The offer made to Stam was quickly and neatly rejected by Manchester United.
They are not short of money, and Stam has not published the autobiography that annoyed Ferguson. Manchester United failed to achieve good enough results in the Champions League last season. Naturally, Ferguson will not let go of this extremely important central defender, so
Although Atletico Madrid's first offer was US$20 million, it was rejected outright by Ferguson.
After knowing this result, Dick quickly gave up the idea of introducing Stam, especially when he knew that Stam had not published any autobiography. The current target is actually only one Thuram.
And Thuram is now the most realistic target that Dick can take a fancy to.
Soon, Atletico Madrid asked Parma about the price, and the other party quickly responded with the news: "We have no intention of selling Lilian Thuram, he is not for sale to us."
Atletico Madrid was not discouraged. They made their first offer, and the price was directly quoted at 15 million US dollars - you must know that this price is already the highest value for a defender other than Stam's transfer to Manchester United. The Netherlands
The central defender was worth US$19.5 million when he moved to Manchester United two years ago. Before him, there was no defender worth more than US$15 million!
Parma chose to refuse, but a second offer came immediately - US$17 million, plus an additional two million.
Parma continued to refuse, but this time the tone of the refusal was a little wavering: "We don't want to sell Thuram."
According to Dick's instructions, Atletico Madrid made a third offer, this time with an increase of only $1 million to $18 million.
Parma finally said it could talk: "If there is no $25 million, no need to talk!"
"Maybe they wanted to scare us off... The third increase of only one million US dollars probably made them think that we could only come up with so much. Adding two million US dollars, 20 million US dollars, a record-breaking price, look at them
Be tempted or not!"
Dick sneered and said, it is already July 10th, and there is less than half a month left before Atletico Madrid's pre-season training. The transfers of other players have been completed one after another. The Spaniard used Moura.
After adding two million US dollars in exchange for Atletico Madrid's Toni, Dick now has a transfer fee of 24 million US dollars, which is enough for him to have enough gold and dollar shells to defeat Parma's defense.
Sure enough, breaking the record and being close to the record are two different things - when the previous offer was 18 million US dollars, Parma planned to use a higher price to scare away Atletico Madrid, but now it has directly broken Stam's transfer.
Of course they know what it means!
If they hadn't just sold Argentinian striker Crespo to Lazio for a world record price of 52 million US dollars, I'm afraid they would have surrendered directly under the impact of Atletico Madrid's 20 million US dollars...
Parma was silent for a day, but Atletico Madrid's offers continued.
"Twenty-one million dollars, this will be our last offer!"
This quote was the straw that broke the camel's back.
After struggling for a day, Parma said: "Twenty-three million, take it if you want it!"
"Deal!" Atletico Madrid made the decision immediately. This was within their psychological tolerance. Since Dick said that they only need one central defender, there would be no problem even if all the transfer funds were spent.
!
While Atletico Madrid and Parma were fighting, Dick had already arrived in France - Thuram, who had just finished the European Cup, was resting in his hometown.
Dick had informed Thuram's agent before coming, so he easily found Thuram - after this successful European Cup, every member of the French national team has doubled in value, Trey
Zeguet got his wish and moved to Juventus, and Wiltord also moved to Arsenal. It is impossible to say that Thuram is not jealous after seeing such a situation. After all, Parma is only a Serie A team now.
Just a mid-table team...
It's just that Dick seems to have overestimated Atletico Madrid's status in the minds of these stars...
"Mr. Dick, with all due respect, I don't think my transfer from Parma to Atletico Madrid will be a leap in my career... Yes, no big clubs are looking for me, but in Parma
I also often have European competitions to play in, and I once reached the finals of European competitions with Parma. Why should I go to Atletico Madrid? It's just jumping from one mid-table team to another...
…”
Dick sighed in his heart. It is indeed like this. Although Atletico Madrid is still very attractive to some players who are not considered top players, for such players who have reached a certain height, Atletico Madrid history
The glory they have received in the competition is not particularly attractive to them. What they are concerned about is that Atletico Madrid has not won a decent championship for several years. The team management is chaotic and the coach changes like a lantern. It is not a pursuit that they want to pursue.
Honor players want to be where they want to be.
Although Dick's performance in fighting fires last season was not enough to give them enough confidence, so Tristan rejected Atletico Madrid, Trezeguet also rejected Atletico Madrid, and all who could be introduced were Marclay.
It is difficult for real top players to be attracted to players like Rai and Jardel who were unsuccessful in the national team and relatively marginal players like Cruz, Vicente and Camoranesi.
So Dick needs to use practical actions to impress Thuram.
