Chapter 263: UEFA Champions League Semi-finals, Galaxy Battles!
The major leagues are nearing their end, with suspense lingering in all but the Bundesliga.
Manchester City's early clinch of the title makes them the second team in the top five leagues to do so after Bayern Munich.
In the remaining three leagues, the La Liga title race remains uncertain.
Barcelona, after a slip-up in the last match, managed a tough comeback at home against Athletic Bilbao, securing a crucial three points, yet they still trail Atletico Madrid by four points.
Real Madrid postponed their match to May 8th to prepare for the UEFA Champions League semi-finals. With one game less played, they currently trail Barcelona by two points, slipping temporarily to third in the standings.
In Serie A, Juventus edged out Bologna 1-0, leading the second-placed team by eight points, firmly in control of the title race.
In Ligue 1, Paris Saint-Germain's situation is similar, as they defeated Evian and lead by 10 points over the second-placed team, poised to clinch the title with just one more win.
While major clubs are still fighting for their league titles, Manchester City's early title win, four rounds in advance, immediately attracted widespread attention.
If in previous seasons people's impression of Manchester City was of a wealthy but mediocre mercenary team, this season, after their outstanding performance in the Champions League, their reputation has grown significantly.
Advancing to the Champions League semi-finals, they stand alone for the Premier League.
Winning one domestic cup and reaching the final in another, they are close to claiming another title.
Such achievements, not just in the Premier League but in any other league, are commendable.
And achieving all this is not one of the traditional powerhouses of the Premier League, but a nouveau riche in football, a team built on money.
Originally, those clubs who previously looked down upon money-driven football due to Manchester City's consecutive failures in the Champions League group stage now find themselves nervous.
Manchester City's success this season is a triumph for money-driven football.
This has made them worried: what if other wealthy tycoons follow suit, wielding their checkbooks to dominate European football?
Consequently, these traditional powerhouses have united to exert pressure on UEFA to investigate Manchester City's financial situation and determine whether they have violated the Financial Fair Play Regulations, which began enforcement just last year.
The best way to curb the behavior of these tycoons waving money around in football is to establish rules that limit their financial investments.
And the Financial Fair Play Regulations are precisely such a product.
According to UEFA's regulations, teams participating in their competitions must balance their finances, with no team allowed to exceed a loss of 5 million euros.
Under these regulations, a nouveau riche team like Manchester City, without deep roots but abundant with money, undoubtedly violates the Financial Fair Play Regulations.
And the cost of violating these regulations includes wage caps, restrictions on transfer spending, and hefty fines.
Clearly, these traditional powerhouses hope to use this method to limit Manchester City's strength, preventing them from continuing to attract stars with high wages and potentially dismantling their current team lineup.
News of this reached Manchester City, and everyone in the club felt under threat.
"UEFA is about to send someone to inspect our financial situation. How are the club's finances right now?" Club chairman Fahim immediately sought out the club's financial head upon hearing the news, inquiring about the situation.
"Our transfer spending this season is 120 million euros, wage expenditures are 290 million euros, we anticipate broadcasting income to reach 117 million euros, and revenues from jerseys, tickets, sponsorships, etc., totaling 180 million euros..."
Fahim rubbed his temples and asked, "So, we are approximately 110 million euros short of UEFA's requirements?"
This figure is no small amount; many teams in the top five leagues do not earn that much in a single season.
"That's right. Lin's commercial value is very high, especially in the Far East market. If we can reclaim part of Lin's image rights, we can significantly offset this deficit..."
"Don't bring up this matter again in the future. Lin was signed personally by the big boss, and full ownership of his image rights was a promise from the big boss himself. Don't entertain such ideas in the future," Fahim interrupted the financial head, speaking seriously.
The club would rather pay fines than upset Lin, which is tantamount to upsetting the big boss. They, as employees, have no reason to play games with their livelihoods.
"Yes, Chairman, I understand. Apart from this method, we can also leverage the rules!" "What rules?"
"UEFA's Financial Fair Play Regulations allow for exemptions in youth training expenditures, which we can allocate to the parent company. This way, we can reduce the club's expenditures and benefit from UEFA's exemptions!"
"Furthermore, since this law came into effect just last year, UEFA has relaxed some restrictions. When clubs receive funding and can fully offset their deficits, the team's maximum losses from 2013 to 2015 can be up to 45 million euros!"
