Starting With Real Madrid

When Monaco and Porto officially announced that James Rodriguez had transferred to Ligue 1 side Monaco for a staggering 50 million euros, the entire European football world was stunned.

This was not the first time similar news had come out of the Portuguese Super League.

Just last season, Zenit St. Petersburg of the Russian Premier League signed Brazilian striker Hulk from Porto for an astonishing 50 million euros on the final day of the transfer window, along with Belgian midfielder Witsel from Benfica for 40 million euros.

Both deals shook European football at the time.

But that happened on the last day of the transfer market, and most people felt it was just a desperate move by the Russian tycoons, frantically throwing money around.

Now, however, before June had even ended, Monaco could not wait to strike big.

Sixty million euros for Falcao, fifty million for James Rodriguez. More than 100 million euros splashed out just like that. It shocked the whole footballing world.

Even more explosive, L'Equipe revealed that Monaco's grand plan had only just begun. The French club had also set its sights on star central defenders like Kompany of Manchester City and Puyol of Barcelona.

"Monaco still has a transfer budget of 150 million euros available."

"Rybolovlev wants to build a team capable of challenging Paris Saint-Germain in just one summer!"

While Monaco announced its blockbuster signing, Real Madrid quietly confirmed their second signing, bringing in Bosnian striker Edin Dzeko from Tottenham Hotspur for 20 million euros.

This long-rumored deal did not stir up much of a reaction across Europe, but the aftermath did.

After selling Dzeko, Tottenham immediately announced they would sign Argentine winger Lamela from Roma for 30 million euros plus 10 million in add-ons, totaling 40 million euros.

At the same time, Spanish striker Soldado was signed from Valencia for 30 million euros.

Following Dzeko's arrival, Real Madrid also confirmed Higuain's departure.

Arsenal, Juventus, and Napoli had all shown strong interest in the Argentine forward, but in the end it was Napoli, who had been chasing him persistently, that won out, signing him from Real Madrid for 40 million euros.

Two more deals were also finalized around the same time.

Real Madrid centre-back Albiol went to Napoli for 15 million euros, while Kaka returned to AC Milan on a free transfer.

This once again sent shockwaves across European football.

It was madness!

What kind of time had come, when player transfers regularly topped 30 million euros?

Looking back now, Bayern's capture of Thiago for 25 million euros looked like a bargain.

Really worth it, wasn't it?

No wonder Rummenigge had been smiling so broadly.

Not to mention Thiago's deal, even Pogba's 60 million euro transfer to Real Madrid, which was shocking at the time, suddenly seemed normal in hindsight.

In the blink of an eye, European football had changed dramatically.

And that was only the transfer fees.

The Spanish magazine Penalty Spot revealed that Neymar, who had joined Barcelona for 57 million euros, was in fact earning far more than the club publicly announced, and his real annual salary was not the 7 million euros after tax that Barcelona had declared.

"The Brazilian talent's real annual salary at Barcelona is likely to be 15 million euros."

As soon as this news came out, it shook the football world again.

Fifteen million euros after tax?

That surpassed Ronaldo and made Neymar the second-highest earner in world football, behind only Messi.

Not only that, the magazine revealed that Barcelona's contract renewal talks with Iniesta had basically concluded, and his new deal would give him the same annual salary as Neymar, 15 million euros after tax, second only to Messi.

Add to that Aguero's 13.5 million euros annual salary…

Everyone was shocked.

Barcelona was unbelievably rich!

And it was not just Barcelona. Paris Saint-Germain also had a roster full of stars with massive salaries, such as Ibrahimovic, Thiago Silva, and Cavani.

In comparison, Ronaldo's 9 million euros after-tax salary seemed rather modest.

French media even reported that Paris Saint-Germain were considering a record-breaking move for Ronaldo, not only paying a transfer fee that would shatter the world record, but also offering him a salary higher than Messi's.

This was exactly what Ronaldo wanted in his renewal talks with Real Madrid.

He wanted the highest salary in the world.

…

Although Gao Shen was far away in China on holiday, news from European football kept reaching him.

Including Real Madrid's request that he call Ronaldo to confirm whether he was in contact with Paris Saint-Germain.

Ronaldo's relationship with Gao Shen had become very close. He told Gao Shen clearly that Paris Saint-Germain had indeed contacted his camp, but there had been no deep discussions.

"My stance hasn't changed. I want to stay at Real Madrid, as long as the conditions are right."

What conditions?

