Starting With Real Madrid

Because La Liga finished late, Gao Shen attended the groundbreaking ceremony for Leeds United's new training base and then went home with his wife and children for vacation. By that time, the Confederations Cup in Brazil had already begun.

A few days after the Confederations Cup started, the World Youth Championship in Türkiye quietly kicked off.

Compared to the Confederations Cup, the World Youth Championship did not attract as much attention. After all, it is not the World Cup.

But this only applied to the media and fans. In European professional circles, the World Youth Championship still carried significant weight.

After all, it is regarded as a talent incubator for world football.

The opening match was Türkiye against El Salvador, but the first actual game, a day before the opening ceremony, was France versus Ghana.

All eyes were on Paul Pogba, the French team's current star player and captain. Even Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain were closely monitoring Pogba's performance.

But to everyone's surprise, the standout in the first game was actually Kondogbia.

The whole world knew Pogba was France's core, and Ghana knew it too, so they increased their marking on him. But by doing so, Kondogbia was given more freedom.

The Leeds United midfielder scored France's opening goal in the 65th minute with an assist from Kurzawa on the left.

It was also the first goal of this World Youth Championship.

Just three minutes later, he delivered a brilliant pass to assist striker Yaya Sanogo in scoring.

In the end, France defeated Ghana 3-1 and made a winning start.

Kondogbia was named Man of the Match and had the best performance on the pitch.

As the midfield core, Pogba's performance was not bad. He played a box-to-box role and showed his outstanding strength, but it was not reflected in the data. Instead, Kondogbia shined.

…

Not just in the first game.

Three days later, in the second game, it was still Kondogbia, and the goal scorer was still Yaya Sanogo. France defeated the United States 1-0 and collected another three points.

In the last round of the group stage, France drew 2-2 with Spain thanks to goals from Pogba and Kondogbia.

Jesé, who played for Real Madrid, scored twice and was one of the most outstanding players of the group stage.

No one expected that the most eye-catching performer for France was not Pogba, who had been the favorite before the tournament, but Kondogbia. This surprised everyone.

In particular, many scouts who had come to watch Pogba began shifting their attention to Kondogbia.

Although the Türkiye World Youth Championship is not a senior-level tournament, it is the equivalent of a World Cup for young players. Countless stars have emerged from here. Who can guarantee that Kondogbia will not be the next?

Most clubs are reluctant to sign players like Jesé who belong to top teams, but when it comes to Leeds United players, the whole world knows that as long as you pay, you can basically buy them.

There is no such thing as an untouchable player at this Premier League club.

The so-called "not for sale" only means the price offered is not high enough.

In the final group stage match in Türkiye, Croatia defeated New Zealand 2-1. Brozovic put in an excellent performance, contributing one goal and one assist, and together with Kovacic, led Croatia to top their group and advance.

After the game, Gao Shen received a call from Lucas in England.

…

"Fifty million euros?"

When Lucas told Gao Shen about Real Madrid's offer on the phone, Gao Shen was quite surprised.

To avoid suspicion, Gao Shen had been unwilling to get involved in Pogba's transfer, and he even avoided making inquiries.

For example, he had no idea what Real Madrid's valuation was.

Several times, Valdano had wanted to talk to him, but Gao Shen never responded, afraid of interfering.

So when Real Madrid suddenly offered a high price of 50 million euros, Gao Shen was genuinely surprised.

"Why at this time?" Gao Shen asked in confusion.

"This is the right time," Lucas replied.

Gao Shen thought about it and understood.

Put simply, Pogba no longer needed to prove his strength. Over the past two seasons, his growth had been visible to all, especially last season in the Premier League, where Leeds United finished sixth, and Pogba played a major role.

In this case, the World Youth Championship was just icing on the cake.

The whole world knew Leeds United wanted to further raise Pogba's value.

Real Madrid also knew this. After the group stage of the World Youth Championship, they felt the timing was perfect and made a decisive move.

At this moment, Manchester United was in transition, adjusting from Ferguson to Moyes, while Paris Saint-Germain had just been disrupted by Thiago's move to Bayern.

Ancelotti had tried to keep it a secret, but unexpectedly, Guardiola stepped in personally and convinced Thiago.

As a result, Paris Saint-Germain's transfer plans were thrown into disarray.

In this situation, Real Madrid acted quickly and offered 50 million euros, which was indeed very tempting.

More importantly, right now it was a direct contest between Real Madrid and Leeds United. But if other giants such as Paris Saint-Germain or Manchester United recovered and entered the race, it would turn into a bidding war, which was unfavorable for Real Madrid, who were determined to win.

So rather than waiting, it was better to move early during the group stage and seal Pogba's transfer.

