Chapter 232: Simultaneously Making Offers to Three Big Clubs, Manchester City's Bold Move Shocks the Football World!
Manchester City's offer left Bayern Munich in a dilemma. The €35 million price tag happened to hit Bayern's psychological threshold.
Selling Kroos at this price would be acceptable for Bayern. However, Kroos has been performing well at Bayern, plus he's young and a product of Bayern's youth academy. Selling him at this price seems like a bit of a loss for Bayern.
Especially with the Champions League entering the knockout stage soon, clubs like Bayern don't want significant changes in their starting lineup.
If Manchester City had made this offer in the summer at this price, Bayern might have considered it. But with the winter transfer window being too short, even if they could find a suitable replacement in the transfer market, they wouldn't be able to integrate them into the team perfectly in such a short time.
Especially with the possibility of drawing Chelsea in the Champions League knockout stage, Guardiola only wants the team to strengthen certain positions in the squad, not lose key players.
So, he requested the club to reject Manchester City's offer.
Hoeness didn't immediately do so but reported the matter to Rummenigge.
"The €35 million price may be Manchester City's initial offer. If we negotiate with them, they may raise the price. Even if they can't reach the €50 million level of Modric, €40 million or even €45 million is possible. If we can sell Kroos at this price..."
Hoeness didn't finish his sentence, but the implication was clear.
Selling Kroos for over €40 million would be a huge profit for Bayern.
Rummenigge was thinking more long-term. Since Guardiola had expressed clear opposition, he naturally didn't want to contradict him. Moreover, Guardiola was right. With the league, cup, and Champions League entering the final stages, it was indeed not suitable to make significant adjustments to the team's core lineup.
However, he didn't immediately refute Hoeness but asked a question instead:
"How much time is left on Kroos's contract with the club?"
Hoeness quickly replied, "He has a year and a half left on his contract. It expires next summer!"
"Then we should start negotiations for an extension with him!"
A year and a half is still too short, and further delay would obviously be disadvantageous for Bayern.
"We've contacted his agent already, but Kroos's agent said they're not in a hurry for now. It seems they want to wait until after the World Cup to talk."
"Playing hard to get, huh?"
Rummenigge frowned. He remembered something. After Bayern won the Champions League last year, Kroos asked his agent to request a raise from the club.
He was not quite satisfied with his current salary and hoped to get a higher wage.
It's normal for players to ask for a raise because it not only concerns their personal interests but also serves as recognition of their status within the team.
But Bayern's current wage structure shouldn't undergo significant adjustments. If they gave Kroos a raise, then the salaries of players like Robben and Müller, who hadn't renewed yet, would definitely have to be increased as well!
So last year, Bayern rejected Kroos's request for a raise.
Now it seems Kroos hasn't given up yet and plans to confront the club after the World Cup.
If Kroos still hasn't renewed his contract after the World Cup, then he'll only have one year left on his contract.
With only a year left on his contract, if Kroos still doesn't want to renew, then he'll have to be dealt with quickly, or else Bayern will lose both the player and the money.
Thinking about this, Rummenigge felt the urge to accept Manchester City's offer and sell Kroos now.
Luckily, his rationality prevailed, and he didn't make such a foolish decision.
"Contact Manchester City again and see what their bottom line is!"
"Chairman, what do you mean?"
Hoeness was puzzled, unsure of Rummenigge's intentions.
"Real Madrid negotiated with Tottenham for a year for Bale. What's wrong with us making Manchester City wait for six months?"
Hoeness suddenly realized Rummenigge's intention.
This was like baiting Manchester City!
However, despite Manchester City's boldness, they weren't fools.
After receiving Bayern's response, they didn't waste time on Kroos anymore.
Instead, they turned to their final target, and also their real target—Fabregas.
Like Kroos, Fabregas only has a year and a half left on his contract.
So Manchester City's offer was also €35 million.
Upon receiving Manchester City's offer, Barcelona was furious!
When Fabregas transferred from Arsenal to Barcelona, they paid €40 million transfer fee. Although €5 million of that was paid by Fabregas himself, Barcelona still paid a solid €35 million.
And now Manchester City wants to take Fabregas away from them at the same price?
In your dreams!
Fabregas is 26 years old this year, in the prime of his career. Barcelona feels that if Real Madrid could sell Özil for €50 million, then Fabregas shouldn't go for anything less than that. Otherwise, wouldn't they be inferior to Real Madrid? Our Barcelona players cannot possibly be inferior to Real Madrid's! Moreover, everyone knows Arsenal is cash-strapped, yet Real Madrid managed to swindle €50 million from Wenger's hands.
You, Manchester City, are known as big spenders, not lacking in money at all. Yet you only offered €35 million for a player, which lacks sincerity!
