Ferguson had always wondered why Gao Shen would give him wine every time they met.
At one point, he even suspected Gao Shen might be a wine merchant.
But then he thought it over and found it unlikely. How could selling alcohol be more profitable than being a head coach?
Besides, Gao Shen was so busy, how could he possibly have time to run a business?
He realized that every time Gao Shen gave him wine, there were never any strings attached. It never caused any trouble either. At most, some media would report a few baseless rumors, but they had no impact on him at all.
Once he figured that out, he slowly lowered his guard.
Especially now, with the league suspended and no pressure from matches, Gao Shen brought some fine wine and invited him to dine at a high-end restaurant in Alderley Edge. Ferguson thoroughly enjoyed the wine and food, finding the experience truly special.
Those who live in Alderley Edge are mostly British political and business elites. Anyone who can dine at this high-end restaurant is a big name in their field, including a few football stars.
So when Gao Shen and Ferguson sat down for a meal, while it was unusual and caught people's attention, no one came over to disturb them.
At most, they would just nod from a distance in greeting.
To be honest, at their level, it would be a bit over-the-top to act excited just because they saw a celebrity.
The two chatted intermittently while eating.
Gao Shen was really skilled at this kind of casual conversation.
Gradually, Ferguson, seemingly unintentionally, steered the conversation toward the transfer market.
"Did you know Chelsea signed Eto'o?" Ferguson picked up his wine glass, swirled the red wine, and suddenly asked.
Gao Shen, who was just about to cut his steak with knife and fork, froze momentarily, silently cursing: Manchester City's intel in this area is still lacking. They hadn't paid enough attention before, and now they lacked the strength.
At the core, it was because the foundation was still weak.
Manchester United had been a top team for many years, maintaining close exchanges of information with the major media, newspapers, and reporters, which made their intelligence network incredibly robust.
But Manchester City couldn't match that.
In the past, Manchester City had no real ambition, so it didn't matter. But now, it was something that had to be taken seriously.
After all, the transfer market was also a battlefield.
Just look at how United lost out on Ronaldinho, Robben, Kaka, and Benzema. That was a real blow to the Red Devils.
"Really? I'd heard rumors, but didn't know it was actually done," Gao Shen replied quickly with a smile to cover up, even though he was planning to go back and scold the entire administrative intelligence department behind closed doors.
Who was Ferguson?
He'd already noticed Gao Shen's surprise but didn't call him out on it.
"It's basically done. The transfer fee is 25 million euros, but they still have to finalize Eto'o's contract. As you know, he always has high wage demands," Ferguson said with a faint smile.
The media had reported that Eto'o had a big family to support and was involved in charity work, which were all good things.
But it was also true that the Cameroon striker had high salary expectations.
Gao Shen wasn't surprised by this. These things had to be mutually agreed upon. If Chelsea was willing to sign him, it meant they thought he was worth it.
On the other hand, after bringing in David Villa, selling Eto'o clearly didn't match Guardiola's public stance or character. The best explanation was that Barcelona had already locked in Aguero from Atletico Madrid.
As a result, the entire European football landscape was in disarray.
Everything Gao Shen remembered had been completely thrown into chaos.
Aguero was extremely talented. Once paired with Messi, plus Sanchez, Villa, and Pedro, Barcelona's front line would be terrifying.
Their attacking lineup might be short in height, but Barcelona didn't play high balls anyway. They always kept the ball on the ground.
You could imagine just how strong Barcelona would be.
Guardiola had clearly been deeply influenced by Gao Shen. If he didn't repeat the mistakes from his previous life, his accomplishments could be even more impressive.
"You figured it out too, didn't you?" Ferguson asked as he saw Gao Shen frowning and deep in thought.
Gao Shen was momentarily stunned. Then he looked up at Ferguson, as if to say: Can you really read my mind?
"The new Premier League season will be more intense than ever."
With that, Ferguson began analyzing the Premier League situation.
Chelsea had cleared out a lot of surplus players, but their first-team squad had become leaner. With Ramires and Eto'o added, Chelsea had improved significantly. Ancelotti's team had a real chance of reclaiming the title this season.
Liverpool had also made big moves, bringing in players like Meireles and Dossena. Those signings alone cost more than 30 million euros. On top of that, Joe Cole had joined from Chelsea on a free, significantly boosting the Reds' overall strength.
And then there was Tottenham Hotspur. The North London club had been very active this year too.
First, they signed central defender Gallas from Arsenal on a free, then they brought in Van der Vaart from Real Madrid for 8 million euros. Redknapp had basically completed the restructuring of their midfield and defense.
Tottenham had a real shot at finishing top four this season.
