Chapter 422: Ronaldo Finally Wins, Manchester City Offers 30 Million for Mahrez and Sane
After the match in Shanghai, Manchester City quickly traveled to Beijing. On July 31st, at the Workers' Stadium, Manchester City faced Real Madrid in the final match of the China International Champions Cup.
Like in Shanghai, the Workers' Stadium was packed, with over 65,000 fans in attendance. With the crowd's support, both teams delivered an exciting match for the audience. Compared to the previous game, Manchester City's players were in much better form, partly due to Guardiola's adjustments. Players who performed poorly last game were criticized and benched.
Guardiola knew what was wrong with these players, having experienced similar issues at Barcelona and Bayern. Simply put, after achieving their dreams and winning honors, players' desire for victory and glory decreases. Without this desire, their fighting spirit on the field wanes, leading to poor performances. Besides the long holiday affecting their physical condition, this was the main reason.
To solve this, Guardiola needed to stimulate them and rekindle their hunger for victory and glory. If that didn't work, he'd replace them with younger, hungrier players who hadn't won the Champions League yet. This would keep the team vibrant and put pressure on the veterans. No player is indispensable; if they can't perform, someone else will.
Guardiola preferred to keep these proven players if they could regain their form. However, the team still needed fresh blood and talent for future needs.
Like Barcelona, Real Madrid had also suffered at Manchester City's hands. In the 2013-2014 season, Real Madrid, strong and poised to win their tenth Champions League title, were eliminated by Manchester City at home in the semifinals. This heartbreak still haunted many Real Madrid fans. Opportunities missed are often gone forever. This was true for Real Madrid; their BBC trio's advantage diminished as other teams formed their own powerful combinations. In this year's semifinals, Real Madrid fell to Barcelona's MSN trio.
So, Real Madrid approached this match with a revenge mentality. Objectively, they were still very strong. Despite Ronaldo's summer disputes with the club, his performance on the field was unaffected. In fact, to attract more attention from other clubs, Ronaldo played harder than ever.
Even without considering a transfer, Ronaldo's competitive nature surged when he saw the player in the sky-blue number 10 jersey. Previously, Ronaldo and Messi's rivalry dominated the scene, but this new player disrupted everything. In recent years, as Real Madrid struggled, Lin Quan's Manchester City rose, stealing Ronaldo's spotlight.
Ronaldo's superstar status was in jeopardy, with some suggesting he should be removed from the elite category due to a lack of recent honors. Compared to Lin Quan, Ronaldo's stats and accolades fell short. As Ronaldo aged, his form would inevitably decline compared to the younger Lin Quan and Messi. This criticism would only grow louder over time.
Determined to silence doubters, Ronaldo knew the best way was to defeat Lin Quan's Manchester City. Even though this was just a friendly, he gave it his all. A fully committed superstar is formidable, and with Manchester City's players not fully recovered, they couldn't withstand Ronaldo's attacks. By halftime, Manchester City was down 0-2, with goals from Ronaldo and Benzema.
Real Madrid fans celebrated like it was a holiday, while Manchester City and Lin Quan's fans were worried.
"Manchester City's form is really off!"
"Except for Lin Quan, the others aren't at their best, especially the defenders. They made several mistakes in the first half."
Fans feared Manchester City might suffer back-to-back losses in the friendlies. Even though these were just warm-ups, losing twice in a row before the season started wasn't a good sign. A heavy defeat might affect the players' mindset, carrying poor form into the league.
With the new season starting soon due to the European Championships next June, the Premier League would begin just a week after the International Champions Cup. Manchester City's current form raised concerns.
Guardiola was also unhappy with the team's performance and gave them a stern talk during halftime. After the break, Manchester City improved in both defense and offense, with Aguero and Lin Quan each scoring. However, Real Madrid, now fully in form, launched relentless attacks led by midfield maestro Modric, with Bale, Benzema, and Ronaldo constantly pressuring Manchester City's defense.
In the 65th minute, Bale scored a brilliant solo goal, showcasing his trademark speed. In the 87th minute, Ronaldo sealed the win with a stunning free-kick, ending the match 4-2.
Real Madrid finally defeated Manchester City, and Ronaldo secured his first victory over Lin Quan, outperforming him in the process.
After the match, Ronaldo happily accepted an interview with the on-site reporters and talked at length about his goals for the new season. This season, Ronaldo aims to win both the league title and the Champions League. As for the treble, it depends on whether they can smoothly capture the Copa del Rey. However, the Copa del Rey has historically been unfavorable for Real Madrid, and their performance in this competition has not been as good as Barcelona's.
