Chapter 66: Calafata and Prandelli! [First Installation]

Actually, after the match, the English media did not pay much attention to Arsenal's elimination from the League Cup.

What they asked about after the final whistle was still Li Mo.

"I will only answer questions regarding this match!"

Wenger refused to address anything concerning Li Mo's contract.

He hoped to cool down the situation.

However, the media were not under his control.

The winter transfer window was about to open.

Transfer news began to appear more and more frequently in the newspapers and online portals.

As the fastest-rising teenage supernova in Europe this season,

news about Li Mo undoubtedly captured the attention of fans belonging to all the European giants.

Scoring eleven goals in fourteen Premier League matches at just seventeen years of age—

which striker would not covet such a talent?

Especially in Spain.

The attraction of Spain's two superpower giants, Real Madrid and Barcelona, is unquestionably among the very top tier in the world.

Virtually whenever any young player makes a name for himself,

the Madrid-based media start hyping up Real Madrid, while the Catalan media can't wait to dress the player in a Barcelona shirt.

Yet those two giants do indeed possess tremendous allure.

Many players find it impossible to resist the call from Real Madrid.

Back in the day, Sir Alex Ferguson expended so much effort to mold Cristiano Ronaldo into a Ballon d'Or winner,

and Manchester United even held the upper hand over Real Madrid in sporting terms back then.

Yet, wasn't United's talismanic forward still whisked away the moment Real Madrid crooked a finger?

To secure his transfer to Real Madrid,

Cristiano Ronaldo mobilized his entire family.

Even remarks like "Manchester United are treating my brother like a slave" surfaced.

So infuriated was Ferguson that he declared he wouldn't sell "even a virus" to Real Madrid.

Yet in the end, didn't he still compromise?

Consequently,

once the media in Spain started reporting on the matter,

the English press quickly followed suit and reprinted the stories.

"...According to *AS*, Real Madrid have already begun monitoring Li Mo's performances. Florentino has long lusted after the Chinese market. If Real Madrid can bring Li Mo to the Santiago Bernabéu, it would not only be a powerful sporting reinforcement for Madrid's squad, but commercially it would also support Real Madrid in expanding their territory into the Eastern market!"

"...The Catalan media recently began intensive reports regarding Guardiola's interest in Li Mo. *Mundo Deportivo* dug up a photograph of Li Mo wearing a Barcelona jersey when he was seven years old, using it to claim that Li Mo has dreamed of joining Barcelona since childhood, though in reality Barcelona is indeed searching for a successor to David Villa..."

"...Contract renewal negotiations between Li Mo and Arsenal have stalled, forcing the Arsenal club to consider opening negotiations for Li Mo's transfer during the winter window—otherwise, they may have to accept the outcome of Li Mo walking away on a free transfer in the end!"

The reports by the English media were blowing things completely out of proportion.

As if Li Mo failing to leave Arsenal this winter transfer window would somehow fail to justify all the ink they had spilled.

Arsenal fans panicked.

The scenes of Robin van Persie, Cesc Fàbregas, Alexandre Song, and Samir Nasri departing in the past

were still fresh in their memories.

In fact,

it was not just in Spain.

In Germany,

quite a few media outlets were also hyping up Bayern Munich—Bayern's primary center-forward Gomez suffered from recurring injuries, and Mandžukić's goal-scoring efficiency was not high, so it was hardly surprising that Bayern desired a new center-forward.

Now look at that.

Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern.

The three giants of Europe all had media outlets creating hype to sign Li Mo.

For a time,

Li Mo looked poised to become the biggest transfer news figure of the winter window.

The entirety of Europe was buzzing about Li Mo.

Almost every club with the means was keeping a close eye on the contract renewal negotiations between Li Mo and Arsenal.

Once... those negotiations collapsed,

the clubs making a move

would definitely not be limited to Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Bayern alone.

"There have been many rumors recently linking you to a big club like Real Madrid. What are your own thoughts on this?"

On the eve of Arsenal's fifteenth-round away match in the league against West Bromwich Albion,

Li Mo received a phone call from his uncle Inzaghi.

"It's all fake, media fabrication," Li Mo replied, shaking his head.

"No, no, no. What I'm asking is... what if it were true?"

"Even if it were true, I wouldn't go," Li Mo said, shaking his head. "I've only just joined Arsenal not long ago. I have tactical status here, and I've integrated well into the dressing room. Why should I be in a hurry to leave? Besides, I haven't even achieved any real success yet."

Hearing this on the other end of the line, Inzaghi nodded repeatedly, deeply comforted.

"If that's how you think, then I can rest easy. Right now is the most crucial moment of your professional career; stability is much more important than making money. A club like Real Madrid... if you went there right now, you would very likely become a casualty of dressing room politics."

"I know, Uncle."

Li Mo understood this perfectly.

Within a superpower giant like Real Madrid, internal dressing room politics were immensely complex.

An outsider like himself,

of mixed Italian and Chinese heritage,

entering that environment

without any backing or background,

could easily find himself isolated by the various factions if he wasn't careful.

Playing for a superpower club was no easy feat.

Li Mo was well aware of this.

