After celebrating the championship at Camp Nou, Real Madrid returned to Madrid from Barcelona overnight.
The team had no ti to stay because they would soon travel to Prague, Czech Republic, to participate in the European Super Cup against Chelsea, coached by Mourinho.
Gao Shen and Ronaldo would first go to Monaco to attend the UEFA awards ceremony and the Champions League group stage draw, then head to Prague to et up with the team.
This arrangent was troubleso.
In the past, the European Super Cup had been held at the Stade Louis II in Monaco for more than ten years. But this year, the venue was changed to Prague, Czech Republic, which created new inconveniences for Gao Shen and others.
Originally, Gao Shen thought Ronaldo was basically guaranteed to win the Player of the Year award. He could just go alone to give UEFA face. But UEFA negotiated with Real Madrid, and both Platini and Infantino personally called Gao Shen.
Since he had skipped the ceremony several tis before, this ti he was told he had to attend no matter what.
If you win the Champions League, they will give you the Coach of the Year award. It would be inappropriate not to show up.
Florentino also called Gao Shen and persuaded him to go.
In the end, he had no choice but to agree.
The morning after the team returned from Barcelona, after recovery training, a simple ceremony was held at the Bernabéu Stadium to place the Spanish Super Cup trophy in Real Madrid's museum.
This was actually a very ceremonial mont.
Speaking of the Real Madrid museum, there was sothing interesting.
In the history of Real Madrid, the Champions League has always been regarded as the most important trophy. This could be seen from Real Madrid's five consecutive wins in the early years. Therefore, in the trophy display room of the Real Madrid museum, the La Liga trophies could only serve as a backdrop to the Champions League.
The true protagonist in the core position was always the Champions League trophy.
But when Florentino placed the newly won Copa del Rey trophy in a corner, Real Madrid executives, senior managers, players, and the invited dia and fans all applauded enthusiastically.
Florentino then gave a speech, thanking Gao Shen, all the coaches, players, and staff for their efforts on behalf of Real Madrid.
All routine.
But then, Florentino invited Gao Shen over to say a few words.
This had not been planned beforehand. It was purely an improvisation.
Gao Shen glanced at Butragueño from the Public Relations Departnt in surprise, but the Vulture looked innocent, clearly unaware as well.
But who was Gao Shen?
How could he not see that this was a prank by Florentino, Butragueño, and others?
Improvisation?
Who couldn't do that?
Gao Shen imdiately walked up to Florentino with a smile, grabbing the president of Real Madrid who was about to leave. Just as Florentino was stunned, Gao Shen spoke.
"Since the dia and fans are here, I must raise a very serious issue. I want to lodge a complaint against our Real Madrid president, Mr. Florentino Pérez."
Everyone was stunned.
Florentino and Butragueño were also dumbfounded.
Florentino was the first to react. Thinking Gao Shen had been tricked and was angry, he quickly turned back with a smile and tried to smooth things over. His expression seed to say: We can argue in private, but in public we must stay united.
Butragueño also stepped forward imdiately.
Everyone felt nervous and began to sweat.
But Gao Shen turned to face Florentino, looked at him seriously, and asked, "Our trophy display room is too small. Why don't you plan to expand it?"
Everyone froze.
Was this really a complaint?
Against Florentino?
Florentino was left speechless.
He had just played a prank on Gao Shen, and now Gao Shen was getting his revenge.
"Yes, yes, yes. I accept the criticism and will correct it imdiately. Our showroom is indeed too small. There is no space left for trophies."
Everyone burst out laughing.
The two bosses were sparring like gods, but they should at least think about the feelings of the others.
The dia reporters almost cursed aloud. This was so Versailles.
The trophy room was already massive. Was it really not enough?
Well…
So reporters looked around. It did seem a little crowded, especially in the main display area. Eleven Champions League trophies, plus all the league championships. If Gao Shen really did as he promised and won all the titles this season, there truly might not be enough space.
Florentino imdiately stood beside Gao Shen, facing the dia confidently, and said that managent would begin working on an expansion plan as soon as they returned. The museum's trophy room had to be enlarged.
Was this really about the trophy room?
No, it was about Real Madrid's ambition.
Gao Shen laughed and added, "Then we'll have to move quickly. Our team wins trophies very fast."
At that mont, many people present felt that Gao Shen and Florentino, standing before the long row of Real Madrid trophies, looked perfectly in sync. Many reporters took photos on the spot.
