"No one knew what it meant for Anelka"s brothers to show up next to Benítez..."

Twain stared intently at the news still playing on the television.

"Tony?" Dunn asked next to him.

"What the h.e.l.l does that mean? Isn"t it clear enough?" Twain muttered as he turned to walk up the stairs, not hearing Dunn"s words.

Twain went upstairs and searched for Anelka"s phone number. He stood at the window and dialed the number.

He certainly knew what it meant.

What else can it mean? Anelka"s brothers are up to something again. No, maybe the two of them have received Anelka"s instructions this time.

He had replaced Anelka in the Champions League final. At the time, Twain"s mind was full of the game alone, and he did not think too much about it. Later, after the game had ended, he calmly thought about it and supposed that the replacement might have upset Anelka. However, as he was held back by all sorts of matters, he did not look for the Frenchman to explain his reasons for this subst.i.tution.

Ah, I didn"t think… I really didn"t think Anelka would make a move so quickly by allowing his brothers contact other clubs.

An unanswered beep came from the phone.

Twain slammed his phone onto the bed.

He could now finally understand how Wenger felt when he had called Anelka.

Are you playing this card again?

※※※

Dunn looked strangely at Twain coming down the stairs.

"He didn"t answer?" he asked.

Twain nodded, went to the couch, and sat down in a huff.

"Is he leaving, then?"

"Do you think I can still make him change his mind?"

"I"d advise against letting him go. We"re short a fast striker."

"We can go to the transfer market and find…"

"From a tactical point of view, he is best suited to the current team."

When Twain heard Dunn say so, he shook his head helplessly. "I admit that. He was great, taking a season to get used to the team. Wait a minute." He suddenly sat up, "I"m not letting him go. It"s not going to be that easy. But this can"t be ignored either. I think that we should continue to strengthen our front line."

Dunn was a little surprised to hear that, "You still want to buy a striker?"

"Bingo." Twain nodded firmly.

※※※

The Calciopoli happened as scheduled. That had not changed at all. It was exactly the same implicated clubs and people.

Juventus was stripped of its Serie A t.i.tle and its relegation to Serie B was almost certain to be on the cards. Now, everyone was focused on what would happen to another powerhouse team; whether AC Milan would be relegated or penalized with point deduction.

Real Madrid was frantically courting AC Milan"s midfield core, Kaka. As long as AC Milan was eventually sentenced to relegation, then Kaka would be almost certain to leave the team.

The slight inconsistency with what Twain knew of the "Phone Gate" incident was the players who ran away after the Juventus supermarket was opened.

Capello took three of his players and hurried to Real Madrid when he took over.

Yes, there were three players.

They were the captain of the Italian national team and this FIFA World Cup"s Golden Ball winner, the center back, Fabio Cannavaro, the Brazilian midfielder, Emerson, and the most important person, the one very much valued by Capello, the French striker, David Trezeguet.

Trezeguet joined Real Madrid and was the best center forward in Capello"s mind.

As a result, the future of another player who should have joined Real Madrid would become unknown.

"The Bundesliga team Bayern Munich has officially asked Manchester United about the price for Ruud van Nistelrooy. The relations.h.i.+p between the Dutch striker and Ferguson was completely damaged before the World Cup. He was also not trusted by Marco van Basten at the World Cup. It looks like the Dutchman needs a different place to start over."

Twain switched off the satellite television at Evan Doughty"s office and played with the remote control in his hand.

"That"s your target, Tony?" asked Doughty.

Twain nodded, "That"s right. We need a player who can absolutely dominate in the penalty area and I can"t think of anyone better than him."

Sitting across him, Allan also nodded lightly. "From a commercial standpoint, if van Nistelrooy could come, it will greatly stimulate our jersey sales. He"s a real world-cla.s.s football star." The two men were in complete agreement this time.

After he listened to the two men, Evan Doughty was silent for a moment, and then he looked up at Twain, "For such a world-cla.s.s player, you know what kind of remuneration he would ask for, right?"

"Of course; we might need to come up with a salary that is higher than the team"s current maximum wage to attract him. But we have one advantage that we can make use of." Twain put up his index finger.

"Oh?" Evan Doughty and Allan Adams were piqued when Twain said the word, "advantage."

