Chapter 233: Manchester City's €50 Million Hijack of Kroos Shocks the Football World!
"Mr. Walker, is Manchester City really willing to offer €8 million in annual salary?"
In a luxurious mansion in Munich, Bayern's midfield star Kroos asked with some curiosity.
Last year, he had tested Bayern's bottom line, and Bayern had indicated that even if he renewed his contract, they wouldn't offer more than €6.5 million annually.
But Manchester City's offer of €8 million was a quarter more than Bayern's, which made Kroos somewhat tempted.
Currently, his annual salary is €4.5 million, which is not low in the Bundesliga, but it depends on who you compare it with.
Compared to Müller, who earns only €3 million annually, it's significantly higher.
But compared to the top tier players in the team, he falls far short.
Before Bayern won the Champions League, Ribery had the highest salary in the team with €9 million annually.
But last summer, after Bayern signed Götze, they offered him a team-high salary of €12 million!
Subsequently, Bayern renewed Ribery's contract, also increasing his annual salary to €12 million.
Kroos had no objection to Ribery receiving the highest salary in the team.
Ribery had been with Bayern for six or seven years, had deep experience and outstanding abilities, and was the big brother in the team.
It was well-deserved for him to receive the highest salary!
But what about Götze?
Last summer, almost at the same time Bayern signed Götze, Kroos had requested a contract renewal and a raise from the club.
He only wanted €6.5 million annually, but Bayern flatly refused.
Then, Bayern turned around and offered Götze €12 million annually, which made Kroos feel that he wasn't respected by Bayern.
Under Guardiola's management, Kroos was highly valued and had a tactical status even higher than Götze's.
However, the thought of the huge disparity in salaries, almost three times difference, made Kroos feel uneasy.
Therefore, at the beginning of the winter break, Kroos ignored Bayern's contract renewal request.
While they agreed to raise his salary to €6 million annually, it was far below Kroos's request from last summer, let alone compared to Götze's €12 million.
Kroos knew very well that his actions would lead to Bayern's dissatisfaction, and he was very likely to be sold by Bayern.
Therefore, when making this decision, he was already prepared to leave the team.
As for where to go after leaving, Kroos had long had his eyes on his dream team, Real Madrid!
Real Madrid's lineup is powerful and capable of winning championships. Joining Real Madrid could earn him various honors.
Moreover, Real Madrid is very wealthy, and if he joins them, his salary will definitely increase significantly.
Such a team, which can earn money and various honors, is rare in the football world, so it's no wonder that stars flock to Real Madrid, and many players have dreamt of joining since they were children.
But he was a little reluctant to leave Guardiola. Under Guardiola's guidance, Kroos had learned a lot and had grown a lot.
If he left Bayern, he wouldn't receive Guardiola's guidance and training anymore.
"Yes, this isn't even the final offer. If negotiations with Manchester City proceed, I'm confident I can negotiate a salary of €9 million or even higher for you!"
Walker-Strauss spoke confidently. He wasn't just boasting; he had inquired about Manchester City's internal salary situation.
As far as he knew, Manchester City's top player Lin's weekly salary is £400,000, which is approximately €25 million annually.
This is undoubtedly the highest salary in football, €8 million more than the second-placed Ronaldo.
But considering that Lin went to Manchester City on a free transfer, this salary isn't particularly extravagant.
If Kroos joins Manchester City, he definitely won't get such a high salary, but he should be able to get more than €9 million.
Among Manchester City's midfielders, Yaya Toure's annual salary is €12 million, and David Silva's is €10 million.
Using these two as a reference, if Kroos joins Manchester City, his salary won't be lower than David Silva's.
After listening to Walker's analysis, Kroos became more and more tempted.
Now the only question bothering him was how joining Manchester City would affect his career.
After all, he originally intended to join Real Madrid this summer!
"Do you think it's better for me to go to Real Madrid or Manchester City?"
Hearing Kroos's question, Walker straightened up.
He knew that this was the last and most crucial question.
As long as he could answer this question clearly, Kroos could make up his mind.
"Have you played against Manchester City? What do you think of their strength?"
Walker didn't directly answer the question but instead asked Kroos a question.
"Their strength is very strong, especially Lin. With him on the field, Manchester City's offensive threat is very significant!"
Kroos had faced Lin for two seasons and had become more and more impressed with him.
Although many people still had doubts about whether Lin could be on par with Messi and Ronaldo, in Kroos's view, this was not something that needed to be discussed. Lin was undoubtedly on the same level as Messi and Ronaldo.
"In the football world, there are only three teams with players of Lin's caliber: Manchester City, Real Madrid, and Barcelona. Regardless of which team you join, you have the opportunity to win the Champions League."
"However, these three teams differ in financial strength, with Manchester City being the wealthiest and most generous, followed by Real Madrid, and then Barcelona."
