When Aldridge received the call from Adam, it was already close to get off work time. The team will start training tomorrow, and the coaching staff will prepare in advance. This is a practice established in the past few years.
He held the phone and said with a smile: "What if I say I don't have time and don't keep the appointment?"
"Uh, here, then I will convey your reply to Real Madrid."
"No need, it's just a joke."
During the Real Madrid presidential election, Sanz only won one league title during the era, and his best record in the Champions League was runner-up. No matter how he built momentum, the patience of Real Madrid club members was exhausted. Florentino defeated Sanz with an absolute advantage.
Ascended to the throne of Real Madrid President.
After taking office, Florentino immediately fulfilled his campaign promise and directly paid Barcelona's sky-high buyout fee to bring Figo to the Bernabeu. This was the birth of a famous traitor in the history of Barcelona club.
Florentino began to form the Galacticos. After signing Figo, he immediately came to London and invited Aldrich to have dinner. You don't have to think about it to know that he must be looking for the next member of the Galacticos.
Aldrich's new home is a high-end villa community on the north side of the Thames River. He is very satisfied with the place Yiwen chose. At least it is not isolated from the world like a suburban manor. He lives in a community with neighbors and new friends.
We may not necessarily be familiar with friends, but we can see familiar faces and say hello to each other in our daily life. This is a normal life.
It was time to get off work. Aldrich called Yiwen. He didn't go into details. He just told her to go out to eat and then he drove home to pick her up.
The new home was being renovated, and she stayed at home as a supervisor. If she had any dissatisfaction, she would raise it with the renovation team on the spot.
By the time Aldrich drove home, Yiwen had already changed into a crisp dress.
"Anything good today?"
Yiwen asked curiously after sitting in the car.
Aldridge doesn't advocate dining out very much. As a celebrity, sometimes you encounter trivial matters when you go out, and you just want to be quiet at home.
Driving to West London, Aldridge briefly told Yi Wen about the dinner invitation.
"What do you think?"
Yiwen rolled his eyes, this meal had a lot of history.
"It's just a meal."
"Just socializing?"
"Well, if the other party doesn't represent a club, I might say no."
"Ha, yes, even though Millwall is called a giant by the outside world, those old giants still haven't done enough homework when dealing with Millwall."
Aldrich raised his eyebrows and said nothing.
Gordon Ramsay Restaurant is a 3-star restaurant rated by Michelin. It is the kind of place that all tourists or wealthy people should fly in to enjoy dinner. It has no historical background, but one thing: the food is delicious.
The restaurant is located in West London, Chelsea to be exact!
Aldridge's friends and social circle, at least within England, basically no one would invite him to West London whether it was playing cards, drinking or partying, even if it was magnificent and truly high-end and upscale.
It is obvious that many people in West London do not welcome Aldridge, and they all have a background as Chelsea fans.
Being rich and having quality are two different things.
Sometimes people do things unscrupulously just because they have money.
Aldridge came out of a West London restaurant with Melanie three years ago when he discovered his car had been vandalized and had a mess of shit graffitied on it...
Since then, Aldridge has rarely visited West London. He has no resentment in his heart, which is normal.
If the Chelsea manager's car dared to be parked in the Millwall area for one night, it would probably be gone the next day or turned into a pile of scrap metal.
Football in this country is a popular sport, the most common entertainment for the masses, but it is often not elegant. It is common to have so many fanatical fans who like to cause trouble.
Therefore, Real Madrid people wanted to discuss business with Aldridge, but the appointment was made on the territory of Millwall's mortal enemy. What can be said? It can only be said that Real Madrid did not make good preparations, but it cannot be accused of lack of sincerity.
The chairman has come in person, what more can you do with more sincerity? Roll out a red carpet? That’s not sincerity, it’s just stupid.
It was not until dark that Aldrich arrived by car. After all, the distance between east and west London was quite far, and there was a traffic jam during get off work hours.
Real Madrid doesn't have enough money to book the entire restaurant. After all, the consumption here is very high. You can't "eat and drink with public funds" just after taking the stage, right?
There were seven of them, Florentino was the protagonist, and the others, his assistants and club officials, were also supporting roles.
Including Aldrich and Yiwen, there were nine people in total, occupying two tables in the corner of the restaurant. Aldrich's table was for four people.
When they met, Aldrich shook hands with Florentino and exchanged greetings. The two of them were smiling. It was their first meeting and they had no problem conversing in Spanish. They quickly became familiar with each other in non-football conversations.
There are differences between people after all, and the same goes for the chairman.
Florentino has his own business empire. He is the second largest construction giant in Spain. To be able to build this empire, he must have good communication skills. And as the chairman of Real Madrid, his vision will definitely be different.
Aldrich admires and even respects this kind of person. Even though the Hall family is extremely rich now, their real ability cannot be measured by wealth.
