Chapter 583: Forgotten Talents Destined for Greatness

At the beginning of July, Manchester City officially announced the transfers of several key defenders: Cannavaro, Thuram, and Capdevila, who was loaned to Deportivo La Coruña. These moves effectively positioned Manchester City as the club with the largest cash reserves in the league.

Richard whistled as he reviewed the "package structure" sent by Parma for his two best defenders. The Italian clubs have always been very creative financially. Deals were not always simple cash transactions. The terms were staggering.

For Cannavaro: £25 million upfront, with another £25 million to be paid in installments over two years.

For Thuram: £20 million upfront, plus £25 million in installments over the same period.

At first, Parma had proposed the classic Serie A system—a co-ownership deal. They wanted to purchase 50% of the players’ rights and pay only half upfront. But Richard had rejected it outright.

"Hmmm..." Richard rubbed his chin.

There was no way Parma could spend this much money so easily. He turned to Miss Heysen.

"Has Parmalat injected funds into Parma recently?"

"Do you want me to check?" Miss Heysen shook her head, indicating she didn’t know and would need to make inquiries.

"Yes please," Richard replied.

He already had a good idea. In modern football, no one understands this better than him—why Parma was able to become one of "Seven Sisters" of Italian football. It was called the "Sugar Daddy Era" for a reason, with Calisto Tanzi using his food empire to bankroll the team.

’Maybe I’ll sell one or two more later,’ Richard thought. ’Then bring them back at a bargain price when the scandal finally erupts.’

After all, Even if the money came from questionable sources, the player transfers were still legal—so he and Manchester City would not be affected.

Both Cannavaro, Thuram, and Capdevila were transferred to Serie A giants and a Spanish club for a total of sixty-six million pounds. A week later, Manchester City announced that their two starting midfielders, Zidane and Makélélé, had been sold to Real Madrid and Juventus for another fifty million pounds in cash.

This time, however, the reaction was swift and impossible to ignore. The fans did not stay silent. The wave of departures had gone too far.

It led many local supporters to take to the streets in protest, their frustration boiling over as key players continued to leave the club. The atmosphere around Manchester City grew tense, with unrest threatening to spill over at the stadium gates.

Thankfully, among those dissatisfied with his decision, two key figures in the Manchester City community were on his side—Blazing Squad’s Carl Moran and Ric Turner, the owner of the Bluemoon-MCFC website and bar.

Word of mouth had always been the most effective strategy in the long run, and the same applied when it came to appeasing the fans.

What Richard promised was simple: for every major departure, there would be a major arrival. Thanks to this, the fans were somewhat comforted by the decision.

Now, about the transfers.

Vítor Baía, Ricardo Carvalho, Costinha, Maniche, and Christian Vieri—this was the list José Mourinho had given him.The first task Richard assigned to Marina was simple: assess the situation of Vítor Baía.

Baía’s circumstances were far from ideal. When Louis van Gaal took over at FC Barcelona from Bobby Robson, the Portuguese goalkeeper was quickly dropped in favor of the manager’s compatriot, Ruud Hesp. To make matters worse, a lingering knee injury had raised serious doubts about his long-term performance. Many believed his level would decline significantly.

At Manchester City, the situation wasn’t much better. The club relied heavily on Paul Robinson, and Mourinho had already made his position clear—competition in the goalkeeper position was essential. Without it, standards would stagnate.

Richard hesitated. Baía was experienced, proven, and potentially available—but there were risks. Age, injuries, confidence. Still, the opportunity was there. In the end, he decided to make a move.

A bid was submitted. Unfortunately, Barcelona remained reluctant to let him go. After some back-and-forth negotiations, however, the club finally agreed to a loan deal, believing that regular playing time would be better for Baía than leaving him on the bench.

Next were Costinha and Maniche.

Costinha was an important first-team player at Monaco, while Maniche was the midfielder Mourinho specifically wanted. However, both rejected Manchester City’s approach when they were not even guaranteed regular playing time under him. That left Mourinho frustrated and with little leverage.

"But we do have some good news about Vieri," Richard said.

Hearing that, Mourinho’s eyes lit up.

"Did we get him?"

"I’m not sure. There’s a chance—but as you know, Inter have approached him as well," Richard said, shrugging before letting out a quiet sigh.

Christian Vieri had already been the subject of a then world-record £32 million transfer to Inter Milan. Rumors suggested that he had once again caught the attention of chairman Massimo Moratti and manager Marcello Lippi, both of whom had specifically requested him after their successful time together at Juventus.

"Damn you, Moratti..." Richard muttered under his breath.

It was obvious what had happened. The moment Moratti realized that Manchester City were targeting Vieri, he moved immediately. Inter had no intention of losing their advantage—not now, not to a rising rival. And in a battle of influence, history, and prestige, City were still the underdogs.

"Thankfully, we’re done with Carvalho and Pirlo’s contract."

For Carvalho, the situation was simple. Being the third choice behind Jorge Costa and Jorge Andrade left him dissatisfied. At first, he wasn’t particularly interested in a move to City, but Richard presented a long-term project that changed his perspective. He promised him a loan spell with his salary covered, along with guaranteed playing time through specific loan conditions. That offer proved too tempting to ignore. As for Andrea Pirlo, Richard’s mouth twitched slightly.

This season had already sent shockwaves through the market. Richard did not know why, but Chelsea and several other clubs began splashing cash, and everything started to change.

