"You're right, Gao!"
Gao Shen warmly entertained Zidane and Valdano at a high-end restaurant in Alderley Edge, Cheshire.
Also present was Gao Shen's fiancée, Su Qing.
When the three men sat together, the topic naturally turned to football.
That was the purpose of their visit.
"When we decided to bring in Kaka, you said it wouldn't work. Now it seems you were right, and we were all wrong!" Valdano sighed with a mixture of regret and frustration.
Both Florentino and Valdano had returned to Real Madrid for a second time with ambitions to restore the club's glory. They were deeply attached to the club and hoped to prove their worth with this second tenure.
Florentino's goal in returning was to clear his name and firmly establish himself as Real Madrid's president.
But this season, Real Madrid's performance had been underwhelming.
So far, after 22 rounds of La Liga, Real Madrid trailed Barcelona by two points. In their first head-to-head clash, they lost 0-1 at Camp Nou.
On the surface, the result wasn't bad, and the overall performance was acceptable—but no one at Real Madrid was satisfied.
What truly ignited Pellegrini's coaching crisis was the Copa del Rey, where Real Madrid suffered a humiliating 4-0 defeat to an amateur team. It was an unprecedented embarrassment. There were even rumors that Florentino wanted to fire Pellegrini on the spot.
Over €300 million had been spent assembling four superstar players from the top three leagues, only to be humiliated by a team of part-timers. It was almost laughable.
But it happened.
Florentino kept his composure and didn't sack Pellegrini, hoping he could turn things around—especially in the Champions League.
Pellegrini had done well in the Champions League while managing Villarreal.
But who would have thought Real Madrid would lose 0-2 to Lyon in the first leg of the Round of 16?
Judging by the scoreline, it would be difficult to stage a comeback in the return leg.
That was why Zidane and Valdano had come to Manchester.
More than six months ago, Gao Shen had predicted this outcome.
At the time, he had warned Valdano that signing Kaka would damage Real Madrid's tactical structure.
But who listened then?
Even Zidane had likely been skeptical, as he himself was a former attacking midfielder.
Now, the result was clear.
No matter how many superstars a team has, if the midfield is unbalanced, it's all meaningless.
…
"There's no absolute right or wrong in this. Different people have different views and ideas. That's normal."
Gao Shen smiled, trying to ease the tension. Since his team couldn't compete in the Champions League this season, he didn't think it was his place to evaluate those who had qualified, even if they had already lost the first leg.
Zidane and Valdano found themselves at a loss for how to respond.
According to their plan, they were supposed to appeal to Gao Shen's emotions and reason.
They firmly believed that with his abilities, he could solve Real Madrid's current crisis and lead them out of their slump.
Florentino believed the same, which was why he had sent the two of them to Manchester.
It was simple: since Gao Shen had been able to see through Real Madrid's problems six months ago, he could surely fix them now.
As they watched Gao Shen and Su Qing sitting together affectionately and acting like no one else was around, Zidane and Valdano exchanged a glance, both seeing the helplessness in the other's eyes.
In the end, Zidane couldn't hold back.
"Gao, please come back!" Zidane said sincerely.
"Come back? To where?"
"To Real Madrid. We're all waiting for you."
"Don't joke around, Zinedine. What would I go back for?" Gao Shen asked with a smile.
"To pull the club out of this mess—just like you did four years ago. We all believe you can do it, and even better than before," Zidane said earnestly.
He had worked as Gao Shen's assistant and knew his ability better than anyone.
Real Madrid's current predicament wasn't beyond Gao Shen's capabilities.
The real question was whether he was willing to return.
Gao Shen was silent for a few seconds before smiling and shaking his head. "Zinedine, today's Real Madrid isn't the same as it was before. And I'm not the same either. Manchester City has its own problems right now, and I need to solve them. You know me—I wouldn't just walk away at a time like this."
"We can wait until the end of the season," Valdano quickly added.
Real Madrid was showing real sincerity in their approach to Gao Shen.
Aside from the superstar policy, they were willing to negotiate on everything else.
But Gao Shen still shook his head, smiling.
This left Zidane and Valdano deeply frustrated.
"Zinedine, Jorge, we've been friends for many years. I'm really happy you came to see me. You're welcome to stay in Manchester for a while—everything will be on me. But as for returning to Real Madrid, let's not talk about that anymore."
