The Smooth and Rough Transfer Window
The grand World Cup has come to an end, and various European clubs in the football world have begun to prepare for the summer transfer window with enthusiasm. The media's focus has also shifted to the changes in the teams.
Real Madrid's top priority is to finalize the successor for the goalkeeper position. Florentino is unwilling to wait any longer, but whether it's negotiating with Chelsea for Courtois' transfer or with Manchester United for De Gea's transfer, both situations have reached a complete deadlock.
With no other choice, Navas becomes the only and most suitable option.
The Costa Rican continued his high-level performance in the summer, conceding only 2 goals in the group stage and securing the top spot ahead of Uruguay, Italy, and England.
Winning against Greece in the Round of 16 through a penalty shootout and narrowly losing to the Netherlands in the quarter-finals through another penalty shootout, Navas made significant contributions to achieving the best historical result for the national team in the World Cup.
If there were any regrets, it would probably be that the Costa Rican goalkeeper is already 28 years old, and his peak period may not last much longer. The Galacticos will soon need to find a new goalkeeper.
However, the transition is still very cost-effective. Navas is considered a late bloomer, and his background in domestic league youth training programs has not gained much recognition in European football. After years of experience with mid-table teams in La Liga and Segunda Division, he finally garnered attention.
Furthermore, Real Madrid only spent 10 million euros to bring him back from Levante to the Bernabeu, a very cost-effective deal.
Casillas was the first to welcome Navas' arrival, maintaining an optimistic and generous attitude in front of the public regardless of his inner thoughts.
In reality, he had many concerns. His declining form was a real issue, and the arrival of new signings would surely squeeze his playing time. However, compared to Courtois and De Gea, the competition pressure from Navas is relatively smaller.
The former substitute goalkeeper, Diego Lopez, did not wait for his chance to become the starter and chose to leave after his contract expired, joining AC Milan on a free transfer.
The transfer of Di Maria was also quickly finalized. He moved to Manchester United for a fee of £59.7 million, approximately €68 million, making him the most expensive signing for the Red Devils and the second most expensive signing in the Premier League, second only to Ronaldo's move to Manchester City.
As a key player in the team's consecutive championships, the club naturally spared no effort to hold a farewell ceremony for him. Senior management and team captain Wang Feng were both present, with the Chinese superstar recounting his achievements and saying, "I wish you all the best, my brother!"
The Argentine winger seemed a bit touched. To be honest, he didn't have a good relationship with the Real Madrid higher-ups, but he was very fond of the team's warm atmosphere and cherished the harmonious relationships among teammates.
"It's really unbelievable. I have achieved a lot of glory and forged deep friendships during my time at Real Madrid. Players here grow very quickly as part of the collective."
"I thank all my teammates, especially Wang. He always makes it easy for people to integrate into the team, creating a strong collective while still caring for individuals."
"I don't know what the future holds, but everything I learned at the Galaxy Warship will be useful for my entire career."
In addition to the departure of Di Maria, another midfield general, Xabi Alonso, also entered the transfer process mainly due to the team's need for renewal.
After the 33-year-old Spanish midfielder suffered a major injury last season, the management generally believed that renewing his contract was not economically viable. He himself had no intention of accepting a low-paying security contract, so he eventually joined Bayern Munich for €9 million.
Being able to stay competitive in the top five leagues is a good thing for Alonso. Wang Feng sincerely wished him well but also felt a bit sentimental. There were fewer and fewer old comrades in the team.
No matter how well he bonded with the new players, it seemed that feeling of starting from scratch was no longer there.
"It sounds like a generation gap, haha, you're getting old too," Alonso joked. "Maybe more often, young players will look up to you from an angle of admiration. Is this the price of becoming a legend?"
The vacancy left by Alonso's departure naturally needed to be filled, and Florentino set his sights on the 24-year-old German player, Toni Kroos, who had performed brightly both at the club and in the just-ended World Cup.
After not too long negotiations, the two sides reached an agreement on a transfer fee of €25 million plus a variable €5 million.
This price can be said to be very affordable, even somewhat beyond the expectations of the Real Madrid higher-ups, who generally believed that it would take at least €40 million or more to bring back this World Cup-winning midfielder to the Bernabeu.
Many fans and pundits believe that Bayern should not have let Kroos go so easily. Legend Matthaus even said, "Now there is no one in Bayern who can match his level. The management will definitely regret what happened today!"
The main reason for this situation is that the management, led by CEO Rummenigge, underestimated Kroos and even bluntly stated when he asked for a raise, "We won't pay you so much salary because you are not a world-class superstar."
This statement deeply hurt the German's heart, especially when the new signing Gotze was paid a higher salary than him.
Upon learning of Real Madrid's interest in him, Kroos eagerly responded without hesitation. Since you say I'm not a world-class superstar, then I'll go to the best club in the world and become a mainstay to win honors and show you!
It is precisely this two-way effort that made Kroos' transfer exceptionally smooth.
Of course, Real Madrid also had its setbacks. If you ask which player was the hottest in this summer window, undoubtedly it is the Colombian star, James Rodriguez.
With 6 goals, he won the Golden Boot Award, outshining Muller, and helped Colombia make history by reaching the quarter-finals.
At the age of 23, James became the next core and undisputed candidate in the hearts of many top clubs, standing shoulder to shoulder with Ronaldo and Messi is not a fantasy.
Especially with his impressive performance at the club level last season, contributing excellent statistics of 10 goals and 12 assists for Monaco.
This achievement shows that James is not just a pure striker but tends to be an attacking midfielder role.
Real Madrid showed strong interest first, and since he had transferred to Monaco for €45 million just a year ago, offering €70 million to the Ligue 1 club was by no means a loss.
However, Monaco remained ambiguous throughout the negotiations, and Real Madrid's offer even increased to €80 million, but they still failed to get the green light, and the negotiations were at a stalemate.
Just as Florentino planned to further negotiate, the media suddenly burst out with news that James had joined Barcelona for a high price of €90 million! Monaco had negotiated with more than one club, using their name to raise prices, until they reached a satisfactory result. In just a year, they earned double the profit!
And Catalonia's team not only needed to pay a large amount of salary for Suarez but also could offer such a high price. How did they manage to do that?
The answer is still the same: bundling and selling players who seem less important, as well as starting high leverage.
Bartomeu is even more ruthless, almost mortgaging Barcelona's future for more than a decade. He doesn't care about how the club will be in the future but only wants to strengthen the team now and secure his position.
With a huge amount of funds, Barcelona not only snatched James from Real Madrid but also brought in Mathieu from Valencia for €20 million, Rakitic from Sevilla for €18 million, and Bravo from Real Sociedad for €12 million.
Throughout the summer window, they spent a total of €175 million, while their income was only €80 million.