Chapter 623: Not Going Anywhere

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

After he ended a day of training, the Forest team manager, Tony Twain was

surrounded by reporters on the sidelines of the training ground. He told them that the

day after tomorrow was the team"s regular press conference and they could ask their

questions then, but the reporters did not intend to let him go just like that. “Have you

heard the news, Manager Twain? Real Madrid is interested in Ribéry…”

“I have not heard it. I"ve never heard of this…” Twain held up his hands as if he were

surrendering to the annoying flies.

“What do you think of this rumor? If it is something to do with Real Madrid, so is it

basically true?”

“I don"t know. I don"t know anything. Don"t ask me, I have no idea, I have no idea at

all.” Twain squeezed his way out. “The day after tomorrow is the regular press

conference, and besides I don"t know anything now. I have not even spoken to

Ribéry about this. You won’t be able to find out anything from me.” Twain was eager

to get out of his current predicament. “You have to let me find out what happened

and why, before I can answer your questions and satisfy your desires, you bunch of

curious babies… All right! Now let me out of here! d.a.m.nit!”

He pulled the two reporters in front of him aside and rushed out of the encirclement.

“It’s going through a battle trying to leave work… d.a.m.nit!” Twain muttered as he ran

out.

He had not spoken to Ribéry yet, but it did not mean that he knew nothing. As a

manager, he had his own ways of getting the information.

After he learned of the rumor from the media, his first thought was not to scold Real

Madrid for poaching his player, but to prove the truth of the news.

Because of the unfortunate timing of this rumor — just before the Forest team and

Real Madrid was supposed to play a game — the news that Real Madrid was

interested in the Forest team’s Franck blew up in the media.

From the point of view of a conspiracy theorist like Twain, how could he not think of

other scenarios?

Was it fake news deliberately fabricated by Real Madrid to distract Nottingham

Forest? It was not as if n.o.body had used that method before. Similar small tricks

were the norm in professional football.

Other than arson and murder, any means could be used for victory.

If even giving opponents drugged water could happen, then what was so strange

about this?

Thus Twain decided to check the truth first.

He looked for European football’s big shot agent, Mendes, hoping to get some

information about it from him.

Mendes was a big player in the agency world and well-informed. He would know if it

was real news or false rumor. Twain got what he wanted from him.

But now he did not want to tell the reporters because he had not spoken to Ribéry

yet. He felt it was necessary for him to hear what Ribéry had to say.

Having shaken off the annoying reporters, Twain walked back to his office.

During training, he had given Ribéry a heads up and asked him to head to his office

after training was over.

Because Twain was delayed by the reporters, Ribéry was already waiting inside by

the time he returned to the office.

Ribéry knew why Twain wanted to talk to him alone. He stood up from the couch

when he saw Twain enter the room. He greeted him with a grin on his face. “Boss!”

Twain nodded and walked behind his desk to sit down.

There was no need to beat about the bush. “I’ve noticed the recent news…” He

paused and hoped that Ribéry would take the initiative to continue, but Ribéry just

looked at him with a smile on his face. He curled his lips. “Has your agent been in

contact with Real Madrid?”

Ribéry nodded. “Mijatović looked for my agent.”

Twain grunted. That was what Mendes told him. Ribéry did not lie to his face. He felt

slightly relieved.

He hated it the most when his players lied to him, like Ashley Young. No matter how

good the relations.h.i.+p was before, there would always be an ill feeling in the heart. A

broken mirror was impossible to repair. Once the relations.h.i.+p had a rift, it would

always be there, reminiscent of uncomfortable things.

If Ribéry had lied to him, what would he do? Twain was not willing to think about

such a thing. He was very fond of Ribéry and did not want to let a small matter spoil

their relations.h.i.+p.

“Do you want to go to Real Madrid?” Twain asked.

“Not yet, boss.” Ribéry shook his head.

“Does that mean it’s possible in the future?”

“Who can certain about the things in the future?” Ribéry replied with a smile.

Twain had to admit that Ribéry was right. No one knew what would happen in the

future. He would like to continue working on the Forest team, but what if the Forest

team went bankrupt due to the newly built stadium, the owner changed, and the new

owner did not like Twain"s bad temper. What was he going to do if he were fired?