Gao Shen's tone was firm, leaving no room for negotiation.
…
After the meal, Zidane and Valdano watched as Gao Shen walked off hand-in-hand with Su Qing.
As friends, they were happy for him.
But as Real Madrid staff, they were disappointed.
Both professionally and personally, they hoped to work with Gao Shen again.
But they knew him well and once he made a decision, he wouldn't change it easily.
"Maybe this is for the best," Valdano muttered.
Zidane nodded and gave a bitter smile.
The current Real Madrid dressing room wasn't easy to manage, and the problems were serious.
Raúl, Guti, and others were aging and should be phased out. At the same time, the forward line was packed with superstars—how should ball possession and roles be distributed?
As Gao Shen said, to secure midfield stability, adjustments had to be made to the superstar setup. But who would be sacrificed?
Every superstar had been signed for a massive fee. They weren't brought in to sit on the bench or warm up by the water cooler.
Back then, Gao Shen had been able to take control of the Real Madrid dressing room because the team had been in decline for years and desperate for change.
But now...
Thinking this over, Zidane pulled out his phone and called Florentino, who was waiting in Madrid, and gave him a brief summary of their conversation with Gao Shen.
On the other end, Florentino remained silent for a long time.
Back when Gao Shen first managed Real Madrid, Florentino had been very optimistic about him.
Even when preparing to return to the presidency, Florentino had envisioned Gao Shen as the club's next head coach.
But because of disagreements over transfer policy and because Florentino made unilateral decisions, Gao Shen had angrily walked away and joined Manchester City.
Despite the recent criticism Gao Shen had received, Manchester City was still leading the Premier League. A 19-match winning streak and a title-contending campaign were more than enough to shake up the football world.
Gao Shen was still the magical Gao Shen.
But Real Madrid was no longer the same club it was at the start of the season, and Florentino was no longer as confident as before.
At the very least, the Florentino of last summer would never have believed that his €300 million superstar squad could lose to an amateur team.
But judging from what Zidane and Valdano had said, Gao Shen had made up his mind. Who could possibly change it?
…
After leaving the restaurant, Gao Shen and Su Qing walked home hand-in-hand along a tree-lined path, enjoying the rare peace and quiet.
"You still care about Real Madrid," Su Qing said.
She knew him well. Gao Shen was sentimental by nature.
Gao Shen smiled but said nothing.
"So why didn't you say yes?" Su Qing asked curiously.
Gao Shen let go of her hand, wrapped his arm around her shoulders, and pulled her closer. She leaned fully into him, their intimacy deepening.
Even though they had been together for a while, Su Qing still blushed at Gao Shen's sudden closeness.
But as always, Gao Shen's firm gesture left her no room to resist, and she surrendered with a smile.
"Now isn't the right time."
"Why not?"
Gao Shen smiled again. "Real Madrid isn't like other clubs. Since Florentino's first Galácticos era, they've put huge emphasis on commercial value. Superstars are a vital part of that."
"So whether it's the first or second Galácticos project, those big-name players hold enormous influence. They can go straight to the top, sometimes even directly to the president."
Su Qing immediately understood what he meant.
If you think of Real Madrid as a company, then having people bypassing the chain of command, going straight to upper management and interfering in daily operations would be a total disaster.
"Right now, too many people still believe that once you buy a bunch of superstars, success will follow automatically. They overlook the importance of the manager. They underestimate the role of the head coach."
Real Madrid had never had a tradition of respecting their managers.
It was that way before, it's that way now, and it may always be that way.
But as a manager, Gao Shen couldn't operate in such an environment. He needed the club's full and genuine support or he'd rather not be there at all.
And that was something Real Madrid couldn't offer at the moment.
To put it simply, Gao Shen only needed to ask Florentino one question: "Can I bench Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka?"
If the answer wasn't a clear "yes," Gao Shen wouldn't even consider taking the job.
Because if he didn't have the authority to discipline players, how could he control the dressing room? How could he earn respect? How could he make everyone follow his commands?
Some might argue that the coach can persuade Ronaldo to cooperate.
But such cooperation is inherently fragile and with Gao Shen's current status and reputation, why would he take that risk?
In truth, whether it was Florentino, Valdano, or Zidane, they all clearly understood where Gao Shen's bottom line lay.
But Real Madrid wasn't ready to compromise.
And in that case, Gao Shen wouldn't return.
(To be continued.)
***
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