Chapter 80 Real Madrid and Barcelona Are Both Unsettled
Catalonia, inside the Barcelona club.
Barcelona President Rosell hung up the phone with a smile, but his expression turned grim the next moment.
Damn it, Guardiola! Damn it, Lin Quan! Rosell cursed inwardly and forced himself to calm down.
The person he just talked to on the phone was Silvio Berlusconi, the president of the Serie A powerhouse AC Milan. They showed interest in Lin Quan, who performed exceptionally well in the Bundesliga and the national team, and inquired if Barcelona could sell Lin Quan to AC Milan. They were willing to pay a transfer fee of 45 million euros to compensate Barcelona!
Berlusconi rarely intervened in AC Milan's transfer matters, as his old partner Galliani usually handled these things.
But this time, Berlusconi personally stepped in, ostensibly out of respect for Rosell, but in reality, they were extremely eager to take Lin Quan away.
It's not even the winter transfer window yet, and they're already so impatient.
Even if Rosell were a football blind, he knew that the young man in his team had become incredibly popular.
But, Barcelona couldn't profit from this transfer fee!
They hadn't completed the renewal with Lin Quan yet, and there were only six months left on his contract. No one would be foolish enough to pay a hefty transfer fee for just six months of contract!
As long as someone leaked the contents of the contract, they would end up empty-handed, not earning a single penny.
Even if someone was willing to pay, they would probably just pay the 5 million euro buyout clause directly to terminate the contract, without giving them any extra money.
No one would foolishly give them forty-five million euros!
Moreover, selling a player also requires the player's consent. If Lin Quan doesn't agree, they have no way to sell him.
By then, even if it's not 45 million euros, even if it's 450 million euros, they can only watch helplessly.
Thinking of this, Rosell felt very annoyed.
Damn brat, why won't he renew with Barcelona?
As long as he renewed with Barcelona, the initiative would be in Barcelona's hands, and they could decide how to deal with him.
But now, Barcelona is completely in a passive and unfavorable position.
If the other party refuses to renew, it means they can't do anything.
It's like guarding a mine but not being able to develop it.
This must be instigated by Lin Quan's adoptive father Guardiola, he's trying to oppose him everywhere!
Rosell blamed Lin Quan's adoptive father Guardiola for the problem, without realizing that it was his own fault.
Meanwhile, in a restaurant in Catalonia, the president of Real Madrid met the person he wanted to see.
"This is what you wanted. Don't forget what you promised me!"
"Don't worry, Luis. As long as you resign from Barcelona, the position of Celta's head coach is ready for you at any time."
Celta is a subordinate of Real Madrid, and the relationship between the two clubs is profound. Real Madrid has a huge influence in Celta, and the position of head coach in Celta is currently vacant. Florentino's promise doesn't seem to be empty talk.
Enrique nodded and handed over the things to the other party.
Florentino casually opened the materials brought by the other party, although he tried to appear calm and indifferent.
But after seeing a certain content, his slightly trembling hand betrayed his inner thoughts.
However, Enrique on the other side didn't notice this. At this moment, he was as nervous as a thief, looking around anxiously, afraid of being discovered.
Fortunately, the location of this restaurant is very secluded, and Florentino also carefully booked the venue in advance, so no one noticed them.
After reading the entire materials, a smile appeared on Florentino's face:
Rosell, oh Rosell, why are you so careless!
Such a gem in the youth team, actually didn't renew with the other party, but wanted to drive him away instead.
Now, you've really messed up, right? You don't want him, then I won't be polite!
He had a premonition that if he could really bring Lin Quan from Camp Nou to the Bernabeu, the sensation and impact caused by this transfer might be even greater than when he poached Figo from Barcelona!
After defeating Belarus, the Spanish national team hastily flew back from Eastern Europe to Spain and began preparations for the upcoming crucial match against the French team.
The French team's frontline is very strong, with Ribery, Giroud, and Benzema all being key forwards or wingers for top clubs.
However, their midfield is slightly weaker than the Spanish national team's. In the quarter-finals of the European Championship four months ago, Spain defeated France with a score of 2-0, knocking them out.