Therefore, Barcelona not only rejected Manchester City's offer but also countered with an offer of €50 million, hoping to bring in their number ten, Lin Quan.
This offer is obviously a joke! If €50 million could take Lin Quan away, then the thresholds of various top clubs would be flattened!
After receiving Barcelona's response, Pellegrini was somewhat angry. "What does Barcelona mean? Are they really eyeing Lin Quan?"
If Manchester City loses Lin Quan, they will drop a level, from a top-tier team to an ordinary one. The team's tactical systems are all built around Lin Quan, the absolute core of the team. If he leaves, Manchester City will truly collapse.
Fahim nodded. "Barcelona definitely wants to bring Lin Quan back to Camp Nou. But rest assured, we won't accept any offers for Lin Quan from any team. He is Manchester City's untouchable!"
With Fahim's statement, Pellegrini breathed a sigh of relief.
Manchester City isn't short of money. If they don't want to let go of a certain player, no matter how much other teams offer, they won't be able to take him away!
"Can we still buy Fabregas?" Pellegrini asked somewhat unsure.
Being rejected consecutively by Real Madrid and Bayern made him realize a problem: these powerhouse teams aren't keen on making significant personnel changes mid-season.
So, it's very difficult to buy the desired players from these teams! Unless what they're interested in is a player who isn't too important to the opponent's lineup and doesn't have much impact on the team's performance, like Chelsea's Mata.
Thinking of Chelsea, Pellegrini suddenly remembered something. Lin Quan seemed to have recommended a young Chelsea player to him before, and he left a videotape named De Bruyne.
After searching in his office for a while, Pellegrini quickly found the videotape.
"What's this?" Fahim asked curiously.
"You'll see!"
So, in Pellegrini's office, the two watched the videotape together, showing Lin Quan and De Bruyne's various brilliant collaborations in the Bundesliga.
After watching it, both Pellegrini and Fahim showed surprised expressions.
"This is the player we need!"
They both said simultaneously, then paused for a second, and then smiled.
"His partnership with Lin Quan is excellent!"
"Yeah, his passing is very sharp!"
"I checked, and last season he was the Bundesliga's assist king and top scorer!"
"The Bundesliga's assist king? Then why didn't he get Mourinho's favor at Chelsea?"
"Mata also didn't get Mourinho's favor!"
Who is De Bruyne, just a newcomer? Although he became the Bundesliga's assist king, he hasn't proven himself in the Premier League.
In contrast, Mata, not only proved himself in the Premier League but was also Chelsea's attacking core in the past few seasons.
However, even Mata was abandoned by Mourinho, so it's normal for De Bruyne to be unused.
Pellegrini pondered, Mourinho and Guardiola are really two extremes. Guardiola makes good use of the midfield, maximizing the potential of midfield players under him.
So many top stars, especially midfielders, are attracted to Guardiola.
But Mourinho seems to be the opposite, quite strange!
"Then it's decided, him!"
Pellegrini made a decision. Since it's difficult to buy other powerhouse teams' main midfielders, let's bring De Bruyne to the Etihad Stadium first.
"We are the leaders, Chelsea may not easily let him go!"
Pellegrini reminded. The problem with being at the top is that you easily become a target for everyone.
Chelsea can sell Mata to archrivals Manchester United, but if Manchester City offers the same price for Mata, Chelsea will probably refuse.
The reason is simple, Manchester City's current strength is already so strong, if they sell Mata to them, it will only further enhance their strength, making it much harder for other teams to take the championship away from Manchester City.
Chelsea may currently only be ranked fifth in the league standings, but they are a team with aspirations for the title.
Judging from Chelsea's various signings during this winter transfer window, they are not going to easily hand over the championship to Manchester City.
So, even if De Bruyne isn't useful to them, they may not necessarily agree to Manchester City's offer. Instead, they might sell De Bruyne to other league teams at a lower price.
"Well, I know. I will continue to contact teams like Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Bayern, creating an illusion for the outside world that we haven't given up on recruiting top clubs' players. By making an offer to Chelsea at this time, Chelsea's vigilance won't be as high!"
Pellegrini's eyes lit up; this strategy was indeed clever.
But what if one of these three teams, Real, Barca, or Bayern, agrees to their offer?
"Heh, do you even need to ask? Of course, we buy them all!"
Fahim wore a confident smile on his face.
Who are we, Manchester City?
We are currently the richest club in the entire football world!
Other top clubs might haggle over transfer fees, but here at Manchester City, that's not even a question!
Manchester City isn't short of money and can completely afford multiple transfer fees.
If other top clubs refuse to sell players, it's fine. But if they dare to agree, then Manchester City dares to buy them!