When Gao Shen heard this, he suddenly looked at Ferguson with curiosity. "Sir, why are you telling me all this?"
As he spoke, Gao Shen looked at Ferguson with a smile, as if to say: Let's not play games anymore, just be direct!
Ferguson chuckled. He knew he couldn't fool Gao Shen.
This kid was sharp.
"I want to ask you, who's this exciting star you're talking about?"
Gao Shen was stunned for a moment, then gave a wry smile. So that's what this was all about.
You couldn't really blame Ferguson for being nervous.
There's a saying: "I'm not afraid of thieves stealing, I'm afraid of thieves thinking about it."
Manchester City kept talking about signing a superstar, but there had been no major moves yet. That naturally aroused suspicion.
The media had been full of rumors.
Some said Gao Shen wanted Fabregas from Arsenal. There were even reports that Manchester City CEO Gary Cook had met with Arsenal officials in London.
But that was later debunked. It turned out Gary Cook was actually headed to Ukraine and had just made a stop in London.
Later, there were reports that Gao Shen was targeting Gerrard from Liverpool.
Everyone knew how influential this world-class midfielder was in the UK. Chelsea had almost signed him back in the day.
But the Liverpool Echo immediately published a rebuttal, saying it wasn't Gerrard but Torres.
Because Manchester City currently had only one consistent scorer, Suarez. Giroud played a specific tactical role but lacked finishing ability. Sturridge was still a bit young and inconsistent, and he clearly fit better in a two-striker system.
Then, some news came out that Gao Shen wanted Drogba. After all, Gao had praised Drogba heavily when he was at Napoli. It made sense he'd try to sign him now.
Don't believe it?
Just look at Giroud. Isn't he basically a simplified version of Drogba?
If you can afford the premium model, who wants the basic one?
But recently, a small report claimed Gao Shen was actually targeting Rooney from Manchester United.
What made it worse was that Rooney was currently in contract negotiations with United. His agent had hinted that big, wealthy clubs were indeed interested, and Rooney wasn't ruling out a transfer.
A wealthy club… Might as well just say Manchester City by name, right? What's the point of pretending?
The news spread like wildfire. Fans were watching closely, the media were hyping it, and Ferguson was getting anxious.
The reason was simple: Manchester United genuinely didn't have money.
"Honestly, Sir, you really need to step up your transfer activity. Otherwise, you might not even make the top four this season," Gao Shen said with a relaxed smile.
Ferguson listened, let out a soft sigh, picked up his wine glass, drank it in one go, then sighed again, savoring the flavor for a few seconds. "I've done my best. No matter what, I can't repeat Arsenal's mistake."
Gao Shen found it hilarious. If Wenger heard that, he'd probably be so angry he'd spit blood.
Damn, what do you mean by repeating our mistake?
I just slipped up for a moment and didn't pay attention, and you lot at Manchester United swooped in.
But Arsenal's situation really was tough. If they weren't careful, they could fall apart completely.
Why?
Because Arsenal's debt ratio was just too high.
They couldn't play in the Champions League this season, which meant they had to consider selling players.
For example, Gallas, Merida, Senderos, and Silvestre all left on free transfers. Eduardo da Silva, who had suffered a broken leg, had moved to Shakhtar Donetsk.
It was reported that after Mourinho took over at Real Madrid, he specifically asked for Adebayor.
Barcelona wanted Fabregas, and Real Madrid wanted Adebayor. Both were Arsenal stars who could fetch a high price.
It was clear Arsenal's situation was very difficult.
Even if many media outlets and fans were reluctant to admit it, the fact was that Manchester City was one of the few, or perhaps the only, Premier League and European giants with the financial power to make big signings.
Barcelona bought Villa and Aguero?
That was just them mortgaging their future and going into debt to buy players.
So Ferguson's worries weren't unfounded.
Gao Shen suddenly found the whole thing amusing. He hadn't expected Ferguson to invite him to dinner just because of this.
It was funny when you thought about it. Manchester United, once so rich and powerful, was now afraid of being poached?
"Sir, if—just saying if—we really want to sign Rooney, and Rooney's interested in joining us at Manchester City, what could you do?" Gao Shen asked with a hint of arrogance.
Ferguson was stunned at first, then his expression turned gloomy. He looked at Gao Shen intensely, trying to find some clue to determine whether he was joking or serious.
But Gao Shen didn't give anything away.
Ferguson felt powerless. If Gao Shen really went through with it, then he and Manchester United would have no way out.
"Alright, alright, no more talk like that. Let's keep eating and drinking," Gao Shen said casually.
Ferguson was fuming inside, cursing silently. Eat and drink, my ass!
That "if" of yours—was it real?
Can you give me a straight answer?
(To be continued.)