Chapter 109: Chapter 24: Transfers, Public Opinion, and Turmoil

“How does he still have the face to ask for a raise?”

“Can’t he just be honest?”

“There are already enough worrying things lately!”

Schuster angrily pounded on his desk in the office. In the Champions League arena, Real Madrid is notoriously not fond of Germany, and statistically, Greece is also one of Real Madrid’s least favorite places.

In the past 8 visits to Greece, Real Madrid has not achieved a single victory.

And this time, Real Madrid was unable to secure a win at Olympiacos’ home ground either, and Schuster did not break the “winless curse.”

“We clearly had the advantage.”

“The suspense of advancing early will have to last another round.” Schuster was very focused on the last group match against Olympiacos, mainly because they lost to Sevilla over the weekend in the league, and secondly, a win in this match would allow the team to secure advancement early.

As a result, in this round of the Champions League group stage, Olympiacos seemed to be truly blessed by the Greek gods. In this match, Guti did not play; instead, Sneijder became the team’s attacking core, with Pepe and Chen Zhong pairing up as center-backs, and Gago and Dias forming double defensive midfielders.

This gave Real Madrid a significant advantage in midfield, making Schuster pleased initially. It was the first time this season the team held a midfield advantage.

However, Real Madrid’s relentless attacks were repeatedly thwarted by the seemingly enchanted goalpost of Olympiacos.

Van Nistelrooy, Robinho, and Chen Zhong, who headed the ball during a corner kick, all hit the post three times.

And that was just in the first half. In the second half, Olympiacos’ goalpost blocked two more of Real Madrid’s attacks, causing Real Madrid to become agitated in the latter stages of the second half, giving Olympiacos some counter-attack opportunities. If not for Chen Zhong’s crucial blocks in front of the goal and his loud command to stabilize the defense, Real Madrid might have faced a bitter defeat away.

At the post-match press conference, Olympiacos’ coach Panagiotis Lemonis also expressed regret. The white-haired coach faced the cameras and said energetically, “If we had scored a goal in the second half, everything would have been different.”

“But he stood in front of the goal, blocking our rebound shots with his body.”

“It’s a disappointing scene.”

Schuster also expressed his dissatisfaction at the post-match press conference, with his blonde hair flying, he was emotionally charged as if they had lost the match: “I know Real Madrid has never won in Greece, we had a chance to rewrite history, but unfortunately, the goalpost saved them.”

“Our advantage was so obvious, but sometimes, that’s football. You might have dozens of chances, but they just slip through your fingers. It’s unbearable.”

When reporters asked if the reason for this match’s loss was the players’ lack of shooting accuracy, Schuster replied, “No, I don’t think so.”

“I believe the biggest reason was the passion of the Greek fans.”

“This stadium’s atmosphere is very special, it’s Olympiacos’ greatest strength and our biggest trouble.”

Greek fans are fervent, and the atmosphere inside the stadium is “unsettling,” like standing on a volcano’s crater with the lava constantly splashing out, as if ready to erupt at any moment.

Van Nistelrooy and Raul also spoke after the match. Van Nistelrooy said, “It was an unbelievable night, no matter what, we just couldn’t score,” while Raul, shaking his head, said, “We lacked a goal, and we were very unlucky.”

Van Nistelrooy’s remarks made sense, but Raul didn’t even have a single threatening shot in this match, which subjected him to some public criticism.

Back to the present, after spending a night in Greece, Real Madrid returned to Madrid, and during this time, Schuster received a lot of bad news.

For instance, Calderon informed Schuster that the “Bernabeu Cup,” which was postponed this summer, will be held on December 5th, with Belgrade Guerrillas as the opponents. During this event, Real Madrid will also take the opportunity to pay tribute to the club’s legendary star, Hento.

Francisco Hento Lopez, the only superstar in Real Madrid’s team to win the Champions Cup six times, has been an eternal benchmark in the team’s history. During his 18-year spell with Real Madrid, Hento made 601 appearances, scored 182 goals, and helped the team win 6 European Champions Cups and 12 La Liga championships, becoming the player who has won the most Champions League and La Liga titles in history.

