But Chen Yu had a strange feeling that Blanchini might beco an obstacle.
Besides, Ronaldo didn’t just have Blanchini as an agent. Two more were flying in.
’Three agents in total. Who on earth does Ronaldo listen to?’
It occurred to Chen Yu that Guardiola had been Ronaldo’s teammate. Maybe he could help talk to Ronaldo. That way, no matter the outco, at least it would be a decision Ronaldo made himself—one he wouldn’t regret.
The door to Guardiola’s house was shut tight. There was no response when he rang the doorbell; he must have gone out.
The surroundings were lovely, so it was normal to take a walk after dinner.
Chen Yu didn’t know where to find him, so he decided to just wander around a bit. If that didn’t work, he could always talk to him tomorrow.
It was a good chance to walk off the effects of the wine, too.
The ten-year-old red wine packed a bit of a punch.
As he walked down a gravel path, he could hear the distant sound of waves crashing against the shore.
On a whim, Chen Yu headed toward the sea.
After passing through a copse of trees that acted as a windbreak, a beach opened up before Chen Yu. The moon was out tonight, and the surface of the sea shimred. The damp, salty sea breeze felt unpleasant against his face.
It was mainly the fishy sll. And as the wind blew, the wine’s delayed effect hit him, making Chen Yu feel nauseous.
But Chen Yu had already spotted a familiar figure on the beach, seemingly kicking a soccer ball. It was Guardiola.
Shaking his head to clear it, Chen Yu slipped off his dress shoes and walked down the steps onto the sand.
Guardiola wasn’t the only one on the beach; in the distance, a few other people were out for a stroll.
Guardiola was just doing so simple ball juggling. His torn ligant had more or less healed, so light exercise was no problem.
Hearing the noise, Guardiola stopped and turned to look. He clearly recognized Chen Yu and gave a small, smiling nod, but didn’t speak, assuming Chen Yu was just passing by.
But to his surprise, Chen Yu walked over to him.
"Can you speak English?" Chen Yu asked.
Guardiola paused for a mont, then nodded and extended his hand. "You must be Chen Yu. It’s a pleasure to et you. I’m Josep Guardiola."
Chen Yu shook his hand, then pointed to Guardiola’s left foot. "Your left foot is all right now?"
Guardiola didn’t hide anything. "It’s almost fully healed. I should be able to rejoin the team for training at the end of the month."
There were lights set up at the edge of the beach, so it wasn’t completely dark. Chen Yu noticed a flicker of gloom cross Guardiola’s face when he ntioned rejoining the team.
Chen Yu got the faint impression that Guardiola didn’t actually want to go back.
’Could he be having psychological issues after the injury?’
"Well, congratulations. Rejoining the team is a good thing. Still, I get the feeling you’re not too excited about it. Is there a problem?" After asking, Chen Yu suddenly wondered if he was letting his work get to him. He’d been doing so much psychological counseling for the Suns lately that it was becoming an occupational hazard—now he saw psychological issues in everyone.
"Sorry, I was just asking," Chen Yu added quickly.
Guardiola shook his head to show it was no problem, but he didn’t answer the question. Instead, he asked about Ronaldo’s condition.
Chen Yu said, "His situation is a bit complicated. I’ve offered two treatnt plans, but he’s still considering them."
Guardiola thought for a mont before speaking. "Ronnie is a genius. He’s still young and has a brilliant career ahead of him. This injury is a huge blow for him. Chen, I heard you ca from the United States and that you’re an incredible orthopedic surgeon. So I hope you can heal Ronnie. It would be a terrible sha if he were to fall just like that."
As a professional athlete himself, Guardiola knew all too well what an injury like Ronaldo’s signified.
So many players on the pitch have faded into obscurity because of a torn ligant.
"Of course," Chen Yu said with a smiling nod, preparing to explain why he had sought him out.
But Guardiola hesitated for a second before adding, "Chen, you should be careful of Ronnie’s agents, especially Martins. Ronnie trusts him a lot."
Chen Yu was taken aback. That was the very thing he was about to bring up.
’So Guardiola knows about it too.’
"What’s wrong with his agents?" Chen Yu asked, following Guardiola’s lead.
Guardiola seed to feel he’d said too much, but since he’d already started, he continued, "You probably know that he only played at Barça for one year before transferring to Inter Milan, right?"
Chen Yu had no idea about any of this, but he nodded anyway.
Guardiola continued, "That year, I had just beco the captain of Barça, so I knew what was going on. It was a complicated process. On one hand, Ronnie himself wanted a higher salary and to play in the more prestigious Serie A. But his agent—the one I ntioned, Martins—well, how should I put it... he just interfered too much."
Martins was the one who discovered Ronaldo and owned 45 percent of his rights. For every one of Ronaldo’s transfers, his three agents would receive 20 percent of the transfer fee as a signing bonus.
Ronaldo’s transfer fee was a world record 28 million Euro. How much is 20 percent of that?
In Guardiola’s view, this was why Martins was always encouraging Ronaldo to transfer.
During the negotiations, Guardiola had spoken with Ronaldo and knew he was very conflicted. On one hand, he wanted to earn more money; on the other, he felt Barça was a good fit and wanted to stay.
In the end, he left.
Therefore, Ronaldo’s team of agents were like leeches clinging to him, willing to do anything for their own benefit.
Chen Yu raised an eyebrow. ’Looks like I really did find the right person,’ he thought. ’There’s a lot more going on here than I realized.’
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