Given Ronaldo's status and ability, no one thought he was just boasting. From today's game, it was clear that Real Madrid's form and strength remained solid, making them strong contenders for the Champions League trophy.
On the other hand, despite the loss, Lin Quan's mood wasn't too affected. The only regret was not winning the China Cup in front of his hometown fans after finally getting the chance to compete in China.
"Lin, can I swap jerseys with you?"
At the end of the match, both Benzema and Bale almost simultaneously approached Lin Quan to exchange jerseys. However, Bale was slightly faster and got the chance to swap jerseys, leaving Benzema disappointed.
Both players performed exceptionally well in this match. Bale's speed and Benzema's supporting play were on full display. After two years of working together, the power of the BBC trio (Bale, Benzema, Cristiano Ronaldo) was fully evident.
Lin Quan believed that if Real Madrid's lineup didn't change much, they could be even stronger contenders in the Champions League this year than they were last year.
...
Manchester City had to end their International Champions Cup journey with two consecutive losses. After returning to Manchester, Guardiola immediately started closed training sessions with the team. With the new season approaching, the team didn't look ready for the league.
Fortunately, the transfer window was still open, allowing Guardiola to address the weaknesses exposed in the previous games by bringing in new players from the transfer market.
With Navas and Milner leaving, Manchester City's wing and midfield positions were looking thin. Therefore, Guardiola thought of Riyad Mahrez, who he had discussed with Lin Quan earlier.
Last year, Mahrez's performance at Leicester City wasn't particularly outstanding, with few goals and assists. Additionally, Leicester City had only signed him for 500,000 euros. So Guardiola's initial offer was 25 million euros, thinking Leicester City would be happy to make a 20 million profit.
However, Leicester City, or more specifically, their manager Ranieri, rejected the offer. Leicester City's squad was already thin, and being a smaller club with limited financial resources and appeal, they couldn't easily buy top players. Therefore, Ranieri valued his current players highly and was reluctant to let any of them go.
Surprised by the rejection, Guardiola knew English clubs often haggled over transfer fees. He added 5 million euros to his offer, making it 30 million euros.
To his surprise, Leicester City rejected the second offer even more decisively. Guardiola reviewed Mahrez's profile carefully. He wasn't English and didn't have a homegrown player premium.
In the Premier League, homegrown players are highly valued and often fetch higher prices. If Mahrez were English, rejecting a 30 million offer wouldn't be surprising, as it would likely take at least 35 million to sign him. But Mahrez's nationality was clearly listed as Algerian.
So why was Leicester City unmoved by a 30 million offer?
Unable to figure it out, Guardiola decided to look elsewhere for reinforcements.
Meanwhile, at Leicester City, Ranieri was also torn. He repeatedly asked himself if Mahrez was really worth that much. Should he sell Mahrez and use the money to buy much-needed players?
Leicester City's budget was nowhere near as substantial as Manchester City's. In recent seasons, their transfer budget was usually under 10 million euros, sometimes only a few million. This amount wouldn't be enough for Manchester City to buy a single young player.
This summer, after hiring the renowned manager Ranieri, the club's owner became slightly more generous, granting him a 30 million euro transfer budget. With this money, Ranieri carefully scouted and signed five players, addressing several of the team's weaknesses.
The players Ranieri brought in were considered bargains, with most costing under 10 million euros. The most expensive was Japanese international Shinji Okazaki from Mainz, costing 11 million euros, which made Ranieri feel the pinch for days.
Now, faced with the opportunity to make 30 million or more, Ranieri was conflicted. If he took this chance, he could bring in several good players with the money.
However, the fact that a world-class manager like Guardiola valued Mahrez suggested that he had exceptional potential. Selling such a future star for 30 million seemed like a loss.
If Leicester City had no ambitions and only aimed to stay in the Premier League, they could make this deal. Many mid and lower-tier clubs rely on selling their developed stars and scouting for new talents in lower leagues as a significant income source.
But if Leicester City aspired to secure European competition spots or even aim for the Premier League title, they couldn't accept this transfer. They might be selling their future cornerstone.
Fortunately, Manchester City didn't continue bidding, relieving Ranieri of his dilemma over making the money.
After giving up on Mahrez, Guardiola immediately turned his attention to Schalke 04, offering 30 million euros for their young winger Leroy Sane.
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