Soccer: I have the attributes of Messi in his Prime

Chapter 553: Team in Turmoil, Lin Quan Chooses to Renew Contract with Manchester City

After Kroos' transfer was completed, Real Madrid, full of ambition, continued to pursue another Manchester City midfielder.

On July 20th, Marca broke the news first: Real Madrid had made an offer of 60 million euros for De Bruyne.

This news immediately caught the attention of the entire football world.

"Is Real Madrid trying to empty Manchester City's midfield?"

"Yeah, after taking Kroos, now they're after De Bruyne too!"

"If Real Madrid also snatches De Bruyne, City's new season could be a disaster!"

"Real Madrid seems really ambitious for next season—they brought back Morata from Juventus, bought Kroos for a high price from City, and if they get De Bruyne too, their midfield will be massively strengthened!"

"Enrique's Barcelona seems to be declining, and Bayern's squad is aging. If Real Madrid can hollow out Manchester City by poaching their players, they could become the strongest team in Europe!"

Fans were impressed by Real Madrid's series of transfer moves. For years, Real Madrid had been relentless in strengthening their squad, all in pursuit of their 10th Champions League trophy.

If these transfers could be completed, their squad would become terrifyingly strong, with little room left for improvement.

Unless, of course, they went all out to bring Lin Quan over as well.

Naturally, Manchester City saw through Real Madrid's intentions.

Thus, when Real Madrid sent in their second offer, City promptly rejected it.

Kroos' transfer was something City couldn't prevent, but Real Madrid thinking they could snatch De Bruyne in the same way was pure fantasy.

Even if De Bruyne wanted to leave, City wasn't going to sell him to Real Madrid.

After their offer was rejected, Real Madrid didn't give up and decided to raise their bid.

They increased their offer by 5 million euros, bringing it to 65 million euros—matching Kroos' transfer fee. This showed that Real Madrid recognized De Bruyne's quality to be on par with Kroos.

Although the price was high, if they could get both De Bruyne and Kroos for a combined 130 million, Real Madrid would consider it a huge win.

However, City didn't respond to this offer, making it clear that they had no intention of entertaining Real Madrid.

After waiting for a week, Real Madrid realized their offer wasn't enough, so they gritted their teeth and raised it by another 10 million, submitting a 75 million euro offer for De Bruyne.

While Real Madrid had money, this was almost their limit.

Transfer fees also reflect a player's status within the team. If they paid more for De Bruyne than Kroos, it would imply they had to offer De Bruyne a higher salary and team status as well.

When Kroos transferred to Real Madrid, his salary didn't increase much, but part of his compensation came from a share of his image rights.

If Real Madrid offered De Bruyne the same deal, their salary structure might collapse.

After all, if new players like Kroos and De Bruyne were getting such high wages, wouldn't the team's long-serving veterans deserve a raise too?

Modrić, for example, was earning just 6 million euros a year—half of Kroos' salary.

As a veteran who had been with the team for four years, while he hadn't won many titles, his contributions were still significant.

6 million was quite low, especially considering that De Bruyne, a rising star, was earning almost as much at Manchester City.

While Modrić could accept Kroos' higher salary, given Kroos had won four Champions League trophies, if De Bruyne's salary also surpassed his, Modrić would definitely feel uncomfortable.

And he wouldn't be the only one.

Wouldn't players like Ramos and Benzema, who had contributed greatly to the team, feel the same?

Ramos, the team captain, was currently earning 7 million euros, behind only Cristiano Ronaldo and Bale.

When Bale's salary surpassed Ramos', Ramos already had some complaints. Now with Kroos earning nearly double his wage, there's no way Ramos didn't feel resentful.

If De Bruyne joined with a salary equal to Kroos', it could cause an outright revolt among Real Madrid's veterans!

So, for the sake of budget and wage structure, Real Madrid couldn't easily afford De Bruyne.

But without offering De Bruyne a salary increase, their chances of poaching him were near zero—unless he had always dreamed of playing for Real Madrid.

While Real Madrid struggled with their offers, the football world watched with anticipation.

As Real Madrid kept increasing their bids, some optimistic Real Madrid fans were already imagining Manchester City's midfield duo wearing the club's iconic white jerseys next season.

Real Madrid's aggressive pursuit of De Bruyne seemed to inspire other clubs to try their luck as well.

Bayern Munich had their eyes on City's young talent Joshua Kimmich, hoping to bring the new German national team player back to the Bundesliga.

They were willing to offer 30 million euros for him.

Arsenal wanted City's backup striker Gabriel Jesus, offering 40 million pounds.

Tottenham was interested in Leroy Sané and Son Heung-min, offering 35 million and 30 million pounds, respectively.

Napoli was eyeing another City forward, Kelechi Iheanacho, with a 25 million euro bid.

But the most shocking offer came from Liverpool, who threw out 50 million pounds for Van Dijk.

Offers poured in like snowflakes, and Manchester City was swamped with bids.

The problem was, most of these players weren't for sale!