It was just a small possibility, but who could guarantee it would not happen?

Ribéry"s remark was very honest. If he had patted his chest and said he would not go

anywhere, Twain would probably have been suspicious.

Twain was lost in his thoughts, and Ribéry realized it. “Are you worried that I"m going

to be distracted by this, boss?” he asked.

“Ah, uh… Well.” He was not worried about it. He was worried that he would really

lose Ribéry. When Scarface was not yet well known, the Nottingham Forest team

was everything to him. But as his fame grew, the honors such as the Ballon d"Or

award, the Player of the Year award, and the Silver Ball in FIFA World Player of the

Year poured in. One day, would Ribéry think that a pond like Nottingham Forest was

too small?

There were others who were the same as Ribéry.

While Twain pursued constant victories and champions.h.i.+p t.i.tles, he also elevated the

value and expectations of his players on the team. If one day they felt that the Forest

team could no longer meet their expectations, would they leave? There was no

denying that there were loyal players who would rather stay with the team as it was

relegated, but most people would chase after better interests.

“A man will do anything in his means to become rich” might be a little serious, but

“water flows downhill, and people climb higher” was a very normal thing.

Twain did not mind turnover on the team. New blood was always needed to stay

vitalized. But he did not want the few valued players to leave. After all, as an ordinary

person, he still had a sense of “loyalists” complex and hoped that his team would

produce a few loyalists to accompany him through thick and thin to rule the football

world. They would rise together from there and bid farewell there as well… How

wonderful and romantic it would be!

The most romantic thing I can think of is to accompany you as we slowly grow old.

“Don"t worry, boss.” Ribéry laughed again. He had not had any plastic surgery done

yet, and the scar on his face pulled as he laughed, which made him looked a little

strange, but he liked to laugh and did not care how he looked.

“This level of hara.s.sment is not going to bother me. I will play like how I usually play.

Besides, these kinds of things are handled by my agent. He will not look for me

unless it is really time to leave.”

“That"s pathetic of your agent, Franck.” Twain cracked a joke and ended the

conversation.

What Ribéry said was the same as what Twain had learned. Ribéry did not deceive

him, which was the purpose in finding Ribéry to talk alone. Now he could go and

calmly face the media, because he did not want to say in front of them that “my

player is loyal and Real Madrid will hit a wall if they try to poach him” and be stabbed

in the back by that player.

※※※

In Madrid, the sunny Valdebebas training complex for the Real Madrid Football Club

was the largest football training base in the world, so it was called “a sports city.”

As a senior staff member of the Real Madrid Club board, Mijatović had an office in

Valdebebas, but he was rarely there. He flew around the world, looking for the

extraordinary star players for Real Madrid.

But he showed up today. President Calderón was there and he was there to report to

the president on his trip to the United Kingdom.

The main focus was about the result of his meeting with Franck Ribéry"s agent.

When he got out of the car, he was stopped by the manager, Schuster, who also

guided the team"s training.

“Mr. Mijatović, I"ve heard some rumors about our team recently…”

It was a little awkward for Mijatović to be stopped by Schuster, so he chuckled. “Are

you referring to Franck Ribéry, Mr. Schuster?”

“Obviously. I just have one question: why do I have to find out the news about a new

player joining my team from the press?” Schuster looked upset. He was also known

as a fanatic coach in Spain. After he joined Real Madrid, he was slightly more

disciplined in a powerhouse club. It was superficial; he had not changed his

character.

“Ah, about that. Mr. Schuster, you are the manager of this team and only responsible

for the training and compet.i.tion. I’m in charge of the jobs like the players’ transfers.

This is the division of labor. We are a.s.signed different jobs…”

Schuster interrupted him. “Of course I know the division of labor is different. I also

know that this is not England and a coach here is not really a manager. I’m not

asking for much. I just hope you give me a heads up when you decide who you want

to buy. Just a little discussion?” He looked upset as he continued. “I don"t want to

find out from the media who my team intends to sign.”

It was about the dignity of a manager, and Schuster had reason to be upset. Once

he was in a powerhouse club, he realized that it was not easy to be its manager. His

t.i.tle was “manager,” but it was more like a puppet. Even Mr. President had a say in

the team’s layout, but he had no right to be heard at all in the transfer market.