A salary increase.

Gao Shen promised him he would help and fight for it with the club.

Afterward, Gao Shen held a video call with José Sánchez and Valdano.

On the call, Gao Shen made it clear that Ronaldo was the offensive core of the team and must be kept at all costs.

An annual salary of 9 million euros was unacceptable. He should receive a raise to match his identity and status.

What's more, with Kaka leaving, Real Madrid had already freed up a huge chunk of wages, and they could definitely afford it.

As for other player renewals, the club's revenue was growing and Florentino's financial red line would not be crossed.

José Sánchez revealed that Real Madrid had already drawn up a new contract. Ronaldo's fixed annual salary would be raised to 12.5 million euros after tax. With bonuses and appearance fees added, he would surpass Messi and become the highest-paid player in La Liga.

However, the club did not intend to compromise on image rights and still insisted on retaining half of them.

Messi's annual salary was indeed very high, but his fixed salary was only 12 million euros after tax. The rest came from bonuses and appearance fees.

"Not to mention anything else, Ronaldo scored nearly 70 goals in all competitions last season. The goal bonuses alone were massive," José Sánchez said with a wry smile.

With the current tactical system designed to boost Ronaldo's stats, Real Madrid had to pay out heavily in bonuses.

Not only that, the club would go all out to help Ronaldo win the Ballon d'Or, and if he did, Real Madrid would pay him another bonus.

Of course, this was mutual success between Real Madrid and Ronaldo. Neither side was taking advantage of the other.

What José Sánchez meant was, the salary could rise, but the image rights would not be touched.

Gao Shen understood.

Behind every clause in the contract lay huge interests.

The same went for Ronaldo's image rights.

…

While Gao Shen and Real Madrid were doing everything to keep Ronaldo, in England the transfer battle was heating up.

Paris Saint-Germain's sporting director Leonardo, backed by Nasser, personally traveled to Leeds to negotiate with the White Rose.

In the competition with Monaco and Napoli, PSG acted decisively and secured Jorginho, the "Brazilian Pirlo" whom Ancelotti had long admired, for 40 million euros.

Napoli, meanwhile, signed Leeds United midfielder Allan for 20 million euros.

After missing out on Pogba, PSG immediately turned their attention to French midfielder Kondogbia, who had just impressed at the World Youth Championship. The young France youth international put in brilliant performances and won wide applause.

Monaco were equally determined to sign him, and the two Ligue 1 giants battled fiercely for the local talent.

In the end, Monaco outbid PSG and signed the French prodigy for a staggering 50 million euros.

The whole football world was shocked.

Was this madness?

Kondogbia's normal market value was at most 30 million euros, but now it had inflated to 50 million.

Did this mean that Ligue 1 passports were about to become as expensive as Premier League ones?

Not only that, the two giants soon set their sights on left-back Kurzawa.

But while they fought over him, Mourinho, still worried about his defence, finally struck.

On Abramovich's orders, Chelsea swooped for Koulibaly, the highly-rated centre-back coveted by many, signing him for 45 million euros.

This French defender was not only young but had excellent passing skills and outstanding physical attributes. He was considered a future world-class centre-back, which was why so many clubs had targeted him.

Chelsea beat out PSG, Monaco, Bayern, and Manchester United to land him.

In recent years, PSG had been nearly unstoppable in the market, signing anyone they wanted with their chequebook. When had they ever suffered such a defeat?

Under pressure, Nasser urged Leonardo to push transfers through quickly.

Soon, PSG announced the signing of Kurzawa from Leeds United for 30 million euros.

With Koulibaly going to Chelsea, PSG then turned to Leeds again and signed Marquinhos for 40 million euros.

This again sent shockwaves through Europe.

Especially in the Premier League.

Everyone knew Leeds United had a squad full of young, talented players. But how could they withstand such a sell-off?

Their second and third-choice centre-backs were sold, as well as their first-choice left-back and four midfielders.

How could Leeds compete in the Premier League next season?

What on earth were Leeds United's management thinking?

While the public was confused and Leeds fans worried, Arsenal announced they had signed Argentine striker Icardi from Leeds United for 30 million euros.

Leeds had originally pinned high hopes on Icardi, believing he could fetch a premium fee, but compared to their French exports, he was sold relatively cheaply.

The outside world simply could not understand Leeds United's transfer strategy.

Even the striker was sold. Did this mean Leeds really had no intention of avoiding relegation?

(To be continued.)