Chapter 722: Turmoil in the Top Five Leagues
Florentino rarely gave a positive response to Wang Feng's departure issue, but it sparked even greater controversy and discussion. Fans found it difficult to accept the reality that the club not only let go of Casillas but also considered letting go of their greatest contributor.
The Chinese superstar, unlike the declining Casillas, was a player who could only go to a second-tier league to compete, although he was getting older, his technical level was there for all to see. His recent achievement of winning all and his bold confrontation with the head referee were evident. He was an absolute thigh.
For a while, the entire European football scene was abuzz. According to media reports, at least ten clubs had made offers to Wang Feng, and they were tirelessly "advising" the Galactic team: "Wang's contract has only one year left, sell him quickly!"
Among them were big clubs like Manchester United, Liverpool, Juventus, Bayern Munich, and Paris Saint-Germain. Paris even offered a sky-high transfer fee of 150 million euros for a player over thirty years old.
They had just brought back Di Maria from Manchester United for 63 million euros, so the club president, Nasser, passionately called out to the Chinese superstar, hoping he would reunite with his old friends at PSG. "We have the strength to dominate Ligue 1 and challenge the top of Europe!"
Faced with the complicated invitations, neither the clubs nor Wang Feng's agent, Balmond, gave further responses. The fans made some noise for a while but gradually quieted down. At least in the next season, they would still be able to see the Chinese superstar galloping at the Bernab��u.
After dealing with the transfers of Illarramendi and Casillas, Khedira also decided not to renew his contract with the Galactic team and joined Juventus as a free agent.
Regarding their own transfer strategy, Real Madrid always adhered to the scientific practice of focusing on cultivating young players and supplementing existing strengths. They first finalized the transfers of promising young players Barrejo and Asensio.
They then sent the two to Zaragoza and Monaco, respectively, for further development, as there was currently no place for them in the first team.
To fill the vacancies left by the departure of two midfielders, the Galactic team brought in Croatian midfielder Kovacic from Inter Milan for 35 million euros and then signed right-back Danilo from Porto for 31.5 million euros.
With some additional reinforcements, Real Madrid's total spending in this summer transfer window was not much, with expenditures of 89.5 million euros and income of 15 million euros.
Barcelona continued to be troubled by the transfer ban this summer. However, they had relied on appeals and other operations last year to delay its implementation, allowing them to bring in stars like James Rodr��guez and planned to do the same this year.
Bartomeu vowed to ensure that the transfer work would proceed smoothly. All his actions were aimed at preparing for the upcoming elections, even if it meant sacrificing the future.
With their recent best results of nearly winning La Liga and reaching the Champions League final for consecutive years, as well as James Rodr��guez's excellent performance last season with 17 goals and 15 assists, the Spaniard successfully became Barcelona's 40th president.
Upon taking office, Bartomeu's transfer work seemed loud but not substantial. They spent 34 million euros to buy Turan from Atletico Madrid and brought back Aleix Vidal from Sevilla for 17 million euros.
However, the departure of 35-year-old Xavi, who joined Al Sadd in the Qatari league as a free agent, sparked dissatisfaction and sadness among many Catalan fans.
Fans felt that the club should at least give the Spanish legend a retirement contract. After all, they had just mocked Real Madrid for not accommodating Casillas, and now a similar situation was happening at their own club, which was truly ironic.
In total, Barcelona spent 51 million euros in the transfer market but only earned 48 million euros, resulting in nearly balanced financials. It didn't look like a club that wanted to stage a comeback.
On the one hand, it was because the team's finances were difficult, with several levers left by the previous administration needing to be resolved. On the other hand, Bartomeu didn't want to follow in the footsteps of Laporta and Rosell, choosing to temporarily avoid competing head-on with Real Madrid. He didn't believe the Galactic team could dominate for much longer.
Atletico Madrid also spent heavily on transfers this summer, aiming to further advance after their excellent performance of putting pressure on Barcelona and closely following Real Madrid.
They spent 35 million euros to bring in Martinez from Porto, 25 million euros to bring back Savic from Fiorentina, 20 million euros to buy Carrasco from Monaco, and 20 million euros to buy Vietto from Villarreal.
In addition to Felipe Luis, Mensah, and Kranevitter, the Mattress Makers spent nearly 139.5 million euros, making them the highest-spending team in La Liga in the summer window.
Of course, don't think they were more extravagant than Real Madrid and Barcelona, because Atletico's transfer income also reached 104 million euros, with a large number of talents leaving, forcing them to buy from all over the world.
For example, Turan went to Barcelona, Mandzukic went to Juventus, Alderweireld transferred to Tottenham, and so on.
This situation undoubtedly increased the difficulty of Simeone's coaching. He must quickly unite the new players to have a chance to compete with the "El Cl��sico" duo.
Valencia, which returned to the Champions League after many years, was undoubtedly the richest team in La Liga this summer. As soon as the transfer market opened, they poured over 100 million euros into it, ultimately spending as much as 137 million euros, with only 50.1 million euros in income, resulting in a net investment of nearly 100 million euros.
This included bringing back Rodrigo from Benfica for 30 million euros, acquiring Negredo from Manchester City for 28 million euros, and signing Abdennour from Monaco for 20 million euros, among others.
All their transfers were very scientific and targeted. It seemed they were ambitious to regain the glory of the former bat legion.
In the Premier League, Manchester United undoubtedly needed a complete rebuild. Ferguson's retirement had a far-reaching impact that was deeper than anyone had imagined.
Finishing seventh and then fourth in two seasons, barely regaining a spot in the Champions League qualifiers, was a far cry from the glory days of the three consecutive championships.
Desperate times called for desperate measures, and they spent ��36 million to sign 19-year-old French forward Anthony Martial from Monaco, making him the most expensive player under 20.
If you counted the additional clauses in the contract, such as winning the Premier League Golden Boot, European Golden Boy, and Ballon d'Or, Martial's total value could reach a staggering ��58 million, close to 80 million euros.
Many fans and experts were puzzled. Although player prices had been skyrocketing in recent years, was it really appropriate to spend ��80 million on an unknown kid?
Manchester City, on the other hand, continued to adhere to their principle of spending without hesitation. They brought back Sterling from Liverpool for ��49 million and signed Argentine international Otamendi from Valencia for ��32 million.
However, despite their usual keen interest in Wang Feng, the Blue Moon this time did not follow suit with any bidding news, which inevitably raised some doubts. Did they completely give up on the Chinese superstar and decide to build the team around Ronaldo?
In the past two years, the Portuguese had brought Manchester City a league title and reached the Champions League semi-finals, but last season, they were second to Chelsea in the league, and they were eliminated early in the round of 16 of the Champions League by Barcelona, which left the ambitious Blue Moon fans unsatisfied.
In the Bundesliga, Bayern Munich showed great ambition in the transfer market, investing nearly �100 million in total. They continuously brought in players like Arturo Vidal from Juventus, Douglas Costa from Shakhtar Donetsk, and Joshua Kimmich from Stuttgart.
Juventus in Serie A continued to make the biggest moves among all clubs, consistently signing young talents like Dybala and Sandro.
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