Chapter 1 Rio de Janeiro

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, is a beautiful city. Located in southeastern Brazil, this seaside metropolis is perhaps best known for the iconic Christ the Redeemer statue atop Corcovado Mountain.

In the summer of 2014, all of Brazil was immersed in the football frenzy of hosting the World Cup. Promotional images and posters for the Brazilian World Cup were everywhere in the streets and alleys of Rio de Janeiro. Regardless of gender or age, everyone was crazy about football.

Brazilian girls in bikinis enthusiastically blew kisses at the camera lenses, displaying their charm.

On the beautiful tourist hotspot of Copacabana Beach, Niang sat on a beach chair, dressed in a casual short-sleeved shirt and shorts, with sandals on his feet, sunglasses on, and an iced fruit juice in his hand.

Judging from his appearance, he was no different from the other tourists on the beach.

But he wasn't there on vacation.

The 2014 World Cup was held in Brazil, and thirty-two teams that had fought their way through the qualifiers gathered in this football-loving nation. Accompanying them were huge numbers of fans, news media, and agents and scouts who were easily overlooked but were actually omnipresent.

The fans were fascinated by the exciting football matches, and the reporters were busy covering every aspect of the World Cup. But the agents were there to do business.

The World Cup was a natural marketplace for them. They put the players under their management on the market, and the managers, head coaches, and scouts of various clubs were like picky buyers, carefully selecting and comparing, and finally choosing their favorite players. Then they would secretly bargain with the agents. Once the two sides had privately agreed, they would go to the club to confront them. By then, the rice was already cooked, and the club had no choice but to agree.

For the same World Cup, some people watched the spectacle, some watched the nuances, and some watched things that had nothing to do with football at all.

Niang was such a buyer, and the person he was meeting with on Copacabana Beach was a seller, a famous seller.

No manager of any top European league club, or even the team's head coach, or even the club president, could not have heard the name Jorge Mendes.

He is the most successful agent in European football, the invisible godfather of European football. He controls the resources of more than one hundred players, whose total value exceeds 500 million euros. The famous Cristiano Ronaldo is his most proud player, and the most successful coach in football, Mourinho, also has a close personal relationship with him and is willing to have him as his agent to negotiate with the club.

Such an agent's ability has long exceeded the scope of an ordinary agent. He has the phone numbers of almost all the presidents or head coaches of major European clubs in his hand. If he wants, he can call Real Madrid President Florentino's private phone with a single call.

Niang knows the energy of the person in front of him. If you offend him, your team may not be able to sign any valuable players all summer.

Many fans claim to know the world of football very well, but if they don't understand how an agent works, then they will never know how the football world really works. The power of an agent can seem small, but it can also be infinitely large.

But he still chose to use his own way, directly and without beating around the bush, to talk about his ideas.

Mendes laughed after hearing Liverpool manager Niang's request. At first, it was just a smile, then he laughed out loud, and finally, he even laughed until tears came out.

It was disrespectful to Niang, but Niang didn't object. He just quietly sipped the fruit juice in his glass.

Mendes wiped away the tears from his laughter, with a strong smile still on his face. He said to Niang, "I'm sorry, Mr. Lu. But I really can't help it... I think you should know how important Pepe is to Real Madrid."

Niang nodded: "Yes, he is very outstanding and excellent, so we Liverpool need him."

"I don't think Real Madrid will let him go. I know Jose very well." Mendes shrugged. "Pepe is his confidant. This transfer deal is absolutely impossible, so it's meaningless for you to come to me, Mr. Lu."

Niang put down the fruit juice in his hand, turned to look at Mendes.

"I always thought 'nothing is impossible' was the creed in the agent circle," he said.

Mendes chuckled.

"Back then, before Figo transferred from Barcelona to Real Madrid, many people thought it was a fantasy, right? It was also incredible that Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo joined Real Madrid one after another in one summer, right?" Niang said. "Before things happen, isn't it too early to say 'impossible'?"

Mendes thought for a while, then said: "I admit you are right. But specifically for Pepe, I don't think he will choose to leave. If your team needs an excellent central defender, I have many options under my command, they are all top-notch, and they are no worse than Pepe. There is no need to keep staring at Pepe..."

