Mendes and Florentino had a close personal relationship and maintained a good rapport. However, this didn't mean Mendes could only send players to Real Madrid and not take them away.

Friendship was friendship, and business was business.

Mendes had always been particularly clear about this.

Pepe was certainly very important to Mourinho, but not so important that Mourinho would die without him.

What's more, the Real Madrid executives had their own ideas, and Pepe himself had his own ideas. It had nothing to do with the agent, so Mendes didn't have to worry that doing so would ruin his relationship with Mourinho.

In fact, agents hoped that players would transfer frequently, because their main income was the commission from player transfers and salary deductions. Salary deductions were a steady stream of income, but transfer fee commissions were a one-time lump sum.

If possible, agents would love for their players to transfer frequently, preferably to a different place every season.

For example, Anelka's frequent transfers in the past were partly due to his two older brothers being his agents.

If Pepe really wanted to leave Real Madrid, and Real Madrid was willing to sell Pepe, Mendes wouldn't mind doing a good business deal.

However, he had his own plans.

"I'm just an agent, Mr. Lu. I can't possibly influence the transfer matters of such a great club as Real Madrid..."

Nion smiled and said, "You're too modest, Mr. Mendes. Who doesn't know that you are the most powerful person in the entire football world?"

Giving someone a high hat to wear was always a foolproof way to flatter them, and flattery was always a foolproof way to please people.

Mendes was happy inside, but didn't show it. He had his own little plans, so how could he be moved by a word of flattery to change his mind?

"I still suggest you talk to the club. Since both parties are willing, I think you should be very successful."

The reason he insisted on Liverpool talking to Real Madrid in the capacity of a club was that once things rose to the level of club transactions, the news media would get involved. Once they got involved, they would soon make it known to the whole world.

Don't let people scold Pepe for being dirty. In fact, there were quite a few teams interested in Pepe. With more teams, the competition would be fierce. With fierce competition, both sides would keep raising the price. The more the price was raised, the higher the final transfer fee would be, and the more commission he would extract from the transfer fee according to the ratio.

This was in Mendes's interest.

So even though Nion's flattery made him very happy, and he felt that even a manager of a giant like Liverpool was so polite to him, and his position in European football was indeed extraordinary, he would not let go easily.

Of course, Nion knew what Mendes was planning.

But this was not the situation he wanted to see. If there were too many competitors, Liverpool really wouldn't be confident that they could win against other teams. Liverpool had no less appeal than Manchester United in England. Even when Liverpool was at its lowest ebb, many players were willing to join Liverpool.

But on the European continent, their appeal was not so effective.

Why else would Nion have come to Mendes specifically? He knew that Real Madrid didn't like Pepe, and he also knew that Pepe had had the idea of leaving for a while, so he only needed to wait until the relationship between the two was not very harmonious before making an offer directly to Real Madrid.

Why go to so much trouble?

He just felt that he had no confidence in snatching Pepe from other teams, so he took a roundabout route and specialized in the agent route. He knew that, in fact, it was not the player alone who decided which team a player would go to, nor was it the club, but the agent.

As long as you get the agent, everything will be fine.

Getting the agent can allow the player to reject all contracts offered by all other clubs except them, so even if other companies offer higher prices, you don't have to worry.

Nion would naturally not let go of the opportunity to deal with the agent.

"We are determined to get Pepe, Mr. Mendes. But some things are not transferred according to our wishes... So, we hope Mr. Mendes can help..."

Nion didn't say it too bluntly. Saying it too bluntly was not beautiful, and it was likely to cause the other party's resentment. Anyway, everyone knew about this, the unspoken rules.

"As a reward, we are willing to take out a portion of the transfer fee and give it to you..."

Mendes's eyebrows jumped when he heard this sentence, but he quickly said in a calm tone: "Mr. Lu. This is the rule. I send a player to another club, and I will definitely charge the club a management fee. You know this..."

In fact, this was not in accordance with the rules.

FIFA has clear regulations that, from the past to the present, agents must not profit from both ends, both collecting commissions from players and taking benefits from clubs. That is to say, if a player transfers from Team A to Team B, the agent can only collect the commission from the player, and cannot accept any money from Team B.