"Well... Lilian, have you heard about Atletico Madrid's situation last season?" Dick thought for a while and asked Thuram.
"I've heard a little about it." Thuram nodded: "We played very poorly at the beginning, but in the last month or two we won consecutive games to avoid relegation, and even won the King's Cup."
"To be precise, after coach Antic was fired in the 32nd round of the league, Mr. President asked me to serve as the interim head coach and gave me the power to control the entire team. Atletico Madrid ushered in the league.
I won six consecutive victories and won the Copa del Rey. Because of these results, Mr. President corrected me before the start of this season and gave me the same power to transform the team... Now the team
The transformation is almost complete. I sold seven or eight players and brought in seven or eight players. I am confident that Atletico Madrid will be on the right track. Yes, everyone can talk nonsense, but when I took office, Atletico Madrid
Seven points behind the relegation zone, there were only six rounds left in the league. Although I entered the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey, my opponent in the semi-finals was a strong team like Barcelona... But I won all eight games in one go and completed the game.
It’s a miracle in everyone’s eyes... I can lead the team to achieve good results under such difficult circumstances. Now that the entire team is built according to my ideas, we can achieve even better results!”
Having said this, Dick looked at Thuram with bright eyes: "Lillian, let me tell you something... I have issued a military order to Mr. Chairman. My contract at Atletico Madrid is for three years. If
If I don’t win the league title within three years, I will resign automatically! I don’t think I will resign, because I am confident that I will be able to bring Atletico Madrid to the top again! Lilian, I am not saying this just for the sake of
To express how great I am, I want to tell you that the next Atletico Madrid will not be as chaotic as the previous two years, because I am the first Atletico Madrid head coach with so much authority, as long as I don’t say anything
, not even Mr. Chairman can sell one of my players! As long as there are no constraints from the club, I have the confidence to win the championship. But now, there is still a vacancy that has not been filled in the team in my mind, and that is
A top central defender. Lilian, you are the talent we need. With you, we will definitely be able to get some decent honors. We did sell a lot of people this season, but we also introduced a lot of people.
Now Parma is very likely to agree to our offer. If you sign, you will become the most expensive central defender now! Our total investment in buying people this summer will be close to 100 million, and the actual investment will be close to 50 million.
Ten million dollars! This proves that we are a very ambitious team, and what about Parma? How many people have been sold in the past few years? Maybe Atletico Madrid's strength and performance are not as good as Parma, but Parma
It is declining, while Atletico Madrid is on an upward trend... You are now twenty-eight years old, and your physical condition has begun to decline. If you waste another year in Parma, how long can you stay in a wealthy club?
Just by coming to Atletico Madrid, you can become a part of a wealthy club with Atletico Madrid!"
Thuram was a little tempted - what Dick said is true. How many people have Parma sold in recent years? They basically sell one or two main players every season, such as Veron and Chiesa.
...Every main player will make Parma a lot of money. However, Parma has slowly changed from a team that can win the Serie A championship and UEFA Cup championship to a mid-range team...
This year Crespo was sold again. Although Parma has also introduced a lot of people, can such top players be encountered casually? Dick said that Parma is gradually declining. This is really not the case.
lie.
The question is, is Atletico Madrid really on the rise? They were almost relegated last season...
"Would a club that can invest nearly 50 million US dollars in the transfer market in a season not be on the rise? Modern football is a game of spending money. Whoever is willing to spend money can achieve better results. Mora
What was Inter Milan like before Moratti took over? They were about to be relegated! Although Moratti spent money incorrectly, Inter Milan still gradually became one of the strong contenders for the Serie A championship. This is the power of money.
!Atletico Madrid has been in a lot of turmoil in the past two years, but has Atletico Madrid spent less money? It’s just that they haven’t spent enough money. It’s because they lack a top coach like me. I will prove it to you.
, the Atletico Madrid I lead is definitely much better than the previous two years!"
Dick said loudly: "Lillian, I can make a private agreement with you... If Atletico Madrid fails to enter the Champions League next season, then as long as a wealthy club comes to poach you, I will never make it difficult! Of course,
This is just a private agreement, I will not disclose it, if you believe me. Atletico Madrid is not short of money. If you agree to join, a three-year contract, and an annual salary of two million US dollars, then it is yours."
Dick showed his utmost sincerity.
Thuram looked at Dick with a smile on his dark face.
"Since you have said so, what else can I say?" Thuram stood up and reached out to Dick: "Mr. Dick, if Parma agrees to Atletico Madrid's offer, then I am willing to join.
Atletico Madrid.”
Dick held his hand and smiled: "Lillian, believe me, you will not be disappointed with today's decision!"
