Starting With Real Madrid

"Marino, what's David Luiz's current valuation?"

The stadium was filled with people, and the Napoli fans were roaring with excitement, completely igniting the atmosphere.

Everyone was ecstatic, cheering and shouting loudly.

Chairman De Laurentiis sat down, a bit conflicted, and asked Marino, the general manager sitting beside him.

Marino was still celebrating, too excited to pay attention. "What did you say?"

"I asked you, how much is David Luiz worth now?" De Laurentiis raised his voice.

This time, even Sacchi and Zidane, who were nearby, heard the question and became interested.

Of course, they assumed the two big bosses of Napoli were discussing some top-secret matter, so they pretended to focus on the game, but in reality, they were secretly listening in.

These guys are quite sneaky.

Marino heard him clearly this time, sat down, thought for a moment, and replied, "It should be around three million euros."

"Three million euros?" De Laurentiis seemed dissatisfied.

David Luiz played so well tonight; surely three million euros wasn't enough.

"By the way, how much did we spend to bring him in?" De Laurentiis asked again.

"I don't remember the exact amount, but I think it was around... 500,000 euros?"

"500,000 euros?" De Laurentiis was shocked.

A player brought in for 500,000 euros is now worth three million after just half a season?

Not only was De Laurentiis surprised, but even Sacchi and Zidane, who were eavesdropping, were equally shocked.

Damn, it's like printing money!

His value increased sixfold just like that how incredible!

"Yeah, when we bought him for 500,000 euros, we were worried he might not work out. But we didn't expect this..." Marino smiled contentedly. Even though it was Gao Shen who picked him, Marino was the one who negotiated the transfer.

In the future, he could easily claim credit for this who could argue against him?

Unexpectedly, De Laurentiis's face suddenly darkened.

"Shit, 500,000 rising to three million... a 2.5 million increase... which means 20%..." De Laurentiis muttered to himself, looking like a man whose lover had been stolen.

"What 20%?" Marino asked halfway through and then immediately remembered.

Wasn't there?

He had completely forgotten.

In Gao Shen's contract terms, there was a clause about a 20% commission on the profit from player price increases.

Now that the increase was 2.5 million, that meant 500,000 euros in commission. What a lucrative deal!

Looking at his boss again, De Laurentiis's face had turned as stiff as a dried fish.

Wasn't this clause added because he thought he was being too clever?

Sacchi and Zidane, still eavesdropping, were left confused. What 20%? What were these two talking about?

It felt like something major was happening.

The gossip intrigued them even more, and they strained their ears, nearly ready to hand over a megaphone to hear better.

"Boss, it's not just David Luiz; everyone else's value has also increased..."

"What?" De Laurentiis's face kept twitching.

A major loss!

What a huge loss!

You think you're clever, but you've lost everything in the end!

"All of them! All the players Gao Shen brought in have gone up in value. Gervinho and Cavani are the highest, each worth at least five million euros now. Keep in mind, this is based on their Serie B performance. Once tonight's match is over..." Marino didn't need to finish the sentence.

De Laurentiis could already guess the rest.

Napoli's performance tonight was exceptional. Tomorrow, all these players' names would be on everyone's lips, and their values would soar even higher.

That's it! That's the end of it!

This time, I've really lost it all!

"Tell me, Marino, why did you sign such a dumb contract back then during the winter transfer window?" De Laurentiis sounded like he was addressing a historical criminal responsible for the greatest disaster in Napoli's history.

Marino was taken aback and was about to defend himself, but upon seeing De Laurentiis's murderous gaze...

Fine, I'll endure it!

When the boss says you're wrong, you're wrong. Otherwise, you'll only be more wrong!

"How could you sign such a contract? Not only does it show a lack of trust in the coach, but it also results in huge losses for the club! You'd better reflect on this. I... I... my blood pressure is rising..." 

Marino saw De Laurentiis's trembling hands as he fumbled in his pocket, took out his blood pressure medication, and popped a few pills into his mouth. Marino quickly handed him some water and waited on him carefully.

"This... this..." After taking the medicine, De Laurentiis pointed shakily in the air for a long time.

In the end, he let his hand drop weakly, realizing this was the decision he regretted most in his life.

Blame the damned, useless Marino!

Sacchi and Zidane, having overheard this shocking exchange, felt as if they had just witnessed something as monumental as Russia declaring war on NATO.