However, this regulation has never taken effect and only exists in legal texts. The agent world has its own independent set of operating rules and order. To succeed, you must abide by such rules.

Therefore, from agents to players to clubs, everyone is used to the player giving money to the agent, and the club also giving money to the agent to thank him for bringing them the players they need.

Although the English FA later promulgated regulations requiring players, not clubs, to pay agents, the agents strongly protested against this. They still go their own way, and the players also expressed their satisfaction with the status quo, and the clubs didn't think there was anything wrong with it - this is the most powerless thing for the FA. They feel that they are seeking benefits and upholding justice for the players and clubs, but the objects they are helping don't seem to appreciate it.

This is a bit similar to always giving a reward for asking someone to do something in China, either a gift or money directly. Although everyone always points their finger at such behavior, criticizing it for corrupting social morals, when it really comes to asking someone to do something for themselves, they will probably take the initiative to offer a red envelope without needing to be reminded. Because if you don't give a red envelope, you are always worried that the other party will not handle your request properly. Only by giving money will you feel at ease, and think that the other party will definitely not water down your request.

The same mentality exists in clubs. If you want an agent to work hard for you and bring you the players you want, then you have to give money. If you don't give money, why should people work so hard? You can righteously not give money, but if other clubs give money, wouldn't you be benefiting others? Under such psychological pressure, it has become customary for clubs to give money to agents, and it has gradually formed a rule, an unspoken rule.

So Mendes didn't think there was anything attractive about the conditions offered by this Liverpool club manager.

Even if he doesn't help Liverpool, can other teams bypass him if they ultimately succeed in acquiring Pepe? Wouldn't they still have to give him money before the contract could be negotiated?

He wasn't worried that those clubs would renege on their debts. Mendes's position in the world football scene today was different. Who would dare to renege on his money? They might as well not try to make a living in this field anymore.

This money was outside the transfer fee and was not included in the transfer fee. It was the commission paid by the buying club to the player's agent, also called "player management fee," when the buying club and the player's agent sat down to negotiate a personal contract after the two clubs had reached an agreement.

Take Cristiano Ronaldo's transfer to Manchester United as an example. At that time, Manchester United bought the seventeen-year-old genius Ronaldo for 12.24 million pounds and brought him to Old Trafford. The transfer fee was 12.24 million pounds, and Manchester United also gave Mendes an agency fee of 1.129 million pounds.

Here's another example. When Moroccan striker Chamakh transferred to Arsenal in 2010, he was a free agent, which meant it was a free transfer. But was it really free?

The necessary fixed expenditure such as wages will not be mentioned, but let's talk about the money spent on transfer transactions.

In order to get this Porto striker, Arsenal first gave Chamakh himself a signing fee of 4 million pounds, and then gave Chamakh's agent about 2 million pounds as a commission.

So the so-called "free transfer" and "free player" are not really free, just that they didn't give money to the other club, but transferred the money to the player and agent.

This money can be a lot or a little, depending on your ability as an agent and whether the other club urgently needs your players.

If the other club really wants the players under your command, they will be willing to give you more commission in order to buy off the agent and help them get the players to their team. This money must be paid.

Nion also understood this, so this was just a start, telling Mendes what the topic they were going to talk about next was related to.

"Of course I know this, Mr. Mendes. But I can guarantee that the money we offer will be more than they do," Nion continued.

Mendes's eyebrows twitched again.

No one dislikes money.

It's just a matter of how much they like it.

Some people like money and think that having enough to eat and wear is enough. Some people like money and want mountains of gold and silver.

Mendes really likes money, even though he has no worries about food and clothing now, and he already has mountains of gold and silver. But he still likes money. He is a businessman, and businessmen are profit-seeking. This is their nature.

No one thinks there is too much money. This is human nature.

So if Liverpool can offer a higher "player management fee" than other companies, then Mendes can seriously consider the possibility of operating Pepe to Liverpool.

"It's not convenient to talk on the phone, and it's not clear. Let's talk face to face."

This was the first time Mendes had extended a meeting invitation to Nion. The last time the two met, Nion had sought out Mendes.

Nion, who was holding the phone, smiled. He knew that Mendes had been moved. Next, it depended on how high his offer was.