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Chapter 804: Big Moves
When the Manchester City team returned to Manchester by plane, thousands of fans flooded the streets, awaiting the heroes' appearance with the gleaming trophy.
The airport specially allowed the parade convertible to drive all the way to the tarmac, where the three domestic heavyweight championship trophies were already placed inside the car.
When Kompany lifted the Champions League trophy, the continuous cheers and the clicking of cameras from journalists filled the air. This time, the celebration was being broadcast live by three local English television stations.
From the airport to the city center, heading north to reach the Etihad Stadium, the journey of approximately 18 kilometers, which should have taken only half an hour, ended up taking more than five hours because of the overwhelming number of fans lining the streets to welcome the team.
Wang Feng lifted the trophy a couple of times at the beginning, then left the most conspicuous spot to his teammates to let them revel in the celebration.
However, throughout the journey, chants of his name could be heard from fans at any time. The Chinese superstar had already won over this city.
Finally arriving at their destination, Kompany, Aguero, Fernandinho, and Wang Feng each carried a trophy and walked into the Etihad Stadium together with the others, greeted by deafening cheers and screams.
Near the center circle, a stage and long tables were set up. After the trophies were placed, the championship celebration officially began.
The club had arranged various special performances for the occasion, including local songs and dances, and surprisingly, even traditional Chinese martial arts performances, which were heartwarming to see.
After the song "Blue Moon" finished playing, players and coaching staff took turns making championship declarations.
When it was Wang Feng's turn, he said, "Thank you very much for your great love. I want to thank all my teammates, coaching staff, and club staff. Without your efforts, the team wouldn't have achieved such great glory."
"A year ago, when I first stepped onto this field, I promised the fans that I would bring results to the team. Now, I have finally fulfilled that promise."
"Next, we will continue to work hard and create endless glory for the Blue Moon!"
As soon as he finished speaking, thunderous applause erupted, which lasted for a long time without stopping.
After all the players had spoken, Guardiola stepped forward and expressed that he had fallen in love with this city and this team, vowing to build a dynasty of the Blue Moon. The atmosphere was pushed to another climax once again.
The celebrations in Manchester lasted from morning till night. When night fell, fireworks were set off at the Etihad Stadium to celebrate.
While the outside world was buzzing with excitement, inside the administrative office of the stadium, key personnel of the club gathered to discuss the upcoming summer transfer strategy, which would significantly impact the club's future.
Mansour had left early; he had many national affairs to attend to and was satisfied with not managing the specific affairs of the club anymore. Everything would now be decided by the CEO and other top executives.
Before leaving, he took the time to meet with Wang Feng and express his joy and gratitude, stating that the Abu Dhabi royal family would always cherish their friendship.
Currently, the biggest issue facing CEO Soriano was the transition. In the past, Manchester City had spared no expense to win championships, but now that they had achieved the status of a powerhouse, they needed to learn to invest and plan for the future reasonably.
Guardiola fully agreed with this approach. Just as he had promised in front of the fans earlier, he hadn't come to the Blue Moon solely for a high salary; he wanted to realize his ambitions and become a top coach like Ancelotti.
"The first thing to address in this transfer window is the issue of an oversized squad. This is my list of players to be cleared out," the Spanish coach said, handing the list to the others.
Soriano, after looking at it, couldn't help but be shocked. "There are 23 players in total? My goodness, isn't this too radical?"
"No, it's not. This conclusion was reached after careful consideration by the coaching staff. The purpose of hoarding players like last season has been achieved. There's no need to maintain such high consumption anymore."
"Alright, we don't have higher demands for results at the moment anyway. You can spend a few years laying the groundwork."
Guardiola nodded. "Additionally, there's the issue of tactical core. I will gradually build the team around young players in the future, and Wang's importance will decrease."
"This is quite sensitive. After all, he is the renowned football god of the world, personally invited back by the owner, and his outstanding performance this season is evident to all," Soriano rubbed his chin.
"I understand, of course. If the Chinese superstar were just two years younger, I believe no coach in the world could refuse to build a system around him."
"But he's already 34 years old, and I have to be responsible for the future of the team."
Guardiola added, "This doesn't mean that his position as a starter will be shaken, but the focus of tactical arrangements will be different."
"We also hope that he can continue to play a role at critical moments. Of course, I have discussed this with the Chinese superstar, and he feels it's appropriate."
Soriano nodded. "That's good. Regarding on-field arrangements, it's up to you professionals to decide. I just want to emphasize that Wang's status deserves respect, and conflicts should not arise over these trivial matters."
The Spanish coach had always been decisive. The day after the championship celebration ended, he began his comprehensive clearing out operation.
Several players, including many former starters, left the team one after another. For example, Fernandinho was transferred to Galatasaray in the Turkish Super League for ￡25 million, Kolarov was sold to Roma for ￡5 million, Sagna and Navas did not renew their contracts and joined West Ham United and Sevilla respectively on free transfers, and so on.
More stable substitutes like Nolito were sold to Sevilla for ￡9 million, and Zabaleta was sold to Villarreal for ￡14 million.
After these transactions, Manchester City's transfer income reached approximately ￡100 million, the highest in recent years, plus the wages saved from these players, a significant amount of funds was freed up.
Such big moves naturally attracted the attention of many media and fans, with various rumors and analyses emerging.
Some said that slimming down the squad was very wise, while others said that rebuilding after winning the championship was very unusual. Shouldn't they maintain the status quo and continue to compete for trophies in the new season?
Furthermore, some even speculated that after fulfilling the dreams of the UAE tycoons, they planned to withdraw their investments and run away, so Manchester City had to sell off their assets to recoup their losses.
This kind of speculation was so eye-catching that many people believed it to be true. Even within the Manchester City team, there was a small-scale panic.
But soon, the club used a series of heavyweight signings to debunk the rumors. They were not lacking in funds; they just wanted to invest them wisely.
Firstly, they broke the transfer record for defenders by bringing in Benjamin Mendy from Monaco for ￡52 million.
Then, at Wang Feng's recommendation, they bought Danilo, the right-back from Real Madrid, for ￡26 million. Wang had thought highly of him during his time at the Galacticos.
Negotiations with Tottenham's Walker were a bit tricky. While the player himself was keen to join, the North London club didn't want him to stay in the Premier League and pose a threat to themselves.
After some back and forth, they finally settled on a deal worth ￡45 million plus ￡5 million in floating clauses. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝒄𝒐𝓶
Guardiola's possession-based system had always relied heavily on full-backs, but the performances of several players in the past season were not satisfactory, so he focused on this aspect in the transfer market.
They also brought in Bernardo Silva from Monaco for ￡43 million, Ederson from Benfica for ￡34 million, and Luis from Gama for ￡10 million, among others.
In total, Manchester City spent over ￡200 million in the transfer market.