Chapter 1 Mubarak's Ire

Mubarak had been the chairman of Manchester City for six years, but he had never felt so frustrated and angry as he did this season.

Sheikh Mansour had entrusted him with the management of the team, placing great expectations on him. Not only had he failed to bring any honor to the team, but he had also spent so much of the owner's money. Leaving all that aside, this season, those damned players and coaches were practically shitting and pissing on his head!

He was a senior manager serving the wealthiest family on the planet, and he was highly respected in high society.

When had he ever been treated like this!

First, he was humiliated time and again by a bastard named Chen Hero, leaving him in a miserable state. Now, he was stuck with Mancini, that stubborn nail.

He had originally thought that with absolute power and strength in his hands, he could make Mancini listen obediently, and that getting rid of a head coach would not be a problem.

Who would have thought that this person would be so shameless!

Actually talking about respecting the contract and asking for money!

How could there be such a shameless person in the world!

He hung up the phone in anger, deciding to calm down first.

He knew that the more this was the case, the more he should remain calm. If he was consumed by anger, he might fall into the other party's trap.

He started calling his lawyer.

"George, I have this situation, see if there's any way to resolve it..."

Then he told George the lawyer about his situation with Mancini, and finally asked, "Can I get rid of him without paying him a single penny?"

The lawyer on the other end of the phone was silent for a while, seemingly pondering the question. About five minutes later, he gave his answer.

"I'm afraid not, boss... If you insist on forcibly dismissing him and not paying him, he can completely sue you and Manchester City in court. And you have no chance of winning. The judge will definitely support his appeal because it is written in the contract, in black and white, very clearly. This lawsuit won't even take too long..."

Hearing George's answer, Mubarak looked disappointed. The thought of having to submit to the despicable means of a damned bastard made him feel stifled.

"Think again, George. Is there really no way?"

"Well... boss, it's not completely impossible."

"Oh, what's your idea? Tell me quickly!" Hearing that there might be a turning point, Mubarak was overjoyed and quickly urged the other party to speak.

"That is to find someone to kill the head coach, create an accident, and then you issue a sorrowful statement. This way, he will disappear from your sight, and you won't have to pay him a single penny..."

Hearing George's words, Mubarak wiped the sweat from his forehead, "George..."

"Doesn't this work either, boss? As long as the person you find is clean and doesn't leave any clues, I'm sure no one will suspect you."

"George, this is a sports novel, not a gangster novel! Put away your identity as a defender for those mob bosses!"

"Uh, okay, boss. But if that's the case, then there's really no way. Either you give him the money and let him get lost, or you just have to suck it up and let him continue to work under you and take the money."

"Can't I just scold him, criticize him publicly every day, and then let him finally be unable to stand the pressure and leave on his own?"

"Based on your previous description... boss, that person's skin is probably too thick for you to get your wish... The longer the night, the more dreams there are, and there might be other changes. So, if you're really determined to get rid of him, it has to be done as soon as possible."

After hanging up the phone, Mubarak was still savoring what his lawyer had said to him.

Give him the money?

But I'm so fucking annoyed! He threatened me and can still swagger away with a large sum of money... Where am I supposed to put my face?

I can't swallow this, no way!

Mubarak couldn't swallow this, and with his mood soured, he naturally couldn't agree to Mancini's demands.

However, a call from the United Arab Emirates changed his mind.

The caller was his boss, the real owner of Manchester City—Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

"What happened with the League Cup final, Al?" Nahyan's tone on the phone was not friendly; he was coming to question Mubarak.

"Uh, boss... Liverpool is too strong, and they have that Hero, you know..."

"No, I'm not talking about losing the championship. Losing one championship is fine. We've lost more than one or two championships over the years. I'm asking about the infighting. Why did my team have such an embarrassing incident in the League Cup final, with so many people watching? We've become the laughingstock of all of England, even the whole world! Do you know what those idiots in Dubai are saying? They're saying that Abu Dhabi people spent so much money just to let the whole world watch a joke in the League Cup final!"

Mansour's tone was very stern, and his aura as a superior made Mubarak feel it clearly, even across the phone from thousands of miles away in England.

He felt his back instantly soaked with sweat...