"...In the fifteenth round of the Premier League, Arsenal defeated West Bromwich Albion, currently fifth in the league standings, two to one away from home. Arsenal forward Li Mo scored the winning goal in the seventy-third minute..."

"...In the sixteenth round of the Premier League, Arsenal defeated Swansea two to nil at home. Li Mo contributed two assists..."

"...With sixteen rounds of the Premier League completed, Arsenal forward Li Mo has scored twelve goals, sitting proudly at the top of the scoring charts. Let us take a look at his twelve brilliant goals..."

*Click.*

The television was switched off.

The black screen reflected the silver-haired figure of José Mourinho.

This was his office at Real Madrid's Valdebebas training ground.

The television had been broadcasting Premier League news.

Li Mo was a name that could not be avoided in Premier League coverage.

Mourinho stared blankly at the tactical board.

It was hard to imagine

that just two years ago, a swaggering Mourinho had led Inter Milan to a historic treble.

What an aura Mourinho had possessed back then.

Yet in a mere two-plus years,

Mourinho, coaching Real Madrid, had lost all his dark hair...

It seemed the pressure of managing the world's biggest club was indeed immense.

And the reality was precisely that.

Mourinho was currently standing practically on the edge of a crater.

In the dressing room,

the Portuguese faction, the domestic Spanish faction, and the international faction were all challenging the authority of him as the head coach.

At the top,

Florentino was also gradually losing his patience.

The war between the Real Madrid dressing room and the head coach manifested in team results as a deficit where, before the halfway mark of the league season had even been reached, Real Madrid had already fallen seventeen points behind Barcelona!

Winning the league title was practically out of the question.

Now Mourinho could only gamble on the Champions League—in fact, the very reason he had been able to take charge at Real Madrid in the first place was because of his European record!

He was currently one of the managers holding the most Champions League titles, trailing only the legendary Liverpool manager, the late Bob Paisley, who had won three European Cups.

Holding two Champions League trophies, Mourinho was tied in title count with Ancelotti, Ferguson, and Guardiola.

Furthermore, he was the only manager in history to have won the Champions League with different clubs—Bob Paisley, Ancelotti, Ferguson, and Guardiola had all won their Champions League titles managing a single club.

Whereas Mourinho had lifted the trophy with two separate teams: Porto and Inter Milan.

It could be said

that if he could lead Real Madrid to capture the Champions League crown,

Mourinho would forge yet another unprecedented record.

Yet winning the Champions League... was immensely difficult.

Mourinho had led Real Madrid to the Champions League semi-finals for two consecutive seasons without managing to advance any further.

For Mourinho at present,

he was contemplating upgrading Real Madrid's center-forward configuration—he held somewhat low regard for Benzema and Higuain.

He had once publicly stated in the media: "If the team's forward line only has Higuain and Benzema, it will be difficult. Now that there is only Benzema left, the situation is even more difficult. If you go hunting, but you only have a cat by your side, you can only take the cat out, because you obviously can't go hunting alone. If you have a good hunting dog, what you catch will clearly be much more."

He wanted to acquire an exceptional hunting dog.

Clearly, in Mourinho's mind,

neither Benzema nor Higuain was the hunting dog he yearned for; they were both merely cats...

Leaving aside whether these remarks were right or wrong,

the consequence of stating them publicly in the media was that the relationship between Mourinho and Real Madrid's two center-forwards had never been particularly good...

Coupled with his suspicion that Casillas had leaked dressing room affairs to his journalist girlfriend, which alienated him from the Spanish domestic faction at Real Madrid.

Naturally, as a Portuguese, Mourinho should have naturally garnered the support of the Portuguese faction spearheaded by Cristiano Ronaldo and Pepe. However, because Ronaldo grew increasingly disgusted with Mourinho's defensive-counterattacking tactical approach—believing it to be the fundamental reason why his individual statistics always lagged behind Lionel Messi's—

nowadays,

frustrations had also developed cracks in Mourinho's relationship with the Portuguese faction.

If any other manager encountered such a situation,

they would have thrown up their hands and surrendered long ago.

How could anyone possibly continue playing this hand?

Yet Mourinho was Mourinho.

He was a fellow who would never admit defeat.

With winning the league out of reach, his gaze was fixed squarely on the Champions League!

As long as he could achieve a breakthrough in the Champions League, Mourinho would wield sufficient authority to suppress all the factions within the Real Madrid dressing room.

However, the prerequisite was that Mourinho needed a few trusted loyalists who would fight tooth and nail for him.

The emergence of Li Mo sparked ambitions in Mourinho's mind.

To be able to make 11 appearances (missing 4 matches, suspended for one match due to a red card) and score 12 goals in a league as fiercely competitive as the Premier League

amounted to a scoring efficiency of over a goal per game, which was enough to make Mourinho's heart race.

Coupled with the fact that Li Mo possessed an excellent physique and blistering speed,

his physical attributes perfectly matched Mourinho's requirements for a center-forward.

"He is indeed very good. If he becomes a part of our tactical scheme, he could completely upgrade our tactical system. However... wanting to bring him in during the winter window will be extremely difficult."

Mourinho's assistant, Faria, reminded him.

