Chapter 222 Transfer budget, 1500 million Euros?

London, Stamford Bridge, where The Independent reporter Crent randomly interviewed several fans.

The first person I interviewed was a white man who looked to be about 40 years old. He had a big belly and roughly estimated that he weighed about 200 kilograms.

"Sir, I see you are wearing Hazard's jersey. Are you a Chelsea fan?"

Clent passed the microphone over. It was 4pm London time. Although there was no match, Stamford Bridge was still very lively at this time.

Because for the local middle-aged and elderly people in England, watching football matches is almost their only form of entertainment. Even if there are no games, these middle-aged and elderly people will habitually visit the player shop.

They didn't buy anything, they just chatted with other Chelsea fans in the store.

"of course!"

The fat uncle nodded: "You know, I have been a Chelsea fan since I was in my mother's belly!"

"Oh!"

Krent's upper body fell backwards, looking extremely surprised.

Of course he could tell that the fat uncle was joking, but as a professional journalist, the ability to express emotions on the spot is obviously very important.

"You should know that many newspapers have recently published news about Jiang returning to China to participate in the U23 Asian Cup. What do you think about this?"

Krent came out today to interview these fans who had just got off work. In fact, it was a similar opinion poll to see what the fans of various clubs thought of Jiang Yuan's participation in the national team's games.

"You said this..."

At this point, the fat uncle's face looked a little bad: "Because it is a U series competition, I definitely don't want Jiang to participate. After all, as a core player, Jiang's temporary departure is not a good thing for us."

"So you are against it?"

"Well... I can't say I'm against it. When the club posted on Instagram, I immediately checked some information on the company's computer. It is said that the national team will not let Jiang play too many games, and will still focus on club games. So, um... I have a neutral attitude, neither supporting nor opposing it."

The fat uncle gave his opinion. Actually, what he said was not reasonable. It was true that Jiang Yuan went back to participate in the national team competition, but he did not completely live there.

The focus is still on the league.

In this case, the fans can’t say anything. After all, representing the country is the highest honor for an athlete.

After finishing the interview with the fat uncle, Klent randomly found a few Chelsea fans.

As fellow Blues fans, everyone's opinions are actually pretty similar, with half supporting and half opposing Jiang Yuan's participation in national team competitions.

One reason why clubs in the five major leagues do not like to buy Asians is the national team schedule. Most European national team matches are concentrated in June, July and August, which is the off-season for the five major leagues.

But it's different in Asia, where the Asian leagues are finished in December and national team games start in January. It would be very embarrassing if an Asian player started for a team in one of the top five leagues.

Because as soon as you leave, the team's starting lineup will have to change.

After interviewing eight Chelsea fans, Clent noticed a young man wearing a Tottenham jersey in the distance and rushed over immediately.

"Hey man, I'm Krent from The Independent, I want to ask you a few questions about Jiang."

The Tottenham fan in front of Klent had fluffy golden hair, a Nike jacket over his jersey, and a baseball cap on his head, a typical British teenager.

In the UK, teenagers are more dangerous than homeless people!
"Ok, go ahead and ask!"

The young man licked his lips, looking eager to try. It was obvious that he was very interested in Krent's interview!
"Regarding Jiang, the recent news has been discussing his participation in national team competitions. What do you think?"

"You mean Jiang!"

The young man rubbed his hands together: "I don't even know how he won the Golden Boy Award. This guy can only score goals. You know, Chelsea players like to do this. National team games? Sorry, I haven't paid attention to him at all. If he didn't transfer to the Premier League, I wouldn't even know who he is!"

???

Krent forced himself to hold back his laughter, ready to tease the young man: "Bro, do you know that Jiang might be transferring this winter?"

"whatever"

The classic shrug by the young man: "Where he goes has nothing to do with me, it doesn't matter"

Krent frowned, showing a "really?" expression, and then said in a playful tone: "A reporter said that Jiang might go to Tottenham"

"Ouch...!!!"

The young man's mouth opened wider and wider, he leaned back tactically, and the corners of his mouth rose little by little, until he could no longer suppress it.

