concerning the club's long-term plans, they can only provide opinions.

"By the way, has Simeone's contract been signed?" Yang Huan suddenly thought of it.

This matter is very important.

"Well, it's signed, and we are planning to make the official announcement in the next two days!" Begiristain replied.

There is no doubt about Simeone's importance to Atletico Madrid.

Even in Yang Huan's opinion, any player in the team can leave, but Simeone must be kept at all costs.

This is not to say that Atletico Madrid will be finished without Simeone, but Yang Huan feels that Atletico Madrid is now at a critical moment in building the foundation of a wealthy club, and talents like Simeone should be retained with all efforts.

Moreover, keeping Simeone, preventing Atletico Madrid from any turmoil, and allowing the team to improve steadily as a whole, is the right thing to do.

Hearing that Simeone had signed and renewed his contract, Yang Huan felt relieved.

"Tesiki, go contact Tottenham Hotspur later. I have already made an agreement with them about Felipe and Miranda. The total price is 60 million euros. Go sign them!"

"Sixty million? Begiristain was a little surprised.

60 million euros for two players?

Isn't this deal too amazing?

You know, Atletico Madrid only spent 12 million euros to introduce Felipe, and did not spend a penny to introduce Miranda, but now they have made 60 million euros by selling them?

Yang Huan saw his surprised expression and found it funny. He decided to do the deal no matter what.

As the saying goes, good things should be kept in the family. Tottenham Hotspur is going to be ripped off anyway. Instead of giving it to others, it is better to give it to ourselves. After all, we will not cheat them by deceiving them, right?

"I've thought about it. Now that the new stadium is in full swing, we need funds, and rejuvenation has always been our established route, so we might as well take this opportunity to sell this group of players and reorganize the lineup!"

Originally, according to Yang Huan's plan, he was responsible for the funding of the new stadium.

But now, since Atletico Madrid can cover this cost by selling players, why shouldn't Yang Huan do it?

Begiristain also knows that a new stadium is the foundation of a wealthy club. Only with a new stadium can Atletico Madrid be qualified to challenge Barcelona and Real Madrid.

Therefore, Master Huan’s move is not a bad idea.

"But, Master Huan, selling Miranda is not a big deal. After all, we still have Godin and Otamendi, and Jose Simeone is following Velasquez. But after selling Felipe, we only have Jose Gaya as the left back."

Jose Gaya has played for Atletico Madrid many times in the past two seasons and his performance has been very eye-catching. He is also a local Spanish player and is considered to be a key training target for Atletico Madrid.

After selling Felipe, it is natural to support Jose Gaya as the main player.

Moreover, the benefits of youth and localization to Atletico Madrid are self-evident.

But the problem is that the team will continue to play in the Champions League next season, and relying on Jose Gaya alone is definitely not enough.

Yang Huan knew what was going on. After thinking for a while, he asked, "What do you think of Luo Huo?"

"Rojo?" Begiristain frowned. "Master Huan, are you talking about Rojo from Tottenham Hotspur?"

"Yes!" Yang Huan nodded. "Van Gaal doesn't like this player, so they want to bring in Felipe. If you think it's appropriate, I'll go and negotiate with them. I'll ask them to use Rojo's cash to buy Felipe. At least they should pay 20 million, right?"

"Great!" Begiristain praised loudly, "If Tottenham Hotspur is willing to use Rojo plus cash to introduce Felipe, then this deal will be worth it!"

Just kidding, Rojo is not liked by Van Gaal, but it depends on the situation.

Judging from Rojo's performance in the Premier League last season, he still has great potential.

It’s just that Tottenham Hotspur’s defense was so bad that even Rojo became a bad player, so it seemed that their performance was very bad, but in fact, the Argentine left-back still has some strength.

Besides, Rojo is in a slump right now and his market value is at its lowest, and Atletico Madrid just wants a replacement, which Rojo is fully capable of.

Through this transaction, Atletico Madrid did not lose much strength, but earned a generous transfer fee. It seems like a good deal.

Thinking of this, the look in Begiristain's eyes when he looked at Yang Huan became unusual.

This Young Master Huan's operational ability is so powerful.

"What do you think about Arsenal wanting to sign Juanfran, Master Huan?"

Unexpectedly, as soon as he finished speaking, Yang Huan burst into laughter.

"Sell it, why not? I've sold Miranda and Felipe, why would I care about Juanfran?"

Juanfran is a Spanish right-back, the main right-back of Atletico Madrid, and a Spanish international.

But Yang Huan's idea is very simple. With two new generation players, Montoya and Gino Peruzzi, and since someone is willing to pay a high price for Juanfran, why not sell him?