Super Marshal

Sao Paulo, Brazil.

"Hey, Jorge, my friend, welcome to Morombi!"

Paulo Amaral, president of Sao Paulo Football Club, walked out of the gate excitedly to welcome Jorge Mendes, who came all the way from Europe, and an assistant of Brazilian football giant Figel, who accompanied his Portuguese agent.

"Hi, nice to meet you, Paul!"

After a few people shook hands and said a few polite words, they walked into the club in Sao Paulo side by side.

When we came to the meeting room, after the host and guest sat down, someone immediately brought boiling water and coffee.

"Tell me, dear friend, how can we help you?" Paul Amaral asked graciously.

Jorge Mendez's heart sank, he could see that this was not a good thing.

There is a meme circulating in Spanish football about Real Betis.

It is said that many European teams took a fancy to Denilson back then. Everyone believed that this talented star with high hopes in Brazil would become another great superstar after Pele and Ronaldo.

But why did it end up with Real Betis?

It is because Paul Amaral's asking price is too high, which scares away potential buyers.

In the end, Real Betis, eager to strengthen the team, became the victim.

Facts have proved that Real Betis has become the saddest receiver in football history by poaching a star who has never proven himself in European football at a very high price.

And Paul Amaral made a shrewd deal.

Now it seems that this vampire chairman is not easy to deal with.

But since it's already here, there's no need to worry too much about it.

"Paul, let me tell you the truth, a team has taken a fancy to your players and entrusted me to come and contact them."

Paul Amaral was not surprised, he was still smiling so much that his eyes were almost narrowed.

"That's our honor, friend, you're right to come, we're sure to be able to close a beautiful deal."

Jorge Mendes laughed.

"I don't know which team is entrusting you?"

"A year ago, they almost went bankrupt and were relegated to La Liga, but Atletico Madrid have been promoted this season."

Mendez is also particular about what he said.

Buying and selling depends on who does it. In European football, there are always a few teams that are not short of money, and they always have to pay a little more when buying players.

For example, Real Madrid, or Barcelona, ​​as well as several giants in Serie A, are all like this.

When he heard that it was Atletico Madrid, Paul Amaral's face changed slightly, and a hint of disappointment flashed in his eyes.

But soon, the shrewd Brazilian put on a smile again.

"Excuse me, which player is Atletico Madrid looking at?"

Mendes didn't hesitate, and replied directly: "Kaka!"

"Kaka?" Amaral was a little surprised.

You know, this player is not the most conspicuous player in the Sao Paulo team, how could he be seen by European teams?

Especially Atletico Madrid in La Liga.

No matter how poor this team is, it is still the third richest team in Spain.

But I saw that this guy slapped his thigh vigorously, and praised with a smile: "You guys are really discerning."

Mendes was taken aback, what's going on?

"Let me tell you, this is the most valued rookie in our team now. Almost all the coaches and scouts in our team are full of praise for him. We even tailor-made physical strengthening training for him to help him Take it a step further."

When Mendes saw him say this, his face was neither red nor breathless, and he couldn't help admiring him.

Damn, I finally met a guy who is even more shameless than me!

Are all coaches optimistic?

So far, Kaka hasn't even started a game, okay?

Mendes even learned about it through Figel's channel. Kaka has not been the most conspicuous player since the youth team, but belongs to the kind of fringe role that is not seen, only in the last six months. change.

How did it come to Amaral's mouth, but became a talented rookie that the team focused on cultivating?

How shameless!

"Paul, let's be honest, let's be honest."

Mendez was unmoved at all, and seemed very confident.

"As far as I know, from the children's team, to the youth team, and then to the youth team, Kaka has never played the main force in Sao Paulo, has always been a substitute, and was almost eliminated many times. This is somewhat different from what you said. Bar?"

In fact, even now, Mendes still doesn't understand why Gao Han has a crush on Kaka.

The resume of this white Brazilian player looks very ordinary. It can even be said that, except for the sudden popularity in the last six months, the rest of the time has no bright spots at all. Can he play for Atletico Madrid?

But with the lessons learned from Marcos Senna, Mendes did not dare to doubt Gao Han this time.

After all, wasn't Marcos Senna the same as Kaka now?

After Amaral was exposed, his face remained unchanged, and he was still smiling.

"Jorge, what you said is indeed true, but I'm afraid you don't know that in the past six months, Kaka has made rapid progress. Now he has become a pivotal player in our team. He was also selected for Brazil The national youth team participated in the World Youth Championship and performed very well."

"Moreover, for players like Kaka, we have not encountered before, such as international footballer Luis Muller, and Denilsen who is currently playing for Real Betis. They also performed very averagely in the youth team and can enter After the first team, he developed by leaps and bounds and became famous in one fell swoop."

Denilson?

He has become a world-famous big parallel importer!

Mendez chuckled and didn't say anything.

What does it mean to perform well?

Nothing special at all, okay?

In that Brazilian national youth team, the biggest player is Adriano!

