Florentino and his delegation spent three days in Leeds and signed a cooperation agreement with a high-profile company.
The agreement essentially finalized that the two parties would begin cooperating from the start of the new season, with Gao Shen taking full charge of many matters concerning Real Madrid's first team, including the appointment and dismissal of the head coach.
It could be said that after signing this agreement, Gao Shen would have absolute control over Real Madrid's sporting affairs.
Additionally, Gao Shen would use the summer break to renovate and upgrade the hardware and software facilities at Real Madrid's training base.
Of course, all of these would incur additional charges, depending on the terms of the cooperation.
When the announcement was made, Gao Shen was appointed as Real Madrid's technical director, overseeing the team's sporting operations. However, his authority was much greater than that of Valdano before him. He would report directly to Florentino Pérez and be on equal footing with CEO José Sánchez.
Real Madrid would also make corresponding adjustments to the club's management structure.
This marked a clear signal that the head coach-centered competitive system that had existed during the Gao Shen era had been dismantled. From now on, the core figure would be Gao Shen as technical director, and the head coach would become subordinate to him.
Florentino was feeling anxious, as it was already March, and there was not much time left before the end of the league. He hoped Gao Shen and his team could finalize Real Madrid's plan for the new season as soon as possible.
At the same time, he also instructed Gao Shen to expedite the process of sending personnel to Madrid to complete follow-up negotiations and sign the contract quickly.
He was desperate for Gao Shen's help in stabilizing morale within the club.
Su Qing had always been in charge of this matter, and Gao Shen trusted her to handle it.
Incidentally, Gao Shen specifically inquired with Florentino Pérez and José Sánchez about Real Madrid's transfer budget this summer and their direction in the market.
Florentino Pérez was very clear that Mbappé was the superstar the club most wanted to sign, especially after his outstanding performance at Leeds United this season. Mbappé was the most promising young superstar in world football, and Real Madrid absolutely did not want to miss out.
Gao Shen directly told Florentino that anyone could take Mbappé away, as long as they could pay 250 million euros and persuade him to leave.
This was an agreement between Gao Shen and Mbappé made the previous year.
In terms of character, Gao Shen was far better than Tottenham's Levy. He had always been a man of his word.
Florentino, however, was not fully satisfied with just Mbappé. He wanted to bring in another superstar.
Di María and Benzema were no longer young. Ramos on the back line was also aging. Even Nacho, who had once been considered a young player, was now 29 years old.
It could be said that Real Madrid was facing a serious generational transition, requiring experts to help resolve the potential issues during this phase.
When it came to transfer fees, Florentino Pérez was quite generous, stating that Real Madrid wanted the best.
One of the main reasons why Real Madrid's president had such strong financial backing was the wealth accumulated over the past few seasons.
During Gao Shen's coaching tenure, Real Madrid achieved excellent results year after year and had consistently been the highest-revenue club in European football. Yet surprisingly, Real Madrid was able to break even each year and always maintained a modest profit.
Real Madrid had been debt-free for five consecutive years, which was a rarity in European football.
Starting in the summer of 2018, Real Madrid officially began renovations at the Bernabéu. Numerous banks were eager to provide funds at incredibly low interest rates and with long repayment periods.
Therefore, Gao Shen had no doubts about Real Madrid's current financial strength.
"Superstar, young, and with potential. That's what I require," Florentino said with a smile.
But at the end, he added, "I think the players at Leeds United are really good."
Gao Shen gave a wry smile. "You can't just keep fleecing one company like crazy, or you'll end up bald!"
Florentino's idea probably wasn't a stroke of genius.
With the signing of Mbappé, Real Madrid would undoubtedly build the team around him. Signing more Leeds United players would allow them to better cooperate with Mbappé and avoid any compatibility issues.
For example, Ousmane Dembélé, the French winger, was not only Mbappé's teammate at Leeds United, but also a teammate in the French national team. More importantly, he was a two-footed player, proficient with both feet, and clearly maxed out in terms of talent.
To put it more professionally, apart from his love of playing video games, he didn't have any major flaws.
However, his market value was certainly over 100 million euros.
This was the market price for top-tier young talent nowadays.
Many might find it outrageous, but Mbappé was only 19 years old. If he played for Real Madrid, he could easily stay for over a decade. Even if he cost 250 million euros, the yearly cost averaged out wasn't too high.
Ousmane Dembélé was only 22 and could play for another 10 years. Spending over 100 million euros on him meant a little over 10 million per year, which seemed like a great deal no matter how you looked at it.
