Chapter 67: The reaction of major clubs
This game greatly influences the evaluation of Wang Feng by the clubs in the top five leagues. Previously, Wang Feng was a dominant figure in the Belgian Pro League, but most clubs considered the league's level too low to draw conclusions.
Even as Wang Feng led his team on a journey through the Europa League, they felt that besides Schalke 04, Genk didn't face any strong teams, so it couldn't prove much.
Until Wang Feng encountered Liverpool, currently ranked second in the league and undoubtedly of Champions League level, but was still crushed by Wang Feng, who scored four goals, swallowing the bitter pill of defeat.
In this game, Wang Feng's delicate footwork and excellent football intelligence were displayed to the fullest, forcing elite clubs to reassess his abilities.
In England, Manchester United, Arsenal, along with some other clubs, are embroiled in a lengthy dispute with the Football Association over work permit issues.
Manchester United's legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson said in an interview, "We want to seek some special clauses so that English clubs can bring in some outstanding young players from outside the EU. They shouldn't be shut out of the Premier League."
In Germany, traditional powerhouses including Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Werder Bremen, and Schalke 04 have officially submitted offers to Genk, seeking to bring in Wang Feng this summer.
Among them, Bayern Munich is particularly generous, offering a transfer fee of 15 million euros, far surpassing the 8 million euros offered by Paris Saint-Germain last year.
Regarded as the Emperor of Football, Beckenbauer said in an interview, "I have watched Wang Feng's games. He is an exceptionally talented player and will likely become a football superstar. If he can develop in the Bundesliga, it will mark the beginning of a legend."
In Italy, Juventus is in talks with Real Madrid. If everything goes smoothly, French star Zinedine Zidane will leave this summer, thus they have a substantial amount of funds and aim to make a big move in the summer transfer window.
On the list presented to Juventus president Vittorio Giovanelli, there are players like Czech ironman Pavel Nedved, Italian rising star Gianluigi Buffon, Lazio forward Marcelo Salas, as well as Jan Koller and Wang Feng from the Belgian Pro League.
Giovanelli asked his technical director Halil Brendao, "How about Wang Feng? He's been quite hot lately, hasn't he?"
Brendao shrugged, "It's all media hype. I guess Genk spent quite a bit of money on the media to package Wang Feng as a rising star, just to sell him for a good price."
"Players coming from leagues like the Belgian Pro League, which has third-rate standards, can't adapt to the high level of Serie A. I think we can completely ignore him." Brendao hadn't even watched a single game of Wang Feng's; he had discarded all the videos sent by scouts.
Giovanelli, upon hearing this, thought it made some sense, so he crossed out Koller and Wang Feng from the list.
On AC Milan's side, team manager Stuart Quindt, representing president Silvio Berlusconi, discussed with coach Fatih Terim, "Mr. Terim, do we need to bring in Wang Feng? You know him, right? He's the genius teenager from Genk at seventeen."
Terim waved his hand, "We don't need a baby, Mr. Quindt. Serie A isn't a league for kids to play in, let's not joke around." This coach, like Juventus' Brendao, hadn't watched a single game of Wang Feng's.
As for Inter Milan, the situation was completely different. Club president Massimo Moratti, along with coach Hector Cooper and technical director Horacio Bom, discussed summer transfers together.
"Ronaldo has been injured for over a year, and the club couldn't even make it to the Champions League spots this season. The results are just too poor," Moratti said with concern.
"And according to the team doctor's report, Ronaldo's next season appearances can't be guaranteed either. He's very likely to get injured again and be out for the whole season. We must find someone who can replace him."
Bom said, "I think Wang Feng is a good option. The most important thing is that he's very young and less prone to injuries."
Cooper added, "From the videos sent by scouts, I found that Wang Feng is a technically skilled player. The only question now is whether he can adapt to the high level of Serie A matches."
"But I don't think this is a big problem, because Wang Feng is still very young. We have a chance to nurture him into the core of the team in the future."
Moratti nodded and said, "Then let's officially contact Genk and try to buy Wang Feng!"
At Paris Saint-Germain, club president Laurent Pemp said to technical director Desmond Beverly over the phone, "Forget about Wang Feng. We can't get him. Even the prices offered by Lyon and Marseille are higher than ours."
"The club's finances can't afford a price higher than 8 million euros. Originally, we wanted to raise the price to take advantage, but the cunning Belgians unexpectedly refused to sell, it's really regrettable."
"We're shifting our focus to bringing in Ronaldinho. He's also cost-effective, and not many clubs are paying attention to him right now. Let's aim to get him for under 5 million euros."
Beverly said, "Alright, sir. I've basically reached an agreement with Gremio. Next season, Ronaldinho will wear Paris' jersey."
At FC Barcelona, Carlos Rexach, who has always favored Messi, couldn't help but feel torn between sticking with the elusive Messi or buying Wang Feng for development, a dilemma that's truly troubling.
Juan Gaspart, who was just elected president and was a former assistant to the previous president Nunez, successfully defeated Joan Laporta in the competition.
Gaspart finally made a decision, "We at Barcelona cannot abandon our tradition of youth development. Since we already have the cornerstone of the team, we shouldn't think about nurturing other players anymore."
"When Wang Feng truly shines in the top five leagues, we can consider buying him back."
In Real Madrid, club president Florentino Perez said at a high-level meeting, "Wang Feng is good, and he has high commercial value potential to exploit, but he doesn't fit with our current strategy."
"Our top priority this summer is to bring in Zinedine Zidane from Juventus. This is a goal that must be achieved; he's an important piece of the Galacticos project."
Some executives raised concerns about what to do if arch-rivals Barcelona bring in Wang Feng. Florentino smiled and replied, "If that really happens, we'll just directly snatch him away like we did with Figo."
"Barcelona is definitely not a warm-hearted club, full of intrigue and maneuvering. Any superstar can't stay at Barca for long."
"Ronaldo was like that, Figo was like that, Rivaldo was like that, and future stars will be the same." Florentino said confidently."
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