Gao Shen had to admit, Florentino and José Sánchez were really shrewd.

In fact, they had wanted to open talks even before the World Youth Championship, but Lucas had kept delaying.

"What did you do?" Gao Shen asked.

"I gave them a counter price."

"How much?"

"Sixty million euros."

"What did Real Madrid say?" Gao Shen was a little excited.

Real Madrid already had Kroos, Modric, and Verratti. Although Pogba was young and talented, if he joined, he would likely be a rotation player. Paying such a high fee for him was not typical of Real Madrid.

Of course, if he were brought in as a starter, then Pogba would actually be a bargain.

"José Sánchez said he needs to think about it," Lucas laughed.

Gao Shen nodded. For such a major deal, José Sánchez was right to hesitate.

"Real Madrid wants to sign Illarramendi for 32 million euros."

Everything is learned through comparison.

If Illarramendi was valued at 32 million euros, then Pogba being priced at 50 million euros seemed entirely possible.

As for Pogba's technical characteristics and style, anyone with a discerning eye could see his talent and value. His tactical role on the pitch was far beyond Illarramendi's.

A talent like this is rare.

"I think Real Madrid will agree. If they refuse, then just wait. Paris Saint-Germain will definitely come in. They have money to burn this summer and desperately need French players to strengthen their squad."

Real Madrid simply did not want Paris Saint-Germain to get involved yet.

In European football, no one wants to go head-to-head with Paris Saint-Germain financially. That would be suicide.

They throw money around recklessly and will do whatever it takes.

Backed by oil money, would Paris Saint-Germain really care about this kind of sum?

"What about Napoli?" Gao Shen asked.

De Laurentiis had sent Marino to Leeds to negotiate for Jorginho and Allan.

Sarri had identified four targets. One was unattainable or unwilling to move, so if Napoli failed to land these two midfielders, it would be hard for Sarri to explain.

The moment Napoli was mentioned, Lucas sneered.

"I didn't expect De Laurentiis to become even stingier after all these years."

"Tell me." Gao Shen guessed the rest.

"Do you know how much they offered for Jorginho and Allan?"

"Tell me."

"Thirty million euros."

"For one?"

"You wish, both together."

"Damn!" Gao Shen nearly cursed out loud. "Is De Laurentiis insane?"

"Really. He thinks we're so desperate that he can take away our two core midfielders for 30 million euros. He must be dreaming."

When Lucas got excited, he would burst out with sharp comments.

"To be honest, Paris Saint-Germain's response has been way too slow. I'm waiting for them to join in." Lucas complained.

After Thiago went to Bayern, there were very few midfield organizers available in European football. Jorginho was also in Ancelotti's plans. If Paris Saint-Germain entered the race, his value would definitely rise.

This was something everyone knew. The price offered to rich clubs was always different from that offered to others.

The reason was simple, everyone wanted to squeeze the rich. Who told them to be rich?

"I've already set a price. If Paris Saint-Germain really makes an offer for Jorginho, I'll throw Napoli's 30 million bid back at them. It will drive that old Italian mad!" Lucas said with malicious glee.

Gao Shen couldn't help but laugh.

But it had to be said, Napoli's offer was ridiculously low.

Logically, De Laurentiis had made plenty of money in recent years. So why was he still so stingy?

"Make sure the offer to Paris Saint-Germain is a little higher," Gao Shen reminded.

This was how the transfer market worked. Ask for sky-high prices, and even if you settle lower, it would still be worth it.

Especially for popular players, they were often priceless.

After all, with so many rich clubs in European football, if you don't cash in now, when will you?

"Monaco has also contacted us, asking about Kondogbia," Lucas said excitedly. "What do you think?"

According to Leeds United's original plan, Kondogbia was not for sale.

After all, if Pogba left and Kondogbia stayed to partner Coutinho, Leeds United's midfield would not suffer much.

"If the transfer fee is attractive enough, then sell. We can bring in replacements," Gao Shen decided quickly.

He badly needed money now.

This was to prepare for building the new stadium.

At the moment, it was Leeds United's second priority.

The first priority was Premier League survival.

After one season, Gao Shen already had a clear understanding of Leeds United's situation and the relegation fight.

Even if he sold players, he was confident of bringing in strong enough reinforcements to keep the team up.

"I understand. Leave it to me," Lucas said excitedly.

If these deals went through, Leeds United might raise a huge amount of money this summer.

Of course, most of it would only exist on paper, since the payments would definitely come in installments over several years.

Leeds United would not accept five-year installments. At most, they would agree to three years.

If enough money could be raised in the summer window, Leeds United's new stadium project could finally be launched.

It would start this summer, with one year of preparation, three years of construction, and scheduled completion in 2017.

Time was running out.

(To be continued.)