"Our team values ​​Kaka. Maybe you have some doubts, but you can find out. He was in the first team at the end of January. At the beginning of February, we renewed his contract with him, and his salary was increased by eight times. It reached 6,000 reals, but in less than a month, we renewed the contract with Kaka, and the salary was tripled to 18,000 reals."

"You said, if we didn't value Kaka, we would renew his contract so frequently?"

The real is the currency of Brazil, and it is about two to one to the US dollar.

Eighteen thousand reais, which is equivalent to nine thousand dollars.

This salary is really not low for a young rookie in Brazil.

Mendes frowned. He had a hunch that it would not be easy to dig Kaka.

It's not that Sao Paulo really values ​​Kaka so much, the key lies in the contract.

Contracts in Brazilian football are very confusing, and in many cases they are even short-term.

Sao Paulo renews the contract with Kaka so frequently, and is willing to give such a high salary, the contract period and liquidated damages must be set very high.

"When does the contract end? How much is the break contract?" Mendes asked.

"In February 2003, the breach of contract was 200 times the annual salary, 30 million reais."

"What?" Mendes was secretly startled.

Thirty million reals?

That's fifteen million dollars!

No way, really no way!

Fortunately, before Gao Han thought that Kaka hadn't played the main force, and hadn't even played a first game, so it should be very cheap.

But now it seems that Sao Paulo has been prepared and set a high threshold early!

Fifteen million dollars?

This is the price for Barcelona to introduce Riquelme!

But can the current Kaka compare with the famous and talented midfielder Riquelme?

"Then what do you mean?" Mendes asked lightly.

Amaral looked at the Portuguese, still smiling.

But in the eyes of Mendes, this smile is not to mention how hypocritical and annoying.

"It's very simple, in a word, take Kaka away, yes, pay the breach of contract penalty!"

"It's impossible!" Mendes refused politely.

"Then there is no need to talk about it." Amaral's attitude was also very tough.

Mendes thought for a while, and didn't want the negotiation to break down, so he decided to ease the atmosphere.

"Or like this, Paulo, I will contact Atletico Madrid again."

"Okay, I'll wait for your news anytime." Amaral was not in a hurry.

Transfer negotiations can be described as a battle of wits, whoever is in a hurry will lose.

Knowing what was going on, Mendes immediately changed the subject and talked about Baptista.

Sao Paulo also has a good attitude towards this first-team substitute player, and the price is quite high, asking for seven million euros, but Mendes also rejected the asking price and said that he would think about it again.

The two transfers failed to come to an agreement, and the Portuguese inevitably lost some interest.

But Amaral seemed to be very interested, and recommended other players from Sao Paulo.

For example, the striker Fabiano, and the team's top scorer Franza, the latter is a player that AC Milan is very interested in, and arranged for scouts to follow closely, but they have not started for a long time.

Guessing, Galliani is also a little afraid of this vampire chairman.

Mendez was about to leave, and Amaral politely sent him to the door, which was considered as a kindness of the landlord.

"Paul, my visa is not long." Before leaving, Mendes decided to apply some pressure.

Amaral nodded.

"I hope to receive more sincere feedback in the short term. I believe that you don't want me to return to Europe empty-handed, right?"

"Of course, of course." Amaral nodded with a smile, but didn't say much.

Mendes scolded the old fox secretly in his heart, but he said what he should say and did what he should do.

If Sao Paulo really clings to this price in the end, then Mendes will have nothing to do.

Watching Mendes leave, Amaral narrowed his shrewd eyes slightly.

He really didn't expect that Atletico Madrid would take a fancy to Kaka and Baptista.

Judging from Mendes' reaction, the Sheets Corps is indeed not well-off and should not be able to afford a big price, but they are very interested.

In other words, there is something to talk about!

Thinking of this, Amaral immediately took out his mobile phone and found the phone number of head coach Nelcinho Baptista.

Since the Brazilian League adopts a single round-robin system and is concentrated in the second half of the year, the first half of the year is more about participating in some cups, state leagues and championships, the most important of which are the state league and the Champions League.

After the loss in the state league, the Champions League has become the most important event in Sao Paulo.

The Champions Cup was established in 2000, this year is the second, but the weight is very heavy.

According to the distribution of the Brazilian Football Association, among the four places in the Copa Libertadores, one is for the Brazilian Cup champion, two are for the champions and runners-up of the Brazilian League, and the fourth is for the Champions League champion.

The Copa Libertadores is undoubtedly as important as the Champions League to the domestic teams in Brazil.

Therefore, after the team's performance in the state league was sluggish, Amaral made a decisive decision, fired the head coach Vadam, and invited the famous Sao Paulo Nelsinho who had a good coaching record in Japan and Brazil. Baptista took over as coach.

And now, the team is gathering with all participating teams in the northeastern city of Maceio, Brazil, to participate in the Champions League competition.

Sao Paulo performed well, repeatedly defeated strong enemies, and reached the final.

However, this has nothing to do with Kaka and Baptista, because they have just returned from the World Youth Championship.

"Hey, Nelcinho, it's me, how are your preparations for the final?"

"Well, very good, if possible, let Kaka start!"