Chapter 11 Niang's Actions

It has to be said that Niang's actions were indeed quite fast. On June 11th, both Liverpool and Fiorentina officially announced that Bocchetti and Coates had switched clubs. Bocchetti officially joined Liverpool, while Coates went to Fiorentina as part of the transfer deal.

When the news was announced, the media were somewhat surprised. They weren't surprised that Bocchetti went to Liverpool—foreigners also understand the principle of water flowing downwards and people moving upwards. Nor were they surprised that Coates left Liverpool—there had been signs of that for a while.

They just didn't expect that Liverpool, as the quadruple champions of the previous season, wouldn't rest on their laurels and sleep on their achievements, enjoying the various benefits that so many championships brought them.

Instead, they immediately threw themselves into the transfer market and launched a swift and decisive transfer operation.

Bocchetti's transfer to Liverpool itself wasn't particularly remarkable.

But the symbolic significance of this transfer deal was far greater than the practical significance. It meant that Liverpool's ambitions for the next season hadn't diminished; they still had bigger goals, and at the very least, they wanted to continue competing for championships.

"...This is a signal, a signal from Liverpool to other competitors, telling them that Liverpool isn't full from the four championships, their appetite hasn't been satisfied, and their desires are endless! I think that's the most terrifying thing about this team!"

One media outlet commented on the transfer deal in this way.

Bocchetti wouldn't know that his seemingly insignificant choice had become a symbol of Liverpool's lofty ambitions.

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Niang didn't have the leisure to read the media's evaluations of his transfer operations.

After securing Bocchetti, he flew non-stop to Senegal, targeting Ali Cissokho.

This player, who had already become a world-class left-back in Ligue 1, was Liverpool's latest target.

The difficulty of acquiring Cissokho was much greater than acquiring Bocchetti.

Bocchetti wanted to come to Liverpool, and Liverpool had no competitors. The Fiorentina's main center-back wasn't attractive enough to many big clubs. In addition, Bocchetti's height was only 1.78 meters, which, as a center-back, was a disadvantage and the main reason why many wealthy teams weren't very interested in him.

But Cissokho was different. He had attracted the attention of many big clubs as early as his time at Porto. AC Milan once acquired him for a price of 15 million euros. It was only because he failed the medical examination that he was sent back. At the time, AC Milan gave an extremely ridiculous reason: the Milan Lab believed that Cissokho had problems with his teeth, because the teeth had caused muscle inflammation that hadn't healed, which would affect his future performance. In fact, this was just an excuse. The real reason was probably that AC Milan thought it was too risky to spend 15 million euros to buy a young 21-year-old left-back, so they proposed to Porto that they wanted to first loan Cissokho for a year at a price of 1.5 million, plus a priority purchase clause. But this request was rejected by Porto in a "sky-high price" manner.

What kind of team was Porto?

After Lyon, it was a well-known black shop in Europe. Seeing that 15 million euros was about to be received, it became a bubble because of such a ridiculous reason. They would never agree to AC Milan's request. Their goal was 15 million euros; they didn't care about 1.5 million at all.

In this way, AC Milan missed this top left-back, and then Lyon picked up a bargain—in terms of Cissokho's current value and fame, Lyon was indeed getting a bargain.

During his seasons at Lyon, he improved rapidly and had grown into one of the top left-backs in world football. AC Milan later regretted it and wanted to bring Cissokho, who was already at Lyon, back to the San Siro. But at this time, it wasn't just a matter of 15 million euros.

They were ruthlessly rejected by Lyon, and what's more, AC Milan then fell into a financial crisis, and there were constant rumors that owner Berlusconi was going to withdraw his investment and sell AC Milan. Milan naturally didn't have the time to pursue Cissokho bitterly. Even though they really regretted it.

But who told them that they weren't willing to cough up 15 million euros in the first place?

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As a left-back, Cissokho was already famous when he was at Porto. At that time, in the Champions League match between Porto and Manchester United, he successfully froze Cristiano Ronaldo and became famous in one battle.

Later, when he was at Lyon, he encountered Real Madrid. He froze Di Maria throughout the match and didn't fall behind in two encounters with Cristiano Ronaldo.

Cissokho's physical qualities were very outstanding, which was also a characteristic of many black players. He was 1.81 meters tall and weighed 75 kilograms.

As a full-back, defense was his primary job. In terms of defense, Cissokho was very tough. This could be seen from his ability to freeze Cristiano Ronaldo in his prime.

