Seeds of Success

In English football, traditionally, there are only three clubs that have truly dominated: Manchester United, Liverpool, and Arsenal. Other teams, like Everton and Tottenham, carry weight in the football scene but certainly don't qualify as giants. As for Chelsea, they weren't even considered a traditional powerhouse before the year 2000.

Aldrich was on the lookout for influential figures in modern football. Arsenal was too busy dealing with its own problems; Housten, who had taken over midway through the last season, was already gone, replaced by Bruce Rioch. As for Liverpool, Aldrich had no connections with their coach, Roy Evans. Moreover, his attempts to recruit three players from Liverpool's youth team had been intentionally leaked by Gerrard. It was clear that Liverpool would not welcome Aldrich's visit.

That left only one respected figure: Sir Alex Ferguson, the Manchester United manager, who was about to enter his tenth year in charge.

When Aldrich called Ferguson and quickly explained the situation, Ferguson agreed without hesitation and proceeded to engage Aldrich in a discussion about Andriy Shevchenko.

Although the transfer had not been finalized, and Manchester United could potentially swoop in, Aldrich did not believe Ferguson would pay nearly two million pounds directly for a player that Manchester United had not scouted. Even though Aldrich's team had many valuable talents, misjudging potential is all too common in football. Even the most astute coaches can sometimes fail to develop promising recruits.

As for the reward for completing this deal, the astute Ferguson did not bring it up. They both understood each other well; Aldrich owed Ferguson a favor, and one day Manchester United would likely need Aldrich to make a concession.

With Ferguson's backing, Aldrich was no longer worried about Shevchenko's transfer.

Aldrich had originally planned to pause the transfer, but after receiving a phone call from Andrew in early July, he quickly became busy again.

In the hotel where the team was training, Aldrich pushed open the meeting room door, gently closed it, and walked slowly to the table where Andrew sat waiting.

"Is it true? Does the whole family agree?"

Aldrich kept his voice low; legally, this could potentially be a violation. While the consequences might not be severe, it would certainly be a massive blow to his reputation.

Andrew, stroking his chin, quietly responded, "Agree? They can't wait to leave the slum! I've been to Brazil, Aldrich, and after witnessing the favelas there, I realized just how lucky the kids in East London truly are. In the Brazilian slums, those kids either become famous footballers and leave or end up as pawns for drug traffickers or gangs. Compared to that, East London is like paradise. Can you imagine how normal it is to be woken up by gunfire at midnight?"

Aldrich had some understanding of the chaos in South America during that time, but since he hadn't experienced it firsthand, he found it hard to comment subjectively.

Unbuttoning his jacket and placing his hands on his hips, Aldrich closed his eyes for a moment before asking, "How much is it going to cost?"

"To get them to the UK will cost £1.05 million. Additionally, providing for their living expenses and job opportunities, I estimate you'll need to invest over £2 million in this family over the next five years. Honestly, Aldrich, I feel this is a bit risky and perhaps not worth it."

Andrew cautiously expressed his thoughts.

Aldrich gasped anxiously.

His mind raced.

£2 million?

Was it worth the risk?

In that Brazilian family, there was a boy named Ronaldo de Assis Moreira.

Or simply: Ronaldinho!

At only fifteen, he had been unexpectedly discovered by Andrew's scouts in Brazil.

After learning about Ronaldinho's family situation, Andrew had the scouts begin probing for contacts.

The family's livelihood depended almost entirely on the mother and the brother, but the money his brother made at Grêmio was hardly worth mentioning. The Brazilian football market was far from the boom it would see a decade or so later; otherwise, there wouldn't be so many Brazilian stars moving to Europe every year. However, around twenty years later, Brazilian stars were more willing to stay at home, where their earnings were at least not much worse than those in Europe.

Their father had passed away, and there was also a sister in the family — this story felt all too familiar; more than half of Brazilian stars had similar tragic childhoods.

Aldrich only wanted Ronaldinho, but that was impossible.

If he wanted to act first, he'd have to bring the whole family to England, excluding the already self-sufficient brother.

"Can the immigration office handle that?"

"Not a problem. Just follow the procedures; it's merely a matter of time for the review process. We'll let the lawyers handle the negotiations."

"Then help me facilitate this. I can't pay you from the club account, but later we can arrange something privately, and I'll give you £2 million. I just need to ensure two things: First, once he moves here, his family's living situation must be stable; things like his sister's school or job, and his mother's arrangements — nothing can go wrong. Second, he needs to join Millwall's youth team. I don't want to go through all this effort just to have him run off with someone else."

