Chapter 323: The Summer Transfer Window Opens, Real Madrid Saving Money to Buy Lin Quan!

Chapter 323: The Summer Transfer Window Opens, Real Madrid Saving Money to Buy Lin Quan!

After the King's celebration banquet, the Spanish team held a traditional parade. The streets of Madrid were already packed with fans from all over the country, all wearing the Spanish national team jerseys, patiently waiting for their heroes to arrive.

At 9:30 in the morning, led by captain Casillas, the entire Spanish team appeared. Casillas, holding the World Cup trophy high, rode on the first bus. Seeing the trophy and the team members, the crowd erupted into applause and cheers. This scene was broadcast live by television stations, reaching households in cities across the country.

The streets, squares, and bars of all major cities in Spain were filled with fans celebrating and rejoicing. The entire country was immersed in a sea of joy!

...

While Madrid was celebrating their second World Cup trophy in history, the European football transfer market was heating up.

This being a World Cup year, many players chose to transfer after the tournament, making the transfer market particularly lively, with numerous rumors about star players.

Despite Lin Quan publicly denying any interest in PSG, transfer rumors about him continued to circulate. Rumor had it that after seeing Lin Quan's World Cup performance, Real Madrid's president, Florentino Pérez, was determined to bring Lin Quan to the Bernabéu. If Lin Quan showed any intention of leaving Manchester City, Real Madrid would immediately start negotiations with City, offering the most sincere bid, reportedly not less than 200 million euros.

Before Manchester City could respond, another La Liga giant, Barcelona, wasn't happy! Joan Laporta, who was about to run for club president, publicly stated:

"Lin is a treasure of La Masia. We will never allow him to go to our arch-rival Real Madrid. If Lin wants to return to La Liga, his next stop must be Barcelona!"

Reporters scoffed at Laporta's remarks. Lin wasn't even a Barcelona player anymore, so how could they control where he transferred? Besides, Lin had clearly expressed grievances with Barcelona, making his return to Camp Nou unlikely without resolving these issues.

Nevertheless, Laporta's comments were well-received by many Barcelona fans. After Spain successfully defended their World Cup title, Lin's outstanding performance made him a favorite among Barça supporters. Young, highly skilled, suited for possession football, and a La Masia graduate—many Barça fans saw Lin as the ideal candidate to lead their team's revival and return to the top of the world.

Barça fans eagerly wished to see Lin and Messi join forces at Camp Nou. However, achieving this goal was extremely difficult. Laporta had good intentions, but his opponent in the presidential race, Bartomeu, would not let him succeed easily.

After Sandro Rosell was imprisoned, Vice President Bartomeu temporarily took over as club president. While many predicted that Barcelona would hold early presidential elections this summer, Bartomeu postponed them to the summer of 2015, showing his unwillingness to relinquish the presidency to Laporta.

Bartomeu brought back Luis Enrique and planned to sign James Rodríguez and Luis Suárez to strengthen Barcelona's squad and aim for the Champions League next season. If Barcelona won the Champions League, Bartomeu could secure more fan support, helping him defeat Laporta in the next summer's election.

Bartomeu's quick actions caught Laporta off guard, rendering his preparations futile. When other clubs hesitated to sign Suárez due to his biting incidents, Barcelona took the risk, signing the Uruguayan for 81 million euros.

Suárez's arrival formed the MSN trio (Messi, Suárez, Neymar) in Barcelona's front line. Although the trio's strength wasn't fully understood yet, they would soon demonstrate their formidable power in the league and Champions League.

Suárez's transfer was the largest deal of the summer so far, making him the temporary king of the transfer market. However, this record wouldn't last long, as James Rodríguez, another World Cup standout, hadn't yet decided on his next club.

More clubs were interested in James Rodríguez than in Suárez, including Real Madrid, Barcelona, Manchester United, and Liverpool. Initially, Real Madrid, James, and Monaco had almost reached an agreement. However, after selling Suárez, Liverpool, worried about their upcoming season, urgently sought to fill the void left by their top scorer.

Liverpool, eager to sign a top player, offered Monaco 85 million euros for James Rodríguez, using the funds from Suárez's transfer. This offer made Monaco halt negotiations with Real Madrid to reconsider. With Lin Quan determined to stay at Manchester City, major clubs seemed to have the funds to buy players.

Although not as strong as Lin, James was a rare young superstar. Such players were always in demand, and Monaco naturally hoped to earn more from his sale. Real Madrid, frustrated by the news, considered James non-essential, especially with plans to buy Lin Quan requiring them to save funds.

