"Did Gao Shen really acquire Leeds United?"
At Barcelona's Joan Gamper Sports City in Spain, Guardiola was also stunned when he saw the news.
When they read in the newspapers that Gao Shen's fiancée had come forward to appease the Leeds United fans and successfully taken control of the club, they had no choice but to believe it.
"He's always so full of surprises." Guardiola smiled with admiration.
If there was anyone in the world Guardiola couldn't predict, Gao Shen would be the first name that came to mind.
"His fiancée is also quite capable. I saw she was highly praised in the newspapers. Honestly, facing the fans and calming them down at a time like that takes real courage and ability. Not easy!" Assistant coach Vilanova said in praise.
Guardiola nodded. "I've met her several times. She's very beautiful and very smart. I heard she worked in one of the core ministries of the Chinese government. She must be very competent. It's a bit of a pity she's taken over Leeds United."
Vilanova suddenly understood.
Wasn't that the case?
A high-ranking official ends up running a Championship club on the verge of bankruptcy. That's basically a dimensionality reduction strike.
As for facing the fans?
Which government in the world isn't good at public relations?
"What he did this time was a little sneaky. He didn't tell us anything in advance. The worst part is that he tricked us. When I get back to England, I'll have to settle the score with him," Guardiola said with a smile.
Though they were rivals, he was genuinely happy.
Even though he didn't say much to others, everyone who knew him understood that Gao Shen was his best friend, both mentor and peer.
Vilanova also knew that when Guardiola said "tricked," he was referring to Arsenal's training base.
Didn't the Icelandic volcano erupt again recently?
Barcelona had hoped to fly to London early to prepare for the final. But Wembley would only allow participating teams to train the day before the match. Arriving early meant they had to borrow a facility from another club.
The best option was Arsenal's Colney training base. Chelsea's Cobham facility was in the southern suburbs of London, and traveling there from the city center would mean crossing all of Greater London—too far.
More importantly, relations between Barcelona and Chelsea were very poor.
But when Barcelona contacted Arsenal, the response was, "Sorry, we've already agreed to loan it to Manchester City."
They got there first!
Guardiola was so angry he nearly called Gao Shen to curse him out.
You're based in Manchester. Why do you need to come south ahead of time?
But even if everyone knew it was for the final, they couldn't complain.
So in the end, Barcelona went to borrow Fulham's training facility.
"Actually, this isn't just about the training ground. I heard he's now openly poaching players from us." Vilanova said with a wry smile.
Guardiola was visibly stunned. "What do you mean?"
Vilanova looked around to make sure no one was nearby, then leaned in and said quietly, "I heard Rodolfo Borrell will become the technical director of Leeds United."
"That's great. He's very capable."
"Yes, and he spent many years in our youth system. He knows a lot of people and has developed many players, including Messi. So when he starts building his own team, the first thing he does is poach our players."
"Who?"
"Pimienta."
Guardiola frowned.
Francisco Javier García Pimienta, 37 years old, born in Barcelona. He came up through the Barcelona youth system and made it to the B team. He never played for the first team and had a modest career, but after retirement, he moved up the ranks coaching the youth teams.
In recent years, he had managed the U16s, U18s, and U19s, rotating between age groups without a fixed assignment. He was currently with the U16s and was considered very capable.
It was worth noting that he had previously been assistant to Rodolfo Borrell.
He was a long-time insider in Barcelona's youth academy and highly skilled in player development.
"I heard Borrell wants Pimienta to head the youth department at Leeds United."
"He agreed?"
"Seems like it, but I'm not 100% sure."
Guardiola was a bit surprised, but after thinking it over, he was relieved.
As the best manager in the world, Gao Shen was more professional than any club owner. He certainly knew that the key to a successful youth academy was the system, and that system relied on key personnel.
Youth coaches were those key personnel.
"I also heard Borrell called Zubizarreta and wanted to bring a few of our youth players over. The technical team met to discuss it but didn't approve all of them."
"And then?" Guardiola asked, frowning.
Andoni Zubizarreta was now Barcelona's sporting director. As a former goalkeeper and teammate of Guardiola, they were long-time friends.
Back when Guardiola was an assistant under Gao Shen in Naples, Zubizarreta had been the sporting director at Athletic Bilbao and once tried to recruit him to manage Bilbao's youth team.
