Chapter 630
Cristiano Ronaldo joins Real Madrid, the entire football world goes crazy
While Chinese football was undergoing sweeping reforms, undercurrents were also swirling in the world of football.
First, in European football, the summer transfer window opens on July 1st.
Spurred by Real Madrid's two consecutive Champions League titles, major clubs have increased their investment and made large-scale recruitment efforts, hoping to stop Real Madrid in next year's Champions League.
Affected by the quantitative easing policies of the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank, currencies of various countries, whether it is the US dollar or the euro, are experiencing a rapid depreciation.
The devaluation of currency not only caused the prices of energy and commodities such as oil, natural gas, steel, aluminum, and copper to soar, but also filled the entire football world with a bubble.
Compared to last year, the transfer spending of major clubs this year is more than 50% higher, with some clubs even doubling their transfer spending.
In previous years, a transfer worth 30 to 40 million was enough to cause a stir in the football world.
However, this year, there have been countless transfers of this caliber, with some even reaching 5000 million or more, which is quite dazzling.
On July 1, just hours after the transfer window opened, Liverpool couldn't wait to announce a major transfer.
Inter Milan's star player and top scorer, Fernando Torres, has joined Liverpool for €6100 million.
Since the Miracle of Istanbul four years ago, Liverpool, which should have been on the path to a revival, has failed to continue its glory.
Not only did they continue to be suppressed by Chelsea and Manchester United in the league, but they also had a very unfortunate run in the Champions League, facing Lin Feng and his team for three consecutive years.
In the past three years, Liverpool's best result in the Champions League was reaching the semi-finals, and their worst result was only reaching the round of 16.
In fact, given Liverpool's strength, if they hadn't been unlucky enough to face strong teams like Real Madrid repeatedly, they could have gone much further in the Champions League.
As the team's lineup gradually ages, captain Gerrard's youth fades, and midfield maestro Xabi Alonso considers leaving.
If Liverpool doesn't bring in a powerful striker to strengthen the team and allow Benitez to lead them on another run, their current resurgence may come to an end.
Looking across the entire football world, there are actually very few top strikers who are currently strong, can be used immediately, and have the intention to transfer.
Torres, who has won the Champions League and proven himself at Inter Milan, is clearly the best choice for Liverpool.
Although the other party's price is indeed a bit high, you get what you pay for. Instead of spending money to buy a young player and gambling on his potential, it's better to spend more money to buy a more capable star player in his prime.
This will allow them to integrate into the team more quickly and improve the team's fighting power.
Moreover, Torres is only 25 years old this year, still very young. As long as he doesn't suffer any major injuries, he can play for Liverpool for at least six or seven years!
A transfer fee of 6000 million is indeed expensive, but if spread over six or seven years, it won't be so expensive.
Liverpool's last-minute transfer shocked the entire football world, especially in the Premier League, causing a huge uproar.
As Liverpool's arch-rivals, Manchester United naturally couldn't stand idly by.
So, just three hours after Liverpool announced Torres' transfer, Manchester United also announced a major transfer on their official website—AC Milan's star player Kaká joined Manchester United for €6700 million!
As expected, the announcement of this news once again caused a sensation throughout the football world.
Moreover, compared to Torres' transfer, Kaká's transfer had a much greater impact and shock.
Although in this timeline, Kaka did not lead his team to win the 2007 Champions League title because of Lin Feng, he also missed out on the Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year awards.
However, his achievements as the sole leader of the team were dazzling enough that he was once considered on par with Lin Feng and Messi.
Even in today's rankings of active players compiled by fans, Kaka is among the top four, second only to Lin Feng and Messi, and on par with Ronaldo.
In terms of personal influence, Kaká far surpasses Torres.
The arrival of such a near-superstar will not only bring about tremendous changes to Manchester United, but may even affect the landscape of the entire Premier League and even the entire European football scene.
After Manchester United officially announced Kaká's signing, many Red Devils fans were overjoyed and cried tears of joy. The sun was shining, the rain had stopped, and they felt like they were back on their feet!
[Guys, am I dreaming? Is it really Kaka?]
[Haha, our attacking trio next season will be Ronaldo + Kaká + Rooney. Even Real Madrid would have to steer clear of that lineup!]
The Glazer family has finally done something good; this transfer is fantastic!
