Chapter 798 The Only Chance

"What? What did you say?"

In his office at Stamford Bridge in London, Abramovich was so angry that he jumped out of his seat.

"You said that Inter Milan's asking price for Icardi is as high as 40 million euros?"

Granovskia nodded helplessly, "Yes, Icardi is 40 million euros, and Ranocchia's price is as high as 25 million euros."

"How is this possible?" Abramovich almost jumped up.

Such a price tag is quite high, not to mention in a depressed market, for Serie A, which has become the fourth largest league in Europe, even in the Premier League.

Do you really think that the football transfer market is full of bubbles now, so you can treat our Blues as fools?

In fact, Abramovich was well aware that Yang Huan had always acted in this way.

"According to the information received by Mendes and the confirmation of the players' agents, Inter Milan does not intend to sell these two players. Even Yang Huan flew from Barcelona to Milan on the day he received the news to deal with the matter personally."

After hearing this, Abramovich's anger subsided a little.

The fact that Yang Huan was so anxious proved that his poaching efforts were effective.

"After Yang Huan arrived in Milan, Inter Milan immediately met with the agents of the two players the next day and tried their best to retain them. They also offered a contract renewal promise. Then, Yang Huan flew to Hamburg as soon as possible, probably to handle Calhanoglu's transfer."

Abramovich couldn't help but laugh when he heard this. "It seems that he is very busy!"

It must be a very pleasant thing to be able to let Yang Huan fly around like a headless fly.

"I have talked to the player's agent, and they have already told Inter Milan that they hope the Nerazzurri can seriously consider our offer. Judging from the fact that Inter Milan has given such an obviously unrealistic high price without stopping, Inter Milan does not intend to sell, but wants us to back down."

Granovskia's analysis is also reasonable.

In European football, if you really don't want to sell a player, you usually just offer a sky-high price.

"Marina, what do you think?" Abramovich asked calmly.

Granovschia thought for a moment, "Icardi is Inter Milan's most important scorer in the frontcourt. His outstanding performance in the second half of the season has proved his value, and he is so young..."

At this point, Granovskia paused, glanced at Abramovich, and then continued.

"If we want to bring in a striker, I think the young Icardi is more suitable than the expensive Falcao."

Introducing Falcao is something Mendes strongly recommended.

But everyone knows that Falcao is a player under Mendes.

Although Abramovich relies heavily on and trusts Mendes in many things, as a superior, Abramovich knows better than anyone that the reason why Mendes depends on him is ultimately for profit.

But he is a Russian and not a rich man, and his money is not printed by his own bank, so he will also consider and weigh his own interests, and naturally will not follow Mendes' opinions on everything.

This time, Mendes and Mourinho insisted on bringing in Falcao, but Abramovich was very hesitant.

His price and salary are so high, and he has been seriously injured for half a year. Is it worth introducing such a player?

According to Granovskaia at that time, Icardi is also an efficient and excellent scorer. He is younger and cheaper than Falcao, and he can also piss off Yang Huan, killing two birds with one stone!

"Can we still negotiate the transfer fee?" Abramovich asked with concern.

Granovskia was delighted, there was a chance!

"I can talk to the player's agent again and ask them to put some pressure on him. It should be possible to negotiate a little, but I'm afraid it will be difficult to negotiate much. You know, Yang Huan has always been like this!"

Abramovich raised the corner of his mouth and smiled coldly.

Having fought with Yang Huan for so long and suffered so much, he certainly knew what kind of person Yang Huan was.

"What about funding?"

Granovskia nodded and said, "It's not a big problem. According to our previous transfer operation plan, the sale of Lukaku and David Luiz will probably bring back about 80 million pounds in transfer fees. This amount of money should be enough to cover the signings this summer, but we will definitely have to negotiate with Inter Milan about installment payments by then."

"Yes, if the price is too high, we can't do cash transactions with them. Don't let Yang Huan get away with it for nothing!"

Abramovich also agreed, and he even felt that Granovskaia handled it quite well this time.

If he could do such a great job every time, he would have less worries as a boss.

"Where is Calhanoglu?" Abramovich asked again with concern.

But this time, Granovskia shook his head helplessly. "Hamburg's attitude had softened. I even made an appointment with chairman of the board, Krof, and football director, Kruse, but then I postponed it."

At this point, Granovskia guessed, "It's probably Yang Huan who's putting pressure on me from behind."

"Last night, Hamburg's technical director Beiersdorf came out and publicly stated that Calhanoglu is not for sale. In addition, teams such as Leverkusen, Bayern Munich, Liverpool and Dortmund are all interested in him, so I'm afraid..."

But as soon as she finished speaking, Abramovich shook his head and asked, "Afraid of what? Huh?"

Before Granovskaya could say anything, the Russian laughed. "There's nothing to be afraid of. Calhanoglu is leaving the team. It's been rumored for a long time. Hamburg won't sell him. We can just let the players put pressure on him. At most, the price will be higher. Are you afraid that we won't be able to poach him?"

Granovskia listened and nodded, but in this case, the transfer fee would probably have to be higher.

