"Mr. Gao, are you joking?" Peter Peters asked, clearly uncomfortable.
A market valuation of €8.5 million, and the offer is €10 million?
That kind of bid was insulting for a young talent like Neuer.
It was practically saying that he had no future.
Of course, market valuations already took into account a player's potential and age, but the offer was still too low.
Gao Shen wasn't offended.
He simply glanced at Peters, then at Tönnies and Schnusenberg and instantly understood their mindset.
Neuer wasn't truly unsellable to Schalke 04.
Quite the opposite.
The club needed to sell valuable players to generate transfer funds and reinvest in strengthening the squad.
Given the financial realities of the Bundesliga, this was the only way for mid-tier clubs to remain competitive.
"€13 million!" Gao Shen said calmly.
He didn't argue, he just raised the offer.
"And that's a one-time payment, in cash."
The three Schalke executives immediately perked up.
It wasn't just the €3 million jump in the offer.
In the Premier League, that kind of increase wasn't a big deal but in the Bundesliga, it was bold.
What really caught their attention was the payment method.
European football transfers rarely involved full upfront payments.
Instead, most deals were structured with installments.
That led to situations where:
A player transferred from Club A to Club B.
After two years, he transferred from Club B to Club C.
And yet, Club B still owed Club A part of the original transfer fee.
There were even extreme cases where a player had moved multiple times, but the original transfer fees were still unpaid.
Another issue was buyer's remorse.
If a player underperformed, his new club might decide to send him back to his old team, sometimes because they hadn't even finished paying for him yet.
Fans often thought these were sentimental moves—a "homecoming" story.
In reality?
It was often just unpaid debt.
This practice was common across European football.
Even Real Madrid, despite their enormous spending power, preferred to pay in installments.
Some of their massive transfer fees only looked high because the payment period was stretched over five to ten years, incorporating interest and financial costs.
Eventually, clubs adapted.
When selling a player on an installment plan, they would take the contract to a bank, secure a loan against the transfer fee, and use that immediate cash to reinvest in the squad.
That's why modern football transfers weren't just about buying and selling players they involved complex financial operations.
This was also why the CFOs of football clubs had become so important.
But Gao Shen was offering cash.
A €13 million full payment might seem low, but in practical terms, it was far more valuable than an installment-based €15–20 million deal.
For Schalke 04, cash on hand meant greater financial flexibility, they could immediately reinvest in the transfer market without waiting years for payments.
Of course, Gao Shen had already discussed this strategy with Mubarak, Cook, and Manchester City's board before coming to Schalke.
For the Middle Eastern billionaires, €10–20 million in cash was nothing.
…
"Mr. Gao, to be frank, we really can't sell Neuer at this price," Schnusenberg said.
Gao Shen nodded.
"I see."
He paused for a moment—then smiled.
"€15 million. Cash."
Another €2 million increase.
The Schalke executives were stunned.
How the hell was he negotiating like this?!
That's €2 million!
Did he even understand what €2 million could buy in the Bundesliga?
Bayer Leverkusen had just signed Lars Bender from 1860 Munich for €2 million.
Werder Bremen had bought Claudio Pizarro from Chelsea for €2 million.
Stuttgart had secured Aliaksandr Hleb from Barcelona for €2 million.
Dortmund had brought in Sven Bender from 1860 Munich for €1.5 million.
Hertha Berlin had signed Adrián Ramos from América de Cali for just €1.4 million.
Right now, Gao Shen was sitting across from Schalke 04's Big Three, and every time he raised the offer, it was by millions of euros.
€2 million, €3 million—just like that.
The Schalke executives were stunned.
They had met plenty of wealthy people before but never anyone this rich.
"Mr. Gao, we appreciate your sincerity, but... our fans won't accept us selling Germany's future No. 1 at this price," Schnusenberg said, his voice trembling slightly.
It wasn't that he had never handled large sums of money before—it was just that he had never experienced negotiations like this.
Normally, transfers involved back-and-forth communication via fax or phone calls. Each bid would be carefully analyzed before making a counteroffer.
But this?
Gao Shen was sitting right in front of them, raising his offer on the spot, and improvising as if he were haggling at a market.
How were they supposed to negotiate like this?!
At this point, Schalke's executives were genuinely excited.
It was clear that Manchester City really wanted Neuer.
And it was also clear that Schalke was willing to sell.
One side wanted to buy, the other side wanted to sell, the only thing left to decide was the price.
