World First Church started from the 02 World Cup

Chapter 56 The Young Cristiano Ronaldo

They all exchanged glances.

Ye Xian spoke with conviction, and his words were indeed very reasonable.

It's really not worth it for a veteran who can't fit into the new coaching system to still cost the club £200 million a year in salary.

It's worth noting that Everton's summer transfer budget was originally only £1000 million.

Recently, the sales of Kejian mobile phones have surged, and Kejian Group has increased its investment—which is of course directly related to Ye Xian's endorsement.

Even if we include the estimated transfer revenue from departing players reported by Moyes, the total should be around £1200 million.

In short, Everton really needs to be very careful with every penny and can't afford to waste money!

"If we don't buy Ginola, what other alternatives do we have?" Moyes asked Cook.

"Yes," Cook replied, then started flipping through the folders again.

As a professional team scout, he certainly wouldn't only have one or two targets; he would naturally have many alternative plans.

But Ye Xian waved his hand, indicating that Cook didn't need to flip it.

He said, "I've already discussed the basic roster plans for the new season with David."

"As things stand, our original strikers Moore and Blomqvist have left the team, while the other three will stay."

「那我们需要再补充3个前锋，这样才能达到我们踢4-3-3或4-2-3-1的赛季人员要求。」

"With Rooney's promotion, he can play in multiple positions in the attacking third, which means we only need to bring over two more players."

"Ideally, one of these two players should be a powerful center forward, while the other should be better at breaking through on the wing."

"Actually, I had already decided on the candidate before I came here today."

"Let's start with this winger, the player who 'replaced' Ginola..."

Everyone stared at Ye Xian, waiting for him to name a star player.

But the name that came out of Ye Xian's mouth didn't sound so familiar:

Cristiano Ronaldo.

Kenwright and Winters exchanged a puzzled look.

Who is this person?

Even Moyes frowned.

Ronaldo certainly knew that it was the top superstar who had just led his team to win the World Cup.

But if we add Cristiano to the list, then we really don't know who it is!

Cook, however, realized what was happening: "Ye, you mean that young Portuguese player? The one from Sporting Lisbon?"

Ye Xian nodded in approval: "Yes."

He truly lives up to his title as chief scout; he's very professional.

"Actually, we had scouted him before, but he hasn't played for the first team yet. Considering our goal of avoiding relegation, we still need players who can contribute immediately, so we didn't put him on the shortlist."

Cook shared what he knew about Cristiano Ronaldo.

That is, the future superstar, Cristiano Ronaldo!

At this time, Cristiano Ronaldo was only 17 years old and had never played in a real professional league, but he already had some fame in European football.

Inter Milan legend Luis Suarez Miramontes went to Lisbon last year to watch a 16-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo play for his youth team, and upon returning, he strongly recommended that Moratti buy him.

However, Moratti only valued established stars at the time and did not make a move.

Meanwhile, in the Premier League, Wenger had already taken notice of Ronaldo.

Arsenal's chief scout, Steve Lowry, created a personal file for Ronaldo early on and frequently sent scouts to watch his matches.

In addition, Liverpool and Manchester United are also interested, but neither has taken any concrete action.

After all, although Ronaldo performed brilliantly in the youth team, without actual playing experience in the first team, who knows if he can make it big?

Buying now is essentially a lottery ticket scramble.

"As far as I know, the only team that actually had contact with Ronaldo is Lyon in Ligue 1," Cook added.

However, it wasn't Lyon that actively wanted to buy Ronaldo; rather, it was Ronaldo's agent, Mendes, who was pushing for it.

At this time, Mendes was not yet the future top football mogul; he had only recently signed Ronaldo and was looking for teams to promote him to.

At that time, Sporting Lisbon really wanted Lyon's French striker Toni Varelas, but due to financial constraints, they couldn't afford to spend enough money, so they wanted to use their talented young players as bargaining chips in the deal.

And isn't Cristiano Ronaldo Sporting Lisbon's best young player?

But Lyon wasn't interested.

Their first reaction was, "Who is this child? I've never heard of him before."

Furthermore, with Mendes demanding at least 30% first-team playing time, the deal could no longer proceed.

At that time, Lyon was the dominant force in Ligue 1, embarking on a glorious seven-year winning streak. How could they possibly make such a promise to a kid with no professional league experience?

So Mendes reluctantly accepted reality and prepared to let Ronaldo play for Sporting Lisbon for a year first.

He also left behind the words, "It's okay, you'll find out who he is later."

As for Ye Xian, he certainly knew who Cristiano Ronaldo was.

Moreover, he cannot allow Ronaldo to stay with the team for another year.

Because of Ronaldo's outstanding performance at Sporting Lisbon throughout the year, his market value will continue to rise.

After the friendly match against Manchester United next summer, Ronaldo will be spotted by Ferguson and then bought.

The transfer fee is approximately 1500 million euros!

By then, Everton will have no chance of competing with Manchester United, whether in terms of team appeal or financial strength.

Therefore, this summer is the best time to find bargains!

"I understand, he's a promising young star." Moyes looked at Ye Xian, "But Ye, so many clubs are just observing, are you sure he can really make it?"

Ye Xian laughed and said, "Then David, why do you think Rooney can make it out there?"

"It's...it's a feeling. I feel this kid is very talented and extremely competitive, and he should be able to adapt to the pace of the Premier League very quickly."

"He's the same."

The two of them were no longer simply talking about the players' technical abilities, but rather their mentality.

Many young players can dominate in their youth teams, but once they step onto the professional league stage, the fervent atmosphere and immense pressure often cause them to underperform.

One or two bad games might make them lose confidence or even become withdrawn.

Those who truly succeed in professional football are often the players with a big heart.

They were fearless and would strive to solve problems even when faced with difficulties, instead of complaining or blaming others, ultimately leading to the tragic fate of "Zhong Yong" (a child prodigy who failed to live up to his potential).

Just like Bojan and Messi, who both came from Barcelona's youth academy, many people even say that Bojan's talent is even greater than Messi's.

However, Bojan's poor adaptability led to psychological problems, resulting in a stark contrast to Messi's achievements.

With just this simple sentence, Moyes understood what Ye Xian meant.

Since Ye Xian believes that Ronaldo can adapt to the Premier League just like Rooney, then let's give it a try!

"I'll personally handle the negotiations with Cristiano," Ye Xian continued. "Of course, he's not the only target of my business."

Moyes said, "For example, the Czech goalkeeper you just mentioned."

"Yes." Ye Xian nodded:

"His name is Peter Cech."

"Furthermore, the center forward I need is in Ligue 1."

"He's an Ivory Coast player."

"His name is Didier Drogba."

"besides……"