Who is Abramovich?

As soon as I saw the expression of my female subordinate, I knew what she was thinking.

"Marina, have you seen the changes in European football in recent years?"

"Transformation?" Granovskia was a little surprised.

"Don't you think that in the past few years, the transfer fees of players in European football have generally increased and are getting higher and higher?"

"Yeah, I noticed that too. The bubbles are so big!"

But after hearing her words, Abramovich smiled and shook his head, "Bubble? Yes, maybe a little, but not all!"

"What do you mean, boss?"

Abramovich smiled and said, "The market for European professional football is so big, and there are so many stars. In just a few years, Manchester City, Southampton, Paris Saint-Germain, Tottenham Hotspur and other wealthy teams have risen rapidly, waving their checks and recruiting players in Europe."

"What is the result?" Abramovich asked with a smile.

"Result?" Granovskia frowned. "The competition for players, especially high-level players, has become more intense!"

"Yes, the competition is fierce, so the transfer fee will naturally rise!"

After all, it is the supply and demand relationship that is at work. How can it be considered a bubble?

After seeing Granovskaia nod, Abramovich smiled again, "This is just one of the points. Then look at the past few years, in addition to these teams that fans and the media talk about, Arsenal, Liverpool, Inter Milan, Atletico Madrid and other quasi-first-tier teams have also begun to recruit players in large numbers."

"Manchester United has been holding back during Ferguson's time because they believe the transfer market is full of bubbles. But after experiencing the lows of Moyes this season, Manchester United also realized that the team must re-invest in the transfer market. Otherwise, they will be eliminated in the industry reshuffle brought about by the massive influx of capital!"

Granovskia finally understood what his boss said.

Not to mention other leagues, like the Premier League.

Southampton is already a Premier League powerhouse, firmly in the top four of the league, and Manchester City's high investment can also ensure that they get a ticket to the Champions League, but what about the remaining two?

Tottenham Hotspur fired Villas-Boas this season and chose Van Gaal. In addition, the team even announced that it would not set a budget cap for transfers, which shows that this wealthy team is determined to get into the top four of the league.

Arsenal is as solid as ever, but who knows whether Wenger can recreate the miracle in the new season and lead the Gunners into the top four?

Liverpool performed well in the past season, but what about the new season?

With the addition of Manchester United and Chelsea, the entire Premier League landscape has changed dramatically.

In this situation, whoever fails to keep up and is stepped on will be doomed.

What? Don't understand?

UEFA has already said that starting from 2015, the prize money and share of the Champions League will be greatly increased, and the winning prize will be as high as 55 million euros, far exceeding the current 38 million euros.

But this is just the bonus, what about the share of profits?

Four Premier League teams now share a prize pool of 70 million euros, but with the signing of British Telecom's new broadcasting contract, the prize pool will double. However, the Premier League teams' European competition points are declining year by year, and the four Champions League places are in jeopardy.

In other words, if the number of Premier League teams participating in the competition is reduced from the current four to three, but the prize pool will double than it is now, the three teams participating in the Champions League will obtain amazing benefits.

What about the teams that failed to participate in the Champions League?

With a sharp drop in income, they have to cut spending and suppress players' salaries, and they will be squeezed out of the first group!

Judging from the current situation, Southampton and Manchester City are both the strongest contenders for the Champions League qualification, and this season the Saints have also broken their norm and renewed contracts with players including Toni Kroos, Matic, Hazard, Varane and others in one go to ensure the team's combat effectiveness.

It can be seen that Yang Huan sees this point very clearly.

Manchester United missed the Champions League this season, revenue plummeted, and stock prices fell accordingly, forcing the Glazer family to quickly invest huge sums of money in transfer operations.

Isn't it the same for Chelsea?

Chelsea wants to recruit more players this season and sell Lukaku and David Luiz to raise funds, but it is obviously not enough and Abramovich needs to put in more money himself.

If they can't play in the Champions League in the new season and still miss the chance to enter the Champions League next season, can Abramovich bear it?

If Abramovich can no longer invest, he will have to sell high-priced stars and invest again in signings.

But recruiting players is risky. What if the recruitment fails?

The end result was that Chelsea was directly trampled by the upstarts in the Premier League.

This season's Premier League is a competition for qualification for next season's Champions League.

This is also Chelsea's only chance!

In the absence of the ability to bring in top superstars, introducing a group of high-level and cost-effective players to further strengthen the team's strength has undoubtedly become Chelsea's best option.

Even so, Chelsea still has only one goal for the new season, and that is to be in the top four of the league!

Thinking of this, Abramovich secretly encouraged himself in his heart, gritted his teeth, and made a decision.

There was one sentence that he had always kept in his heart and was unwilling to say it out loud.

That is, although he extremely disliked Yang Huan, he had to admire Yang Huan's vision.

Many people say that anything produced by a saint must be of high quality.

And behind the saint is Yang Huan!

"Marina!"

"I'm here, boss!"

"Go talk to Inter Milan and Hamburg. We must get these players no matter what!"

"yes!"

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