Looking at Mijatović anxious look, Schuster smiled. “Is Mr. President waiting for

you?”

See, even a meeting like this doesn"t involve me. I can’t buy the players I want but

they keep pus.h.i.+ng for the players I don"t want.

Mijatović did not respond to the question with an obvious answer.

“Well, good luck, Mr. Mijatović. Also, I want to give you a tiny reminder that we can"t

even fit an ant on the left flank.”

Mijatović heard the remark and walked away with a sullen face. He even forgot to

say goodbye.

Looking at his back, Schuster had a disgusted expression.

He looked up at the blue sky and his thoughts meandered from the subject of Ribéry

to Nottingham Forest, their opponent in the quarterfinal games of the Champions

League.

They were a tricky opponent, the type that Real Madrid disliked the most to

encounter. They disliked them from their manager to their players.

※※※

“The Real Madrid club has denied this matter, and I don"t think it’s necessary to

continue the hype.” Twain and George Wood attended the regular press conference

together. He did not bring Ribéry because he did not want to give the group of

reporters the chance to continue the hype. Now that the league tournament and the

Champions League games intertwined as they progressed, the pressure on the team

as the front-runner in the league tournament was already immense. He did not want

the media to continue to put pressure on the team because of the matter.

He told the media, “Nothing of this sort, completely baseless rumors, that’s all.”

“But Manager Twain, in the summer of 2003, Real Madrid also said they had no

contact with Beckham at all…”

“Then you have to ask the president of Real Madrid, and not come here to ask me.”

Twain was not happy. “You can ask them, ‘have you ever lied to the public? We

have the right to know.’” He mimicked the sharp tone of the reporter.

Someone laughed.

“Franck Ribéry is currently a player at Nottingham Forest and will be in the future. It’s

so simple, and you guys have to make it complicated. I don"t think there is any need

to continue the discussion on this topic. From now on, if you ask about the league

tournament and the Champions League, I"d be happy to answer you. But if it"s still

about Franck Ribéry, I won"t answer.”

“We have the right to ask questions…”

“I also have the right to refuse to answer,” Twain retorted.

The reporters looked at the two sitting at the table — Tony Twain and George Wood,

the most difficult combination to deal with — so he gave up.

“Well, can you talk about the latest situation on the training?”

The press conference was back on track to what Twain wanted.

George Wood sat to one side and did not say a word. He looked more like a

background fixture than a living person. The reporters knew there was nothing

valuable to ask Wood, so no one bothered him.

As they were on their way out at the end of the press conference, Wood, who had

been silent, asked Twain, “will Ribéry really leave?”

Twain froze for a moment and then smiled. “You should ask Ribéry.”

“I already asked, and he said he would certainly not go.”

“That’s all there is to it. Why did you still ask me?” Twain spread his hands.

“But didn’t Real Madrid also say that they had not been in private contact with

Ribéry"s agent?”

“Hey, you kid… All right… I don"t want him to leave, and I"m sure he won"t. I don"t

think there will be any other place for him other than Nottingham Forest. Are you

satisfied with this answer, George?”

Wood did not answer but did not continue to ask any questions.

Because he also did not think there was a better team in the world than Nottingham

Forest.

※※※

The rumors about Real Madrid"s pursuit of Franck Ribéry came to an end the next

day.

Pierce Brosnan published an interview with Ribéry in the Nottingham Evening Post,

in which he expressed his love and loyalty toward the Forest team.

“I love this team and have a lot of fun living in Nottingham. I don"t think there"s a

team better suited to how I play than this team. I want to thank Real Madrid for their

interest in me, even though it was just a rumor… After all, for a club like Real Madrid

to be interested means that my ability is recognized, but I would like to reiterate that I

will not leave. I like this team. I like my teammates and coaches here. We are like a

big family. Of course, the fans here are the best I"ve ever seen. I"m enjoying it all,

and I don"t see any need to leave.”

With this newspaper in his hand, Twain had a good laugh.

He was really very happy, from the bottom of his heart.

He and Ribéry were on the same page. It’s truly wonderful that Ribéry likes it here!