Niang shook his head: "Your players are certainly top-notch, I have no doubt about that. But I just like Pepe, I believe in my vision and judgment, he is the most suitable central defender for our Liverpool."

Mendes was silent, he looked at this stubborn and persistent Liverpool manager. He just realized that the person in front of him was really young... at most in his thirties, less than forty, and he can sit in the position of general manager of a wealthy club, does he have real talent and practical learning, or is it because he has a close personal relationship with the owner of Liverpool?

After thinking for a while, he reopened his mouth and said: "I have a very good relationship with Real Madrid President Perez, I cannot betray him and talk to you about this business."

"This will not damage your popularity in Real Madrid's senior management, Mr. Mendes. Because this is the player's personal wish, when a player insists on leaving, even God can't stop it, right?" Niang looked at Mendes and said.

Mendes laughed again: "You mean Pepe himself will want to leave Real Madrid? Haha! Sorry... this joke is very funny. I think I need to reiterate, Mr. Lu. Pepe is having a great time at Real Madrid now, he doesn't want to leave this glorious and great team..."

A thought suddenly flashed in his mind, and a voice asked him: "Really don't want to leave?"

He was taken aback for a moment, his expression changed slightly, and then quickly returned to normal.

He found that the young man opposite him was smiling at him.

He stood up: "Thank you for your hospitality, Mr. Lu. But I'm sorry, I can't help you complete this transfer deal. I am an agent, but I don't take every business."

After saying that, he turned and left.

Niang sat on the beach chair, did not get up to see him off, just watched Mendes' leaving back, picked up the fruit juice and took a sip.

After he could no longer see Mendes in the crowd, Niang took out his mobile phone and dialed a phone number.

"Hi, Andre, can you do me a favor?"

※※※

Mendes left in a hurry, but a question was still flashing in his mind.

"Really don't want to leave?"

"Does Pepe really not want to leave?"

This reminded him of an "old thing".

In the just-concluded season, Real Madrid, as the defending champion, was eliminated in the quarter-finals, stopping at the top eight.

After that game, Pepe, as the culprit for the team's final goal loss, was scolded bloody by the Madrid and even Spanish media.

There were even rumors that Pepe was not happy at Real Madrid.

The media not only criticized Pepe's poor performance in this game, but also began to dig up old accounts, finding a lot of information to prove that Pepe was a player who couldn't control his temper, often had brain cramps and short circuits, and had barbaric actions. Such a player naturally did not conform to Real Madrid's club image. In fact, every time Pepe went berserk, the Real Madrid brand image was damaged, and people would think that Real Madrid was responsible for tolerating Pepe.

This wave of criticism lasted for more than half a month before gradually subsiding, but Pepe's reputation as a villain and a confused mind became more closely associated with his personal image... In the past, whenever Pepe was mentioned, everyone would say that he was a rude person, a manly person, and some people gave Pepe the nickname "Shaolin Monk." Now, in addition to this notoriety, Pepe also carries the reputation of declining form and a team tumor, as if without clearing this tumor, Real Madrid would never have a chance to turn over...

In the end, Mourinho stood up to speak out for his players, angrily denouncing the media for making trouble out of nothing, and also said that losing the game was not Pepe's problem, and the whole team should bear the consequences together.

For Pepe's sake, he had another falling out with the media. Apart from speaking for Pepe this time, he did not attend any press conferences until the end of the season.

It can be seen that Mourinho really likes Pepe and values Pepe.

However, one thing made Mourinho very dissatisfied. Although he never expressed it publicly, he complained to Mendes privately.

He believed that the Real Madrid club did not play a positive role in this incident of Pepe being besieged by the media, standing up to protect his players, but instead wanted to let himself, a coach with a bad reputation, come out to take the bullets for the players. The result was that neither Pepe nor his own reputation was any better...

However, Mendes had heard many similar complaints since Mourinho transferred to Real Madrid. Mourinho complained that the Real Madrid club did not protect him and deliberately let him go out to attract the enemy's firepower and hatred; Mourinho complained that Real Madrid did not support his players...

Mendes didn't take it too seriously.

But after talking with that young Liverpool manager Niang today, something in his heart was opened.

Is it really that the player himself doesn't want to leave?

For Real Madrid, is Pepe really very important and indispensable...

...or is he not?