"Therefore, under the same conditions for winning, joining Manchester City can provide higher personal benefits!"
"But Manchester City is not a traditional powerhouse; they are just nouveau riche without the heritage of traditional powerhouses. Moreover, the Premier League has a lot of matches, and physical confrontations are intense, making players prone to injuries."
Walker's roster of players is not extensive; the most well-known are Kroos and Royce.
Therefore, he wouldn't sacrifice the careers of these two players just for money.
In fact, when Royce returned to Borussia Dortmund, Walker had opposed it.
He felt that with Dortmund's style of play, Royce would be prone to serious injuries.
And indeed, he was right. After Royce went to Dortmund, he suffered major injuries frequently.
But Royce, being a product of Dortmund's youth academy, had deep feelings for the club. As long as Dortmund called, he couldn't refuse.
But Kroos doesn't have this problem. He is a very rational player who will carefully weigh the pros and cons to find the best option for himself.
After listening to the agent's analysis, Kroos pondered for a moment.
"Mr. Walker, please continue negotiating with Manchester City to see how sincere they really are. Also, it wouldn't hurt to try contacting Real Madrid!"
Last summer, after Özil left, Real Madrid had expressed appreciation for Kroos and wanted to buy him to replace the aging Xabi Alonso.
However, things change, and he wasn't sure if they were still interested in him.
...
Guardiola was very angry. He had clearly rejected Manchester City's offer, so why were there still rumors circulating about Kroos joining Manchester City?
"Mr. Hoeness, Kroos is an indispensable part of the team. For the sake of the team's performance in the second half of the season, we cannot easily sell him!"
Guardiola found club manager Hoeness and expressed his attitude once again.
Hoeness smiled and said, "Pep, don't get worked up. These are just rumors spread by tabloids. Don't let these rumors affect you."
Guardiola was skeptical of Hoeness's words. He felt like the other party wasn't telling the truth, but he didn't have evidence.
"It's better to be like this. If Kroos leaves, our strength will be greatly weakened. By then, not only will we not go far in the Champions League, but we might not even win the league!"
In order to attract enough attention from the club, Guardiola even issued a threat.
However, how effective his threat would be was hard to say.
After all, he was just the head coach of the team, not the club's manager.
Thinking of this, Guardiola remembered the invitation from Manchester City before the season.
It seems that in the Premier League, they operate under a football manager system, where coaches like Ferguson and Wenger not only serve as the team's head coach but also as the club's manager.
So in matters of player transfers, they have absolute decision-making power!
He really wishes he had that kind of power too!
...
Initially, Manchester City was just testing the waters, but they didn't expect Bayern's attitude to be so ambiguous.
This made Manchester City immediately understand that Kroos's transfer was possible.
"We have the opportunity to bring Kroos to the Etihad Stadium, but it may come at a price. Coach Pellegrini, I need you to tell me, if Kroos comes, will it help the team's strength and not disrupt the stability of the locker room?"
Sometimes, buying a top-tier star may not necessarily be beneficial for the team; it may even disrupt the stability and unity within the team.
Take Kroos, for example. If he comes, the starting positions of the midfielders in Manchester City will be threatened.
So they definitely wouldn't welcome Kroos, and it might even make everyone in the team feel insecure and have thoughts of leaving.
"Kroos is very strong. If he joins the team, our tactical options will be more diverse, and our bench depth will increase. So, undoubtedly, this is a reinforcement for the team!"
Pellegrini naturally wouldn't reject Kroos's joining. He had already planned out Manchester City's midfield configuration after Kroos arrived: Yaya Toure, Fernandinho, De Bruyne, and Kroos.
Among these four midfielders, there would be one defensive midfielder, two all-rounders, and one attacking midfielder.
Depending on the intensity of the match and the opponent's strength, three of them would be chosen to play.
In this way, it would be difficult for opponents to predict Manchester City's midfield configuration, while Manchester City could adjust personnel based on the flow of the game.
Just these various combinations in the midfield alone made him feel like he could play around with them.
As Manchester City's opponents, other teams must be very worried!
"Since you say so, the club will spare no effort!"
Fahim, understanding Pellegrini's attitude, immediately sent someone to contact Kroos's agent and Bayern Munich.
On the other hand, Walker went to Madrid and had a meeting with Real Madrid's president, Florentino.
The old president was still very interested in Kroos. He expressed his willingness to make an offer to Bayern this summer and buy Kroos.
However, Real Madrid has no plans for personnel adjustments this winter!
Real Madrid is currently making every effort to win their 10th Champions League trophy in history. After Ancelotti's half-year adjustment, the team's core framework and tactical play have been established.
So at this time, Real Madrid does not want new signings to cause internal changes in the team, affecting their performance.
If they can win the Champions League this season as they wish, they don't mind making some personnel adjustments in the summer.
