Starting With Real Madrid

Gao Shen flew from Manchester to London with Su Qing and Lucas, but the first people he met weren't Norman Foster, whom he had scheduled an appointment with, but Valdano and Zidane, who happened to be in London.

By the way, Zidane would once again serve as Gao Shen's assistant coach.

"You've had a good time this past month, huh? Your complexion looks different," Zidane joked as soon as he saw Gao Shen.

Since Su Qing wasn't around, Gao Shen wasn't afraid of being teased.

Of course, having a beautiful woman by your side is something to be happy about.

But who could understand the exhaustion and pain in Gao Shen's heart?

This kind of travel really takes a toll on your body.

The first thing Gao Shen cared about was his house in Madrid.

Zidane had previously volunteered to help him find one, confident that he understood both Gao Shen's and Su Qing's preferences. Gao Shen had been quite satisfied with the community he currently lived in.

The new Real Madrid assistant coach also hoped to be neighbors with him.

Zidane owned two luxury properties in Madrid. One was located in La Finca in the western suburbs, a well-known villa area for the wealthy. Ronaldo, Kaká, Ramos, and others all lived there.

The other was just south of the Hortaleza district.

Yes, when Gao Shen first coached Real Madrid, he had lived in Hortaleza. Carlo lived there too.

But there was a difference. Gao Shen rented a small single room in the northern part of Hortaleza, Carlo lived in a middle-class neighborhood, and Zidane resided in a villa area in the south.

This time, both of the houses Zidane found were in that same villa area.

So, what was so great about this neighborhood?

According to Zidane, the area had top-class greenery, clean air, tennis courts, football pitches, basketball courts, swimming pools—basically all types of sports facilities. The key was that the schools in the vicinity were some of the best in Madrid.

Looking at the map, Hortaleza was right between the Bernabéu and the Valdebebas training base.

"Didn't you like biking to work before? You can still do that here," Zidane said, revealing his hidden talent as a real estate agent.

Gao Shen and Valdano exchanged a glance, then shook their heads, smiling. "You really are a salesman held back by football."

"Well, he won't have to ride a bike anymore. Audi's been asking multiple times. They want Gao to pick his official car as soon as possible," Valdano reminded him.

If Real Madrid's head coach was still commuting to training by bike, Audi—one of their sponsors—definitely wouldn't be pleased.

They'd think, "We invested all this money sponsoring Real Madrid, and you're letting the most famous coach ride a bike? That's just disrespectful!"

Does Audi have no pride?

In short, whether he wanted it or not, the car had to be taken.

Gao Shen wasn't particularly fond of Audi, mainly because in his past life he had the impression that their cars were gas guzzlers.

But since it was free and came with lifetime maintenance, he reluctantly agreed.

He'd pick one when he arrived in Madrid.

…

After finishing the personal topics, the conversation turned to business.

Valdano was curious and asked Gao Shen, "Modric's agent said you talked to him? Is that true?"

Gao Shen gave a wry smile.

Did that really count as a conversation?

He simply chalked it up to a misunderstanding and didn't want to dig deeper.

"But honestly, I've wanted to bring him in since I coached Napoli. I always felt he was being underutilized at Tottenham. Redknapp didn't really know how to use him properly."

For players like Modric, things can get tricky.

Of course, this is reflective of the current environment. Before 2021, when Gao Shen transmigrated, midfielders like him had become much more common.

Just look at Pogba—what position does he really play?

There's also Valverde at Real Madrid, a well-rounded, box-to-box midfielder.

Then you have players like Camavinga and Tchouaméni, both of whom are being developed in that direction by their teams.

Their shared trait? Versatility.

They can do it all, and even as defensive midfielders, they excel at attacking, passing, and making late runs into the box.

Teams even intentionally design tactics to bring out these qualities.

The reason is simple: it's a trend.

But right now, that trend is only beginning.

So in the current football world, players like Modric, Kroos, and Pogba are still subjects of debate.

It's not about whether they're good, but about how to use them.

Even later, after Pogba moved from Juventus to Manchester United, his best position remained unclear.

"How's Tottenham responding?" Gao Shen asked.

"We offered €5 million plus Adebayor, but Levy turned it down."

Gao Shen nodded. That didn't surprise him. He knew Levy would hesitate and might go back on his word.

