Aldridge was a little puzzled. Looking at player transfers in the future, it seems that many stars will avoid the club when transferring and let their agents deal with it.
But his players seemed to come to him and bring it up.
Probably the factor of Aldridge's youth comes into play, and it's also related to the fact that he usually communicates with players in a gentle manner.
Thuram did not make a fuss, on the contrary, he gave many reasons.
There are many reasons that Aldrich cannot refute.
The mere fact that he wanted to travel to Italy was enough to make Aldrich shut up about trying to keep him.
What's more, from a player's point of view, there is nothing wrong with this. People want to go higher. The Premier League is simply not as good as Serie A. No matter how much Aldridge brags, he can't change this fact. That is simply deceiving himself.
As for Aldridge telling Thuram that Parma's glory is only short-lived and will fall into bankruptcy in a few years, what's the use? It will only make him look like a villain.
"Lillian, I understand that you are ambitious. This proves your professional ambition. It is an honor for me to be able to work with you for two years."
Facing Thuram, Aldridge's response was heartfelt and without any pretense.
Thuram nodded calmly and said: "My experience in England over the past two years has also benefited me a lot."
Working hard in different leagues is good for accumulating experience, and Thuram means it sincerely.
However, he believes that the Premier League lacks challenges.
Here, he would not think that freezing Ginola or Ryan Giggs would make him proud.
He yearns for Italy more. In addition to his own improvement, the opponents are also completely different. Today he faces Batty, tomorrow he faces Signori, the day after tomorrow he faces Baggio, etc. There are many experts in Serie A and their characteristics are rich and colorful.
The new coach of Parma is Carlo Ancelotti. He called Aldridge and hoped that Millwall would not set up obstacles in Thuram's transfer. Some time ago, Aldrich asked for Buffon's reply and the two companies were disappointed.
Communication with the club has temporarily reached a deadlock.
Aldridge said earnestly: "Lillian, if you want to leave, I won't stop you, but I hope you can leave dignity for Millwall."
Thuram was a little confused. He frowned and asked, "Boss, I don't understand what you mean."
Aldridge showed his hands and said: "Two years ago, I bought you for 3 million pounds. Now, Parma wants to take you away for 5 million pounds. Do you think this is fair to Millwall? I think you
If you are a top defender, then you should leave with the worth of a top defender. Don't let Parma underestimate Millwall, and don't let your joining Parma become insignificant. Last year, Barton's transfer to Newcastle United was worth 4 million pounds.
.And you?
How much better do you think he is compared to you? You are the main contributor to Millwall's two championships and one runner-up, and you are the main player of the French national team. You are worth 5 million pounds? I can't accept it. This is not a question of money.
, but dignity. I can’t let the outside world see Millwall doing this transaction, let alone let your departure become a reason for other players to follow suit in the future. Parma wants you. They really regard you as an important member and let them take it.
Being sincere is also a sign of respect for you!"
Thuram was silent for a moment and then nodded in agreement with Aldridge.
Although Thuram could not be retained, at least the two reached an agreement on the transfer operation.
In the following days, Millwall and Parma began to argue over the transfer of Thuram.
Parma wanted to use players for cash, and they originally proposed to use Inzaghi to join the deal. But Inzaghi, who was going to the Atlanta Olympics, did not want to leave Italy. At a young age, Buffon was already the goalkeeper of the Italian Olympic men's football team, and was replaced by the old Marti.
How could Parma easily let go of a player that Nigeria appreciates? The same goes for Cannavaro.
In the end, Parma made a condition of adding Zola to the deal.
To be fair, the striker nicknamed Bantam Tiger is very good and has been at the top of the Serie A scorer list in the past few years. If Gazzola is worth 5 million pounds, the total transaction value will be around 10 million pounds.
However, Aldrich doesn't want Zola. The other party is already 30 years old. Not only does he want to give him a starting position, but he also needs to pay him a high salary. If Aldrich agrees to the deal, he might still lose money.
Thuram did not actively cooperate with Parma's invitation, which forced Parma to finally add more cash to complete the deal. In mid-July, the two parties reached an agreement.
In early July, Millwall officially announced that Solskjaer would join the giant Manchester United for 7 million pounds. A week later, Millwall announced that the team's absolute main right back Thuram would join Italy for 7.5 million pounds.
of Parma.
The new Premier League season will kick off on August 16, but Aldrich found with a headache that his team became fragmented.
The Olympic men's football competition does not end until the beginning of August, and teams like France, which fell in the quarterfinals, only gave their players rest time at the end of July.
Makelele, Pires, Vieira and Trezeguet were all selected for the Olympic team.
Other players such as Helguera, Capdevila, Pirlo, etc. also went to the Olympics.
This put Aldrich's pre-season preparations in a huge dilemma.
What made him even more angry was that Pires and Vieira submitted transfer applications directly to the club on August 1!
Arsenal's offer has been on Aldridge's desk for a long time.
12 million pounds to package two people, Aldridge did not agree.