"Uh, this, boss... I've investigated and found out that this incident was caused by Mancini's declining control over the team..."

Subsequently, Mubarak told his boss Mansour about the incident in detail.

Of course, he changed the main reason. What was originally Agüero challenging Mancini's authority had become, in Mubarak's version, Mancini lacking control over the team and planning to forcibly substitute the outstanding Agüero, which ultimately led to a mutiny by the entire team.

"Then what do you intend to do, Al?" Mansour's tone was even colder after hearing the story.

"I plan to fire Mancini, boss," Mubarak said to Mansour.

"Very good, I support you, Al."

"But there's a problem now, boss, a very serious problem..." Mubarak said cautiously.

"Dear Al, what's the problem?"

"Mancini is unwilling to resign himself, even after I offered him the condition of waiving his ten million penalty fee. He insists on waiting for us to fire him, so he can get a twenty million pound penalty, and we have to pay his salary on time every month until the end of the contract... In other words, if we forcibly fire him, our losses will be fifty million pounds in total!"

"Then tell me, Al, do you think firing that Italian will make the team better?"

"I don't know, I can't be sure, boss. But I'm sure of one thing—it can't be worse than it is now!"

Mansour on the other end of the phone was silent for a while, and then said again, "Then give him fifty million pounds, Al. Let him get lost, and then we'll find a high-level coach. You don't need to hesitate about such things in the future. Problems that can be solved with money are not problems at all."

Since experiencing the Chen Hero incident, Mansour's catchphrase had changed from "All problems can be solved with money" to "Problems that can be solved with money are not problems at all." Obviously, he also knew that there were still problems in this world that money couldn't solve.

※※※

Khaldoon Al Mubarak, having received the latest instructions from his boss, now had no worries.

On the contrary, a surge of pride arose in his heart—yes, problems that can be solved with money are not problems! We are very rich!

Then, taking advantage of this momentum, he called Mancini.

When the phone was connected, he didn't even wait for Mancini to speak before launching a barrage of ridicule, "You're finished, Italian! You're finished! I'm now officially informing you that you can pack your bags and get lost with your coaching team! You're fired, you're all fired!"

"Remember to pay the penalty..." Mancini said on the other end.

"I will! Not a penny less! You greedy bastard!" Mubarak interrupted him.

After speaking, he slammed the phone down.

※※※

The following things were simple.

A day later, Manchester City's official website announced a piece of news that shocked the English football world.

"...We are very sorry to announce that Mr. Mancini will no longer serve as the head coach of Manchester City... We thank him for all he has contributed to Manchester City... We sincerely wish him good luck..."

Mancini was fired!

Reporters and media who knew the inside story told everyone that this move cost Manchester City fifty million pounds. In other words, Manchester City would rather lose fifty million than keep Mancini on the team, indicating that their conflict with Mancini had become very intense, and Manchester City had obviously reached the end of their rope.

Mancini was still indignant about being fired. After being fired, he bombarded Manchester City in an interview, believing that Manchester City had not supported him at all and that they were just looking for a scapegoat for years of failed management.

He also said that he did not receive enough respect, and he even named and criticized Agüero, saying that the conflict was all caused by Agüero, who had first provoked the war during halftime, trying to attack him, and that he was just acting in self-defense.

Agüero did not respond to the accusations of his former head coach; he was busy renewing his contract with Manchester City.

The day after Mancini was fired, Manchester City officially announced the news that their number one star, Agüero, had renewed his contract with the team.

At the contract renewal press conference, a reporter very inappropriately asked Agüero to respond to Mancini's accusations.

Agüero said blandly, "I don't want to comment on my former head coach, because doing so is too tasteless."

He indirectly scolded Mancini, the head coach who was commenting on his former players.

When Mancini learned of Agüero's response, he was almost driven mad. He began to reveal more explosive material, criticizing many Manchester City players and implying that they were all playing unsavory roles in the locker room.

The entire Manchester City was plunged into a smoky atmosphere.

Many people's minds were not on playing football anymore. The entire team's morale was shaken, and the team's performance plummeted... Of course, these are stories for later.

In short, Chen Hero's hat-trick not only defeated Manchester City this time but also completely deprived Manchester City of the qualifications to be their Liverpool's opponent.

This was probably something he had not expected before...