In the past ten years or so, Florentino has made Real Madrid's commercial value increase by 20 times, and the assets of his personal group have also increased by more than five times, from a group worth more than one billion to a giant approaching tens of billions. There is something hidden in this.
How much wisdom is unimaginable to ordinary people?
There is no need to argue that Florentino single-handedly created the Real Madrid brand in the new era, and at the same time, he also used Real Madrid's platform to rapidly expand his own business empire.
What's behind Real Madrid? The Spanish government supports it, and the consortium supports it, which shapes the Real Madrid brand. It can also access various business circles around the world through the Real Madrid platform. Behind the scenes, how can Florentino's own business empire not benefit?
Woolen cloth?
Aldridge does not have the evil heart to think that the other party is using Real Madrid for personal gain. On the contrary, this is just a win-win business model, both parties benefit. Florentino is not a public servant. In the era of utilitarianism, the more he wants to be a good person,
A public servant who keeps his integrity may often fail to accomplish great things.
It is selfish desires that give people endless motivation.
The dinner was by no means sumptuous, and the delicious food was only served when ordered. We were all country folk who had never seen the world. They ate and drank like a local leopard. If there was a mess on the dining table and most of the food could not be finished, it would be a waste.
He is despised by those around him.
Aldrich had dinner with Florentino, and the other guests around him knew what they were witnessing. Naturally, the paparazzi came after hearing the news and took photos from different angles outside the restaurant.
Throughout the dinner, Aldridge and Florentino had a lively conversation, but not a word was said about football.
It was not until the end of the dinner that Florentino revealed his purpose.
"Aldridge, we have heard a lot of news about Henry. He has not renewed his contract with Millwall. I don't know what happened between you and him. I won't ask out of respect, but, Real Madrid is against
Henry is interested and I hope he can wear a Real Madrid jersey next season. If he becomes a problem for you at Millwall and annoys you, I think we can cooperate to solve your troubles and give Millwall
Wall brings big returns."
Florentino and Aldridge spoke in a calm voice, probably as if they were discussing business. The business they talked about was player trading.
Real Madrid has already bought Figo, but Florentino found that there might be a chance to get Henry, why not?
Such a superstar who was very popular last season also has intercontinental and even global influence, which may be more sensational than Figo's effect.
After all, the great effect of poaching Figo is only for Real Madrid.
Let Real Madrid fans be happy, relieve their anger and relieve their hatred!
And Henry is a real Champions League Golden Boot, European Golden Boot. He has won many trophies in two years at Millwall, including three heavyweights! Coupled with the national team honor, if this deal can be completed, Real Madrid fans will
It doesn't matter what Florentino thinks. Galacticos has at least taken shape. The brand effect is what Florentino cares about most.
Aldrich likes Florentino, to be precise, he likes his style of conduct.
Maybe there were some shady methods in the process of poaching Figo, but that was also forced by the situation.
Before Florentino took the stage and was not yet the chairman, he had no reasonable status to negotiate with Barcelona officials, and because the two clubs were mortal enemies, a head-on conversation was bound to end in collapse, so he used some means in private.
It’s understandable if you put yourself in their shoes.
And when Florentino officially comes to power, if he is determined to introduce a certain player, he will definitely do it personally with enough sincerity and launch an offensive openly and openly. The shady means behind it are very rare.
Millwall will definitely have to deal with many clubs in Europe to buy and sell players. It was, is and has been in the past, this was unavoidable.
But do you like the other party to negotiate openly and honestly?
Or are you a conspirator who likes to use dirty tricks behind the scenes?
Obviously, the former.
Aldrich wiped his mouth with a napkin and was about to reject Florentino when the other party pushed a card in front of him with several names written on it.
"Since we have just signed Figo, the club's debt exceeds 200 million euros. This is no secret, so we cannot use cash to complete the deal, but in other ways, I believe that if Millwall is willing to do this with Real Madrid
By cooperating, both parties can achieve a mutually satisfactory result.”
After Florentino finished speaking, he picked up the cup and took a sip of water.
He is not here to ask Aldridge to make a deal. It doesn't matter if it works or not. He is talking about business, and the world does not revolve around him. If the deal cannot be done, benevolence and righteousness remain. Real Madrid only needs to show enough sincerity to fulfill its role.
He has a clear conscience.
If you can't sign it, you can't sign it.
But if the reason why you can't get signed is because you didn't work hard, this is unacceptable to a successful person.
Aldrich was not in a hurry to reply to the other party, picked up the card and looked down at the name on the card.
I was really surprised.
Anelka.
Barak.
Karenbu.
Redondo.
Guti.
Casillas!
Real Madrid have no cash left with which to pay Henry's transfer fee.
And if Henry transfers, it may be for a record-breaking price.
Real Madrid had previously sent an offer of more than 30 million pounds, but that was during the Sanz era.
After Florentino came to power, he used the money to buy Figo, so now they have no money.
The six names that appear on this card are obviously the chips that Florentino used in exchange for Henry! (To be continued...)
