Chapter 87: Penalty Clause Exposed, Football World Shaken
In the end, Bosque didn't directly answer the question.
However, the question posed by the AS journalist successfully caught the attention of Spanish football fans.
Should Lin Quan be recalled from the Bundesliga during the winter break?
This question sparked countless discussions both online and offline.
"I think the journalist is right. Where does the Bundesliga compare to our La Liga? The styles of the two leagues are completely different. If you want to learn authentic possession football, it has to be La Liga!"
"Exactly, the Bundesliga's style is more similar to the Premier League, emphasizing physical confrontation, fast-paced matches, and more direct play, which is very different from our La Liga's emphasis on technical skills and ground penetration."
"But the problem is, if Barcelona recalls Lin Quan, what position will he play? Are they really going to let Messi give up his position for him?"
Fans of other teams talked casually, as Lin Quan coming back means he'll still be playing for Barcelona, not affecting their own clubs.
But for Barcelona fans, if Lin Quan returns, how he will coexist with Messi is a big issue.
Both are players who pose the greatest threat when in possession of the ball, but there's only one ball on the field. When both are on the field, how to distribute possession becomes a major issue.
If Lin Quan is recalled but not given a starting position and only used as a substitute for Messi, leaving aside whether Lin Quan himself agrees, the Spanish national team side cannot agree either!
Our national team's absolute main player, even the tactical core of the entire team, ends up unable to play for Barcelona. It's better to let him play as a starter for another team, even if it's a smaller club!
So, as the discussion progressed, everyone's opinion was quite unanimous: Lin Quan cannot return to Barcelona.
At least until a starting position is secured and enough playing time is guaranteed, he shouldn't return to Barcelona.
Once this consensus was reached, Florentino's secret plan was achieved.
Soon, some small newspapers began to report rumors that Real Madrid had made an offer to Barcelona, hoping to take Lin Quan away.
Although these were unconfirmed rumors and the reports were not from influential mainstream newspapers, they still caused a huge stir within Spain.
Real Madrid and Barcelona are arch-rivals! If Real Madrid makes an offer to Barcelona, can Barcelona agree?
For Barcelona, they probably would rather have a player unable to play than agree to transfer one of their players to Real Madrid, right?
Unless Real Madrid directly pays the release clause, buys out the contract, and forcibly takes Lin Quan away!
When reporters asked Real Madrid president Florentino about this, he didn't deny it:
"Hehe, Lin is indeed a very outstanding player, I admire him a lot!"
Although this answer didn't directly admit it, since Florentino said he admires Lin Quan so much, naturally he is willing to bring Lin Quan back to the Bernabeu.
So the pressure shifted to Barcelona's side. Faced with Real Madrid's poaching, how would they respond?
Reporters swarmed to Barcelona again, wanting to interview Barcelona president Rosell.
Rosell was very angry, he refused the reporters' interviews, and with a stern face told them:
"We, Barcelona, will never sell our players to clubs like Real Madrid!"
After saying that, Rosell immediately found Zubizarreta and Enrique, and gave them a stern order: no matter what methods they use, they must make Lin Quan sign the renewal contract and keep him.
Zubizarreta was very dissatisfied; he felt this matter was Enrique's fault and he shouldn't be implicated.
But before he could shift the blame, Enrique spoke up directly:
"Sorry, Mr. President, I can't complete the task you assigned!"
"You were the one who wanted to send Lin Quan away in the first place. Shouldn't you be responsible for this?"
Rosell was already very angry because of the rumors from the media and the outside world, and now he was furious.
At this moment, Enrique dared to talk back, which made his anger uncontrollable.
"Luis Enrique, are you teaching me how to do things?"
Enrique looked at the furious Rosell and suddenly laughed.
Forget it, expecting him to admit his mistake is like expecting the sun to rise from the west.
How could they, the high-ranking ones, ever be wrong? So, whoever is blamed, it's always the one below.
Thinking of this, Enrique seemed to let go of all the burdens in his heart in an instant.
He took out the resignation letter he had prepared long ago, slapped it on the desk, and said to Rosell:
"Sorry, I can't complete the task you assigned. You find someone else!"
After speaking, he turned around confidently, ignoring the stunned looks of the two behind him.
Rosell's face turned iron blue, wanting to stop him, but Enrique ignored him, and left the door of the Barcelona club straight away.
The next day, Celta Vigo announced on their official website that they had successfully signed a contract with former Barcelona youth team coach Enrique, who would serve as the club's head coach.
Enrique's departure from Barcelona and appointment as Celta's head coach caused a little stir in Spanish football, but soon no one paid attention.
On the contrary, the debate about whether Lin Quan should return to Barcelona during the winter break had reached its peak.
Although Barcelona club stated that Lin Quan was not for sale and would not accept any offers from other teams.
But at this time, anonymous sources revealed that Lin Quan only had half a year left on his contract with Barcelona.
Moreover, Lin Quan had signed a contract with the youth team, and the penalty clause was only 5 million euros!
This price, even some mid-level clubs, could easily afford to buy out the contract!
"Barcelona has no place for him, but we, Real Madrid, have a place. Why not let Lin Quan come to play for us, Real Madrid!"
"Yes, 5 million euros can buy such a powerful and potential player. This deal is too cost-effective!"
"Buying Lin Quan means we don't need to spend unnecessary money to buy that winger from Tottenham. My great Real Madrid won't be taken advantage of!"
The transfer news of Real Madrid and Tottenham's winger Bale had caused a lot of commotion. Tottenham seemed to have the upper hand, so they set the price very high. It was rumored that Bale's asking price had reached 80 million pounds.
If this price were true, then it would break the world football transfer fee record set by Real Madrid's acquisition of Ronaldo from Manchester United.
Real Madrid is very rich, but spending 100 million to buy a player who is not as famous or skilled as Ronaldo or Messi seems like being taken advantage of.
But Lin Quan is different. Lin Quan's performance in the Bundesliga and the national team is there for all to see.
Although he's young, his current strength is already very strong, and he will only get stronger in the future.
Such a player who is both powerful and has high growth potential, Real Madrid buying him will definitely not lose!
Not to mention Lin Quan's release clause is only 5 million euros!
If anyone can snatch him up at this price, they'll be laughing in their dreams!
So, the Real Madrid fans who might have thought Bale was very attractive, after comparing Bale and Lin Quan, immediately felt differently.
With Lin Quan around, who needs Bale?
Not to mention the exaggerated transfer fee of 100 million euros. Who would be stupid enough to buy it?
"Haha, I've always wanted to see how Ronaldo and Messi would cooperate on the field, and what kind of chemistry they would create!"
"If Real Madrid really bought Lin Quan, then your dream would come true!"
"Looking forward to it +1!"
"Looking forward to it +2!"
"Looking forward to it +3!"
...
"By the way, can Ronaldo and Messi's completely different styles really coexist?"
"Try it and see?"
"There shouldn't be a problem, right? Both of them have very high football intelligence, and Ronaldo doesn't need too much possession. It looks like they can cooperate very well!"
"If the two of them really have a good chemistry... tsk tsk, Ronaldo plus Messi, wouldn't this combination be invincible?"
"I wonder what Ronaldo himself thinks of Lin Quan..."
"I think we should pay more attention to what Lin Quan thinks. If he comes to Real Madrid, wouldn't he have to play second fiddle to Ronaldo? Is Lin Quan willing?"
...
(End of this chapter)