Money is not an issue!
So, on January 10th, Manchester City once again made offers to Real Madrid, Bayern, and Barcelona.
Manchester City increased their offer for Modric to €55 million! For Kroos and Fabregas, the offer was raised to €40 million each!
The news of Manchester City simultaneously making offers to the three top clubs immediately swept through the entire football world, becoming the sensational news of the moment.
While countless media and fans were paying attention to and following the progress of these transfers, Manchester City quietly made an offer to Chelsea, hoping to take away the unused midfielder De Bruyne for €15 million.
Compared to Manchester City's offers to the three major clubs, this €15 million offer for De Bruyne seemed too ordinary, to the extent that mainstream newspapers barely reported it.
Obviously, everyone thought that with Manchester City's lavish style, this kind of offer would only buy role players and substitutes, not the absolute main players of the team.
Moreover, this season, De Bruyne has only played 5 times for Chelsea, contributing only one assist, showing very average performance.
Media outlets are unlikely to invest too much energy in reporting on such players.
After all, football fans know about Modric, Kroos, and Fabregas, but knowledge about De Bruyne is probably sparse.
Chelsea also had the same idea, so upon receiving Manchester City's offer, Chelsea did not directly refuse. Instead, they stated that De Bruyne is an important member of the team, and Chelsea values his talent and potential, and so on.
Obviously, this was a bargaining tactic.
If they really valued De Bruyne's talent, they wouldn't deny him the opportunity to play.
Manchester City didn't waste any time either. They added €5 million to the original offer, raising it to €20 million.
This price is already quite high for De Bruyne, considering that his experience at Chelsea hasn't been successful.
After half a season on the bench, how much form he still retains is questionable.
Moreover, in the German transfer market, De Bruyne's value has already dropped below €20 million.
The price offered by Manchester City is evidently sincere!
The ball is back in Chelsea's court. While Manchester City is in contact with several top clubs, De Bruyne seems to be just their backup option, and Manchester City doesn't appear to value him too highly.
So, Chelsea isn't too concerned about this matter.
Out of respect for Mourinho, Chelsea's manager Emnaro informed Mourinho of this matter.
After hearing the news, Mourinho took a moment to remember who De Bruyne was.
"That player who can't even make the bench? Manchester City wants to sell him to them!"
In order to raise money to buy the players he wants, Mourinho can even sell Mata. So, selling a player like De Bruyne is even less of a concern.
Emnaro had spent a lot of time watching Werder Bremen matches to buy Lin Quan. So he had a deep impression of De Bruyne, despite him not securing a starting position at Chelsea.
But this player's ability is not weak. If paired with the right players, he could pose a significant threat on the field.
And on Manchester City's side, they happen to have a proven golden partner from the Bundesliga — Lin Quan!
Therefore, selling De Bruyne to Manchester City poses a huge risk.
"Jose, I must remind you, De Bruyne isn't without skill. Selling him to Manchester City could become a huge threat to us!"
Mourinho was already quite displeased with Emnaro, so upon hearing his words, Mourinho sneered:
"Are you questioning my judgment of players? If this guy really had the skills, he would be in the starting lineup, not Oscar or Hazard!"
Mourinho was angry because he felt Emnaro's words challenged his authority as the head coach.
Who did he think he was, to question Mourinho's judgment and player selection? I'm a man with two Champions League titles, do I make mistakes?
Furthermore, he wants to buy players like Matic, Drogba, Salah, and Zuma. Without €50 million, it's simply not enough.
Selling Mata isn't enough; he still needs more money.
With Abramovich unwilling to spend money, where else can he get money if not by selling players? At a time like this, with a fool like Manchester City giving them money, Mourinho couldn't refuse.
"Mourinho, you'll regret this!"
Emnaro had been submissive to Mourinho before, but this time, he couldn't hold back.
"Maybe, but for now, this is my team, and I make all the decisions!"
So, under Mourinho's authorization, Manchester City and Chelsea quickly completed this transfer.
On January 12th, Manchester City announced on their official website that Chelsea midfielder De Bruyne officially transferred to Manchester City, wearing the number 17 jersey to fight for the Blue Moon.
This transfer news didn't cause much of a stir in the football world. Compared to De Bruyne, everyone was more interested in the transfer rumors between Manchester City and other top clubs.
However, after acquiring De Bruyne, Manchester City had already gotten the player they wanted, so they decided to end negotiations with the three major clubs and instead focus on buying some defenders they wanted to strengthen the team's defense.
But just at this moment, an unexpected turn of events occurred!
Regarding Kroos's transfer, Bayern's attitude unexpectedly softened.
(End of this chapter)
Thank you for the support, friends. If you want to read more chapters in advance, go to my Patreon.