Chapter 235: Barcelona's Target

Chapter 235: Barcelona's Target

After returning to Udine from Berlin, Bruno spent the next two days immersed in post-championship celebrations, participating in various events organized by the club, fans, and sponsors, which he found quite unusual.

Finally, when the team disbanded and everyone began their rare vacation, Bruno immediately flew back to Portugal to join the national team. Although the 2014-2015 club season had ended, national team duties were still ongoing. Bruno had two more matches: a European Championship qualifier against Armenia on June 13 and a friendly against Italy in Geneva, Switzerland.

Upon joining the national team, Bruno was warmly congratulated by his teammates, especially Real Madrid players Ronaldo, Pepe, and Coentrão, who praised his outstanding performance in the Champions League semifinal against Barcelona. Ronaldo, in particular, admired Bruno for matching his single-season record of 17 goals in the Champions League.

Bruno could sense that Ronaldo's congratulations were heartfelt. This mutual respect stemmed from shared achievements; only those who had reached such heights understood the difficulties involved. Additionally, Ronaldo valued Bruno highly because they were teammates on the national team and close partners. Over the past season, they had been each other's best assist providers, enhancing both their performances and Portugal's national team results, fueling hopes for success in the European Championship and the World Cup.

Moreover, they shared the same agent, which further strengthened their bond.

After three days of training, the Portuguese team flew to Armenia. Facing Armenia, with Dortmund's Mkhitaryan as their midfield maestro, was no easy task. Following a hard-fought match, Portugal won 4-2, with Ronaldo scoring a hat-trick and Bruno adding a goal and two assists, matching Ronaldo's impressive performance.

After the Armenia match, the Portuguese team flew directly to Geneva, Switzerland, to face Italy in a friendly on June 16. Historically, Italy had been a tough opponent for Portugal, with only 4 wins in 24 encounters and 18 losses. Their last victory dated back to three days before Christmas in 1976, long before any current Portuguese players were born, and when coach Santos was a 21-year-old defender.

In this match, with captain Ronaldo on an early vacation, Eder, Quaresma, and Varela led the attack, with Bruno anchoring the midfield. After a dull match, Portugal narrowly defeated Italy 1-0, ending a 39-year winless streak against them. The lone goal came in the 52nd minute, with Bruno distributing the ball to the left, Eliseu dribbling past two defenders, and Quaresma delivering a trademark outside-foot cross for Eder to finish.

With these matches, Bruno completed all his commitments for the 2014-2015 season and could finally start his vacation. Throughout the season, Bruno played 51 matches for Udinese, scoring 49 goals and providing 32 assists. For the Portuguese national team, he played five European Championship qualifiers and three friendlies, scoring eight goals and assisting seven.

In total, Bruno played 59 matches in the 2014-2015 season, scoring 57 goals and providing 39 assists. In terms of goals, he was only behind Ronaldo, who scored 66 goals in 60 matches, and Messi, who scored 62 goals in 61 matches. However, Bruno led in assists, with 39, surpassing Ronaldo's 22 and Messi's 32.

Bruno, Ronaldo, and Messi's stats were significantly ahead of other players worldwide. Bruno directly contributed to 96 goals, Ronaldo to 88, and Messi to 94. Consequently, many Italian media outlets have started referring to Bruno as the third alongside Messi and Ronaldo, potentially breaking their seven-year dominance over the Ballon d'Or.

Given Bruno's extraordinary performance, as the summer transfer window approached, reports about his potential move away from Udinese flooded in. Everyone knew that Udinese couldn't hold onto him with his current level of play and global influence. Almost every major European club, including financially constrained teams like Juventus, AC Milan, Inter Milan, and Bayern Munich, were rumored to be interested.

After leading Udinese to a Serie A and Champions League double, Bruno's market value surged to 90 million euros according to the latest German transfer market updates. Considering Bruno was not yet 21, everyone knew that his transfer would set a new record in international football.

Realistically, only a few clubs could afford Bruno: Manchester City, Manchester United, and Chelsea from the Premier League; Real Madrid and Barcelona from La Liga; and the ultra-rich PSG from Ligue 1. Other clubs like Liverpool, Arsenal, Atletico Madrid, Bayern Munich, and Juventus might be able to scrape together the funds, but such a move would strain their finances significantly.

While speculation about Bruno's transfer was rampant, he enjoyed a leisurely vacation. Having been in this world for almost three years, he had never had a full break. In the summer of 2013, he participated in the Toulon Tournament and the U-20 World Cup with Portugal's youth team, followed by his transfer. Last summer, he didn't join Portugal for the World Cup in Brazil but underwent special training with Udinese's coaching staff, leaving little time for rest. This summer, he finally had a month-long vacation.

After the friendly against Italy in Geneva, Bruno began his holiday, staying at a rented villa by Lake Geneva. Meanwhile, Mendes was busy managing Bruno's transfer.

After losing 3-1 to Udinese in the Champions League semifinal, Bruno had considered leaving Udinese this summer, prompting Mendes to start looking for his next destination. This was one reason behind the recent surge in transfer rumors.

"Barcelona did send an offer, but it's only 100 million euros. Bartomeu is very cautious about this transfer due to Barcelona's financial constraints, but they are genuinely interested in you," Mendes confirmed.

On January 23, 2014, Rosell resigned amid scandals related to Neymar's transfer, with Bartomeu stepping in as Barcelona's 40th president and announcing an early election for the summer of 2015. During his initial tenure, Bartomeu appointed Enrique as coach and brought in key players like Suárez, Rakitić, Bravo, and Ter Stegen, helping Barcelona secure La Liga and Copa del Rey titles. However, FIFA penalized Barcelona for youth transfer violations, and the Neymar transfer scandal continued to plague Bartomeu.

Recently, Bartomeu held an early election and, despite missing a treble, won comfortably by leading Barcelona to La Liga and Copa del Rey titles, defeating Real Madrid. One of Bartomeu's campaign promises was to bring Bruno to Barcelona.

Having been eliminated by Bruno's Udinese in the Champions League semifinal, Barcelona had now gone four years without a final appearance, starkly contrasting their earlier dominance. With Xavi aging and Iniesta's performance declining, Barcelona needed a new midfield maestro to replace Xavi. Neither current starter Rakitić nor substitute Rafinha could fill Xavi's shoes.

Thus, Bartomeu targeted Bruno, who had been Europe's assist king for the past two seasons and led Udinese to Europa League, Serie A, and Champions League titles. Bruno's playmaking and assisting capabilities had been thoroughly tested and proven, rivaling peak Xavi. Moreover, Bruno had superior finishing skills, which even peak Xavi lacked.

Therefore, bringing in Bruno could not only fill Xavi's role but also enhance Barcelona's offensive capabilities.

(End of Chapter)

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