Iheanacho wasn't essential to City, but the player himself wanted to go to Leicester City, who couldn't afford a high transfer fee.

City could negotiate with Napoli, but they'd have to convince the player to join Serie A.

As for the other offers, City outright rejected them, making it clear that these players weren't for sale.

Even if City wanted to sell, other teams might not be able to afford their high wages.

Like Real Madrid, other clubs faced the same dilemma: City's players generally had high salaries, and without offering even higher wages, they wouldn't be able to tempt them.

But offering such high salaries would disrupt the team's wage structure.

So, unless City decided to sell non-essential players, buying any of their stars would come at a steep price.

Despite City rejecting these offers, the fans were still worried.

Kroos' transfer happened so quickly that many fans didn't have time to process it.

Now, rumors of De Bruyne and several other players transferring were flying, making City fans panic.

The team had only enjoyed a few years of success—could it be falling apart so soon?

City fans had seen the collapse of Manchester United's dynasty, and they feared the same fate might befall their team.

What worried them the most, though, was not just the possible departures of Kroos and De Bruyne, but Lin Quan's contract renewal.

When Lin Quan joined City, he signed a five-year contract, which now had only two years left.

While the club had begun contract renewal talks with his agent last year, no agreement had been reached yet.

This meant that Lin Quan still hadn't renewed his contract with City, leading to speculation that he could leave the club.

If he left, it would be a huge blow to City, almost like an earthquake shaking the entire team.

Without Lin Quan, the whole team might need to be rebuilt.

What's more, if City couldn't secure Lin Quan's renewal, other players might hesitate to renew their contracts as well.

Lin Quan had proven his worth in the Premier League and the Champions League, and his teammates greatly admired him.

If he stayed, even if City lost a few key players, there would still be hope for the new season.

But if he left, City would lose their cornerstone, and their performance could plummet.

Lin Quan's decision would undoubtedly affect many others.

If he left, many players who had stayed because of him might jump ship and join other championship-contending teams.

Manchester City was well aware of this. So, at the end of July, they sent representatives to visit Lin Quan for an in-depth and honest conversation about his contract renewal.

Guardiola stayed out of the discussions, as he didn't want his presence to influence Lin Quan's decision.

Although he wanted Lin Quan to stay, he didn't want Lin Quan to feel pressured or conflicted because of him.

When Lin Quan glanced at the new contract from City, his eyebrows shot up in surprise.

The offer was incredibly generous—salary, bonuses, and image rights—all beyond imagination.

If he signed, his salary would far surpass that of Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

City clearly wasn't sparing any expense to keep him.

Lin Quan had thought long and hard about whether to transfer.

To be honest, after three years at City, he was getting tired of it.

The Premier League schedule, the league's style, and the weather, culture, and food in Manchester didn't satisfy him.

In comparison, Lin Quan would prefer to return to La Liga, where the climate, culture, and food suited him better, even if it meant taking a pay cut. After all, he didn't lack money.

The problem was, there weren't many teams that could afford a player of his caliber.

Even among the top clubs, few had the financial capacity or wage structure to accommodate him.

In Spain, only Barcelona and Real Madrid had the resources.

Lin Quan was originally more inclined toward Real Madrid.

Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez had long admired Lin Quan and had extended invitations to him several times.

Given Pérez's sincerity, Lin Quan found it hard to keep refusing.

But after Real Madrid's expensive signing of Kroos, they might not have the funds to buy him as well.

Unless they sold Cristiano Ronaldo to raise a substantial transfer fee, there wouldn't be enough room for another massive deal.

But even if Real Madrid were willing to sell Ronaldo, there weren't many clubs that could afford him.

Perhaps only Paris Saint-Germain could be expected to make such a move, but they had already spent a fortune on Neymar last year.

It was uncertain if PSG had the funds to buy another superstar.

And in such a short time frame, pulling off such a massive transfer would be very difficult.

By the time Real Madrid sorted out Ronaldo's transfer, it might be too late to negotiate with City for Lin Quan.

So, it seemed unlikely that Lin Quan would move to Real Madrid this summer.

Moreover, Real Madrid poaching Kroos from City made Lin Quan hesitant.

With Kroos gone, City was already unsettled. If Lin Quan left too, the team might really fall apart.

From what Lin Quan knew of De Bruyne, the Belgian would probably follow him out the door.

Lin Quan had developed feelings for City after three years and didn't want to see the club collapse. He also didn't want Guardiola to end up in a difficult position.

So, after learning of Kroos' departure, Lin Quan ultimately decided to stay.

When Guardiola heard that Lin Quan had renewed his contract with Manchester City, he let out a long sigh of relief.

Even though he hadn't been part of the negotiations, his heart had been on edge the whole time.

Lin Quan was the most important player on the team, and his renewal was critical. Without Lin Quan, nothing else would have mattered.

But now that Lin Quan was staying, everything else would be much easier to handle.

After successfully renewing Lin Quan's contract, Manchester City immediately announced the news on their official website.

(End of Chapter)

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