The Price of a Player
“Fucking Chinese bastards.”
Carlos clenched his teeth so hard his jaw ached. The moment a green light flashed for Ha Sunmoon’s transfer, the Mingxing Group sprang into action. Chairman Tian immediately ordered Carlos to sell Ha Sunmoon for the fixed buyout fee of sixty million, and Carlos had no choice but to carry it out.
“What should we do?”
“We need to… we need to squeeze a little more out of them.”
The two men understood each other perfectly. Ha Sunmoon’s market value had been set at thirty million euros. By La Liga standards, it was by no means a low price.
“We have to move the deal quickly. A bit of sleight of hand will be necessary. Sunmoon is certainly a good player right now, but there are almost no clubs who can confidently drop sixty million on him. We absolutely cannot sell him at that price. These people who spout nonsense without even understanding how the transfer market actually works…”
Even Carlos could easily see that the market had frozen over. Within La Liga, clubs only wanted to sell; very few were actually looking to buy. If even the mighty Real Madrid had closed their wallets, it was obvious what the other teams would do.
‘Are we actually in a better position because we only need to sell one player?’
The news coming from their city rivals, Barcelona, was grim. Barcelona had offered most of their players new contracts with more than half their wages slashed, and when players refused, local papers ran savage hit pieces on them. From Espanyol’s perspective, watching their glamorous neighbors’ unbelievable disgrace unfold next door left them shaking their heads in disbelief. But since Espanyol themselves were about to sell their key player Ha Sunmoon, they were in no position to criticize and simply watched in silence.
“Then shall we contact Manchester City? After all, Sunmoon prefers them anyway.”
“Yes, talking to them will be the fastest route. Put me through.”
Carlos immediately reached out to the Manchester City board.
“Would you like to receive our offer?”
“Unfortunately, I don’t think we can let Ha go for that price. You’ll need to increase your bid.”
Carlos was negotiating with Txiki Begiristain.
“Wasn’t the valuation thirty million euros from the start? That’s already a very high price. Let’s agree on something around there.”
“Right now, too many clubs are sending offers for Ha. Some teams have bid even higher, so we need to raise the price accordingly.”
“Could you tell me which clubs have made offers?”
“Of course. Manchester United, Tottenham, Napoli, Inter, Dortmund, and Arsenal have all made offers. Three of them bid over forty million. To be honest, since the player prefers Manchester City, we would like to conclude the deal with you if possible.”
“Hmm…”
Txiki Begiristain let out a thoughtful hum at the list of heavyweight names. But once he heard that the club wanted to prioritize a deal with Manchester City because of the player’s own wishes, his hesitation didn’t last long.
“Then let’s do this. We’ll sign for forty-five million. We’ve already spent a lot in the transfer market, and this is our limit.”
‘Phew… thank goodness.’
Just as Carlos was about to wrap up the deal, his secretary approached him.
“What is it?”
“It’s Chairman Tian. He’s asking how the Ha Sunmoon transaction is progressing.”
‘God damn it. Of all the bloody timing.’
“Could you give me a moment?”
“Of course.”
Carlos looked at his secretary.
“Tell him we’re in the middle of negotiations.”
“He’s asking what price you’ve agreed on.”
‘Ugh… what kind of interference is he planning now…’
Unfortunately, Chairman Tian had begun meddling in the deal, and although Carlos wanted to finish it quickly, he had no choice but to take the chairman’s call through his secretary.
“The current agreement for Ha is forty-five million.”
“Only fifteen million more? We can get more than that! We should be getting the real valuation we set at sixty million euros!”
‘Sixty million euros? Are you insane? That was just an inflated La Liga number.’
Carlos felt his head spinning at Chairman Tian’s words.
“This is the limit. The buying club says this is their best offer.”
“Which club is it?”
“We’re signing with Manchester City.”
“Manchester City? Aren’t they a rich club? Then sign with another team.”
“Sixty million is too much. No other club can pay that either. If Manchester City can’t pay it, no one can.”
“No! Get sixty million euros no matter what! How else are we supposed to run the club?”
‘This… fucking…’
Carlos felt deeply wronged.
‘That sixty million wasn’t based on any real player value; we just threw the number out there. If we suddenly demand it now, how is the deal supposed to happen?’
“Haa…”
Carlos let out a small sigh and picked up the phone again.
“Sorry for keeping you waiting.”
“Not at all. Have you made a decision?”
“Well… the thing is…”
Carlos found it heavy to open his mouth.
‘Hmm… maybe I should try a different approach?’
