Guardiola ultimately didn't agree to Gao Shen's request. He refused firmly and without hesitation.
Instead, he proactively recommended Yaya Touré. The Ivorian midfielder was struggling to get minutes at Barcelona, especially after Thiago Motta's return. With Motta and Busquets locking down the defensive midfield role, and the center-back spots taken by Puyol and Piqué, Touré was left with very limited playing time.
But seeing that Gao Shen wasn't interested, Guardiola quickly dropped the subject.
The two chatted for a while at the Bernabéu before saying their goodbyes.
The next day, Gao Shen had a meal with Florentino, Zidane, Valdano, Butragueño, and Manuel Redondo. They didn't talk about football at all. It was just a casual get-together among friends.
However, Lucas received news through his own intelligence network that Mourinho had officially submitted his resignation to Moratti and wanted to take charge at Real Madrid. This would be another bold and risky challenge for the Portuguese madman.
If Guardiola really brought in Agüero, Barcelona's overall strength would rise even higher.
A front three of Sánchez, Agüero, and Messi, a midfield of Iniesta, Xavi, and Busquets, and a back line of Vargas, Piqué, Puyol, and Alves—this lineup would be shockingly strong.
Anyway, Gao Shen didn't have much confidence in Mourinho's coaching style.
But none of this had anything to do with him.
After finishing dinner with Florentino, Gao Shen left Spain that same day on an Emirates Airlines flight.
…
Even during holidays, Gao Shen didn't have time to relax.
The league might be on break, but as head coach of the team, he still had plenty of work to handle.
Even if the football side was taken care of, he was still the club's technical director and had numerous administrative tasks to manage.
After wrapping up Manchester City matters, he also had personal obligations to take care of.
Mainly, this involved cooperation with several major sponsors.
For instance, he had to film an Emirates Airlines commercial every year, shoot a promo for the UAE Tourism Board, and work with Chidon Suits. In the past year, he'd signed several additional endorsement deals, some of which required filming.
So during his "vacation," Gao Shen was busiest shooting commercials.
This summer was no exception. With the South Africa World Cup taking place, all the big sponsors were scrambling to capitalize on the tournament's hype. Naturally, they were pushing hard for Gao Shen to film quickly.
After finally finishing his work in Europe, Gao Shen returned to China and was invited by national television to appear in a World Cup preview program, serving as a special guest.
In truth, Gao Shen didn't plan on watching the World Cup because it didn't mean much to him.
To put it bluntly, the World Cup's level of competition is lower than the Champions League, both in quality and tactical content. For someone like Gao Shen, who was used to watching the Champions League, the World Cup didn't hold much appeal.
Rather than spending time watching, he'd rather stay home and get some proper rest.
Don't ask. Asking only brings exhaustion.
He'd been grinding for an entire year, dealing with football every single day. Even during holidays, there was no real break. Now that he finally had time off, why couldn't he just relax? Why force himself to watch the World Cup?
Is it really that fun to sit and watch games while silently cursing the coaches for their poor decisions?
Of course, on the show, Gao Shen said he'd definitely watch the World Cup and try not to miss a single match.
As for the tournament itself, Gao Shen said he was full of anticipation. The team he was most interested in was Spain. He believed they were the number-one favorites.
"I'm a good friend of Del Bosque, and I've always thought he's an extremely underrated coach."
The player he was most focused on was Robben.
"Robben is my player. He's performed exceptionally well at club level and is in great form. I believe he'll carry that form into the World Cup. He's the true number-one star of the Dutch national team. As long as he plays well, the Netherlands will have a real chance to break through."
In addition to Robben, Gao Shen was also watching Uruguay, since both his player Suárez and former player Cavani were in the squad. Gao Shen believed this team had the potential to surprise.
There was also Löw's Germany and Bielsa's Chile.
No need to elaborate on Germany. Neuer, the starting goalkeeper Gao Shen trusted, was there, and Toni Kroos, a midfielder he admired, was making his tournament debut. The Chilean national team had Sánchez and Vidal, and Bielsa was a coach Gao Shen respected immensely. He believed Chile could be another surprise package.
Maradona's Argentina was also worth following. Before taking over the national team, the legend had visited Gao Shen's Napoli to learn from him. He even said before the tournament that he hoped to replicate Gao Shen's football style at the World Cup. How could Gao Shen not root for him?
And Brazil—there were too many friends, too many players, and it was the five-time World Cup winner Brazil. Of course, Gao Shen was optimistic about them too…
Anyway, by the end of the 90-minute program, Gao Shen realized, somewhat awkwardly, that he had too many personal connections involved.
Even Switzerland's coach, Hitzfeld, was someone he knew well.
The show's hosts and guests were left dumbfounded by his deep and insightful analysis.
