Chapter 812 Going to Southampton?

In the upscale residential area of ​​La Finca, Madrid, Spain. ↖,

A black BMW slowly stopped at the gate of one of the villas.

When the back door of the car opened, Portuguese agent Jorge Mendes, dressed very formally in a black suit and tie, got out of the car.

"Drive the car to the front and stop by the roadside and wait for me!" Mendes instructed the driver, turned around and walked towards the gate of the villa.

I rang the doorbell at the gate, and soon the door opened with a click.

As soon as I entered the door, I saw a middle-aged couple in their fifties walking towards me from the opposite side of the courtyard.

As soon as they saw Mendes, they shook their heads and sighed from afar.

"Jorge, you must think of a solution for this matter."

"Yes, Jorge, they are really going too far, you must find a way to solve it!"

Looking at the two people's anxious expressions, Mendes knew what was going on.

After meeting the two people, he walked straight to the gate of the villa without stopping, while answering with his mouth.

"I know, I know, Miguel, Diana, don't worry, just listen to me!"

But the two men followed Mendes closely, almost grabbing him with both hands.

"They are such an ungrateful bunch, they have completely forgotten all the contributions my son has made for them!"

"And those fans, about 70 percent of them support them to sell my son. This is outrageous and absolutely impossible. It's an ugly game!"

Mendes listened to their mumbling complaints along the way and suddenly felt overwhelmed.

Before entering the villa gate, he suddenly stopped.

"Hey, hey, Miguel, Diana, listen to me, listen to me!" He finally had to emphasize his tone.

The middle-aged couple then stopped, looked at each other, and then looked at Mendes silently.

"I'll take care of this, ok?"

Without waiting for the two to answer, Mendes interrupted them impatiently, "We are all very upset now. The most important thing for you now is to remain patient and stop making trouble. Especially when facing the media and reporters, don't talk too much, please!"

The middle-aged couple named Miguel and Diana had no choice but to nod in agreement.

Mendes also knew that this Argentine couple had not received much education.

Before their beloved son made a name for himself by playing football, Miguel was a miner in Argentina. His family was also a lower-class family in Argentina and lived a hard life.

So, in a sense, the son is the only pillar of their family.

When something happened to their son, they also suffered, so it was inevitable that they were anxious.

Thinking of this, Mendes lowered his voice and said soothingly, "Believe me, it's okay!"

After saying that, he turned and walked into the villa.

Behind him, how could this middle-aged couple relax?

They really believe in Mendes, not because they are so close to him or because Mendes is so powerful, but because it is the only thing they can do now.

Walking into the villa, in the hall, a young woman was teasing a little girl who was lying on the carpet and learning to crawl.

"Hi, Jorge Lina." Mendes smiled and greeted the young woman, then squatted down and waved to the pink-cheeked little girl, "Hello, Mia, can you call me?"

Jorge Lina picked up her daughter, held her little hand, and waved to Mendes, "Come, say hello to me, Uncle Jorge."

Mendes immediately smiled and gently tapped the little girl's nose, then stood up again.

"He should be in the backyard," Jorge Lina said.

Mendes nodded and walked towards the backyard gate as if he knew the way.

When they wanted to rent this villa, it was Mendes who went to see the house in person, so he knew the way very well.

After leaving the villa, we came to the backyard, which was a flat lawn.

A thin-looking young man wearing a Real Madrid jersey was playing with a ball on the grass.

The ball seemed to be stuck to his feet, allowing him to play with it in all kinds of different ways that were dazzling to watch.

He is the Real Madrid player, Di Maria, who just contributed to helping Argentina reach the final in the World Cup!

Mendes is a professional agent who has dealt with countless professional players. He has also produced many technically outstanding players under his command, but he can see that there are only a handful of players who can achieve the level of Di Maria.

Maybe there is one, but although that person has good skills, his career is a mess and he always disappoints people again and again. His name is Quaresma!

Mendes watched for a while, enjoying Di Maria's various ball juggling tricks, but had to interrupt early.

"Ahem, Angel!" Mendes shouted.

Di Maria, who was playing with the ball, heard the sound and immediately turned around. When he saw it was Mendes, he raised his left foot and caught the ball falling in mid-air.

The ball seemed to be sucked and stuck to his feet. He then kicked it with his left foot and caught it with both hands.

"Jorge!" Di Maria came over.

Mendes could see that he was not interested and nodded. "I'm sorry, I went to Italy yesterday and then to London, but as soon as I arrived in Madrid today, I immediately went to the Bernabeu to understand the situation."

"Well, what did they say?" Di Maria looked calm.

But Mendes knew that this calmness was only on the surface. In fact, he must be quite panicked in his heart.

Because just half a year ago, even before the World Cup, he told Mendes very affirmatively that even if he accepted Real Madrid's salary contract, he still wanted to stay in Madrid.