This was the current trend in European football transfers. The younger and more talented the player, the higher the price they could command.
Of course, there were also top stars like Cristiano Ronaldo, Toni Kroos, and Luka Modrić, who were rare finds. They were usually very expensive, and once one hit the transfer market, it would definitely cause a sensation.
For example, Kevin De Bruyne, Manchester City's current midfield core, or Eden Hazard, the Belgian winger, both would certainly command transfer fees in the range of 100 to 200 million euros.
Of course, if the player was in the final year of their contract, it was another matter. But these days, clubs were sharp. They rarely waited until the last year. As soon as they sensed something was off, they acted quickly.
...
After sending off Florentino and his group, Gao Shen called his former assistants one by one.
Carlo, Buenaventura, Pintus, and Lopis were currently unemployed. Gao Shen had already contacted them by phone, and they all agreed to continue working with him.
As for salaries and benefits, Gao Shen would never let them suffer a loss. They didn't even bring it up.
Analyst Carlos Vargas was currently working at Real Madrid, and Gao Shen was considering putting him in charge of this matter.
After Gao Shen took over as technical director, the Real Madrid head coach became his subordinate. However, the head coach still needed to be able to stand on his own, so they had to find a suitable candidate.
As Gao Shen began preparing to assemble his Real Madrid team, Nasser also brought Paris Saint-Germain's top management to Leeds.
The European football world might be large, but it was also very small.
Do you remember when Gao Shen left Real Madrid in 2006 and nearly took over at Juventus, who had just been relegated to Serie B? The person who strongly advocated for Gao Shen at the time was Jean-Claude Blanc, then CEO of Juventus.
Later, when Gao Shen led Napoli to rise, Blanc made multiple attempts to lure him to Juventus. Even when Gao Shen left Napoli in 2009, Blanc invited him again.
Years had passed, and surprisingly, Blanc was now the CEO of Paris Saint-Germain.
Blanc had held this position since 2011, when PSG was acquired.
As head coach and CEO, the two had not had much interaction over the years.
After so many years, their reunion was emotional.
"After we got back, every time I mentioned our conversation, he kept saying, 'You must believe in him. You must believe in him!'" Nasser said with a laugh as he watched Gao Shen and Blanc embrace.
He hadn't known about the history between Blanc and Gao Shen. If he had, he would have definitely brought Blanc along earlier.
Just like with Florentino and his group, Gao Shen took Nasser and Blanc to visit the AXA Centre and the University of Leeds. Like Florentino's group, they were amazed by what they saw.
Blanc was the most surprised of all. He never expected the young man from back then to not only become one of the world's top coaches, but also achieve such incredible progress in his football career.
But after visiting those places, they understood why Leeds United had developed so many outstanding talents and achieved such brilliant results under Gao Shen, and why Gao Shen's coaching record was so exceptional.
This was exactly what Paris Saint-Germain currently lacked the most.
After the tour, both sides entered formal negotiations. Gao Shen was upfront with Nasser and Blanc, stating that his company had already signed a cooperation agreement with Real Madrid. While it didn't exclude cooperation with other top clubs, the terms were clear.
Gao Shen made his stance known from the beginning. If they could accept it, they could continue discussions. If not, then they could end things here.
Nasser had already guessed from the media coverage of Florentino's visit to Leeds that Gao Shen was involved, but he didn't expect Real Madrid to move so quickly.
Originally, PSG had wanted to offer a higher fee to secure an exclusive agreement with Gao Shen.
Now, it was clearly too late.
Nasser couldn't hide his disappointment. A head coach like Gao Shen undoubtedly had a world-class team. If they could serve PSG exclusively, the club would surely rise.
Gao Shen already had a general understanding of PSG's situation. He had inquired about it from several sources, but before a contract was signed, he wouldn't express any opinions.
Nasser then excused himself and left Blanc alone for a while, clearly to discuss the matter privately.
About ten minutes later, they returned.
"While we would love for you and your team to serve us, we can't change what's already happened. I just want to know, do you have the confidence to lead your team and manage both Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain?"
Gao Shen smiled and nodded. "You don't need to worry about that. My position at Real Madrid is technical director, and I won't be coaching personally."
It was unrealistic for Gao Shen to coach two teams at the same time.
But as a technical director, it was feasible to work with both clubs.
Nasser and Blanc exchanged glances and nodded. Nasser then stood up and solemnly extended his hand to Gao Shen.
"On behalf of Paris Saint-Germain, I welcome you and your team."
Gao Shen stood up and shook hands with Nasser.
The matter was now settled.
(To be continued.)