That kind of commentary deserves full marks.
A world-famous coach is a world-famous coach after all. He truly had connections everywhere.
Domestic fans were even more excited. Some even called for Gao Shen to be a World Cup commentator on national television. Gao Shen was so scared he didn't even dare respond. After recording the show, he immediately "disappeared from the public eye."
He really didn't want to worry about all that, and he didn't care about earning that kind of money.
Last season, Manchester City won the Premier League, and his title bonus alone was 5 million euros.
Instead of wasting time, he'd rather rest up and recharge, ready to lead Manchester City to even greater success next season.
Su Qing, on the other hand, was quite relaxed. She read newspapers and online comments to Gao Shen every day, most of which were about him.
The girl was clearly proud of his achievements.
She herself was doing quite well in the ministry. She had just been promoted and entered rotational training, which was a clear sign that the organization was grooming her. She was growing more composed in public and becoming increasingly methodical in how she handled things. Only in front of people close to her did she drop her guard and complain.
"In the ministry, a promotion just means you're slightly less insignificant."
She also helped Gao Shen avoid unnecessary social events so he could focus on work at home.
She really took care of everything, including preparing his meals.
…
During his holiday in China, Gao Shen stayed mostly in the capital. He briefly returned to Shanghai with Su Qing to visit her parents but stayed only one day before heading back.
Later, Gao Shen's own parents also returned to China, and the family reunited in the capital for a few days.
Recently, whether it was wine, cherries, or blueberries, business had been booming, especially the wine sales, which had skyrocketed.
This, in large part, was thanks to Gao Shen.
Ever since he gifted Ferguson a bottle of wine and it was reported by the media, their wine brand had become an instant hit. Gao Shen continued gifting wine to Ferguson before every match against Manchester United, and the media kept covering it.
Later, it was revealed that Ferguson had served the Chilean wine given by Gao Shen at a Manchester United internal gathering, further confirming the rumors.
The business was thriving, and they were making money hand over fist. Gao Shen, Sánchez, Vidal, and Vargas' farm and winery ventures in Chile and Peru were expanding rapidly. With domestic sales also rising, Su Zhijun had started considering company expansion.
From now on, Gao Shen's parents no longer needed to work so hard or handle everything themselves.
…
As Gao Shen vacationed in China and the World Cup kicked off, the European transfer market also began heating up.
Ever since Gao Shen said that Manchester City would be bringing in some blockbuster signings this summer, media and fans worldwide had been eagerly anticipating it. Everyone was curious to see who he'd bring in.
Some outlets even speculated that Gao Shen might try to sign Cristiano Ronaldo or Messi.
But soon, the Daily Mirror broke a story claiming that Gao Shen's real target was Barcelona's right-back, Dani Alves.
According to the Daily Mirror, Manchester City had begun seeking a new club for youth player Micah Richards, who was no longer part of the team's future plans. But with only one right-back, Zabaleta, the squad was ill-equipped for a multi-front campaign.
More importantly, from a tactical standpoint, Gao Shen preferred full-backs with strong attacking prowess. Zabaleta, while reliable, was slightly lacking in this area.
Dani Alves, on the other hand, fit that profile perfectly.
"Right now, Dani Alves' contract with Barcelona still has one or two years remaining, but he's dissatisfied with his weekly wage of only £62,000. Manchester City is prepared to offer him a weekly wage of £180,000, making him the club's highest-paid player. The player has also started taking English lessons, indicating he's preparing for the move."
After the Daily Mirror report, many were convinced that Alves was on his way to Manchester City.
But as the person in question, Gao Shen knew nothing about it.
The media loved wild speculation, and Gao Shen had long grown used to it. But this time, the Daily Mirror didn't even pretend to be subtle. They went straight for baseless guesses. What more was there to say?
Of course, Gao Shen suspected this was a tactic by Alves' camp to pressure Barcelona into a new contract and higher wages.
This sort of thing was very common these days. Plenty of players liked to use Manchester City to drive up their value.
What could you do? Manchester City had become the symbol of wealth in football.
More importantly, being linked to someone of Gao Shen's stature instantly raised a player's market value.
Once you become a prominent figure, you can't avoid this kind of drama.
Ignore it, and it might die down. Respond, and the other party will immediately use it to show off how important they are.
So, neither Gao Shen nor Manchester City responded to the Alves rumors. They stayed quiet and kept things cool.
If Barcelona were truly willing to sell, Gao Shen would definitely be interested. But the reality was, Barcelona wasn't going to sell, and Alves wasn't looking to leave either. That made the whole thing feel meaningless.
Gao Shen had no interest in playing someone's backup plan.
But what no one knew was that Manchester City's transfer business was already progressing in an orderly fashion.
(To be continued.)