Indeed, matters requiring expertise should be entrusted to professionals. Originally a headache, after hearing the other party's explanation, Fahim suddenly felt more assured.
"Alright, let's proceed with your plans. What's the maximum amount the club could be fined?"
The 100 million euro gap is still too large to completely offset, so it's highly likely Manchester City won't escape without a fine.
"We've done professional calculations, and the fine amount can be kept within 60 million euros!"
Seeing Fahim still furrowing his brows, the responsible person cautiously continued:
"If we renegotiate a sponsorship contract with the parent company, we could even waive this 60 million!"
Moving money from one pocket to another?
It's feasible in theory, but signing a new sponsorship contract with the parent company at this critical juncture would make our intentions too obvious.
This would essentially treat UEFA as fools!
"I'll go back to the UAE and discuss this with the big boss!"
The UAE, Abu Dhabi.
After hearing Fahim's report, Mansour nodded slightly, contemplating.
The Abu Dhabi consortium couldn't directly intervene, but they had numerous business partners.
By engaging in some commercial exchanges and having these partners sign sponsorship contracts with Manchester City, they could effectively circumvent UEFA's investigation without creating an appearance of internal dealings.
With this in mind, he picked up the phone and made a call to an acquaintance.
After hanging up, Mansour nodded to Fahim:
"The issue has been resolved. When you return, don't let this affect the team's preparations. I'll attend the next match against Real Madrid in person."
Upon returning to Manchester, Fahim soon received a new sponsorship call.
Putting down the phone, Fahim couldn't help but marvel: a problem that had been giving him headaches was solved with just one phone call from the big boss.
In terms of exploiting loopholes, those under these consortiums were definitely not to be underestimated!
...
April 23rd, Etihad Stadium.
The first leg of the UEFA Champions League semi-final was about to begin.
Despite being the top contender for this season's Champions League title, Real Madrid did not underestimate Manchester City.
Not only did they postpone their La Liga matches, but they arrived in Manchester three days early to prepare.
This level of seriousness was even more extreme than their treatment of Barcelona last time!
"Real Madrid is coming in strong!"
At the Etihad Stadium, seeing Real Madrid players warming up on the field, Manchester City fans couldn't help but worry.
In terms of squad luxury, Real Madrid was undoubtedly among the best on the planet.
Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema, Angel Di Maria, Luka Modric, Xabi Alonso, Sergio Ramos, Pepe, Alvaro Arbeloa, Iker Casillas, and others—all were football superstars.
In the Real Madrid lineup, even a slightly lesser-known player like Isco, this European Golden Boy, currently commanded a market value of 45 million euros!
What a dazzling array of stars!
Just look at this Real Madrid lineup on the field!
The combined value of Real Madrid's starting eleven exceeded 600 million euros, unquestionably the top in football!
While Manchester City was often labeled as spendthrifts in the transfer market, the fact was that Real Madrid's transfer spending last season was even more extravagant!
Real Madrid spent 100 million pounds just on Gareth Bale, although officially it was the transfer fee for Bale and other players combined.
But no one was foolish; it was clear that the other players were merely add-ons from Tottenham, and their values were not worth tens of millions. Their presence was just to help share Bale's transfer fee.
Apart from Bale, the combined cost for Isco, Illarramendi, and Carvajal exceeded 70 million euros.
Overall, their transfer expenditure surpassed 190 million euros, one-third higher than Manchester City!
However, Real Madrid also sold quite a few players: Ozil, Higuain, Albiol, Callejon, etc., bringing in approximately 120 million euros in transfer income.
Taking all this into account, Real Madrid's net spending was not excessively high, only 70 million euros.
With Real Madrid's robust commercial development and operational capabilities, filling the gaps left by transfer expenditures was not difficult.
Therefore, they wouldn't face significant constraints from UEFA's Financial Fair Play Regulations, unlike Manchester City.
This meant that after this summer's World Cup, Real Madrid could continue to strengthen their team!
Facing such formidable opponents, Manchester City fans were understandably anxious.
While Manchester City had cleared the hurdle against Barcelona, their confidence against Real Madrid was uncertain.
Before the match, inside the dressing room, Pellegrini continued to ease the players' tension.