Even though they hadn't caught every word, they had a general idea. It seemed that in Gao Shen's contract, there was a fee clause regarding the increase in player values, and now De Laurentiis was suffering because of it.

Gao Shen was too smart!

They hadn't seen it coming!

This young man, only twenty-six years old, had outwitted an old fox like De Laurentiis.

How brilliant! Truly brilliant!

Both Sacchi and Zidane were lost in thought, marveling at how skillful Gao Shen was. Meanwhile, De Laurentiis finally calmed down and spoke again.

"Marino, how about this? Go talk to Gao Shen directly. With the current player values, we'll buy out those contract clauses, sign a new one, and give him a raise." De Laurentiis thought he had found a solution.

Marino smiled awkwardly, clearly uncomfortable. "Boss, what we just mentioned was only the estimated market value."

"What do you mean?" De Laurentiis looked confused.

"I mean, if Roma comes to us later to discuss a transfer for David Luiz, do you think we'll ask for just three million euros?"

"Of course not! What do you take me for, an idiot? There's no way I'd sell David Luiz for three million euros!" De Laurentiis nearly slapped himself for even suggesting it.

Exactly, he wasn't an idiot, but he had just entertained a rather idiotic idea.

Why wouldn't Napoli sell David Luiz for three million euros?

The reason was simple: David Luiz was young and still rapidly developing. His value would only increase with age and experience. Especially next season, no doubt Napoli would be in Serie A, and if David Luiz performed well there, would he still be worth only three million euros?

If he performed well, adding a zero wouldn't be out of the question.

Look at Porto's defender, Pepe. Didn't he sell for 30 million euros?

Under such circumstances, Gao Shen wouldn't agree to a buyout, right?

Unless Napoli predicted the future price increase.

But that would be complicated, and where would De Laurentiis get the money to pay for all of that?

After thinking it through, De Laurentiis realized there was no way out.

This was a deal he was destined to lose!

And he couldn't forgive himself.

However, given Gao Shen's current standing in Napoli, De Laurentiis had to approach him cautiously.

Though he was losing money on these contract terms, in the grand scheme, Gao Shen had helped the club make a fortune.

Taking a deep breath, De Laurentiis glanced at Marino with a sly, malicious grin.

"B-Boss..."

"I'm sorry, Marino, I'm furious right now. I really feel like killing someone, but... murder is illegal."

Marino nodded vigorously, yes, you can't do that.

"So... sorry, it's going to have to be you..."

Sacchi and Zidane didn't fully understand what was happening. They only saw the halftime whistle blow, accompanied by the wild cheers and screams of the fans, as De Laurentiis began furiously berating Marino.

The poor general manager of Napoli curled up in his seat, too scared to move, enduring the tirade of spit.

God knows what he did to deserve being scolded so publicly, like a child being reprimanded by his grandfather.

Sacchi and Zidane exchanged a glance, both capturing the same thought in each other's eyes.

It's better to be a coach these days!

...

Gao Shen, meanwhile, had no idea what was happening in the stands.

He was in a great mood.

Returning to the locker room, he saw that the Napoli players were in high spirits, clearly satisfied with the 4-0 scoreline from the first half. Gao Shen didn't dampen their morale but reminded them to stay focused in the second half.

"Roma won't go down without a fight. Sure, they're five-two down, and it looks hopeless, but don't forget, even a three-nil lead in a Champions League final can be overturned, so don't get complacent."

The players stopped smiling and nodded solemnly.

Still, Gao Shen remained firm with his instructions.

For the second half, the plan was simple: continue defending and counterattacking.

"By the time of that fourth goal, Doni had clearly lost his confidence, and the rest of Roma's players were mentally shaken. "If they don't attack, that's fine."

"But if they dare to come forward, I want you to hit them even harder, until they don't dare to press up anymore!"

"Do you understand?"

"Yes, we understand!" the players responded in unison.

At this point, Gao Shen's authority within the Napoli team was unquestionable. Not only the general manager Marino, but even the chairman De Laurentiis couldn't command more respect than Gao Shen.

Of course, this had a lot to do with their prior agreement.

De Laurentiis rarely visited Castel Volturno, Napoli's training ground, and almost never interfered with Gao Shen's decisions.

In many ways, this Napoli team belonged to Gao Shen!