This also made Pep Guardiola feel a huge sense of crisis.
And it was precisely because of that crisis that players began to resist. As a result, Guardiola tightened his alliance with the local Barcelona faction, which only intensified the conflict with the Dutch faction.
…
"Matthäus, Deschamps, João Pinto, Paulo Bento… Sporting Lisbon's veteran lineup is fairly complete. But the youth storm they're trying to unleash doesn't seem to have enough actual youth!"
"Sporting Lisbon still has vacancies in several key positions. They need to bring in at least three to five more players!"
"Sporting Lisbon shows its fangs—Benfica and Porto have now refused to do business with them!"
"Other Portuguese league teams are willing to trade with Sporting Lisbon, but the price inflation on players is insane!"
"There's been a shortage of outstanding young players in Portugal in recent years. Most of them are already concentrated in the three major clubs. Sporting Lisbon has no way to fill the gap!"
"Sporting Lisbon's scouting network isn't global, so it's difficult for them to find high-quality young talent elsewhere!"
Seeing Sporting Lisbon's squad nearing completion, all the Portuguese league teams were starting to panic.
Fortunately, this team was still too old. Lothar Matthäus was already thirty-nine!
Deschamps, João Pinto, and Paulo Bento were either in their thirties or approaching it, and their overall level wasn't particularly high. All of them needed reliable substitutes.
Kai and Cristiano Ronaldo were only fifteen.
Ricardo Quaresma, Hugo Viana, and José Fonte were eighteen.
Among this group of youngsters, Quaresma—who had already played a full season in the Portuguese league—was the strongest. But even though his stats last season were impressive, his performances were still somewhat inconsistent.
They all needed more time to adapt, and it was entirely possible they wouldn't produce results for another two years.
Under this pressure, Trigueira stared at the list of phone numbers and player names in front of him, feeling a little nervous.
Maxa, standing beside him, was sweating even more.
"It's only five or six million in total. In the future, Cristiano Ronaldo and I alone might be worth several times that. What are you afraid of? Just go for it!" Kai encouraged Trigueira.
Trigueira finally nodded, choosing to trust Kai.
All the documents in his hands had been gathered under Kai's guidance—or directly provided by him.
They were all young players whose names nobody had even heard of.
A "youth storm" doesn't just mean being young.
You have to be young and talented.
At the very least, you need players at the level of Fonte… actually, forget it—even Fonte is a bit below standard… basically, you need players stronger than Fonte to truly create a youth storm!
Fonte: Hello, Benfica? I want to defect. I don't feel respected at Sporting Lisbon!
Miguel Veloso: Fonte, think it through. When it comes to disrespecting players, Benfica has always been top-tier.
Ahem!
Trigueira cleared his throat and began dialing. "Hello, I am—"
Then he handed the phone to Kai.
Portuguese and Italian share the same roots, but they're not identical. To avoid any misunderstandings, Trigueira decided to let a professional handle it.
Before even entering the University of Lisbon, Kai had already mastered French, Italian, German, and other languages.
"Hello, is this Rondinella Football Club…? Yes, this is Sporting Lisbon, and I'm the assistant to head coach Mr. Trigueira. We'd like to discuss a transfer for your player, Andrea Barzagli." Kai signaled Maxa to stop clapping and keep quiet.
"What? Pistoiese in Serie B has already taken him on loan?"
"I'm sorry—have the procedures been completed, or is it just a preliminary agreement?"
"Oh, it's agreed but not finalized? I see… So what do you think of a transfer fee of €100,000?"
"You're concerned about credibility and breaking agreements? I understand… €150,000."
"I know you're in a difficult position. Let's do this—€200,000 is the absolute maximum our club can offer. We also have several other targets. If we can't secure Barzagli, we'll have to move on quickly… you understand what I mean."
"…Alright. Pleasure doing business. We'll send someone over immediately to handle the paperwork."
Maxa watched in horror.
Wasn't the agreed upper limit €100,000?
How did it suddenly become €200,000?
"Isn't this… going over budget? A Serie D player for €200,000? The fans will accuse us of corruption!" Maxa looked like he was about to cry.
He hadn't saved that much money in the past two years.
If the club held him accountable, his BMW 3 Series would be gone!
Kai smiled. "It's such a small amount. What difference does it make if we pay double?"
"When it comes to truly top-tier transfers—deals worth tens of millions—even a small discount there is worth far more than what you're stressing over here."
"Looking at your spending habits, I can tell your life is exhausting. You probably only buy dish soap, toilet paper, and laundry detergent when they're on sale, right?"
Maxa nodded.
Kai continued, "How much do you save in a year? €100? €200?"
Maxa replied seriously, "Thirty-nine euros."
Kai: "Your clothing discounts save you a few dozen euros. Appliances might save you a few hundred. Buying a car at the right time could save thousands… Human energy is limited."
"Don't stress over small money—spend it freely and live easily. Focus your energy on the big money. That's where it really matters. Understand?"
Maxa suddenly felt enlightened.
Mr. Kai really knows his stuff!
No wonder he calculated everything every day yet saved almost nothing—and still felt miserable whenever he had to spend money.
666!
Rondinella quickly approved the transfer.
After all, €200,000 for a Serie D player was practically a sky-high price.
Aside from rare exceptions, Serie D had never produced such an expensive transfer!
"Hello, Barzagli? I'm the assistant to Sporting Lisbon's head coach, Mr. Trigueira. He's here with me, but his Italian isn't great, so I'll be speaking on his behalf…"
"Yes, the club is interested in your potential… No, no—it's not for the youth team. It's for the first team. In the Portuguese league, you'll get plenty of playing time. Whether you're a starter or part of the rotation will depend on your performance."
"In fact, it was Mr. Zinedine Zidane who mentioned you during discussions with our leadership. He said there's a promising young center-back in Serie D. I'm not sure where he saw you play, but we take his recommendations very seriously."
"After reviewing your profile, we all believe you have the ability to compete in the Portuguese league."
"Do you know Matthäus and Deschamps? They've both just joined us. If you agree, next season you'll be standing behind Matthäus as one of his most reliable supports."
"And you know Matthäus has also played as a center-back—he'll definitely be able to give you valuable guidance."
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