Chapter 125
Chapter 125
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 125
Chapter Title: 09/10 Summer Transfer Window -4
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[Gareth Bale's Transfer to Union Berlin Confirmed.]
[Gareth Bale Chooses Union Berlin—All Because of Park Chan-hyuk?]
Union Berlin's signings continued unabated, starting with Gareth Bale.
"Gareth."
"Yes?"
"I'm convinced you'll become the world's greatest footballer."
"Th-thank you."
"This isn't lip service! My eye for talent has been spot-on so far, so trust me!"
"..."
"That said, just stay away from golf from now on."
While tending to Bale's shattered mentality after his nightmare of a season,
I also set my sights on the next target.
Son Heung-min alone wouldn't be enough to handle the Champions League schedule.
With the extra games and tighter fixture list from Champions League participation, I needed another player to compete with Son for a starting spot.
'It might disappoint Korean fans, but players grow through competition for places.'
Of course, excessive rivalry could breed factions in the squad, which would be a disaster.
But I trusted that wouldn't happen easily at Union Berlin.
Mediating between players was the manager's and captain's job.
And right now, Union Berlin's manager and captain were me and Yannick Peitz.
'Yannick learned a lot from Cafu—he'll keep things steady.'
Plus, the current Union Berlin squad had the advantage of being close to the manager.
Getting too chummy with players could undermine your authority as boss.
But from the moment we lifted the Bundesliga trophy last season, my authority was absolute.
Even if we bombed next season and got relegated,
Union Berlin would give me one more chance, no doubt.
If they tried firing me over relegation, the furious fans would storm the stadium and tear the place apart.
'Not that it'd come to that—the club's basically family anyway.'
Anyway, the Bundesliga win had erased the downsides, leaving only upsides.
'The risk of loyalty overriding form dips is still there, though...'
That was something I'd have to manage.
Cutting underperformers decisively was my job, after all.
In any case,
I headed to Benfica to sign my next target.
***
[Shocking Leak from Benfica Staff! Union Berlin's After Angel Di Maria!]
Union Berlin's next target was Angel Di Maria of SL Benfica.
Truth be told, I'd quietly approached Di Maria while negotiating with Bale, but Benfica blabbed everywhere that we were after him.
That stalled the talks.
"We're truly sorry. We never imagined one of our staff would go rogue like that."
Benfica apologized for failing to keep their employee in line.
'These gangster bastards.'
No one bought that it was just a staff mistake.
The mood chilled as negotiations dragged on.
"We're thinking 25 million euros for Angel Di Maria's transfer fee."
"Haha... Chelsea offered 35 million recently. Even accounting for our staff's loose lips, you'd need to do at least 30 million..."
Union Berlin and Benfica refused to budge an inch.
Unlike the Tottenham deal, where they were desperate to offload Bale after his awful season.
Already pissed at Benfica's dirty tricks, we traded barbs throughout.
"For the record, if this falls through, I'm declaring no more deals with Benfica—ever. Why negotiate with a third-rate club that can't even muzzle its own staff?"
Threats came naturally in the process.
They'd dumped shit on us, so a little pushback was fair play.
Benfica's director's face hardened at "third-rate."
"Oh, sorry. Got a bit heated there—my bad."
I raised a hand in mock apology, playing it off as a slip.
"Ahem, Chan-hyuk, step out and cool off."
Even Dirk Zingler, the chairman, "kicking me out" was part of the act.
Young and impulsive as I was, it fit perfectly as a momentary lapse.
Outside, I lit a cigarette and gathered my thoughts.
As Benfica's director said, Di Maria's price had skyrocketed after reports of our interest.
Unlike Bale, whom they'd dismissed as a bluff, Di Maria was starring for them, so big clubs piled in, assuming he was our real target.
'30 million euros... A bit steep for one player.'
Considering his Real Madrid exploits, it wasn't outrageous.
Gale's 10 million bargain just made it feel pricey.
Above all,
'Benfica's treating us like suckers—no need to overpay.'
I was even considering walking away.
Di Maria would be great, but not a must-have.
He was a bit inconsistent by my standards.
But on his day, his class was overwhelming.
'Mentality's... solid enough.'
His Manchester United stint and post-PSG moves were iffy,
But I got why he'd left Real Madrid.
'He hard-carried them to Champions League glory, yet James Rodriguez got a bigger wage? Must've felt like a mid-level guy learning the new hire out-earns him.'
Wage structures collapsing like that bred resentment.
Even Toni Kroos reacted the same when he heard about Lewandowski's pay at Bayern.
Wages were tied to pride.
Ignore that, and complaints were inevitable.
Contracts had confidentiality clauses on pay,
But players gossiped like part-timers swapping salary stories.
And soon enough,
Chairman Dirk Zingler emerged from negotiations with a smile.
His fingers flashed a "2," and I nodded at the better-than-expected discount.
'Looks like the player wanted Union Berlin too.'
***
[SL Benfica Confirms Angel Di Maria's Move to Union Berlin for 20 Million Euros!]
└ Chelsea were asking 35 mil, and he goes to Union?
└ Player preferred Union over Chelsea, apparently.
└ What was his real value before Benfica hyped it?
└ 12.5 mil euros.
└ Benfica risking it all for an extra 7.5 mil? Lmao
└ Yeah, way too risky.
└ Short-term greed blinds people.
└ Could've built a good relationship instead smh, idiots.
└ "Built" lol wtf;;
[Heated Starting Battle? Can Son Heung-min Hold His Spot?]
└ Damn, next season's stacked. Son getting pushed out?
└ Lmao, you think the guy who starred in last season's champions are trash?
└ Nah, he won't go down easy.
[Angel Di Maria Beams at Unveiling: "Honored to join the romantic team led by the world's best manager. The fans' passion is electric..."]
***
While Union Berlin snapped up Angel Di Maria, Cristiano Ronaldo shattered records with a galactic fee to join Real Madrid.
'Ronaldo was untouchable at this point.'
Xabi Alonso followed suit to Madrid.
Real Madrid blew a fortune on Karim Benzema, Xabi Alonso, Kaká, and Ronaldo.
'...Insane. Money rotting in their accounts or what?'
Even Real Madrid weren't infinite resources—they basically closed shop for the summer window.
Their Galácticos spree is why we got Di Maria without competition.
Anyway,
As my stomach churned watching Real Madrid hoard talent solo,
I flew to Spain for full-back reinforcements.
My target: César Azpilicueta at Osasuna.