“I’ll be honest with you. I’m satisfied with the current amount, but our chairman is not pleased.”
“Ah…”
“He wants sixty million euros for Ha’s value.”
“Sixty million?”
A troubled voice came from the other end of the line.
‘Damn it.’
“Yes, that’s Ha’s buyout clause. Our club’s higher-ups want him brought in at the full buyout amount. However, I’d like to make a counter-proposal instead. How about a deal structured as forty million plus twenty million in add-ons? It reaches sixty million on paper, but we reduce the guaranteed fee and add difficult-to-achieve performance options.”
“Would that be acceptable on your end?”
“Yes. We’ll make it look like we’ve hit the sixty million mark somehow. As for the rest… I’ll handle the persuasion on our side.”
“Very well.”
Once the clubs reached an agreement, everything else proceeded smoothly. Manchester City sent a private jet for Ha Sunmoon, and he flew from Barcelona Airport directly to Manchester aboard the aircraft City had provided.
‘Whoa…’
Wow… Is this what first-team Premier League treatment looks like these days? The VIP service is on another level.
Harrison whistled in amazement at the private jet Manchester City had sent. The luxurious cabin, plush seats, and the smooth, vibration-free flight at high altitude brought them quietly into Manchester.
While Ha Sunmoon was undergoing his medical examination inside the club building, one of the players appeared.
“So you’re Ha?”
It was Fernandinho, Manchester City’s defensive midfielder.
“Yes?! Ah! Hello, sir.”
A Brazilian player he had only seen on TV. As one of the three Brazilians at Manchester City, Ha Sunmoon greeted him warmly. Fernandinho was well known for looking after the younger players, and having heard a little about Sunmoon from the likes of Marcelo and Vinicius, he had come to welcome him personally.
“How is it? Our Manchester City facilities are pretty good, right?”
“Yes. They’re incredible.”
“First, make sure you pass the medical with flying colors. Once you’re done, let’s grab a meal together here.”
“Sounds good.”
Ha Sunmoon quickly finished the remaining medical tests and headed with Fernandinho to the first-team canteen at the training ground.
“Whoa…”
Whoa…
The exclamation was immediately followed by a distinctly unenthusiastic tone.
“I knew you’d react like that,” Fernandinho said with a chuckle, reading Sunmoon’s expression.
The menu was filled with dishes straight out of Pep Guardiola’s nutritional bible. Every ingredient screamed pure health, and Ha Sunmoon felt his appetite plummet instantly.
“Do you always eat food like this?”
“Yep. But it’s good for the players. You’ll be eating like this from now on. Still, I can promise you one thing.”
“What’s that?”
“It’s the best-tasting healthy food there is.”
‘Aaaaargh.’
Hahaha. He’s not wrong!
“That doesn’t help at all! That’s a horrible thing to say!”
“You clearly don’t know what truly horrible is. Shocking truth: the food you can buy outside isn’t any better than this! This is England, mate.”
“No way!”
Aaaaargh. That can’t be true! No matter what!
“If both options taste bad, wouldn’t it be better to eat the one that’s at least healthy and tastes decent?”
“I suppose that’s true.”
For Ha Sunmoon, who had grown up on Rio de Janeiro’s seafood dishes and Barcelona’s rich variety of cuisine, this was a nightmare, but there was nothing he could do about it.
‘I’m a professional now… This is the right path.’
“Fernandinho, what would you like?” the chef asked.
“Riyad Pasta, please.”
“Got it. And the new friend’s name is Ha, right? Nice to meet you. It’s such a unique name, I remembered it right away!”
“Haha, yes, I’m Ha. Thank you for remembering my name.”
“What would you like to try?”
“Give this friend the Riyad Pasta as well.”
“Hmm, excellent choice.”
Riyad Pasta. The dish created from a recipe requested by Riyad Mahrez had become a specialty among Manchester City players. Most of the squad chose it after training because it was nutritionally balanced and genuinely tasty, making it one of the few items that didn’t stray from Pep’s strict dietary guidelines.
Before long, the dish named Riyad Pasta was placed in front of Ha Sunmoon and Fernandinho. With a slightly disappointed expression, Sunmoon took a bite.
‘Hmm?’
“How is it? Edible, right?”
“Oh? It’s actually not that bad?”
Given how low his expectations had been, the food exceeded them.
“Is it good enough to eat every day?”
“Yes. It’s still a shame, but this is acceptable.”
“Good. That’s a relief. This really is the best thing on the menu.”
At Fernandinho’s dreadful remark, Ha Sunmoon squeezed his eyes shut.