"After that, the player's agent rushed to London to meet with Levy and express the player's position."

Since Modric was participating in the Euros, it made sense for his agent to step in.

If Modric personally got involved, it would create open conflict.

"Now, we've made a second offer: €10 million plus Adebayor."

Adebayor was currently valued at around €20 million, considering he had been Real Madrid's main striker last season. Modric's market value was about €30 million.

Real Madrid's first offer was deliberately low to leave room for a second one.

The second offer was reasonable, but transfer negotiations aren't purely about value. They depend more on need.

For example, if Real Madrid didn't need Adebayor and wanted to sell him, they'd struggle to get €20 million.

But if you truly wanted to snatch Modric, the cost could be unpredictable.

"The player made it clear to Levy that he wants to join Real Madrid and has turned down offers from Chelsea and Manchester United."

Valdano looked at Gao Shen with admiration.

Modric wanted to come because of him!

"If Levy still doesn't agree, we can separate the deals. Modric is Modric, Adebayor is Adebayor. We can even sell Adebayor back to Arsenal. Wenger's looking for a striker anyway."

Valdano nodded. That might be a simpler approach.

Of course, trading players helps save some cash.

"We sent a €20 million offer to Bayern Munich for Toni Kroos, but they refused to negotiate. I don't think this deal will be easy," Valdano said helplessly.

Kroos was a regular in the German national team and highly rated. The key was that he was still very young.

Bayern wouldn't sell someone like that easily.

"Keep pushing. What's the player's stance?" Gao Shen asked.

"We've made contact. He heard you'd be coaching and expressed willingness to move to Real Madrid, but he won't make a move himself. He wants us to convince Bayern."

Understandable.

If Kroos stepped up and the transfer failed, it would be hard for him to stay at Bayern.

It might even affect his spot in the national team.

Only a fool would take that risk.

Modric's situation was different. He had already clashed with Levy before.

"Verratti is the easiest to negotiate for, but PSG are also interested. I think €20 million might not be enough anymore," Valdano added with a bitter smile.

Gao Shen's three midfield targets were all hot properties.

That was normal. Other clubs weren't blind. Everyone wanted good players.

"No problem. I'll call De Laurentiis and Marino to keep Verratti steady. We must secure him."

All three midfielders were tough targets. Gao Shen was mentally prepared for that.

Modric, Kroos, Verratti—if he could land two out of three, that would already be a huge success.

Of course, the best-case scenario was signing all three. That would give Gao Shen more confidence in his squad building.

Still, the league would be a different story.

Barcelona had been playing together for years. Their chemistry was outstanding and their tactics were stable.

Even if Real Madrid signed those three midfielders, Gao Shen wouldn't feel fully confident competing on two fronts.

The bigger issue now, and the one that worried Valdano the most, was Real Madrid's lack of confidence.

Based on the current UEFA coefficients, Real Madrid would be placed in Pot 3.

Everyone knew that meant a group of death. Anything could happen.

The club had been knocked out of the group stage two years in a row and hadn't made it past the round of 16 in six seasons. They had been dominated by Barcelona in the league for a long time and had failed completely in recent years.

With years of underachievement and their rivals at their peak, Real Madrid players were facing issues beyond just ability. They often panicked and lost control at crucial moments.

But the problem was that this kind of psychological issue couldn't be fixed overnight. It wasn't as simple as appointing Gao Shen and suddenly having everyone believe in him and follow him.

It had to be built gradually, through experience and competition, step by step.

In some ways, coaching Real Madrid now was harder than coaching Manchester City or Napoli.

At least when Gao Shen led City or Napoli, those clubs had been weak for a long time and had no expectations.

Real Madrid was different. They were caught in a contradiction.

They were supposed to be strong but had become insecure and overly sensitive.

"By the way, how's the situation with Alba?" Gao Shen suddenly asked.

Valdano gave a bitter smile and shook his head. "The player doesn't want to come to Real Madrid. He wants to go to Barcelona. But we made an offer, and now Barcelona can't act. The situation is stuck. Alba played really well in the Euros..."

As he trailed off, Gao Shen, Valdano, and Zidane all laughed together.

It would be great to mess with Barcelona for once.

As for Real Madrid's left-back spot, Gao Shen had other plans.

(To be continued.)