In the historical head-to-head data between the two teams, Spain holds the upper hand with 14 wins, 10 losses, and 7 draws.
In the past decade, Spain has only lost to the French team in the round of 16 of the 2006 World Cup. Since then, the two teams have met three times, with Spain maintaining a perfect record.
Although they have the advantage in terms of strength on paper and historical head-to-head data, Spain is still not taking it lightly. Del Bosque and his assistants studied the characteristics of the opponents carefully and made targeted deployments.
The characteristic of the French team is rough and physical, with a high proportion of black players who have good physical qualities, speed, and endurance.
The disadvantage is lack of flexibility and creativity. Since Zidane retired, the French team hasn't produced a midfielder master who can shine on the field.
Just look at the French midfield: Alou Diarra (Marseille), Matuidi (Paris Saint-Germain), M'Vila (Rennes), Martin (Sochaux), Cabaye (Newcastle), Mavuba (Lille), Nasri (Manchester City).
Except for Nasri, they are all a bunch of rough guys, all are workhorse-type players.
Letting them play fancy football is definitely out of the question, so the French team relies on counterattack speed and impact to win.
But surprisingly, the Spanish team is quite afraid of this rough and physical midfield.
The opponents may lack technique, but they have strong impact and a wide range of interceptions! Just like Real Madrid's warrior Pepe, facing three or four of them, anyone would feel scared.
"Don't give the opponent a chance to foul, pass the ball around, increase one-touch passing, don't stick to the ball too much. The French team has several fast forwards. It's dangerous to let them intercept the ball and counterattack. Understand?"
Del Bosque is a famous coach for a reason. He knows the strengths and weaknesses of his team and understands the characteristics of the opponents.
So he decided to play to his strengths and avoid weaknesses, using possession and passing tactics to defeat strong opponents.
In addition to this, taking advantage of the opponent's strong defensive intensity and tendency to foul, Del Bosque also increased the training of set-piece tactics.
There are many free-kick masters in the Spanish team, and Lin Quan originally didn't plan to join in for fun.
As a result, Iniesta wanted to compare skills with him, and Lin Quan had to show off a bit.
"How was that?"
Xavi, Fabregas, Silva, and others stood by, commenting on the free-kick skills of the two.
"Lin's free-kicks are more varied, while Iniesta's are more imaginative."
After watching for a while, Fabregas affirmed the abilities of the two.
Silva nodded in agreement.
However, Xavi said:
"I'm asking you guys, did Lin's free-kicks remind you of something?"
Remind us of what? The two looked at each other, and finally, Fabregas tentatively asked:
"Are you talking about Messi?"
"Exactly, don't you think his way of taking free-kicks is very similar to Messi's?"
Hearing Xavi's words, the two observed carefully for a while.
David Silva hasn't played with Messi, so he doesn't know Messi's style well and didn't comment.
Fabregas knows Messi's skills very well and nodded after careful observation:
"It's true, it's quite similar. Now that you mention it, I feel that not only his free-kicks but also his overall playing style on the field is very similar to Messi's."
Xavi sighed:
"Seeing him, I always feel like I'm seeing a younger version of Messi. The styles of these two are too similar!"
Just as Lin Quan and Iniesta were enjoying themselves, Del Bosque appeared on the sidelines and called Lin Quan over:
"Lin, come here!"
Lin Quan ran over in confusion: "Coach, are you looking for me?"
Del Bosque nodded: "I've seen your matches in the Bundesliga. You've taken penalties for Werder Bremen several times. Are you the first penalty taker in the team?"
Lin Quan shook his head: "No, but when I create penalties, the coaching staff lets me take them myself."
"Have you missed any penalties so far?"
"Not yet, I've scored all the penalties so far!"
"Do you want to be the first penalty taker for the national team?"
Lin Quan was a little surprised. He looked at Del Bosque seriously.
The old coach's expression was calm and serious, without any joking intent.
"Well, isn't this a bit inappropriate?"
Lin Quan has just joined the team, and asking him to be the first penalty taker might not be well received.
Del Bosque looked at him and said:
"Do you know when the European Golden Boy Award is given?"
(End of this chapter)