Playing the first leg at home was disadvantageous.
In such a situation, the side burdened with performance pressure could easily become impatient.
And Real Madrid had a strong ability to seize opportunities; being too hasty would just hand them chances on a platter.
After joining Real Madrid, Ancelotti didn't completely reject Mourinho's tactics.
Instead, he absorbed and incorporated Mourinho's tactics, integrating them with his own understanding.
Full participation in attack and a layered defensive setup allowed Real Madrid to possess both speed and impact, while maintaining strong control, significantly enhancing their match dominance.
This was markedly different from the Mourinho era!
Mourinho had a major weakness: his career hadn't been smooth, never managing teams in the top five leagues, not even in leagues like Portugal's Primeira Liga.
His lack of experience in top leagues and limitations in his own abilities meant Mourinho had serious shortcomings compared to coaches like Guardiola and Ancelotti in teaching players how to play.
This was evident in Mourinho's use of midfield players; he wasn't adept at organizing the midfield or refining attacking routes, so his teams mostly relied on counterattacks.
Not that counterattacking was ineffective; Mourinho's records at Chelsea, Inter Milan, and Real Madrid proved that playing defensively could be potent against strong teams.
However, such tactics often faltered after a team's third year.
The reason was simple: players couldn't endure it.
You can't expect a group of superstars to do the dirty work day in and day out. Initially, they might accept it, but over time, it becomes unbearable.
Moreover, neither the official clubs nor the fans of top clubs would accept it. It's like using a Ferrari to do the work of a tractor—wasteful, right?
Fans of top clubs are very demanding; they not only want to see wins but wins that are beautiful.
While Mourinho's teams could bring victories, their attractiveness was often compromised.
Once his teams failed to deliver victories, being dismissed became unavoidable.
However, these issues didn't exist under Ancelotti's management.
Thus, in the 2013-2014 season, Real Madrid showed a significant improvement in strength compared to the previous season.
This improvement wasn't just due to players like Bale joining; it was also due to Ancelotti's tactical understanding combined with Real Madrid's squad, tailored to their strengths!
Pellegrini had coached in La Liga before, so his impression of Real Madrid was still stuck in the Mourinho era.
But after watching the recordings of this season's Real Madrid matches, the Chilean was completely taken aback.
This Real Madrid team truly had the ability to win the Champions League.
Encountering them early was undoubtedly Manchester City's biggest test!
Even in their own home, Pellegrini wasn't confident of defeating this Real Madrid team.
But at their home ground, Manchester City had to attack because if they couldn't win at home, their chances away would be slim.
That's the disadvantage of playing away first!
In the away team's dressing room, Ancelotti was also emphasizing the importance of this match to the players!
"Manchester City managed to beat Barcelona home and away, proving their strength is very strong. In this game, at their home, we must be cautious. In the first half, we will focus on defensive counterattacks, maintaining the 4-2-3-1 formation.
"Bale, you'll start in this match. Use your speed to attack Manchester City's flanks and suppress their full-backs' assists!"
Bale nodded, indicating he understood.
In league and Champions League matches, Real Madrid had often used Bale's individual abilities to overwhelm opponents on the flanks, securing victories for Real Madrid.
"Ronaldo, you're up against Kolarov, whose defensive capabilities aren't strong. You'll have many opportunities in this game; seize them and aim to score multiple goals!
"We can accept losing away, but we must score away goals. That way, back at the Bernabeu, we can take control!
"Of course, if you can completely suppress Manchester City and end the suspense in the first leg, I'll applaud you and feel proud of you!"
Ronaldo nodded emphatically, signaling he understood!
After individually advising each player, Ancelotti spoke:
"It's been 12 years since we last reached the Champions League final. I know you're hungry for the Champions League trophy!
"I'm just as hungry for the Big Ears Cup. But before lifting the trophy, we have three matches to go and two opponents to defeat. Only by defeating them can we stand on the champion's podium!
"Now, I ask you, do you have the determination to win?"
"We do!"
The players responded loudly, with even Ronaldo joining in shouting.
For Ronaldo, it had been five years since he last touched the Champions League trophy; the taste of winning was fading from memory!
"Very well, then go out onto the field and prove it with your actions!"
(End of this chapter)
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