Barcelona's former sporting director, Txiki Begiristain, had been one of Guardiola's mentors and closest allies, but he left in 2010 after Rosell took over as Barcelona's new president.
Zubizarreta was Rosell's man, so things had become a little awkward between him and Guardiola.
"I heard Zubizarreta eventually agreed to two players."
"Who?"
"One is that Argentine youngster in our youth ranks, Mauro Icardi. Didn't you consider promoting him when you were coaching the B team? But he never got a chance here. His agent arranged a loan to Sampdoria in Serie A this January."
"Did he play?"
"Not much. He joined Sampdoria's youth team in January, started playing mid-March. Eight appearances, four goals. In the cup, five games, four goals. But Sampdoria got relegated, so he returned."
That kind of stat line wasn't particularly impressive for a Barcelona youth player.
Top talents like Bojan used to score goals like crazy.
"Icardi was sold for €400,000. Another youth player, Bellerin, was sold to Leeds United for €300,000. He's quite talented. A lot of teams were watching him, including Arsenal."
To a club like Barcelona, these two youth players weren't seen as high-priority talents.
Borrell had come from their system, so it was natural he'd try to bring players he developed. But stars like Romeu, Montoya, Thiago, Rafinha, and Deulofeu were off-limits.
Still, for some reason, Guardiola felt something was off.
In his experience, Gao Shen always operated with precision. Was it really Gao Shen who wanted Icardi and Bellerin? Or Borrell and Pimienta?
Bellerin was only 16. They were clearly exploiting the same loophole that had allowed Fabregas to leave for Arsenal years earlier. Barcelona would get a youth training compensation fee. He wouldn't be able to play in the Championship yet—at least one or two years away.
But Icardi was already 18 and had a professional contract. He could play immediately.
Would Gao Shen not know these details?
The more Guardiola thought about it, the more he felt this was part of a bigger picture.
Those who knew Gao Shen understood: if he personally came to negotiate, Barcelona wouldn't sell anyone to him.
Thinking of this, Guardiola couldn't help but laugh.
"What's so funny?" Vilanova looked at him, confused.
Why laugh out of nowhere?
"Nothing, just funny." Guardiola smiled.
But he said no more.
Gao Shen was his best friend. If Barcelona was willing to sell, he had no reason to interfere.
In Rosell's Barcelona, he was just a head coach.
…
Manchester City arrived in London two days ahead of the final and checked into their pre-booked hotel.
This move immediately drew media attention.
Su Qing and her family didn't travel south with the team. She had a mountain of responsibilities to handle.
Having just taken over Leeds United, there were too many things to manage. One priority was the renovation of the Thorp Arch training base, which had to be completed before the new season's training camp.
But even that wasn't her main focus. The most important task now was the handover process.
Gao Shen and the parents also didn't travel to London, instead going with Su Qing to Leeds.
As the older generation saw it, when their children started a business, they had to check it out in person to truly understand.
Even more so, this was their first time getting an up-close look at a European football club.
When they visited Elland Road, their first impression was: this place looks terrible. The iron sheets on the outer walls were rusted all over.
But looking at the large stretch of land around it, their eyes lit up.
According to Su Zhijun, how much would a plot of land this size cost back in China?
Don't even get started. Look to the northeast. The warehouse area is even bigger...
"If you built a real estate development here, my god, how many billions could it sell for?"
In the end, after looking around, they didn't reach a specific conclusion. Just one word: worth it!
Why?
They didn't really know, but it felt worth it just because the land was so big.
Gao Shen was on the phone with Su Qing. When he heard this, he couldn't help but laugh.
"You didn't tell them that Arsenal almost went bankrupt because of real estate?"
Su Qing smiled and shook her head. As long as the parents were happy, why spoil it?
In the eyes of the older generation, once they returned to China, this piece of land would be their top bragging right.
When you get old, that's what matters.
Gao Shen fully agreed.
On the afternoon they arrived in London, Gao Shen led the team from the hotel to Arsenal's Colney training base.
What he didn't expect was that Wenger had been waiting for him there, with his sleeves metaphorically rolled up.
"I didn't expect you'd dare to show up!"
(To be continued.)
***
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