These photos would be on the front page the next morning.
…
After the event, Gao Shen stayed at the Bernabéu to attend a eting with Florentino and others.
The transfer market was about to close. If Real Madrid needed anyone, it was not too late to act.
But Gao Shen said he did not want any new players except Alaba.
He was simply too fond of Alaba.
"In fact, our current squad is very strong. After last season's training and developnt, the young players have matured well. Several new signings have also perford excellently. I believe we can achieve great things this season." Gao Shen was full of confidence.
Florentino and the others also shared his optimism.
Since there were no major needs in the transfer market, they shifted their focus to the upcoming Champions League group stage draw.
Thanks to last season's triumph, Real Madrid was now in Pot 2, while Barcelona and Atletico Madrid were in Pot 1.
If Real Madrid was lucky, they could draw Porto and Benfica. If unlucky, they might face Premier League sides or Bayern.
Teams like Benfica and Atletico Madrid had accumulated enough coefficient points through Europa League performances.
Pot 2 was now filled with top sides, including Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain, Napoli, AC Milan, Juventus, and Manchester City. All were strong teams from Europe's top leagues.
Pot 3, however, was tricky. Dortmund and Leverkusen were both in this pot.
Once in Pot 2, theoretically, there was no chance of being drawn into a group of death like last season.
For example, in Pot 4, the strongest side was Real Sociedad from La Liga.
But they had lost Illarrandi, and their overall strength had declined compared to last season.
Other teams like Anderlecht, Copenhagen, and Viktoria Plzen posed little real threat.
Therefore, Gao Shen was actually more worried about Pot 3.
"I absolutely don't believe we'll get Dortmund again this year."
Gao Shen was not afraid of Dortmund. He just did not want to face them, because they were always difficult to deal with.
But he refused to believe they could be drawn together so many tis in a row.
"If it happens again, I'll confront Platini right there on the spot to see if he really wants to kill ."
Gao Shen clearly intended to act like a rogue.
Florentino and the others burst out laughing.
Not to ntion, Gao Shen now had the status and prestige to act like one.
With his current reputation, if he truly clashed with UEFA, Platini would have a major headache.
In fact, from UEFA's perspective, they did not care who won the title.
The Champions League was a place of fa and fortune. Clubs invested heavily, and if UEFA caused trouble, would the club owners tolerate it?
Platini was not untouchable. Many club owners had more influence and stronger connections. If provoked, Platini would be in serious trouble.
For example, Beckenbauer at Bayern Munich or Florentino at Real Madrid.
Not to ntion the powerful backers behind Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain.
On the contrary, owners like Abramovich of Chelsea, who seed like outsiders barging in, were actually very well-behaved.
Besides, if UEFA wanted to target a team, they did not need sothing as transparent as the draw. They could simply arrange for a referee to take charge.
Why had Juventus benefited from favorable refereeing?
If UEFA really did that, who would know?
Even if sothing happened, they could just bla the referee and wash their hands of responsibility.
"If nothing unexpected happens, Ronaldo will win Player of the Year. Our PR departnt should begin preparations to support him." Florentino looked at Butragueño and gave instructions.
The Vulture nodded in agreent.
This was not just about dia hype or inviting celebrities to show support. It also ant contacting dia organizations and national teams with voting rights to secure as many votes as possible.
At the very least, they could not allow rivals to steal votes.
Whether it was the current FIFA Ballon d'Or, or the forr Ballon d'Or and World Player of the Year, the awards were always determined by voting. There was always room for campaigning.
This was why in Gao Shen's previous life, Inter Milan's Sneijder and Bayern's Ribéry could not compete with ssi and Ronaldo.
Even after Ronaldo left Real Madrid, the club concentrated its resources to promote Modric, who had shined at the World Cup, and pushed him to the throne.
Real Madrid had extensive experience in managing the Ballon d'Or and World Player of the Year.
This was also a major attraction for many professional players who aspired to the highest honors.
At the sa ti, winning more awards also reinforced Real Madrid's influence and brand.
To a large extent, the dominance of Real Madrid and Barcelona in European football was built on years of such accumulation.
Even the current Premier League giants, and even Bayern, found it difficult to compete with Real Madrid in this regard.
(To be continued.)
***
For every 200 PS = 1 extra chapter. Support on P/treon to read 30 advanced chapters: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves
(Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)
Reviews
All reviews (0)