The problem was, the Schalke executives weren't sure how high they could push it.
What if they asked for too much, and Gao Shen walked away?
Would he come back with another offer?
Schnusenberg, as the club's financial officer, was especially nervous.
Because he knew exactly what they could do with this money.
Gao Shen immediately caught the hidden meaning behind his words.
At first, they claimed Neuer wasn't for sale.
Now, the excuse was "the fans won't accept the price."
The real message?
"We actually want to sell him but your offer is still a little low. Add a bit more, and we'll make this work."
If Manchester City raised the bid just a little more, Schalke could then sell the idea to the fans.
They'd make it seem like they had no choice but to accept because City's offer was too good to refuse.
That way, Manchester City gets the player, Schalke gets the money, and the club's executives keep the fans happy.
A win-win for everyone.
Gao Shen was thrilled.
This was the first time he had used money as a direct weapon like this.
In his past life, even though he had a good corporate job, his company had strict budgets and stingy financial controls.
Getting funding approved was a nightmare, the finance department was full of soulless bureaucrats.
But now?
Now, he was throwing around tens of millions so easily that it made his legs feel weak.
This…
This is how a transmigrator should live!
Damn it!
I must have traveled into the wrong script.
I should have been reincarnated as the crown prince of some oil-rich Middle Eastern royal family, spending every day throwing money at people, living like a king.
Why do I have to buy just two Bugatti Veyrons?
What about the license plate restrictions?!
If I'm getting a private jet, it has to be the party kind—like Tony Stark's in Iron Man.
That way, I'd never get bored while traveling.
Wake up in London's One Hyde Park, have a barbecue in Madrid for lunch, watch the sunset over Rome in the afternoon, hit up a cabaret show in Thailand in the evening, then fly to Tokyo to… experience the local hospitality.
Now THAT'S life!
Gao Shen almost let out a cheer just thinking about it.
But despite his wild thoughts, he remained completely serious on the surface.
After pretending to think for a moment, Gao Shen made a new offer.
"€18 million. In cash."
His tone was firm.
"This is the highest offer we can make. Think it over carefully."
But in his mind, Gao Shen was already planning his next move.
If they reject this, I'll just jump straight to €25 million.
Before, I was only raising by €2–3 million at a time but now, let's go all-in.
Big money can create miracles!
Maybe this shock-and-awe strategy would be even more effective.
He nodded to himself.
Yeah. Let's do it.
So, Gao Shen sat there, ready to pounce, waiting for Schalke's inevitable rejection.
Then, he'd hit them with €25 million, leaving them stunned into submission.
But…
That's not what happened.
Instead, after a quick discussion, Schalke's Supervisory Board Chairman, Clemens Tönnies, spoke up.
"Mr. Gao, we feel your sincerity," he said.
"€18 million, one-time cash payment. We accept."
Huh?!
Gao Shen was momentarily stunned.
Wait…
You're agreeing now?
But I had more offers coming!
Aren't we supposed to drag this out a little more?
Where's the dramatic back-and-forth?
You sold him for less than €20 million, is that even reasonable?
Shouldn't you at least pretend to hesitate, maybe push for a final bump?
I wasn't done negotiating yet!
The Schalke executives also gave Gao Shen complicated looks, almost as if they were worried.
Did he think he had overpaid and was now regretting it?
Better not give him a chance to back out!
"Mr. Gao," Schnusenberg quickly added, "Neuer is currently in Sweden for the U21 European Championship, but we can contact his agent immediately.
If all goes well, we can finalize the contract today."
He was clearly excited.
No doubt he was already fantasizing about how he'd spend Schalke's €18 million war chest.
Damn it!
How long has it been since Schalke had this kind of financial freedom?!
This time, they were going all out in the transfer market!
…
Thirty minutes later, Gao Shen left Schalke 04's headquarters looking visibly disappointed.
The three Schalke executives personally walked him out, all while feeling secretly delighted.
It looked like Gao Shen had gotten caught up in the moment and overpaid and now, he was regretting it.
Young people are always so impulsive!
So wasteful!
But as soon as Gao Shen got into the car, he let out a deep sigh.
"I was planning to pay €30 million for him…" he muttered.
"But I got him for €18 million instead."
"Why are you all so unprofessional?!"
Lucas and Brian Kidd exchanged helpless glances.
Then, they burst into laughter.
So that was it.
Gao Shen wasn't upset about overpaying, he was disappointed that he didn't get to spend more.
(To be continued.)