Chapter 1 Responsible

Kapa, the GD operations director responsible for discussing cooperation with Perlan, received a call from Perlan.

Originally full of confidence, he was momentarily confused by Perlan's reply.

Kapa paused for two seconds, then laughed and said, "Mr. Perlan, is it because of the price? I think we can discuss it slowly, it's business!"

Kapa had already received authorization from Gramana. Money wasn't an issue; they would earn it back eventually.

However, Kapa considered two million euros to be a very high price. It was like giving him money for nothing. More importantly, they would help Zhao Gang win the Golden Boy Award!

That couldn't be settled with just two million euros!

"Mr. Kapa, Zhao is a pure football player. He now wants to focus all his energy on the Manchester Derby and the upcoming Champions League, so he won't be engaging in any commercial activities for the time being. I hope you can understand."

As an agent, Perlan certainly wouldn't pass on Zhao Gang's original words to Kapa. That wouldn't be good for anyone.

"I understand, I understand Zhao's dream... The Golden Boy Award selection is about to begin, and a young and promising player like Zhao must care about this, right?"

"Of course, he does care." Perlan narrowed his eyes, already displeased. Some things are better left unsaid.

Someone in Kapa's position certainly knew this principle. The fact that he dared to bring it up now clearly showed that he didn't take Zhao Gang and Perlan seriously, which made Perlan extremely uncomfortable.

"I wish you success in finding a suitable partner in Dragon Country." Perlan hung up the phone.

This made Kapa extremely annoyed. He had hinted so obviously, but did Perlan not understand?

"Very good. You definitely know what I mean, but you're deliberately pretending not to understand. Watch me teach you a lesson!"

Kapa snorted coldly. If Zhao Gang knew what was good for him and cooperated for mutual benefit, they would give him the Golden Boy Award and make him even more famous. If he didn't appreciate it, then fine, he would let him know the power of capital in advance!

Once the twenty-man shortlist for the Golden Boy Award was finalized, the final result would no longer be something that a single GD could influence. After all, it was voted on by various mainstream European media outlets.

No matter how powerful GD was, it couldn't influence so many media professionals.

However, the shortlist was selected by *Tuttosport*, so some manipulation was possible.

Kapa immediately contacted Moreno, the editor-in-chief of *Tuttosport*. His secretary answered the phone.

The secretary transferred the call to Moreno.

"Mr. Moreno... I am representing Mr. Gramana to discuss something with you."

"Okay. Go ahead."

"It's like this. Mr. Gramana has seen the Golden Boy Award shortlist, and he believes that many proud Europeans would not want to see a yellow-skinned person selected, as it could cause huge controversy. Therefore, he hopes that Zhao Gang can be removed from the shortlist."

"I understand. Give my regards to Mr. Gramana."

Moreno hung up the phone. The secretary stood to one side and asked curiously, "Mr. Gramana?"

"Yes, he wants to modify the Golden Boy Award shortlist. Remove that Asian Zhao from the list."

Moreno replied and continued with his work. After five or six seconds, he held up a newspaper, not looking up, and asked, "Is there anything else?"

The secretary's eyes darted around, somewhat at a loss. She was waiting for Moreno to give her instructions to remove Zhao Gang from the list, as it would soon be announced and sent to the various judging organizations.

"Don't you need to double-check the shortlist?" The secretary didn't directly ask about Zhao Gang but said it indirectly.

"Why would I need to double-check?" Moreno finally looked up, looking strangely at the newly hired secretary.

"Mr. Gramana..."

"Do you work for me, or do you work for Mr. Gramana?"

"I... I certainly work for you."

"Does Mr. Gramana have the final say here, or do I?"

"Of course, it's you..." Moreno's expression became increasingly serious, and the secretary's voice grew softer.

Moreno stared at the secretary, saying nothing more.

The secretary hesitated for another five or six seconds before finally reacting. She quickly bowed slightly, left the office, and went to send the shortlist to the various judging organizations.

Moreno slammed his hand on the table. Gramana, just sell your clothes. Don't reach too far.

If the media lost its impartiality and authority, what qualifications would it have to speak out?

Remove Zhao Gang from the shortlist?

Would anyone trust *Tuttosport* in the future?

Which young talents would consider the Golden Boy Award an honor in the future?

"Damn it, this world will be ruined by these businessmen sooner or later."

...

The players who participated in the national team matches returned to the team one after another.

They returned to the training base after resting for two days.

From a distance, Zhao Gang saw Aguero shrinking his head, his big eyes darting around, obviously up to no good.

Sure enough, as Zhao Gang was practicing his football skills, Aguero tiptoed over, looking left and right like a thief in a melon patch.

"Hey, hey! Hey! Hey!" Aguero nudged Zhao Gang with his elbow, like a sneaky thief.

"Huh?"

"I heard you got that girl? Is she hot? Tell me all about it."

"No." Zhao Gang felt a little disgusted by Aguero's choice of words.

"Huh?"

