Chapter 184
Chapter 184
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 184
Chapter Title: 2010 South Africa World Cup -3
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***
Shinji Kagawa had left, leaving behind a massive transfer fee for Union Berlin.
Considering the amount we'd paid to sign him, it was nothing short of astronomical profits.
‘How much was it when we brought him in…? Felt like we got him for practically nothing.’
Not that profit margins were the main concern.
Union Berlin wasn’t strapped for cash like in the old days.
Still, it felt good.
It meant one of the guys under me had earned some real recognition.
‘Sigh. Hope he does well over there.’
Meanwhile, Japan erupted in cheers over Kagawa’s move to Manchester United.
[Shinji Kagawa Transfers to Manchester United!]
[Japan’s Top Soccer Talent Heads to Manchester United!]
[Union Berlin Manager Park Chan-hyuk: “The player was so determined that we had no choice but to let him go. I hope he shines at United and becomes an even better player.”]
└ Thought the Korean manager would cling on tight. Unexpected.
└ Sorry, but Chan-hyuk isn’t that type.
└ Heard Kagawa insisted on the move, so they let him go for a low fee. But Kagawa refused, saying he wanted Union Berlin to at least get some transfer money.
└ That’s touching.
└ Could’ve been great if he’d stayed at Union Berlin.
└ What are you talking about? Soccer means Premier League!
Given the Japanese obsession with the Premier League, Kagawa’s transfer there was only natural.
They always rated it far higher than the Bundesliga.
In fact, even Jürgen Klopp at Dortmund had tried to persuade Kagawa in my past life, but the Premier League love from Japanese fans killed it.
Japan, like Korea, held the Premier League in the highest regard, and to earn respect from their soccer fans, you had to play there.
Plus, the player’s own dreams and preferences played a role.
Meanwhile, Korea was buzzing with all sorts of reactions to Kagawa’s transfer.
[Shinji Kagawa to Manchester United. Joins Park Ji-sung.]
└ Man, honestly, soccer is the Premier League ㅇㅇ
└ Wow. Fed him, raised him, and this is the betrayal.
└ Betrayal my ass lol. So an employee jumping from a small company to a big corp is betrayal too?
└ You think that’s the same?
└ It is. Why wouldn’t it be?
└ United’s a big club, sure, but Union Berlin ain’t some small fry.
└ Fr;; Their parent company Guten is a mega corp.
└ Since when is Guten a mega corp lol
└ ??? Guten’s market cap is bigger than Oseong Electronics now wtf;;
└ ?? Guten’s that big?
└ Nasdaq vs KOSPI makes a difference, but Guten’s huge.
└ What? Guten stock’s only 2,000 won a share?
└ Dumbass! Dollars!
They were shocked that a Japanese player was heading to the Premier League—of all places, Manchester United with Park Ji-sung.
- Park Chan-hyuk, send Son Heung-min to the Premier League! We want to see him play there!
The comment with the most likes and dislikes on that article was demanding Son Heung-min’s Premier League move.
‘No, the player doesn’t want to go. Why are the fans flipping out?’
I ignored every single comment pushing for Son Heung-min’s Premier League transfer.
He was the golden goose itself.
Sure, if the player himself wanted out, I’d let him go anytime. But he didn’t seem too interested yet.
“Welcome, Manager Park Chan-hyuk.”
Anyway, I’d boarded a plane to scout a new player and arrived in Genk, located in Belgium’s Limburg province.
Managers rarely went in person to convince players to sign.
The most they’d usually do was a phone call.
[Park Ji-sung’s United Move: Decided by Ferguson’s Call?]
Even a direct call from the manager was rare enough.
Schedules were packed. Managers had to oversee the whole team, making it hard to focus on one player.
For unproven prospects, face time was even scarcer.
Kevin De Bruyne’s expression right now screamed, ‘He’s doing all this for a prospect like me?’ He was floored.
“What…? Is this a dream…?”
De Bruyne stared at me blankly, like he was still half-asleep.
Makes sense, really.
A Champions League-winning legendary manager standing before a prospect’s eyes.
For the record, even without me showing up, the deal was basically done.