Consequently, Real Madrid contemplated withdrawing from the competition. Liverpool could have James, and they would save money for Lin Quan. However, James, preferring Real Madrid over Liverpool, pressured his club to make concessions on the transfer fee to facilitate his move to Madrid.

James's public admiration for Real Madrid endeared him to their fans, who liked his good looks and skills. Winning the World Cup Silver Boot and attracting offers exceeding 80 million euros proved his talent. Even if Real Madrid needed funds for Lin Quan later, they could sell James, ensuring minimal financial loss.

Ultimately, Real Madrid and Monaco agreed on James Rodríguez's transfer for 82 million euros, making him the most expensive transfer of the 2014 summer window, narrowly surpassing Suárez. Following last year's 100 million-pound purchase of Bale, Real Madrid again secured the most expensive transfer.

Meanwhile, Barcelona continued their spending spree after buying Suárez, making several more signings. They bought goalkeeper Claudio Bravo from Real Sociedad for 12 million euros and Marc-André ter Stegen from Borussia Mönchengladbach for the same amount, filling their need for top goalkeepers after Valdés refused to renew his contract and faced an uncertain future.

Additionally, Barcelona signed midfielder Ivan Rakitić from Sevilla for 18 million euros and defenders Thomas Vermaelen from Arsenal for 19 million euros and Jérémy Mathieu from Valencia for 20 million euros. In the final moments of the transfer window, they brought in defender Douglas from São Paulo for 4 million euros.

In total, Barcelona spent 160 million euros this summer, reflecting Bartomeu's ambitions. To finance these purchases, Barcelona also sold several players. Cesc Fàbregas, who had insisted on returning to Barcelona, eventually left for Chelsea for 33 million euros. Alexis Sánchez, losing his starting position to Suárez, was sold to Arsenal for 42.5 million euros. Cristian Tello was loaned to Porto for 3 million euros, and Bojan Krkić, once seen as Messi's successor, was sold to Stoke City for 1.8 million euros.

These sales reduced Barcelona's net expenditure to under 100 million euros. In contrast, Real Madrid sold more players than they bought, including Ángel Di María to Manchester United for 75 million euros, Álvaro Morata to Juventus for 20 million euros, Xabi Alonso to Bayern for 10 million euros, and Nuri Şahin back to Dortmund for 7 million euros. Overall, Real Madrid made a net profit of 30 million euros.

Atlético Madrid also made significant moves this summer, selling Diego Costa and Filipe Luís for 50 million pounds, giving them ample transfer funds. Despite Fernando Torres's return, coach Diego Simeone felt the need to strengthen the forward line after Costa and Villa's departure. Taking advantage of Mario Mandžukić's discord with Bayern coach Guardiola, Simeone bought Mandžukić for 22 million euros and Torino forward Alessio Cerci for 15 million euros. They also signed Granada defender Guilherme Siqueira for 10 million euros and Benfica goalkeeper Jan Oblak for 16 million euros to replace Courtois.

After these transfers, Simeone targeted Real Sociedad's young forward Antoine Griezmann, who scored 21 goals and provided 5 assists in 50 matches last season, catching Simeone's attention with his performance against Barcelona.

Simeone initially offered 20 million euros for Griezmann, but Real Sociedad refused, calling him indispensable. Realizing they needed to increase the offer, Simeone raised it to 25 million euros, which softened Sociedad's stance. Ultimately, Atlético Madrid activated Griezmann's 30 million euro release clause, bringing him to the team.

This summer, Atlético spent 120 million euros on transfers, offset by 95 million euros from player sales, resulting in a net expenditure of 25 million euros. La Liga clubs collectively spent 480 million euros in the transfer market, with the big three—Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Atlético—accounting for 360 million euros, highlighting the league's wealth disparity.

La Liga's 480 million euro transfer expenditure ranked second among the top five European leagues, but was dwarfed by the English Premier League's 1.02 billion euros, almost as much as the other four leagues combined. The Premier League's intense spending was driven by the sudden rise of Manchester City, funded by the Abu Dhabi group, transforming them from a mid-table team to one of the top clubs in a few years.

Threatened by City's rise, other major clubs joined the spending spree to maintain their status. The Premier League's successful marketing and high broadcasting revenue, with mid- and lower-table teams earning around 80 million pounds per season from TV rights alone, gave them the financial backing to spend heavily, leading to an exceptionally fierce transfer market this season.

(End of Chapter)