Mourinho nodded.

"Of course I know it's extremely difficult, but how will we know if we don't try?"

"Florentino won't agree to making a massive transaction in the winter window," Faria shook his head. "He will choose to save the money for the summer window. He has long wanted to make a move for Tottenham's Bale, which could turn out to be a record-breaking deal..."

"Bale..." Mourinho shook his head and said, "Speed wingers of that type have too short a peak period. If we use the money earmarked for Bale to buy Li Mo, I dare guarantee that Real Madrid won't need to worry about a center-forward for the next fifteen years!"

Mourinho tapped his fingers on the desktop.

"This fellow possesses many offensive weapons, and..."

Mourinho pointed at his own head.

"His football IQ is very high!"

Over the past few days, Mourinho had reviewed almost all of Li Mo's match footage—this was naturally not only due to his interest in Li Mo, but also because Arsenal were Real Madrid's opponents in the Champions League Round of 16.

Studying the opponent's primary goalscorer was just a convenient side benefit.

"These still aren't enough to persuade Florentino to make a move in the winter window."

"What if... bringing in Li Mo in the winter window yields them a Champions League title?" Mourinho said, almost gritting his teeth.

"Are you insane?!"

Faria was startled.

This man was leaving himself zero room for retreat.

"Either we win the championship, or I walk!"

Mourinho declared fiercely.

"Buying Li Mo in the winter window, and bringing back a Champions League..."

Inside Florentino's office,

the shrewd Spanish businessman narrowed his eyes, his fingers involuntarily drumming against the desktop.

Major transactions rarely happen during the winter transfer window.

Yet...

there are exceptions to every rule.

However, if Real Madrid made a heavy investment in the winter window, it would become very difficult to compete with various European giants for Bale when the summer window arrived.

Although Real Madrid had deep pockets, there was no gold mine buried beneath the turf of the Santiago Bernabéu; their funds were not infinite either.

If they wanted to whisk Li Mo away in the winter window,

it would take an offer so exorbitant that Arsenal simply could not refuse it.

"Winning the Champions League is not that easy..."

Sitting opposite Florentino was Real Madrid's chief scout, Juni Calafat.

"José is prepared to resign if he doesn't win the Champions League," Florentino said with a hint of helplessness.

If even Mourinho couldn't suppress the Real Madrid dressing room,

what kind of high-profile coach could Real Madrid possibly find next?

"However, buying Li Mo... wouldn't actually be a loss," Calafat said. "Even if we consider it purely from a sporting perspective."

"Oh?"

"He can become Real Madrid's next superstar striker. He possesses that kind of potential—no, not just potential, but ability!"

Calafat stated.

"He is only seventeen, while Cristiano is already twenty-eight..."

Florentino nodded, his brows furrowing involuntarily.

The shrewd Real Madrid president naturally understood what Calafat meant...

Twenty-eight...

typically marked the peak period of a player's career, after which, barring accidents, Cristiano would begin his downward slope—at least according to standard logic.

Yet Cristiano might just be the exception.

"Viewers and friends! Welcome back for the seventeenth round of the Premier League, where Arsenal host Aston Villa at home!!"

"After being held to a draw by Fulham in the fourteenth round, Arsenal have embarked on another winning streak. After sixteen rounds of the league, Arsenal have accumulated 30 points, sitting third in the league standings—yes, Chelsea encountered a string of defeats entering December, and their ranking has been surpassed by Arsenal. Having lost to Arsenal, Manchester United have put together a three-game winning streak, bringing their points tally to 35 to sit atop the standings, while Manchester City trail with 33 points in second place!"

"This match is critically important for Arsenal because in this round... Manchester United and Manchester City will stage the Manchester derby! Arsenal have the opportunity to further narrow the gap with the front-runners in the standings, and potentially even overtake Manchester City to claim second place in the league!"

In the commentary booth, Andy Gray was busy introducing the pre-match landscape.

At that moment, he glanced at the big screen at the Emirates Stadium and instantly froze.

Because on the screen, a close-up shot had appeared.

"This is... Faria and Calafat?!"

Andy Gray was shocked.

He drew a sharp breath.

"Mourinho's assistant, alongside Real Madrid chief scout Calafat, have arrived at the Emirates Stadium!!"

Witnessing this exact scene from the executive box, Arsenal CEO Ivan Gazidis wore a grave expression...

The appearance of these two men at the Emirates Stadium

signified that Real Madrid had truly initiated their move!

Gazidis lacked confidence in his ability to retain Li Mo under the seductive allure of Real Madrid.

If they did not wish to let Li Mo go,

they had to complete a contract renewal before the arrival of the winter transfer window.

Did they really have to agree to his maximum-salary demands?

Gazidis narrowed his eyes.

Granting Li Mo the top salary... was acceptable.

Yet renewing for only one year was far too short!

For the English media and Arsenal's upper management, what they focused on was the underlying message conveyed by Real Madrid's chief scout stepping foot into the Emirates Stadium.

Whereas for the Chinese commentator Zhang Jun,

his attention was captured by yet another famous figure who had appeared within the television broadcast frame.

Italy national team head coach Cesare Prandelli!