[Waaaaah, has the era of the Red Devils finally arrived? Are we finally free from the fate of being Champions League runners-up?]
In the past two years, Manchester United have reached the Champions League final for two consecutive years, but each time they have fallen to Real Madrid.
The feeling of being given hope, only to have that hope shattered right in front of you, is more agonizing than not making it to the finals.
Manchester United fans really don't want to experience such a defeat again. They've had enough of being used as stepping stones and have an incredibly strong desire for the Red Devils to avenge their defeat in the Champions League and completely crush Real Madrid, Barcelona, and other powerhouses.
Of course, achieving results in the Champions League will have to wait until next year's Champions League concludes, but after the club officially announced the transfer, Manchester United fans immediately found a way to win:
[Haha, Liverpool fans were only happy for three hours before we stole their thunder!]
Those guys were bragging to us about bringing in a world-class striker, but now they're all playing dead and not saying a word!
Liverpool are long gone; it's no longer their era, it's Manchester United's. So they should face reality and give up on that dream!
Just wait, once we win another league title, we'll finally knock them off their throne!
After winning the Premier League title in the 08-09 season, Manchester United's total number of league titles has reached 18, equaling the record set by Liverpool in the last century.
Manchester United are now just one trophy away from overtaking Liverpool to become the team with the most top-flight league titles in English football history!
After taking charge of Manchester United, Ferguson vowed to knock Liverpool off their throne.
Now, they are just one step away from achieving this goal!
The transfer window has just opened, and the two Premier League giants have already started spending lavishly.
Their bold moves naturally alerted the top clubs. Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Bayern Munich, among others, took action and joined the arms race.
On July 5, Barcelona announced a major signing on the club's official website – signing Paris Saint-Germain's star player Zlatan Ibrahimovic for €66 million.
Two days later, Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich officially announced two major signings in one go—signing Real Madrid's right winger Arjen Robben from Real Madrid for 4500 million euros and bringing home Stuttgart's star striker Mario Gomez for 3000 million euros.
Unlike the transfer announcements made by the Premier League giants, Barcelona's transfer not only failed to gain external approval but also faced widespread skepticism.
Ibrahimovic's performance at PSG has indeed been impressive. After proving his ability in Serie A, he has now proven himself in Ligue 1.
However, Barcelona's attacking line is not weak. Although Eto'o's performance in the Champions League semi-final was average, his performance in the league and Champions League last season was quite remarkable.
Is replacing him with Ibrahimovic really a wise choice for Barcelona?
Moreover, signing Ibrahimovic cost so much money; with that much money, they could have bought a superstar of Kaka's caliber.
These days, Ligue 1 still has a very low profile, and because of the lack of a dominant team like Paris Saint-Germain, its exposure is even lower than it was more than a decade later.
Ibrahimovic did receive a lot of attention when he was at Juventus.
But after the Calciopoli scandal broke out, he left Serie A and moved to Ligue 1, and his public profile plummeted.
Although Ibrahimovic has always claimed to be the best in the world and is not convinced by anyone.
However, the outside world clearly does not agree with this view, so many people feel that Barcelona was ripped off and that the 6600 million euros was a huge waste.
Although Kaká may not be a good fit for Barcelona's tactical system and Barcelona is unlikely to sign him, is Ibrahimovic a player of the same caliber as Kaká?
What makes him worth 6600 million?
Compared to the criticism of Barcelona's transfers, Bayern's two transfers did not cause any conflicts, and at least Bayern fans were quite satisfied with them.
Although Robben's price was a bit high, his performance in the second half of La Liga, as well as in the Champions League semi-finals and finals, was indeed outstanding.
Bayern Munich's acquisition of Robben greatly strengthened their already formidable flanks, allowing their two-pronged attacking tactics to take full shape.
In the new season, Bayern Munich has Ribery on the left, Robben on the right, a sharpshooter like Klose in the middle, a tall center forward like Gomez on the bench, and a shadow striker like Müller lurking behind them.
It can be said that Bayern's attacking line has been fully upgraded. If their midfield is strong enough to continuously supply ammunition to the forwards, then Bayern will probably be unstoppable in the new season, and even Real Madrid will have to back down.
With Manchester United, Barcelona, and Bayern Munich all making big moves, Real Madrid naturally couldn't remain indifferent.