"We didn't 'get' each other. We're in a normal relationship."

Hearing this, Aguero raised his head, looked at Zhao Gang's serious expression, and stopped smiling.

"If that's the case, we should have a double date sometime. We need to get to know each other."

Aguero thought that Zhao Gang's age was a time to have fun, just messing around, and they would break up in a few days.

He didn't expect him to be serious.

If that was the case, then Aguero wouldn't say anything carelessly.

"Of course, should we go to Barcelona, or should Messi come to Manchester?"

"Hey!!!" Aguero's expression was extremely serious, then he suddenly laughed foolishly, patted Zhao Gang on the shoulder, and said, "You're right, little brother, that's great to hear."

The two laughed together.

De Bruyne walked over with a ball, swaying back and forth, watching the two laughing so hard they were bent over, wondering what was so funny.

He wanted to hear it too.

Aguero shared the story. De Bruyne scratched the back of his head, his eyes confused, not understanding what was so funny.

"Never mind." Aguero shook his head. De Bruyne stood there, thinking that it wasn't that funny, but since they thought it was funny, then it must be funny.

He held the ball and grinned.

Zhao Gang and Aguero stared blankly at De Bruyne.

This kid doesn't seem too bright.

At Manchester City's training base, the players were mostly normal.

However, the media outside was going crazy.

After all, the highlight of the weekend was the Manchester Derby.

Manchester United would host Manchester City at Old Trafford.

Manchester United had been participating in the English top league since the early 20th century, while Manchester City not only had a later founding date but also joined the top league thirty years later than their city rivals.

As for their honors, there was an even wider gap.

From history to so-called "DNA" to the trophies in the trophy room, Manchester City and Manchester United were incomparable.

Of course, in terms of commercial value and number of fans, Manchester United was far ahead of Manchester City.

Five or six years ago, Manchester United never looked at this city rival with respect.

It wasn't until the invasion of financial football, when Manchester City became a Premier League upstart and a wealthy team, that they could truly compete with Manchester United on the field.

However, in the hearts of stubborn and conservative English fans, Manchester City was still not worthy of being compared to Manchester United.

Manchester United had been instilled with the blood of a strong and wealthy team by Sir Alex Ferguson since the 1990s.

From the First Division to the Premier League, Manchester United had never fallen behind. Old powerhouses like Newcastle and Leeds United had long lost their former glory, and Liverpool had slowly declined and fallen into obscurity.

But Manchester United had always been one of the strongest teams in the top league.

Arsenal had a glorious period when they could compete with the Red Devils for a while, but they were only temporary rivals.

In the English top league, there were only the eternal Red Devils and challengers trying to knock the Red Devils off the throne.

Sir Alex Ferguson was the kind of coach who made the other Premier League teams feel despair.

However, after Sir Alex retired, Manchester United suddenly didn't know how to play football anymore.

Apart from the trophies in the trophy room and the so-called "DNA," there was almost nothing to show off in the Premier League.

When Sir Alex was around, Manchester United's management and players had to obediently step aside and follow his instructions.

After Sir Alex retired, everyone was the boss.

Anyone could stand up and say something.

This led to considerable problems for Manchester United, and their performance was terrible.

Therefore, Manchester United's management made a painful decision and hired the controversial but truly champion coach, Mourinho.

Mourinho was heavily criticized for his utilitarian style of play, and his arrogant and uninhibited personality made many people hate him, hoping to see him fall into the dust.

However, even those who hated him had to admire his ability. He could lead the Portuguese team Porto to win the Champions League, and he could tear apart Barcelona's dream team with Inter Milan. The Bundesliga giants were also vulnerable in front of him.

He led Real Madrid to create unprecedented league points and goal records, once again dethroning Barcelona in the league.

However, this highly individualistic coach always had conflicts with his former clubs.

This time, he tried to catch an internal spy at Chelsea for two months, but he caught nothing.

When he arrived at Manchester United, although he had a good record of two wins and one draw in the first three games, which made the fans full of expectations, he couldn't buy any of the players he wanted.

The young man he admired the most was, of course, Zhao Gang, who was in the opposing team this time.

In his tactical system, Zhao Gang could quickly get the ball and pass it, allowing the striker to score the decisive goal in the shortest amount of time!

Abandoning all unnecessary ball control and aiming for the opponent's goal!

Under his command, Zhao Gang would certainly not be a forward, but he would become a dazzling attacking core and hub in Europe and even the world.

If Manchester United was unwilling to spend 70 million pounds to buy Zhao Gang, Mourinho might have felt better, but Manchester United wasn't unwilling to spend money.

They spent 80 million to buy Martial.

This was unacceptable to Mourinho.

This was not the player he wanted at all, but Manchester United's management didn't listen to his advice at all.

This time, the Manchester Derby would not only showcase the battle of wits between two world-class coaches but also the peak duel between these two young record signings.

It was also a direct dialogue between the old and new nobles of the Premier League.

Too many people were paying attention to this Manchester Derby.