"You just said that Jiang is only good at scoring goals, so you mean you don't want him to go to Tottenham?"

Krent asked.

The young man reached out and adjusted the baseball cap on his head: "Having said that, Jiang was able to win the Golden Boy Award with 455 points, which shows that he is definitely capable. In order to get a player of this level, it is worth spending 6000 million euros, or even 7000 million euros. Ronaldo didn't perform so well when he transferred from Sporting CP to Manchester United."

"To tell you the truth, when Jiang scored his first goal for Porto U17, I knew he was very talented. It's just that damn Pochettino was too slow to react, otherwise Jiang would have been a Tottenham player long ago."

……

On the morning of the 28th, Chelsea held a shareholders' meeting to discuss the club's winter transfer budget.

The result of the discussion is.

1500 million.

At noon that day, Mourinho put the team's training tasks aside and drove his Jaguar all the way to Abramovich's country villa.

"Mr. Roman, with a budget of 1500 million euros, we can't buy anyone. I mean anyone!"

Mourinho was a little anxious. After the 5-0 victory over Watford, the team returned to third place in the standings, which made his tone much tougher when he spoke to Abramovich.

"Calm down first!"

Abramovich motioned Mourinho to sit down. It was still the familiar balcony and the familiar acrylic chair.

"call……"

Mourinho also knew that he was a little too emotional. He took a deep breath, exhaled slowly, and finally sat down on the chair as Abramovich requested: "Sir, 1500 million euros is really not enough. We can buy Jiang for 1300 million euros because his penalty clause is low. There will be no second chance for such a benefit."

Mourinho thought it was Jiang Yuan who made Abramovich fall in love with picking up bargains, so he immediately explained.

Jiang Yuan can be bought for 1300 million euros, but this opportunity only comes once.

In this season's winter transfer window, you can't even buy a player who can play as a starter for Chelsea with 1500 million euros!
“Of course I know that.”

Abramovich asked the servant to pour Mourinho a glass of red wine: "Jose, remember, I know more about football than you think. Everyone is busy playing games in the winter window, you can't buy any players at this time."

"1500 million euros, spend 1000 million euros to buy a backup central defender, and the remaining 500 million euros to rent some forwards from other teams in the top five leagues. Falcao is injured, so find a replacement for him."

Abramovich had already arranged it at the shareholders' meeting. Chelsea only needed a backup center back and a backup left winger. They had everything else. They had spent enough money in the past few years, so the players in each position at Chelsea are among the best in football.

"You do not understand!"

Mourinho drank the red wine on the coffee table, then put the glass back on the table with force. The moment the cup base touched the glass surface of the coffee table, a "bang" sound was heard.

"3500 million euros, I need at least 3500 million euros, otherwise I can't do anything!"

"You say I don't understand football, but do you understand the club's funding chain?"

There was no expression on Abramovich's face: "The truth is, the club has no new sponsorship and has not received any broadcasting revenue. Our budget is 1500 million euros. Don't expect me to use my own money, I have given Chelsea enough."

After that, Abu pointed to the glass door of the balcony and said, "Today should be a training day. You should be in the base."

“罗曼！”

Mourinho stood up: "There are not many transfers in the winter window, but as long as we can offer enough prices, some clubs can still break their own lineups and sell core players."

Abramovich smiled and looked at Mourinho in front of him: "I said, you can go back"

"shit!"

Mourinho angrily waved his hands and left without looking back. The servant wanted to be a guide for Mourinho, but was rejected by the Portuguese.

"I can walk by myself, I don't need you to lead the way"

……

After the argument with Abramovich, Mourinho returned to Cobham with a frustrated look on his face.

Life is not going as planned, but it has to go on. Mourinho adjusted his condition and returned to the training ground.

There is a very crucial match tomorrow against the veteran Premier League giants Manchester United, and the entire Chelsea team must be prepared.

Speaking of Manchester United, it is the real overlord of the Premier League, but it just needs a prefix.

The former overlord.

