Chapter 1 Liverpool Pursues Gareth Bale

Soon, Liverpool officially offered Tottenham Hotspur £25 million for Gareth Bale, a move that shocked English football when the news broke.

It wasn't that no one expected Liverpool to pursue Bale.

Rather, Liverpool's action suddenly awakened everyone—that's right, with Redknapp gone, Bale probably wouldn't stay there for long, would he?

Other clubs that had long been interested in Bale slapped their thighs—Liverpool snatched him up first again!

One after another, they followed with their own offers.

Later, clubs from mainland Europe also joined the race for Bale.

The names of those teams, lined up together, were quite a sight. This showed Bale's popularity.

Tottenham Hotspur was stunned for a moment, not expecting anyone to dare bid for Bale, whom they had defined as "not for sale."

However, they didn't really intend to treat Bale as non-transferable; the "not for sale" label was often just used to demand a high price...

So many teams interested in Bale was a good thing for Tottenham Hotspur, indicating they could fully exploit this competition to drive up the price...

—What? You think our asking price is too high? Do you want him or not? If you don't, we'll sell him to other teams! They're offering much more than you, showing they really want our Bale! Unlike you, acting like rich young masters when you have no money!

In this situation, teams that sincerely wanted Bale would follow with higher bids.

At that time, they would ask familiar media outlets to hype up Bale's performance, deliberately ignoring his serious injuries in the past two seasons, and vigorously promoting his feats in the Champions League, tearing through the ranks and blasting open Inter Milan's goal to eliminate AC Milan, telling everyone that this player was very talented and capable, and that buying him would definitely be a worthwhile investment!

With such repeated maneuvers, Bale's price would probably reach new heights.

Of course, although they were eager to sell, if they appeared too anxious, it would be difficult to negotiate a good price for Bale, so they had to put on a show and go through the motions.

Tottenham Hotspur, with lightning speed, decisively rejected Liverpool's offer.

"Gareth is not for sale, and I think everyone is very clear on that point. We will not sell him!" Tottenham Hotspur's press officer said with a firm attitude, as if Bale were a figure like Maldini, Baresi, Giggs, or Scholes.

Niang paid no attention to Tottenham Hotspur's righteous statement.

However, he didn't make a move himself, knowing that other clubs would naturally help him pry open Tottenham Hotspur's door.

Sure enough, the media was soon filled with reports of various clubs interested in Bale.

Some clubs merely expressed interest, while others couldn't help but make direct offers.

At first, Tottenham Hotspur's attitude was, "Bale is not for sale! Do you people even know what 'not for sale' means?!"

Later, it became, "No less than sixty million pounds!"

See, it had already changed from "not for sale" to having a specific price tag, which was a huge step forward.

At this time, Bale also spoke out.

Although Tottenham Hotspur fans didn't want Bale to leave, because he had brought them many wonderful memories over the years, who would want such an outstanding player to become an enemy?

But Bale's words poured cold water on many Tottenham Hotspur fans, making them feel that Bale's departure might really be unavoidable.

Because Bale once again expressed his dissatisfaction and criticism of the club's dismissal of Redknapp, believing that Tottenham Hotspur had lost the motivation and ambition to continue moving forward, which disappointed him greatly.

With such words spoken, Bale's departure was not far off.

Because it meant he had broken with the club.

Fans' feelings? This thing has never played a role in player transfers...

※※※

After Tottenham Hotspur expressed their stance that no one could take Bale for less than sixty million pounds, Niang finally made another move, this time offering thirty million pounds, a whole half less than Tottenham Hotspur's asking price.

But he didn't really believe that sixty million was the only way to get Bale; probably no one in this world was that stupid, except for a few Middle Easterners who had too much money to burn.

Thirty million pounds was half of sixty million, but Niang felt it was already relatively close to Tottenham Hotspur's bottom line.

Even if he raised the price, he wouldn't increase it by too much.

On Tottenham Hotspur's side, seeing that the situation was going against them… no, actually, seeing that the foreplay was complete, and the whole world knew that they were parting with Bale reluctantly and that he couldn't be sold cheaply, they parted their legs… uh, no, they let go.

They responded to offers from five clubs they considered reasonable, and Liverpool was among them.

Although Tottenham Hotspur's official press officer was still fooling the media and fans outside, "We won't sell Bale; he's an important member of the team!" they were secretly bargaining with these clubs.

Probably only the most hardcore, most devoted Tottenham Hotspur fans still believed that Bale could stay.

But this was destined to be wishful thinking.