Word was, the player himself was eager for Union Berlin.
‘But hey, for De Bruyne, this level of attention is warranted, right?’
Still, I’d made a great first impression, so no loss there.
Kevin De Bruyne looked ready to sign for Union Berlin on the spot, buzzing with excitement.
Anyway, we confirmed the player’s strong desire to join Union Berlin and dove into negotiations.
After some back-and-forth, Union Berlin and Genk settled on £7 million (about 12.7 billion won) for Kevin De Bruyne.
A bit steep for what he’d shown so far, sure.
But we had to factor in the ‘Park Chan-hyuk Premium.’
Just me wanting a player jacked up his price.
And we could sell high later, so it wasn’t a bad deal.
‘……Sigh. Spending like this makes me miss those Asian clubs we got for free. No wonder European clubs started scouting Asia hard.’
Of course, thinking about those free Asian signings stung a bit.
***
A few days later.
News of Kevin De Bruyne’s Union Berlin signing flooded in.
People showered praise for signing him….
[Union Berlin Signs Kevin De Bruyne from Belgium’s Genk!]
└ …? Who’s this?
└ Ugh, Park Chan-hyuk at it again. Sign some big names for once. You made 50 billion won.
└ Plenty of good players in public markets. Why grab nobodies?
└ Champions League winners, pls ㅠ Sign some stars.
└ WTF, where’s all that winner’s prize money going?
└ Bundesliga champ cash is huge too, right?
└ ㅇㅇ Broadcast rights make it rain.
└ Spend some damn money, you cheap bastard.
No explosions of praise.
Curses poured in instead.
I didn’t sweat it.
‘These plebs. Just you wait.’
In a few seasons, they’d all be praising the De Bruyne signing.
[Union Berlin Eyeing Nuremberg’s İlkay Gündoğan?]
Anyway, I tried to snag İlkay Gündoğan from Nuremberg next.
[Dortmund Signs İlkay Gündoğan.]
But Dortmund beat us to it.
- Jürgen Klopp: Chan-hyuk, we gotta eat too.
I called Klopp out immediately, but got a cold reply.
[Union Berlin Shows Interest in Mesut Özil.]
So, Union Berlin targeted Mesut Özil from Werder Bremen instead, but he delayed talks for World Cup duty.
‘Is this kid laying groundwork for Real Madrid?’
Still, Özil to Real this season seemed unlikely.
Real Madrid was scraping cash for Gareth Bale’s fee.
Sure enough, days later.
Real Madrid shelled out a fortune for Gareth Bale.
£100 million, to be exact.
Union Berlin’s squad values had ballooned post-Champions League win, for reference.
Bale’s transfer news was on hold at my request.
Once it broke, other clubs would swarm Union Berlin like sharks smelling blood.
Tripping up hot prospects or rich clubs was Europe’s favorite pastime.
Real Madrid didn’t stay quiet for free, though.
We knocked a bit off their fee.
‘Phew. Time’s short. Let’s sign quick.’
While Real kept quiet, I moved fast on Africa.
Target: King Pharaoh.
Mohamed Salah.
Unlike with De Bruyne, no trip to Egypt.
Not discrimination—Egypt’s situation.
Hosni Mubarak’s long dictatorship had tempers boiling.
Arab Spring protests were due in 2011 if things held.
Mission cleared, wedding soon—no need for risks.
One wrong photo with the dictator, and European media would crucify me.
Salah’s signing was easy, anyway. Message from the top: send him to Union Berlin for Egypt soccer’s greater good.
‘Wow. 2 billion won? Total steal.’
Union Berlin nabbed Mohamed Salah for peanuts compared to De Bruyne.
[Zlatan Ibrahimović Unhappy: “Pep’s a Coward.”]
Around then, amid finalizing Salah.
[Zlatan Ibrahimović Makes Counter-Offer to Union Berlin.]
I got a love call from an unexpected source.
But I turned down Zlatan’s offer.
[Union Berlin Manager Park Chan-hyuk Firmly Rejects Zlatan’s Advances: “Not Interested.”]
Zlatan was just too big for me to handle.