On July 7 and July 11, Real Madrid officially announced two transactions on the club's website.
They first signed Tottenham's attacking midfielder Modric for €3000 million, and then brought Liverpool's midfielder Xabi Alonso to the Bernabéu for €3500 million.
The signing of Modric was intended to provide a backup for Lin Feng. At the end of last season's league, Real Madrid suffered a three-game losing streak due to Lin Feng's absence, which was a significant loss.
To prevent this from happening, they had to prepare a backup plan for Lin Feng in advance.
Modric's progress since joining Tottenham has been remarkable, and Real Madrid sees him as a great investment. Signing him would allow them to develop him as Lin Feng's assistant, and it would also be a potential investment. If all else fails, they could sell him.
Unlike other top clubs, Real Madrid is in a class of its own among the top five leagues. Even players they discard are highly sought after by other top clubs, so there is no situation where they can't sell them and end up with unsold players.
As for Xabi Alonso, he was also someone Real Madrid had long been eyeing.
Signing him would not only strengthen Real Madrid's midfield, but also shift the organization of the attack to the backfield, further unleashing Lin Feng's attacking power and making up for the lack of firepower in the forward line.
Mourinho is actually not very satisfied with Real Madrid's current strikers. Whether it's Benzema, Higuain, Huntelaar, or Raul, they all have one problem or another.
Before Van Nistelrooy got injured, he was a very useful sharp weapon, but unfortunately his performance dropped drastically after the injury.
Given the player's age, Real Madrid was unwilling to place their hopes on such an aging player, so they chose to let him leave.
Although Real Madrid has a strong commercial focus, it still retains basic human touch.
Considering Van Nistelrooy's significant contributions to Real Madrid during his three years there, Real Madrid is willing to forgo the transfer fee and release him as a free agent, provided he can find a new club to join them.
In this case, Van Nistelrooy will have a better chance when negotiating contracts with new teams and may be able to get a good retirement contract.
If he really can't find another club, Real Madrid won't terminate his contract. Although they can't guarantee his playing time, they will still pay his salary as usual.
Compared to last season, Real Madrid's transfer activity this summer has been relatively restrained.
With their forward line already quite crowded, Real Madrid's transfer targets for the new season have focused on the midfield and defense. Along with Xabi Alonso, who returned to La Liga from Liverpool, is Real Madrid's former youth academy player, right-back Arbeloa.
His transfer fee was very cheap, only 400 million euros, which is practically free for a powerhouse like Real Madrid.
These transfers were all relatively small in amount, and the players they brought in were all very strong.
Apart from Arbeloa being slightly inferior, Modric and Xabi Alonso are both players who have proven themselves in the Premier League.
Especially Xabi Alonso, who not only won the Champions League with Liverpool but is also a key midfielder for the Spanish national team, has filled Real Madrid fans with anticipation for the team's strength in the new season.
However, compared to big-money transfers exceeding 5000 million euros by clubs like Manchester United, Liverpool, and Barcelona, Real Madrid seems a bit too weak in terms of hype, somewhat unworthy of their super-club status.
Sigh, I always feel like Galactica II is lacking something. I kind of miss the Galactica of the Florentino era!
Yes, in Real Madrid's current squad, apart from Lin Feng, the other players do lack star power.
[If only we had acted sooner and snatched Kaká from Manchester United! Kaká is incredibly talented, handsome, and has star quality—he's practically a dream come true for Real Madrid!]
Kaka is indeed good, but doesn't his position overlap a bit too much with Lin Feng's? We can't just buy him to be Lin Feng's substitute, can we?
[To be honest, our midfield is strong enough, but we're desperately lacking star players up front. What are Benzema and Higuain anyway? They have no reputation, no ability, and their transfer fees aren't even high. They're completely unworthy of our status as a top club!]
Listen to this, is this even human language?
Real Madrid fans actually consider his relatively low transfer fee a drawback, proving they are the most discerning fans on the planet!
Seemingly aware of what their fans were thinking, Real Madrid didn't keep them waiting too long.
On July 27, a transfer announcement that shocked the world was published on Real Madrid's official website:
Cristiano Ronaldo, Manchester United's star player and currently ranked third in the world of football, has joined Real Madrid for €9600 million! (End of Chapter)