Unlike the honorary club president Di Stefano, who often appears in public, Hento has mostly faded from the public eye.

Calderon said to Schuster in their conversation, “I hope to use this opportunity to let fans relive this glorious history and motivate the players to push forward and win the club’s historic 10th Champions League trophy.”

Calderon has planned for Hento to make an appearance at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium before the match against Belgrade Guerrillas, with the six Champions League trophies that supported a generation’s dynasty displayed behind him.

Why was Belgrade Partizan invited?

Because in 1966, when Hento helped Real Madrid win its 6th championship trophy, their opponent was Belgrade Partizan.

If it were just this matter, it wouldn’t be enough to make Schuster feel irritated. The main issue is that Marca, which has had a bad relationship with Real Madrid’s higher-ups in recent years, revealed something that shouldn’t have been disclosed at this time.

While Diario AS praised Real Madrid’s recent performances and made excuses for the two losses, Marca broke the news that Ramos might transfer and leave.

Ramos has always been regarded as the future leader of the team, and even now some people believe that Ramos is very likely to become Real Madrid’s captain in the coming seasons.

However, the news from Marca undoubtedly threw a deep-water bomb in Real Madrid’s locker room, causing some of Ramos’ die-hard fans to point the finger at Chen Zhong, believing that it was Chen Zhong who caused Ramos to want to leave.

However, the problem lies with the news of Ramos’ transfer!

Marca’s content stated, “Milan wants to take Ramos to the San Siro Stadium.”

But all of this is just damn hype. The truth is that Ramos’ agent, who is also his damn brother, hopes to use the media’s power to get his brother a raise.

Diario AS naturally does not wish to do so, as the team is currently in very good shape, but Marca, a media outlet that has always had disagreements with Real Madrid’s higher-ups, took it over and exposed it at this sensitive moment.

Calderon and his sports director Mijatovic felt differently about this. Calderon felt somewhat irritated yet happy, because he likes Ramos. He even refers to Ramos as “Tarzan of the Apes.”

Calderon often pats Ramos on the shoulder when they meet and greets him: “How’s it going, our Tarzan.”

Ramos was signed by Real Madrid during Florentino’s era, but the person who strongly recommended Ramos to the club was Calderon.

“Damn it,” Schuster looked at Francisco, “Why the hell does this have to be my problem?”

Francisco swallowed and started speaking: “Actually, we don’t have to do much.”

“If following the process, after Marca reported Ramos’ transfer news, if he doesn’t truly want to leave.”

“Then soon, either Ramos or his agent will come out to refute the rumors.”

“In fact, I don’t think Ramos will leave the team; he just wants a salary increase.”

“I know!” Schuster responded, he was just displeased that Ramos caused such an issue at this critical moment. Could it be because of Chen Zhong’s new contract?

But Chen Zhong’s annual salary is just damn under 100,000 Euros!

Considering Chen Zhong’s age, this salary is indeed somewhat extraordinary, but does his performance not deserve this salary?

“Greedy bastard!” Schuster couldn’t help but curse once.

It should be noted, just two or three months ago, Real Madrid already increased Ramos’ salary. His original salary was 2 million Euros before tax, but after the raise, it was increased to 4 million Euros before tax.

If it wasn’t for Ramos’ uniqueness in the right-back position, Schuster would have really wanted to get rid of this troublemaker during the winter transfer window.

Within the Real Madrid team, the right-back position is a very sensitive one.

In the past eight years, Sergado had always occupied this position, but there hasn’t been a player capable of “taking over”. In just the last five years, 15 players have appeared in that position, including some temporary substitutes.

Real Madrid’s several major failures in recent years were mostly related to the right-back, such as the tragic night against Sevilla during Queiroz’s coaching, a typical example.

However, after Ramos took over the right-back position, all of this changed.

“Oh right!”

“There’s also that matter!”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep