No one knew that before flying from Manchester to Madrid, Gao Shen had made a phone call to the German national team.
The call was to Jerome Boateng, a young international playing for Bundesliga side Hamburg.
The 21-year-old German international held dual citizenship with Ghana and Germany. Born in Berlin, he received his youth training at Hertha Berlin and made his Bundesliga debut in 2007.
That same August, Boateng transferred to Hamburger SV.
He was tall and strong but had good footwork and was fairly agile. He looked like a promising defender and had always been a regular in Germany's youth national teams.
He once made a name for himself in a single match when he played full-back and shut down Bayern Munich's Ribéry. In June 2009, he played as the starting center-back for Germany's U21 national team in the European U21 Championship held in Sweden. His outstanding performance helped Germany defeat England 4-0 to win the title.
In October, he was called up by Löw to the senior German national team, but was sent off in his debut after picking up two yellow cards.
Today, Hamburg was no longer the powerhouse of the Bundesliga. Not only had they been left behind by Bayern Munich, but even teams like Dortmund no longer took them seriously.
As a rising star in the national team, Boateng naturally wanted to make a move to further his career.
It was under these circumstances that Manchester City came knocking.
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As early as March, Gao Shen stated in a club management meeting that the team would aim to win the Champions League in the upcoming season.
Mubarak also promised there would be no transfer budget restrictions in the summer window.
Following the meeting, Gao Shen drafted a transfer plan and handed it over to Gary Cook, Marwood, Brian Kidd, and others for execution. Jerome Boateng was one of the names on the list.
The club's management immediately got in touch with Boateng's agent, Powell.
This wasn't difficult at all, since Boateng's brother, Kevin-Prince Boateng, played in the Premier League for Portsmouth.
Powell met with Manchester City representative Marwood, who hoped he would convey the club's sincerity and interest to the player, as well as coach Gao Shen's personal admiration for Boateng.
Manchester City had always maintained good relations with Hamburg. From Kompany to De Jong, City had signed two players from them already. The two clubs were familiar with one another, and Hamburg lacked the strength to reject City's approach.
At least for now, Hamburg wasn't in a position to resist.
As one of the most promising young defenders in European football, Boateng certainly had no shortage of suitors. But a call from Gao Shen made his situation feel very different.
To further strengthen the player's confidence in choosing Manchester City, Gao Shen personally gave him a call.
At the time, Boateng was with the German national team preparing for the World Cup.
Gao Shen personally promised that Boateng would play as a center-back. "I believe that's the position where you can best showcase your strengths and abilities."
But Gao Shen also believed that Boateng still had many issues to work on.
He didn't care at all about the impatience in his defensive actions, which was the biggest criticism from the outside world.
"Being overly aggressive in tackles and making big, risky movements aren't actual flaws. They're just part of a young defender's growth process. But your pace, positioning, and long passing are rare qualities, and they're what I value most."
On the call, Gao Shen told Boateng that Manchester City's coaching staff had rich experience and could help him improve his weaknesses, allowing him to grow and eventually become a world-class center-back.
That phone call from Gao Shen played a key role in confirming Boateng's decision.
In early June, while Gao Shen was still vacationing in China, Manchester City officially announced the signing of Jerome Boateng from Hamburg for 10 million euros.
This was Manchester City's first signing of the summer.
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Although he was still at home, the club's transfer progress never slowed.
After the club officially announced Boateng's signing, Gao Shen immediately tagged him on Twitter to welcome him, and followed up with another tweet expressing his belief that Boateng would become a world-class center-back.
This made Boateng, who was in South Africa at the time, extremely happy. He immediately tweeted that he was thrilled to join Gao Shen's team.
"I can't wait to meet you and experience your famous pre-season training."
Gao Shen could only smile wryly.
He didn't expect his pre-season training to have gained such a mysterious reputation.
"I'm preparing a gift for you. It'll definitely help!" he replied.
Boateng responded, saying he'd wait and see.
After this remote exchange, Gao Shen began mentally outlining his plans.
With Boateng signed, the center-back position was now well-covered.
David Luiz, Kompany, Gary Cahill, and Boateng—four central defenders, all strong, capable of playing out from the back, and highly skilled.
Among them, David Luiz and Kompany had formed a partnership cultivated over the past season and were now the undisputed starting pair.