"Van Nistelrooy is turning thirty soon. He did not have a good time at Manchester United last season and did not have an important position at the World Cup. Almost everyone believed that his career has come to an end, that he should consider his retirement, that it"s no longer possible for him to recreate the brilliance of his "king of the goal area" years… Under such circ.u.mstances, no one would give him a higher salary than what he receives at Manchester United. It"s impossible for even our rival, Bayern Munich. So, if he"s going to come, it must be the highest salary on the team. But I think it"s within the reach of the club."

After listening to Twain"s a.n.a.lysis, Evan Doughty glanced at Allan. He wanted to hear the opinions of the marketing manager and financial advisor.

Allan ruminated for a moment and said, "Our performance as the Champions League runner-up has given us a lot of television broadcast fees, plus the winning bonuses after each game. The club has plenty of funds available for Tony to use in the transfer market this summer."

When he heard that answer, Twain smiled. That was what he had hoped to hear.

"Furthermore, based on van Nistelrooy"s influence and foreseeable returns, it"s worth the investment. I agree with that transfer plan."

Since Allan had agreed, Evan would not have any objections. "In that case, Tony, just go ahead with what you"ve laid out. We can contact Manchester United now."

"I"ll get busy." Twain stood up, intending to leave.

However, Evan stopped him. "Tony, did you hear about Anelka?"

Twain looked back at Allan, sitting on the couch, and nodded. "I"ve heard."

"Well, is there anything you can do about it?"

"I called, but no one answered." Twain shook his head. "The players are still on holiday and I can"t get in touch with him. We can only wait until training starts again."

Evan thought about it and waved his hand. "I see. I"ll let you go and get busy."

Twain turned and left.

※※※

Carrington. The Manchester United training ground in Manchester.

"What?" Manager Alex Ferguson looked at the fax in his hand and found it a bit inconceivable. "Nottingham Forest wants to buy the Dutchman? Is there something wrong with Twain"s brain?"

Sitting opposite him, his a.s.sistant, Queiroz, shrugged.

"Doesn"t he know what Manchester United"s tradition is? We"re not like those idiots in a.r.s.enal, Chelsea, and Liverpool who give our players away to our compet.i.tors."

Ferguson was right. Manchester United rarely sold their players to their main compet.i.tors in the league in the transfer market. To give a simple example, there had been no deals in players between them and Liverpool in forty-two years. Both teams were bigwigs in English football.

"Are you saying that Nottingham Forest is our main compet.i.tor, Sir?"

"You tell me." Ferguson looked at Queiroz. "Who squashed us last season?"

Queiroz disagreed. "Unquestionably, they ranked ahead of us last season. But, Sir, I don"t think the Forest team is capable of posing a long-term threat to us. They"ve behaved more like upstarts these past two seasons. They"re just lucky, that"s all. Just look at last season. They put in all their effort only to fall apart at the end. It"s obvious. They don"t possess real power. Our main compet.i.tors are still a.r.s.enal and Chelsea."

After he listened to his a.s.sistant"s a.n.a.lysis, Ferguson stared at him for a moment and then said, "Do you know why you didn"t make it after you went to Real Madrid, Queiroz?"

"Huh?"

"I"ve got nothing further to add. Just reject Nottingham Forest"s offer."

Ferguson waved his hand and closed the matter.

※※※

"F**king h.e.l.l!" Twain swore. He had just received a response from the Manchester United Football Club. They had rejected the Forest team"s ten million-pound offer for Van Nistelrooy. "They turned us down!"

"That"s expected." Kerslake sat with his legs crossed on the couch in the office and said, "Everyone knows what Ferguson"s like. He would never sell his players to a major compet.i.tor, even if the player himself has to."

Dunn, a new member of the coaching staff, nodded in agreement.

Twain fretfully paced back and forth in the office. "Is there no other way?"

"What else can be done? I"ve disapproved of you buying van Nistelrooy from the beginning, Tony." Kerslake shrugged and spread his hands. "There hasn"t been a deal for a player between Manchester United and Liverpool in forty-two years."

"But we"re not Liverpool." Twain stopped pacing. "Liverpool and Manchester United are the most influential powerhouses in England and it is normal for them to hate each other. Everyone wants to dominate England. And us? We"re just a small fry." He extended his pinkie.

He made another turn, returned to his desk, and said, "Help me get in touch with van Nistelrooy"s agent. I need to talk to him and see what he himself thinks. And then… I have to meet with Ferguson."