But that wasn't enough. A left-back who defended well was at most an excellent left-back. The real determining factor in whether he was a world-class left-back was offense.

Modern football has very high requirements for full-backs' assists. The offensive tasks of full-backs in a match are even more important than defense.

A full-back who can't attack can't even be sold for a good price, while a full-back whose offense is stronger than his defense can easily be sold for a sky-high price.

Cissokho's talent in attack was admirable. His assists were resolute and threatening. Good physical qualities allowed him to easily cope with back-and-forth sprints, so he wouldn't be unable to return after attacking, losing his defensive position.

Liverpool wanted to sign such a top center-back, but it wouldn't be easy.

A year ago, Niang had considered it, but at that time, Lyon's attitude was that they wouldn't let Cissokho leave for anything less than 40 million euros.

Liverpool naturally wouldn't spend so much money for a left-back.

The reason why Lyon was so confident a year ago was that Cissokho had a contract with Lyon.

At that time, after a renewal, Cissokho's contract with Lyon wasn't due to expire until 2016.

Now, a year has passed, and the situation has changed.

Cissokho had only one year left on his contract with Lyon. If Lyon didn't want to lose both the player and the money at the end of the season, they had better let Cissokho leave now, so they could still earn a sum. Cissokho's agent had already refused to negotiate a contract renewal with Lyon. This news had long spread throughout European football, and everyone knew that Cissokho was determined to leave this time.

He was already twenty-seven years old, the golden age of his career was beginning, and if he continued to stay at Lyon, he wouldn't achieve anything. He had to go to a wealthy club.

So this time was different from last time. Last time, Cissokho was still young, and he could still tolerate staying if the transfer fee wasn't negotiated.

But now, it was absolutely impossible for him to renew his contract with Lyon.

Lyon themselves were very clear about this. Cissokho was definitely leaving this summer. But with Lyon's style, he could leave, but only after earning enough money for the club!

This season, the possibility of Liverpool taking Cissokho away existed, but the price to be paid was also very high.

In addition to the financial issues, Liverpool would also face many competitors.

European powerhouses including Barcelona and Real Madrid had extended olive branches to Cissokho.

Manchester United planned to buy Cissokho to replace the aging Evra, and Manchester City, with their vast wealth, also wanted to bring in Cissokho. They had already made an offer to Lyon at the last opportunity.

In addition, after Ashley Cole's retirement, Chelsea also needed a top left-back, and Cissokho was naturally the best candidate.

So many wealthy teams competing for one person was what Lyon was most happy to see. They didn't even need to raise the price themselves; it was enough to let these wealthy teams fight each other to the death.

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Niang's strategy was still the same: first find the player himself and ask about his willingness. If the player himself wasn't interested in your team at all, then it was better than going to the club, wasting effort.

If the player himself was interested, then compete with other teams.

However, Cissokho wasn't in France. He went to Senegal for vacation after the season ended. This was why Niang flew to Senegal.

He had to talk to Cissokho in person, so that he could show his respect.

Although Liverpool was the most successful team in European football last season, as Liverpool's general manager, Niang didn't feel that he should be superior to the players, putting on the airs of a wealthy club manager.

Perhaps this was the reason why he was always successful...

What it takes to impress players is not just the team's glorious record and generous salary.

Sometimes, playing the sympathy card is still quite effective.

Like Chen Hero...

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At a resort somewhere in Senegal, Niang finally met Cissokho.

Of course, it wasn't so easy to meet him. He first had a face-to-face meeting with Cissokho's agent, Ali Barat, and also slipped him some money.

Only then did he see Cissokho himself.

The two sides talked in a hotel at the resort for an afternoon.

Niang expressed Liverpool coach Martin O'Neill's interest in him, and then naturally promoted Liverpool to him, subtly hinting to Cissokho—following Chen Hero means you'll have meat to eat, and you'll definitely win championships until your hands are soft. Look at this season...that's proof!

In short, he used reason and emotion to persuade him.

Like a strange uncle luring a little girl, hoping to abduct Cissokho back to his house.

But these days, Cissokho and his agent had obviously heard too many similar words, and they weren't interested or didn't believe them at all.

There was no way, Niang had to use his trump card.

He told Cissokho Liverpool's goal for next season.

"Next season, our goal is to win all the championships!"

This sentence was indeed very shocking. As soon as it was thrown out, it stunned both of them.