※※※

Liverpool's thirty million offer was rejected, with Tottenham Hotspur insisting on sixty million.

Niang laughed, "Don't mess with me, buddy. If you really want to buy, you should give me a sincere price, don't play these tricks. We're all running clubs, we know all those little unspoken rules..."

Tottenham Hotspur's side: "Sixty million is the lowest! Ask around about Bale's strength! How could a Chitu (red hare) among men like Bale be bought for less than sixty million pounds?"

Niang: "Are you kidding me? I only spent seventy million pounds to buy Chen Hero, is your Bale as awesome as Chen Hero? Even if he's ten million cheaper than Chen Hero, Bale isn't worth that price! Not to mention that he's suffered serious injuries requiring surgery for two consecutive seasons! You dare to ask for sixty million pounds for a player like that? That's outrageous!"

Tottenham Hotspur's rebuttal was already a little weak: "What about the injuries? His performance after the injuries was outstanding, okay? We're asking for sixty million precisely because he was injured. If he hadn't been injured, you wouldn't even get him for a hundred million!"

In fact, Tottenham Hotspur was telling the truth—I mean the last sentence. If Bale had never been injured, with his state and ability, Tottenham Hotspur would definitely not let him leave; that would be the real "not for sale."

But of course, Niang couldn't take these words seriously: "Don't bullshit me, if you hold onto him and don't sell, you probably won't even get thirty million in the end. If he gets injured again this season, I think you can prepare to hold a retirement ceremony for him!"

…

The two sides were engaged in a verbal battle, of course, they couldn't really have said these exact words, but the general meaning must have been something like this, no doubt about it.

But there was still one problem—why should Tottenham Hotspur sell Bale to Liverpool? There were so many teams pursuing Bale; wouldn't they sell Bale to the highest bidder?

If you're not willing to offer a price, someone else will naturally offer the price we want!

But at this moment, Bale's agent directly approached Tottenham Hotspur's executives, expressing Bale's firm intention to go only to Liverpool.

"My player is only willing to go to Liverpool; he is not interested in any other team. He hopes the club can seriously consider this..."

The Tottenham Hotspur people were so angry… they really wanted to strangle Niang—you guys had already settled with my player a long time ago, and you still came here to haggle with me!

But they couldn't ignore Bale's wishes. Because if they forced Bale to go to another team and Bale refused the contract, then all of Tottenham Hotspur's previous efforts would be in vain. Not only would they not earn a penny, but they would also leave a very bad impression on the fans—that Tottenham Hotspur was forcing Bale to leave, and Bale himself didn't want to leave, as evidenced by his refusal of the other club's contract. In the end, the club would be the bad guy, and Bale wouldn't suffer any losses.

※※※

Under the pressure from the player, Tottenham Hotspur's attitude changed somewhat. They told Liverpool that thirty million was too low and they couldn't accept it.

This actually meant they had already surrendered, but they didn't say it explicitly. Now, Liverpool just needed to raise the price a little to save Tottenham Hotspur's face, and this transfer deal would be done.

It was like a woman who had gotten into bed and taken off all her clothes, but was still covering herself with her hands and saying no, no, but in reality, she had already stripped naked, what was she refusing?

Niang raised the bid slightly, to thirty-three million pounds.

This time, Tottenham Hotspur was straightforward—deal!

※※※

Around the end of May, many English media outlets reported this latest transfer news.

"...Liverpool Football Club announced that they have reached an agreement with Tottenham Hotspur and the player himself—Gareth Bale has officially transferred from Tottenham Hotspur to Liverpool! Signing for five years... the specific transfer fee and weekly salary were not disclosed by either side, but according to well-informed sources, the transfer fee will not be less than thirty-three million pounds..."

"Liverpool announced that they have just signed the famous left winger Gareth Bale from the Premier League, demonstrating their ambition. Liverpool, who just won the Europa League title, seem to be really on the verge of revival this time!"

"Gareth Bale? A good helper for Hero! But indeed a pain for Tottenham Hotspur fans... Today, Tottenham Hotspur fans gathered at the club's entrance to protest the club's letting go of the team's number one star..."

"Last season, Liverpool bought Sanchez, and now they have brought in Bale from Tottenham Hotspur. Liverpool's strength on both the left and right wings has greatly increased, and with Chen Hero in the middle... I simply can't imagine how Liverpool's opponents will contain this damn monster next season..."

"Liverpool will return to the Champions League next season, and we look forward to this Red Army stirring up a red whirlwind in the Champions League!"