After 2012, the Manchester Red Devils began to slowly sink for various reasons, and the league results became worse and worse, even ranking seventh in the 13-14 season. Compared with the team's previous honors, this result is definitely unacceptable.

The club's players and coaching staff want to make changes, but Manchester United is now like an adult elephant. As the largest animal on land, adult elephants have a characteristic that they cannot stand up without the help of other elephants after falling.

This season, Manchester United is currently ranked 6th in the league, with the same points as Liverpool, which is 7th. It is considered to be the easiest team to bully among the top 6 teams this season.

However, if you deny his potential just because of Manchester United's current performance, you would be wrong.

In terms of total Premier League points, even if Manchester United fails to make the top four in the league once in the next 10 years, its total Premier League points in history will still be unshakable as number one.

……

Stretford, Borough of Trafford, Greater Manchester, England.

Because it is a match day, Old Trafford is particularly lively today.

As the largest stadium in the Premier League, Old Trafford has a seating capacity of 76212, which is approximately equal to the total number of seats at Stamford Bridge and White Hart Lane.

There were as many people outside Old Trafford as Mount Tai on May Day, and it was a bit hard to breathe being squeezed in.

With three and a half hours left before the game started, local fans gathered here waiting for the arrival of the team bus, and six police cars were parked on the nearest road.

Fortunately, Manchester United's opponent today is not Liverpool, so the local police in Manchester are not under much pressure.

……

"Zhuangdianertai! Zhuangdianertai!"

"This is the live broadcast of the 19th round of the Premier League, the focus match between Manchester United and Chelsea. I am the commentator of this game, Zhan Jun"

"The referee is already looking at his watch!"

"The game has begun. Let me introduce the starting lineups of both teams to you."

"First up is the home team Manchester United! Wearing classic red jerseys, Old Trafford is still as red as ever today!"

Manchester United (4-2-3-1)

Goalkeeper: De Gea
Defenders: Darmian, Smalling, Blind, Ashley Young

Midfielders: Schneiderlin, Schweinsteiger, Herrera
Forwards: Mata, Rooney, Martial
Head coach: Louis van Gaal

"Then the away team Chelsea, in blue, attack from the right side of the screen to the left side"

"..."

"We can see that Old Trafford is still packed today. Ten days before the game, Jiang Yuan won the European Golden Boy Award by 10 points over Manchester United star Martial."

"It is said that enemies become jealous when they meet. Let's see if Martial can complete his revenge on Jiang Yuan in the game today."

"Let's focus on the game. In this game, Valencia, Luke Shaw and Jesse Lingard are absent from Manchester United, while Falcao is injured from Chelsea."

"But because Chelsea's injured players are substitutes, the strength of their squad will be better than Manchester United's."

Outside the field, in front of the home and away team benches, Mourinho and Van Gaal looked at each other and then laughed.

The current situations of these two people are very similar, and Van Gaal is even worse off than Mourinho is now.

Last season, the season when Mourinho led Chelsea to win the championship, Van Gaal had just taken over Manchester United, but his leadership position was impacted by the conflict with Di Maria.

Then this season, as the team's league results continued to decline, the club's top management gradually began to question Van Gaal's coaching ability.

As for Mourinho, there is no need to mention it. Both Terry and Hazard are about to take his head coach chair away.

A Dutchman, a Portuguese, both were wanderers in this world.

On the field, Manchester United under Van Gaal paid more attention to ball possession, but Mourinho believed that even if Manchester United controlled the ball, they could not create any opportunities, so he asked the forward trio headed by Hazard to reduce the pressing on Manchester United players.

In the 7th minute of the game, Manchester United found an opportunity on the left. Schweinsteiger found an opportunity and sent a well-placed through ball to Martial in front. The Red Devils star took the ball and faced Fabregas, but his desire to pass did not seem very strong. At this moment, Martial passed the ball to the side and a figure in a red jersey rushed over on the same side.

"Ashley Young holds the ball"

"Look at the quality of Ashley Young's cross"

……

(End of this chapter)