After giving it a lot of thought, Aldrich finally made up his mind, feeling a bit of that "no guts, no glory" spirit.

If he hadn't found Ronaldinho, it would be one thing, but if he found him, how could he hesitate?

Even if it meant spending heavily, he had to bring him over.

Andrew stood up, looking grave as he scrutinized Aldrich and asked, "Have you thought this through? This is a £2 million investment!"

If it failed, who wouldn't feel the pain?!

After a moment of silence, Aldrich ultimately gritted his teeth and nodded firmly.

Andrew stopped talking and picked up his phone to get to work.

Facilitating this immigration process was virtually the same as giving money, but it provided safeguards.

The money wouldn't go directly to Ronaldinho. Instead, £1 million would be used to purchase UK bonds that couldn't be redeemed or traded for a designated period.

The rest, including housing and jobs, would be arranged within the UK. What would genuinely be handed to the family were the UK residency papers, a polished identity, along with pre-arranged employment and modest savings.

But for a family living in a slum, this was like a dream come true — escaping the favela and directly stepping into the global metropolis of London was a once-in-a-lifetime leap.

Completing the whole process would take at least six months, and Aldrich wasn't in a rush; Ronaldinho was only fifteen. As long as he secured him, there would be plenty of time for him to develop. Whether the investment would fail depended on if Ronaldinho would forget his roots. If, after turning eighteen, he didn't sign a full professional contract with Millwall and instead went to another club, Aldrich would have to accept it.

From the end of May to the end of June, Aldrich hustled around, swiftly completing his summer signings. By the time the transfer window opened, Millwall officially announced several transfer deals while simultaneously welcoming the entire Villa family to London, with 14-year-old David Villa joining Millwall's youth ranks.

By mid-July, after the Football Association's hearing concluded, the formality of Shevchenko's transfer was also wrapped up.

While other teams were still playing in the transfer market, Aldrich held an official press conference, introducing the new signings while announcing the end of the summer transfer period.

Joe Cole, Ashley Cole, Juan Capdevila, and David Villa all entered Millwall's youth team, while six players were promoted to the first team.

Ivan Elghera, Danny Mills, Rio Ferdinand, Frank Lampard, Andrea Pirlo, and Andriy Shevchenko.

Thus, Millwall's first team for the new season would have a total of 30 players.

While the first-team roster seemed a bit crowded, Aldrich didn't agree. Many players, like Lampard, Ferdinand, and Shevchenko, were still quite young. Getting a season's worth of game time was enough for their development; more wouldn't necessarily be better.

At The Den, the six new first-team recruits donned their new jerseys and showcased their skills. Notably, Pirlo and Shevchenko's talents drew the attention of the reporters present.

It was just a press conference, and Aldrich hadn't intended for it to create too much noise. However, when he expressed satisfaction with this summer's transfer results, he was met with skepticism from the journalists.

For not just all of England but specifically London: Chelsea had brought in the European and World Footballer of the Year, Gullit, while Arsenal had secured Bergkamp from Italy.

How could Millwall, who spent the most money last season, only acquire a bunch of kids?

Even though players like Lampard and Ferdinand, signed from their arch-rivals' youth teams, generated some buzz, who had ever seen Pirlo or Shevchenko play before?

Not to mention Elghera from Spain and Mills from relegated Norwich.

"Failed recruitment?"

Aldrich crossed his arms on the table and smiled as he shook his head in response to the reporters' questions.

What's the point of signing Gullit, the thirty-three-year-old World Footballer of the Year? Is it to run a retirement home?

Aldrich certainly wants Bergkamp, but Arsenal paid over seven million pounds in a record transfer fee!Even if Millwall could afford it, would Bergkamp come? Would he be thrilled to pack his bags just because it was Arsenal inviting him?

When faced with reporters' tough questions, Aldrich just smiled mysteriously and said, "Last summer, I recall The Times described Millwall's summer transfer activity as a disaster! This summer, feel free to write the same; it's no problem. Next year at this time, we'll discuss whether this summer's transfers were a success or a failure."

With that, Aldrich laughed lightly and stood up to leave.

The six new signings exchanged knowing smiles as they watched Aldrich's confident silhouette fade away.

What a leader they had; he truly was something else.