When they heard him say that, Dunn and Kerslake nearly got up from their seats. They stared at Twain with widened eyes.

"Are you out of your mind, Tony?" Kerslake cried out.

"Don"t make a fuss." Twain glared at him. "It"s not as if I haven"t met him before, and we have a friendly relations.h.i.+p. What"s wrong with meeting as friends? I"m just inviting him for drinks."

"I don"t think Ferguson will accept your invitation."

"Don"t think of him like he"s an eccentric earl in an ancient magic castle. If Wenger had invited him to get drinks, he might not have accepted it. But everyone else is fine. You help me get in touch with Van Nistelrooy"s agent. As for Ferguson, I"ll deal with him myself."

※※※

After he had settled the matters, Twain called Pierce Brosnan over. He had promised to accept a short interview from him. When they touched on the recent events around Anelka, Twain claimed he did not know. As for Anelka"s brothers and Benítez appearing in the same restaurant, it could just be a coincidence. If that Spanish restaurant really had delicious food and wonderful technique, then it was normal to attract customers and that it was understandable to meet Benítez there by chance.

In short, he did not criticize Anelka for secretly contacting Liverpool. Instead, he insisted that he trusted his player.

"We all know of Anelka"s past. But he"s currently doing well at Nottingham Forest. He has a rapport with his teammates, and we even broke into the Champions League final together. I don"t think he can have any issues. We can still work together for a long time."

Twain had just announced his trust in Anelka; on the other end, the Liverpool manager, Rafael Benítez, had also come out to deny the rumors. He claimed he absolutely did not bypa.s.s the Nottingham Forest Football Club and privately reach out to the player"s agents. It was as Twain had stated. It was a coincidence that they had shown up at that restaurant at the same time. He also stated that Liverpool was not interested in Anelka. He would not ask his team to bring in Anelka.

Apparently, Benítez had been a lot more cautious since the precedent had been set with the example of Chelsea privately contacting Ashley Cole, which in turn caused a.r.s.enal to kick up a fuss and bring it to FIFA"s attention.

That kind of speech was a common occurrence in football. The public did not seem to care about credibility. They only valued results. Just like how Florentino, the president of the Real Madrid club, had insisted at that time that Real Madrid was not interested in Beckham. And what had happened in the end?

Therefore, no one would believe words like "we"re not going to sell" or "we"re not going to buy." Those words were not said for the benefit of the general public or fans.

※※※

Contacting van Nistelrooy"s agent and inviting Ferguson did not happen at the same time. Twain first contacted van Nistelrooy"s agent and asked him about his inclination towards leaving Manchester United for the Forest team. The agent said this proposition deserved serious consideration.

After all, the Forest team was the Champions League runner-up. Its stature and influence were completely different from a season ago.

However, the agent did not immediately give an answer to Twain. Instead, he told him that Ruud was currently on vacation and could not be disturbed. He would speak to him in detail when he returned and inform Twain once he had the answer.

Twain expressed his understanding and respect for the decision.

Although he did not receive an exact answer, the other party at least did not directly rebuff him. That meant that there was still room for discussion.

Once he had taken care of matters with the agent, Twain made a phone call to Ferguson.

Ferguson was a little surprised to receive a call from Twain. But he laughed when he heard Twain"s pretext.

"You have quite a bit of free time on your hands, Mr. Twain."

"We"re rivals on the football field. Surely we can still be friends outside of the field, right?" replied Twain.

"Of course; I"m not as narrow-minded as some." Ferguson was vaguely sarcastic about Wenger.

Twain had no intention of being involved in the feud between the two veteran managers.

"But I don"t like beer or whiskey."

"Of course, you like red wine." Twain had done a bit of homework to get to know Ferguson so that he could suit his fancy and make the conversation go smoother later.

"So, Mr. Twain, have you prepared any good red wine?"

Twain was a little caught off guard by Ferguson"s sudden question. He was going to prepare after he had set things up with Ferguson. Otherwise, he would have wasted his money if he had paid for something and Ferguson had rejected his invitation in the end.

Hearing Twain falter over the phone, Ferguson laughed complacently and said, "Mr. Twain, I"m going to a horse race the day after tomorrow. Why don"t you join me?"

Twain paused for a moment and said, "Didn"t I say it"s my treat?"

"Of course, it"s your treat. I"m asking you to a horse race and you can cover all the expenses."

"That"s a good idea."