Cahill was the most experienced among the remaining options who still met Gao Shen's high standards.
Boateng was the youngest, but had tremendous potential and just needed more polishing and development.
Gao Shen had trained Ramos, David Luiz, Bonucci, and Kompany before. He was confident he could develop Boateng into a top-class defender.
With these four players, Gao Shen believed there should be no issues with the center-back depth in the new season.
If needed, Javi Martínez could also drop back to play center-back.
In fact, Gao Shen was already planning to play Javi Martínez in central defense during the pre-season.
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After securing Boateng, Manchester City's transfer activity didn't slow down.
Three days later, the club officially announced the signing of 25-year-old Brazilian midfielder Fernandinho from Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk for 15 million euros.
This deal surprised media and fans across the globe. Fernandinho was not a widely known name, and many had never even heard of him.
But within European football circles, the Brazilian midfielder was not unfamiliar.
Shakhtar Donetsk had improved steadily in recent years. In the 2008–2009 season, they performed well in the group stage, including a memorable win over Barcelona.
Although they finished third in the group and dropped to the Europa League, they went on a remarkable run and ultimately defeated Werder Bremen to win the title, earning international attention.
Fernandinho, a key player in Shakhtar's midfield, scored four goals in nine Europa League matches and was considered one of the team's main contributors to their championship.
It was precisely because of his standout performances at Shakhtar that Fernandinho caught Gao Shen's eye. The Brazilian midfielder made the move to Manchester City for a hefty 15 million euros.
After the announcement, media outlets around the world expressed surprise, especially at the unfamiliar name.
Many people were eager to know why Gao Shen was interested in a Brazilian midfielder playing in the Ukrainian league.
As it turned out, a deeper look revealed that Fernandinho was, in fact, a world champion.
Back in 2003, at the U20 World Cup in Abu Dhabi, Fernandinho was part of Brazil's youth squad. However, unlike teammates like striker Nilmar, left-back Adriano, and right-back Dani Alves, Fernandinho had very little presence in that tournament.
He was merely a substitute, often coming on in garbage time.
But no one could have predicted that this little-known figure would play a pivotal role in the final against Spain, whose youth team featured the likes of Iniesta.
Just four minutes into the match, Spain's center-back Melli received a red card for a tactical foul.
Brazil had a man advantage for nearly the entire match but couldn't break down Spain's defense.
In the 70th minute, Fernandinho came on as a substitute, as if guided by fate.
In the 87th minute, Brazil earned a corner kick. Dani Alves took the set piece, and Fernandinho headed the ball in from the edge of the six-yard box, giving Brazil the lead.
But just three minutes later, a brawl broke out between players, and Fernandinho was sent off with a red card.
After the tournament, no one paid much attention to the U20 World Cup or the player who had secured Brazil the title in such dramatic fashion.
Fernandinho returned to play for Atlético Paranaense in Brazil, then moved to Shakhtar Donetsk in 2005.
Now, as the media dug deeper into this Brazilian midfielder signed by a top club, they were shocked to discover that he had, in fact, scored the winning goal in a U20 World Cup final—in Abu Dhabi, no less.
And Manchester City's financial backers were based in Abu Dhabi.
Was it all just fate?
Soon, however, the British press dug further and found that Fernandinho was not a traditional Brazilian midfielder. Although his passing was excellent, his defensive work stood out even more. He averaged 2.5 tackles, 3.3 interceptions, and 2.5 clearances per game—a true box-to-box midfielder.
So how did Gao Shen identify Fernandinho?
More importantly, the media soon discovered something even more intriguing: at 25 years old, Fernandinho had only represented Brazil at youth level. He had never played for the senior national team.
In other words, he had no caps with Brazil's senior squad.
So how could Fernandinho get a work permit to play in the Premier League?
According to the Premier League's core rule, non-EU players must have played in at least 75% of their national team's matches in the past two years.
Although the UK Ministry of Labour introduced the "Special Talent Clause" in 2003 to help avoid losing young talents, it was mainly aimed at younger players.
Fernandinho was already 25 years old and no longer considered young.
For a while, the media and fans were in an uproar, questioning whether Gao Shen and Manchester City had overlooked the work permit issue, or bungled the use of the special talent clause.
(To be continued.)