However, now things get complicated.

"I learned that they have decided to go all out to sign James Rodriguez. Although this player has received offers from almost half of Europe's top teams, you should know that he basically never misses a move!"

Di Maria knew that the man Mendes was talking about was Florentino Perez, the president of Real Madrid.

"What is their attitude?" Di Maria asked calmly.

Mendes shook his head and smiled, "I talked to them, and they proposed two options. Either you participate in Modric's transfer, or I will help you find a team to bid to meet Real Madrid's requirements."

Di Maria frowned when he heard this, "Go to Southampton?"

"Yes, according to the information I got, Modric's transfer has been almost negotiated, and now the only thing left to be determined is the payment method. Real Madrid wants to introduce James Rodriguez from the Saints, but they don't have enough money, so they need to sell a player to cash in."

At this point, Mendes smiled bitterly and sighed: "You should know that they originally planned to sell you last summer. After I helped you coordinate, they decided to keep you, but now, they feel that they have done their best."

Last summer, Real Madrid did think about selling Di Maria, but then considering that Di Maria's wife had just given birth to a daughter and the child was still young, Di Maria hoped to stay in Real Madrid at the time.

In fact, Real Madrid finally agreed to keep Di Maria.

But now, I'm afraid the relationship between the two parties has come to an end.

"Jorge, what's the situation in the transfer market now?" Di Maria raised his head, sighed and asked.

"I have learned that there are currently six clubs that can meet Real Madrid's treatment standards, and there are currently three clubs that can meet our requirements, namely Manchester United, Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain. They are all very interested in you."

After hearing this, Di Maria couldn't help but frown again, "Do you think I can adapt to the Premier League?"

Judging from Di Maria's physical fitness, he is indeed not very adaptable to the Premier League, especially teams like Manchester United and Chelsea that have always advocated a power-based style of play.

"If it's teams like Southampton, Arsenal and Manchester City, there should be no problem." Mendes thought for a while and said.

These three teams are also the most European-style teams in the Premier League.

Not to mention Arsenal, Manchester City has been sticking to this path since Mancini and now Pellegrini.

In contrast, Manchester United has not been able to stick to continentalization since Ferguson's time, but has instead pursued the traditional style of the Red Devils.

It is even more unfortunate for Chelsea. The continentalization process came to an abrupt halt during the time of Villas-Boas. Both Benítez and Mourinho were going back to the old British power-based style of play.

"Neither Manchester United nor Chelsea will be able to play in the Champions League this season, right?" Di Maria asked again.

Mendes nodded and said, "Yes, even in the new season, we may not be able to grab a place in the Champions League next season!"

Mendes also sighed when he said this.

The competition in today's Premier League is really fierce.

"Paris Saint-Germain has always been interested in you, and they are willing to meet our salary requirements and treatment. They can also play in the Champions League, but..."

There are some things Mendes really can't say.

Paris Saint-Germain is certainly wealthy, but that is the French Ligue 1 after all, and there is no way it can be comparable to leagues like the Premier League and La Liga in the short term.

This is also the reason why those stars who are on the rise are generally unwilling to play in Ligue 1.

Di Maria is also in a headache. Even Falcao is trying to leave Ligue 1, but he wants to go?

Moreover, Paris Saint-Germain introduced Ibrahimovic from Southampton this season. Even if he transferred to Paris Saint-Germain, he would not be able to become the star player and would have to become Ibrahimovic's deputy.

From this point of view, there are pros and cons no matter where you choose to go.

Thinking of this, Di Maria sighed deeply, "Jorge, what do you think?"

"Me?" Mendes smiled bitterly and shook his head. "It's a headache for me too. However, I think Southampton should be the most suitable one in terms of the overall strength of the club and the impact on the players. However, the Saints' player lineup is bound to lead to fierce internal competition, and their salary structure may be difficult to meet our requirements."

"Paris Saint-Germain is also very strong overall, but it is difficult to make a difference in the European arena, and it is limited by the level of the league and the overall environment. I think these are what they are not as good as Southampton, but they should have more advantages than Southampton in personal treatment."

"Both Manchester United and Chelsea are facing lineup restructuring. No one can predict what will happen in the future. Such a transfer is very risky and may even..."

In fact, Mendes' analysis has basically taken into account all factors of the transfer.

Manchester United and Chelsea should be the last choices. The truly competitive teams are still Southampton and Paris Saint-Germain.

These two teams have their own advantages and disadvantages, it depends on which aspect Di Maria personally values ​​more.

If he attaches more importance to personal treatment and hopes for a relaxed competition environment, then Paris Saint-Germain in the French Ligue 1 should be a good choice.

At least, Paris Saint-Germain can guarantee the core position.

But if he wants his career to go further and win more honors, he should undoubtedly choose Southampton.

Because, the current Saints are definitely one of the strongest teams in Europe!