He was waiting for the reaction of the two players. He had also called the two players before. He tried to retain Pires and Vieira, but the results were not high. The two players had ambiguous attitudes, and it was obvious that they had no intention of telling the truth to Aldrich.
In fact, Aldrich was already prepared.
Pires is different from other players such as Solskjaer, Trezeguet, Schneider, Nedved and so on.
He came to Millwall with pride. He came from a well-known family and came from the famous Clairefontaine youth training camp in France. He is a talented boy with a good reputation. Therefore, he has a kind of arrogance in his heart. If it weren't for Millwall,
After paying a large transfer fee and giving him a high salary to bring him in, he may not have come to Millwall yet. In this way, he has never regarded Millwall as home in his heart.
Especially this summer. Player transfer values are skyrocketing, and the Premier League's maximum salary has been directly raised to a level that makes club owners angry.
Kevin Keegan intercepted him halfway and snatched Shearer from Ferguson and took him to St. James' Park. In addition to a new world transfer record worth of 15 million pounds, he also gave Shearer an unprecedented new record for an English club.
Weekly salary: £34,000.
This caught other clubs off guard, and Aldridge even wanted to rush in and punch Keegan.
Will Millwall be affected?
Of course!
Shearer earns 34,000 pounds a week. How much should Larsson, whose performance is almost the same as him, earn? What about Nedved? What about Makelele? Wait.
This directly led to other teams having to consider raising wages for important stars.
Aldridge's massive wage expenditure, which dominated England two years ago, has become unattractive since this summer.
Ferguson sent Aldridge a text message after Shearer's transfer: You still had the foresight.
Last year, Ferguson secretly laughed at Aldridge for running the club, but when he saw it again this year, he was completely impressed.
Last summer, Aldridge used the excuse of a salary increase to renew the contracts of the players. This made the players' contract status absolutely safe after the implementation of the Bosman Act. Therefore, Millwall can use the Lions in transfer operations.
Big opening.
Because the contracts are still very long, Pires and Vieira have to go all out when they want to transfer.
But they are wrong, absolutely wrong, as long as they can come to Aldridge with their heads held high and say: Boss, I want to go to Arsenal.
Aldrich would only hold on for a while and then let him go.
He doesn't want anyone in his team who is in a bad mood. Pires' pride is something Aldridge cannot blame. Vieira has no starting position and wants to leave, and Aldridge can't keep him. What's more, they are going to Arsenal.
In terms of the environment in London, there is no comparison between Millwall and Arsenal.
Compared with Stam's "repaying a favor", the two people directly broke up and submitted a transfer application to the club. This is fundamentally different from Thuram's face-to-face proposal of transfer intention to Aldrich.
Submitting a transfer application is equivalent to issuing an ultimatum.
Although it cannot be said with absolute certainty that the transfer will be completed, the player's behavior is cutting himself off. Once the transfer is unsuccessful, the player will be ostracized by the team and the fans will no longer support him.
Just like the transfer farce of another super striker this summer, Ronaldo publicly declared in June that he wanted to wear the Barcelona jersey. This made the chairman of PSV Eindhoven in a dilemma. He did not want to let Ronaldo go. Even in front of him
It's an offer of 20 million US dollars, but the fans are already clamoring for the Brazilians to get out. What's even more dramatic is that Barcelona Chairman Nu
Nis does not advocate the introduction of Ronaldo. On the one hand, it feels expensive, and on the other hand, Ronaldo was troubled by injuries last season. His scoring efficiency in the Eredivisie is determined by the overall total attack and defense style of Dutch football. The Netherlands is rich in shooters.
, originated from this, and the person who tried his best to promote the transfer was Nunez's assistant and the famous England coach Bobby Robson who took up his new position at Barcelona.
After these two players' public transfer statements, Arsenal thought they had the initiative, so after the offer of 12 million pounds was sent, there was no movement, waiting for Aldrich to relent.
But Aldridge was really calm and did not say whether the player would stay or leave after rejecting the offer.
It kept wasting, wasting, until Dane couldn't sit still and took the initiative to come to Aldrich's office to ask how the player transfer was going.
Aldridge told the other party in a very calm tone: The money Millwall invested in these two players did not exceed 5 million pounds. Millwall is a small temple, but we also have backbone. The worst is to break up.
For a player who lacks respect for the club, I won't regret putting him in the reserve team for four years, and I will still give him his salary.
If Pires and Vieira could even call Aldridge and say calmly that they wanted to transfer, without any other reason, Aldridge would let them go with a slight concession on the transfer fee.
But he threatened the club with a transfer statement, which is simply humiliating Millwall, and Aldridge will not compromise.
Dane was the first to give in. Arsenal could no longer sink. He directly asked Aldrich how much it would cost to release him.
Aldridge said the price was £20 million.
"12.5 million."
"19.5 million."
"13 million."
"19 million."
"13 million."
"20 million!"
Dane finally gritted his teeth and reached an agreement with Aldrich.
Pires and Vieira moved to Arsenal together for a total transfer fee of £14.5 million.