Chelsea had paid a club-record £10 million for Chris Sutton from Blackburn Rovers, and brought in Didier Deschamps from Juventus for another £3 million. On the surface, Richard appeared unfazed but the reality was different. As transfer fees continued to skyrocket, wages followed. The top salaries in the Premier League were rising to levels that made even club owners uneasy.

Then came the real shock.

Chelsea had swooped in midway through negotiations elsewhere, hijacking deals and bringing star players to Stamford Bridge. To secure them, the club offered something unheard of—£40,000 per week, nearly 32% higher than the league’s average top wage. Only Ronaldo and Zidane were earning more than them.

This sudden development caught the other clubs off guard, and even Richard felt like rushing over to strangle Bates and Vialli.

Thanks to Chelsea opening Pandora’s box, Newcastle became the second club to splash cash by signing Kieron Dyer for £6.5 million. Then Leeds followed with Michael Bridges for £5 million, and Coventry made Robbie Keane their record £6 million signing.

These were all record signings for their respective clubs. When multiple clubs begin making record-breaking transfers like this, it signals stronger financial confidence and a willingness to invest heavily. As a result, the situation across the market changes significantly, with higher valuations and increased competition for top players.

Would Manchester City be affected? Of course. What changed most was the wage structure. If Chris Sutton was earning £45,000 a week, how much should a player of similar quality like Pirlo be making? What about Ronaldo or Zambrotta?

It didn’t take long for the ripple effect to spread. Other clubs quickly began reassessing their wage structures, with pressure mounting to increase salaries for their key players—not just Pirlo, but other players who had also started exploring new contract negotiations. Of course, that was for Marina and the agents to handle. As for Richard, as long as there was no urgent issue, he would not interfere in the matter.

"Forget about it. Let’s move on to the next agenda."

The next agenda was the loaning out of young talents. Capdevila’s success made Richard consider giving more players the chance to gain experience. As a result, Samuel Eto’o was approached by Espanyol for a one-year loan. Likewise, the new signing, young Ricardo Carvalho, was set to be loaned to Vitória Setúbal.

Other than that, the transfer activity was different from previous years. Instead of neglecting the first team entirely, the club began to shift its focus toward long-term development. The public was aware of the youth setup, but there wasn’t much excitement around it. After all, who really cared about names they had never heard before?

But Richard and Mourinho saw things differently.

They weren’t looking to slow down—they were laying the foundation.

Joe Cole, Michael Carrick, Owen Hargreaves, and Ledley King were all promoted to the senior squad.

A week before their departure to Japan for the pre-season tour, Richard, Mourinho, and the coaching staff gathered in his office late at night to discuss transfer matters.

André Villas-Boas arrived nearly half an hour late.

He looked disheveled, rushing in with a suitcase still in hand. By then, most of the staff were already on break. The first-team coaches remained composed, while Richard sat back calmly, sipping his orange juice.

When Villas-Boas approached to apologize, Richard turned—and froze for a moment.

"Shit... what happened to you?" he asked, genuine concern in his voice.

Villas-Boas looked exhausted. His face was pale, his eyes swollen, red veins clearly visible. He hadn’t slept.

He didn’t answer. Instead, he sat down across from them, gave a small gesture to indicate he was fine, and pulled out a thick stack of reports, handing copies to both Richard and Mourinho.

Richard paused, took the documents, and flipped through them. His expression shifted to surprise.

"You stayed up all night for this?"

Villas-Boas nodded slightly.

Mourinho glanced through the report, then gave a small thumbs-up. "You’re a workaholic. That’s why I like you."

The report was a detailed analysis of their upcoming opponents in Japan—meticulously prepared over several sleepless nights. Unlike Premier League or domestic rivals, on paper, the matches might seem easy. But the pressure was different. They weren’t allowed to lose.

"Alright, who will be traveling tomorrow?"

Goalkeepers: Paul Robinson, Vítor Baía (Loan)

Defenders: Ashley Cole, William Gallas, John Terry, Lúcio, Jonathan Woodgate Ledley King, Wes Brown, Gianluca Zambrotta

Midfielders: Jay-Jay Okocha, Hidetoshi Nakata, Dejan Stanković, Gennaro Gattuso, Joe Cole, Michael Carrick, Owen Hargreaves, Deco, Andrea Pirlo, Frank Lampard, Ronaldinho, Robert Pirès

Forwards: David Trezeguet, Thierry Henry, Ronaldo

"Ah, by the way!" Richard said, as if remembering something. He immediately turned to Ramm Mylvaganam.

"Did your Prozone team finish the analysis on the player I asked for yesterday?"

If you asked anyone in the coaching staff which player they disliked the most, there was one name that always came to mind: Didier Drogba.

Lazy. Often late. Rebellious.

Those words alone were enough to describe him.

Most of the staff had already given up on him.

But one person hadn’t.

Because he remembered something the others chose to ignore—how Drogba had once dominated defenders with sheer physical power. Even in his raw form, there was something different about him.

The problem was, everyone was too focused on his past mistakes to notice how much he had changed.

Richard flipped through the profile report before handing it over to Mourinho.

"What do you think of him?"

Drogba’s development path hadn’t been smooth. By the time he passed the U-17 level, he had already fallen behind his peers. There was no choice but to send him elsewhere to gain real match experience.

So Richard made a decision.

He found a club in the lower divisions—one willing to give Drogba minutes. In fact, he paid them just to ensure the young striker would play regularly.

It was a gamble. It was a gamble. Were devastating.

"Let’s include him in the trip to Japan," Richard said decisively.

DIdier "Dragon" Drogba.