Many players in the Real Madrid squad will participate in the World Cup this summer, and after every major tournament like the World Cup, there will be very frequent transfers in the football world.
So after the World Cup, their core framework is likely to undergo significant changes.
At this time, buying Kroos wouldn't have a big impact on Real Madrid.
After understanding Real Madrid's attitude, Walker immediately started negotiations with Manchester City.
Manchester City was indeed sincere. After negotiations, they were willing to offer Kroos an annual salary of 11 million euros.
This is the second-tier salary within Manchester City, with only Linquan, Aguero, and Yaya Toure earning more.
Besides, Manchester City raised their offer to Bayern to 50 million euros.
This offer is irresistible to Bayern!
Therefore, Bayern no longer set obstacles to the player's transfer. As long as Manchester City can convince the player himself, the transfer can be completed.
After telling Kroos about the attitudes of both Real Madrid and Manchester City, Kroos thought for a moment.
"In that case, I'll join Manchester City!"
After the transfer rumors surfaced, Bayern fans who heard the news began to gather at Kroos's doorstep to persuade him to stay.
As the news spread, more and more fans came, and his doorstep was completely blocked, severely affecting Kroos's private life!
What's worse, as he delayed making a public statement, the attitudes of these fans who were trying to persuade him also began to change. They seemed to be certain that Kroos was going to leave, so they no longer treated him politely, starting to attack and insult him as a traitor to Bayern.
Some radical fans even attempted to invade Kroos's private residence, making Kroos feel that his personal safety was threatened.
And after accepting Manchester City's offer, Bayern's enthusiasm for renewing Kroos also diminished. It became even more impossible for them to provide him with a salary like Manchester City or Real Madrid.
So, Kroos was left with no choice but to leave.
On January 13th, just a day after De Bruyne transferred to Manchester City, Manchester City announced another major transfer.
Bayern Munich's midfield core, Toni Kroos, officially transferred to Manchester City for 50 million euros. In the second half of the season, he will wear the number 12 jersey to compete for Manchester City.
This announcement immediately shocked the entire football world!
"Oh my, is it true that Mr. Toni actually went to Manchester City?"
"Manchester City has officially announced it, and today is not April Fools' Day, so this news is probably true!"
"Didn't Guardiola say Kroos was not for sale? How come he suddenly became a Manchester City player?"
"Well, Manchester City just offered too much!"
"Indeed, 50 million euros for a midfielder with only a year and a half left on his contract is too extravagant. If I were Bayern, I wouldn't refuse such an offer!"
"It's all about money, Manchester City!"
"It feels great to be rich!"
"Playing devil's advocate here, I don't think it's a good thing for football if Manchester City keeps spending money like this. It will seriously inflate player prices and transfer market bubbles, making it even more expensive for other clubs to buy players. In this way, small and medium-sized clubs will have even less chance of competing against the big clubs!"
"Although you're right, that feeling of spending spree is so satisfying!"
"Indeed, as a Manchester City fan, I feel great!"
...
Regarding Manchester City's transfer, there is still a lot of controversy in the football world.
Many people believe that since the Middle Eastern consortium took over Manchester City, the transfer market has been disrupted by them.
Before 2008, transfer fees for players were not so outrageous.
But since the Middle Eastern tycoons bought Manchester City, relying on their rich image, they have single-handedly raised the prices of almost all players.
Manchester City has nothing but money, so if they fancy a player, they will offer a higher price to compete.
This leads to other teams wanting to compete with Manchester City having to come up with the same or even higher transfer fees.
Otherwise, the clubs holding players are unlikely to let them go easily. After all, who wouldn't want to sell to Manchester City and make more money?
Over the years, under Manchester City's financial assault, player prices in the transfer market have skyrocketed rapidly.
They themselves have paid the most expensive price, but other big clubs have suffered losses as well.
Especially a certain Galactico, who was tricked into paying £100 million to buy Bale, a price that they dare not officially announce, and they have to include a role player to share the transfer fee, otherwise they cannot justify it to their team's leader, Cristiano Ronaldo.
This makes these football giants really itchy about Manchester City, but they can't do anything about it.
They can only take revenge when Manchester City fancies one of their own players, and then rip them off and vent their anger.
Knowing that Manchester City spent 50 million to buy Kroos, Barcelona regrets it!
Why didn't you come and buy Xavi with 50 million euros?
If there was such a price, we would definitely sell!
Linquan, who was attending the Ballon d'Or ceremony at the Zurich Opera House in Switzerland, was stunned when he heard the news of Kroos's transfer.
Is this the butterfly effect he caused?
He remembered that Kroos was supposed to transfer to Real Madrid and join Modric and Casemiro in the ceremonial midfield.
How come he suddenly went to Manchester City?
Guardiola, sitting next to him, was also stunned when he heard the news.
"Damn Hoeness, how dare he deceive me!"
(End of this chapter)
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