Athletic Bilbao is a unique team in the world.

This team has a very strange tradition, that is, they only use Basque players.

With the implementation of the Bosman Law, the turnover of players in European football is very frequent. The competitiveness of the team is completely based on this basis. There are no unique teams like Athletic Bilbao. The key is that they actually

It has not been relegated and still maintains excellent competitiveness in La Liga, which is undoubtedly very valuable.

But it can also be seen that the Basque Country has done really well in football youth training.

Because of the tradition of only using Basque players, Athletic Bilbao has never been willing to sell its players.

Before the high-level crossing, the Basque Lion's most famous nickname was the Liquidated Damage Professional.

What does it mean?

If you want to poach Athletic Bilbao players, you can only pay liquidated damages.

But a few years before Gaoshen Travel, Athletic Bilbao even simply canceled the liquidated damages.

In other words, you don’t have to dig even if you want to.

This series of bizarre operations has made Athletic Bilbao very mysterious, but in La Liga, this team is known for its brave style of play and has always been a very difficult opponent.

…

"When did you convince Athletic Bilbao?" Valdano was very curious.

Athletic Bilbao is notoriously difficult to deal with, a hedgehog on the negotiating table.

"I called Jon Bettegui." Gao Shen chuckled.

Jon Bettegui is the general manager of Athletic Bilbao.

"that's all?"

"Otherwise?" Gao Shen asked.

After a pause, Gao Shen smiled again: "There is always only one reason for failure in poaching a player, and that is that the money is not paid in place!"

"As long as the money is in place, Messi will have to get down for me!"

Zidane, Valdano, Butragueno, and Lucas all burst into laughter when they heard Gao Shen's pretentious remarks.

"Damn it, Gao, have you drank too much oil from the Middle East recently? Why do you feel so nouveau riche?"

"Really? I almost don't recognize you anymore."

"Sure enough, men change as soon as they have money!"

Gao Shen himself chuckled. In fact, what he said just now was purely funny, to liven up the atmosphere.

But this is true and there is nothing wrong with it.

In the final analysis, professional football is a money game. As long as you have money, anyone can buy it.

Even if Manchester City really want to poach Messi now, can't they?

Is 150 million euros enough?

Not enough? I’ll give you 200 million!

The difference lies in calmness and rationality.

Because spending money on superstars may not necessarily lead to championships.

Winning the championship always depends on the concerted efforts of the entire team.

"How much do you give Athletic Bilbao?" Butragueno asked with concern.

"Twenty million euros directly paid Xavi Martinez's termination clause."

Valdano and the other three looked at each other and nodded.

The price is actually pretty good.

It’s expensive, definitely a bit more expensive, but there’s nothing you can do about it.

Javi Martinez's current evaluation price is around 10 million euros, with a termination fee of 20 million euros, which is reasonable.

As early as the summer of 2007, Liverpool once wanted to poach Javi Martinez. The conditions given at that time were also 20 million euros. After paying the termination fee, they could take him away directly.

Two years have passed, and Martinez has obviously matured and improved a lot compared to two years ago. The price is still the same, which proves that it is still a good deal. Otherwise, if you wait any longer, once he renews his contract with Athletic Bilbao, it will be terminated.

If the price rises again, then the player will not be taken away at this price.

Even now, if you want to pay the termination fee and take away the players, you still have to negotiate nicely with Athletic Bilbao.

Why?

According to the terms of the termination fee, the player must go to La Liga headquarters to pay the termination fee.

In other words, if Manchester City wants to pay the termination fee for Harvey Martinez, it will need to transfer the money to Harvey Martinez's personal account first. This transfer will cause personal income tax issues and require tax.

.

Therefore, to a certain extent, Athletic Bilbao accepted the contract fee and received it confidently, especially in the style of the Basque Lion.

This also explains why Gao Shen stayed in Barcelona for these days after coming to Spain.

He has not been idle, but has been manipulating and operating behind the scenes.

…

In addition to Javi Martinez, Gao Shen actually handled another transfer during his time at Barcelona.

That is Deportivo's Brazilian left-back Felipe Luis.

Manchester City has three players on the left, Bridge, Garrido and Michael Ball.

According to advanced standards, only Bridge is barely usable. Garrido and Michael Ball were basically relegated to the sidelines, so both players were sent away this summer.

Gao Shen signed Felipe Luis from Deportivo La Coruna for a high price of 15 million euros.

This player was his favorite player when he coached Real Madrid, but after he was not reused in Real Madrid, he switched to Deportivo La Coruna.

Felipe Luis performed very well in Super Deportivo and was almost full-time. After Gao Shen convinced Deportivo, he just made a phone call to Felipe Luis and he agreed to join Manchester City on the spot.

Obviously, the players also miss their time at Real Madrid very much.

Gao Shen still vaguely remembered that Felipe Luis broke his leg while playing for Deportivo La Coruna, but he couldn't remember exactly when it was broken.

Judging from the current situation, I don’t know whether it’s not here yet or whether Gao Shen’s appearance has changed history. Anyway, Felipe Luis performed very well in Deportivo. He never broke his leg at all and is stronger than Gao Shen coaching Real Madrid.

It's obviously going to be a step up.

Such a player only costs 15 million euros, which is great value!

After signing Javi Martinez and Felipe Luis, Gao Shen's lineup at Manchester City is basically complete.

He is down to the last person on his transfer list this summer.

…

"Tell me, who do you like from Real Madrid?"

The meal lasted for two or three hours, and we talked back and forth. Anyway, the topic was all about football.

At the end, when time was almost up, Valdano asked the last question of the night.

"Sure enough, I can never hide anything from you, Jorge." Gao Shen said with a smile.

"Stop flattering, we all guessed that you asked for consulting fees just now." Valdano said with a businesslike attitude.

They all thought that Gao Shen had set his sights on another youth talent from Real Madrid.

When this guy was coaching Naples, he came to Real Madrid to poach Callejon and Parejo. Because of this matter, Honorary Chairman Di Stefano mentioned it to Florentino not long ago, saying that Parejo should be transferred to Real Madrid.

Reho bought it back.

Who makes Di Stefano a fan of Parejo?

But I have to admit that the ability of senior players to cultivate young players is indeed great. During their time at Naples, Parejo and Callejon improved rapidly in strength and performance. If it weren't for the fact that there are so many talents in the team, they are even younger.

, he is probably already the main force.

This summer, Biglia, Thiago Motta and Rakitic all left the team. Naples' midfield is bound to undergo a reorganization, and Parejo and Callejon will have many opportunities.

Real Madrid got to know them, and neither of them has a strong desire to return this year.

"If I'm not wrong, you should be preparing to cleanse a group of players now, raise some funds, and free up salary space, right?" Gao Shen looked at the three Real Madrid players opposite and asked.

Zidane, Valdano and Butragueno all looked at each other, knowing that this matter could not be hidden from Gao Shen.

"Just say it." Valdano said simply.

"Robben!"

"Robben?"

This surprised the three Real Madrid players.

Robben is a famous lone wolf in European football. Does Gao Shen like him?

More importantly, Manchester City has invested huge sums of money.
To be continued...