Godfather Of Champions

The situation with Anelka progressed quickly.

His brothers really put in a lot of effort this time, busily running around for their younger brother’s future.

Three days later, a transfer offer was placed on Twain’s desk.

“Is Anelka only worth fifteen million pounds? This is a joke!” Twain shook the paper, which made a rattling noise. “Adriano Galliani, that old chap, what does he take us for? A beggar?”

“Do we reject it, Tony?” Kerslake asked superfluously.

“Of course! Wait a minute…” Twain considered for a moment. “Inform the department for the official website to put out the news and make it stand out. Especially put their party’s bid in bold. Immediately followed by the news that we have refused. Put the two releases together.”

Kerslake nodded and got up to deliver the news.

“AC Milan really looks down on others.” Twain gnashed his teeth.

Only he and Dunn were left in the office.

“Everyone wants to pay the least amount of money to buy the best players,” Dunn said evenly.

Twain looked at Dunn, then looked out of the window, and said, “You’re right. But for this kind of insult, I can’t just let it go as if nothing has happened.”

※※※

Nottingham Forest’s official website moved quickly with the updates. Twain had received AC Milan’s offer in the morning and the official website had posted the news that the Forest team had rejected the offer in the afternoon.

Then, after the training ended in the afternoon, Twain made a point to speak to the media on the sidelines of the training ground. When the offer was mentioned, he responded to AC Milan in this way:

“We’re not going to sell Anelka. He ranked second on the striker chart in the Premier League last season. He’s an important part of the team and occupies an important position in our plans for the new season.” Long used to facing the media, Twain was completely able to spin his words without missing a beat or changing his expression. “I don’t want to answer this question repeatedly. Anelka’s not going anywhere.”

The media naturally did not believe his words. If Twain had said that before he bought van Nistelrooy, then a lot of people would have fallen for it. However, now, only a fool would believe him.

“Of course…” Twain knew that no one believed him. What he had said earlier was just for show. To put it bluntly, it was all nonsense. The important part was at the back. “If AC Milan is willing to trade Kaka, then we can just about accept the offer of fifteen million pounds.”

※※※

Twain knew what kind of repercussions his remark would cause. He would almost certainly offend AC Milan.

And that proved to be the case.

AC Milan’s reaction was fierce after they received his response. In addition to Galliani’s claim that AC Milan’s Kaka was not for sale, he also criticized Twain’s disrespectful comments. In his view, AC Milan was a world-renowned powerhouse team, and an insignificant Nottingham Forest was not yet qualified to challenge them.

Twain did not care what Galliani thought of him and his team. His purpose was accomplished. AC Milan immediately gave up their follow-up offer, and the purchase of Anelka was not mentioned again.

After that, AC Milan quickly reached an agreement with the La Liga team, Real Betis, to purchase Ricardo Oliveira with the terms of fifteen million Euros plus the Switzerland national football team captain, Johann Vogel.

This transfer was unexpected to analysts. Previously, AC Milan’s pursuit of Anelka was a normal transfer move. After all, despite Anelka’s peculiar temperament, his power was undeniable. He had proved himself in last season’s English Premier League and Champions League. The analysts previously thought that after being rejected by Nottingham Forest, AC Milan would consider other strikers, such as Ronaldo, who was not happy in Real Madrid, and it would be some time before the true candidate was revealed.

They did not think that AC Milan would unexpectedly sign Oliveira in a flash, leaving their own fans a little stupefied.

Players who had done well in La Liga tended to fare worse in Italy. Therefore, this transfer was even harder to fathom. No one knew why AC Milan wanted to buy Oliveira. There were plenty of strikers at a higher standard than he was. Why did they choose Oliveira, who had been seriously injured?

Twain was not surprised in the least. It happened exactly as what he had known. He could not figure out before why AC Milan would look for Oliveira as a replacement for Andriy Shevchenko. He still did not understand to this day. However, he did not have the time to worry about whether AC Milan’s transfer investment would be wasted.

He had his own troubles to deal with.

※※※

After AC Milan signed Oliveira in a flash, Anelka knew that his likeliest chance of leaving Nottingham Forest had vanished.

The other clubs were just all words and little action. They repeatedly said that they admired Anelka’s ability very much, but there was no real action. For example, Benítez, that old fox, professed a great desire for him and then stood him up.

He realized that he should take the initiative to do something.

Therefore, after today’s training, he did not take a quick shower alone and leave. Instead, he went straight into the manager’s office.

When Anelka pushed open the door and walked in, Twain was discussing plans for tomorrow’s friendly match with Dunn and Kerslake.

The two assistant managers looked at each other when they saw Anelka come in. They found an excuse to leave. Only Twain and Anelka were left in the office.

“Have a seat.” Twain pointed to the couch.

Anelka did not. He stood in front of Twain.

“Anything you want to talk to me about?” Twain asked.

“I want the club to let me transfer.” Anelka got right to the point.

Twain pretended to look surprised, “Why are you saying this? Haven’t we been working well together?”

“That was the case before the Champions League final. But I’ve changed my mind.”

Twain circled around the desk and walked up to Anelka. He looked at the other man in the eye and said, “Is it because I replaced you?”

Anelka did not nod or shake his head, but he silently conceded.

“Alright.” Twain sighed. “I should apologize to you. If I had explained it to you earlier, perhaps you might not have wanted to leave.”

“But I don’t want to hear any explanation right now.” Anelka was adamant.

Faced with that attitude, Twain stuffed back all the things he wanted to say. He froze for a moment with his mouth open and then turned to walk back. With his back facing Anelka, he looked out of the window at the twilight sky without a sound.

The air in the room seemed to solidify, and no one spoke.

After a long while, Twain turned back to Anelka and said, “Very well, I respect everyone’s pursuit of his own future. I won’t force anyone to do anything he doesn’t want to do.” He spread his hands open and said, “If a team can offer over twenty-five million pounds, then you can leave.”

Seeing how Anelka was going to open his mouth to refute that the price was too high, Twain immediately said, “Let’s not talk about the price tag of fifteen million pounds. You think I rejected AC Milan’s offer because I didn’t want to let you go? Or do you think an important player who was the Number Two striker in the English Premier League and helped the team advance to the Champions League final last season is worth only fifteen million? That offer is not an insult to me, but to you!” He suddenly raised his voice and brandished his fist as he said to Anelka, “To you, Anelka! They wanted to take my first striker for fifteen million? Galliani must have been dropped on his head! He thought that Nottingham Forest had never seen money. He thought that I, Tony Twain, was a hillbilly who would forget my name when I got some money? If AC Milan had offered twenty-five million, I would let you go without another word! But do they dare? They don’t dare! They would rather use fifteen million and Vogel to buy a striker like Oliveira than pay another ten million for you. Do you think you can be the core if you went to that kind of team? You can’t even do it at Nottingham Forest, do you think you can at AC Milan?

“Besides Nottingham Forest, what other team is suitable for a player like you? I gave you trust, I indulged you, I gave you everything you wanted. Just because of a tactical adjustment, you’re going to f**king betray me! Where were you when your brothers were secretly meeting Benítez in Liverpool? Why did you turn off your phone? Do you still remember what I said to you in the beginning? ‘If you want to leave, please remember to let me be the first to know.’ You forgot, didn’t you? You’ve forgotten all the things we discussed, haven’t you? Now you tell me you want to leave. Where the hell were you a week ago?”

Twain erupted like a volcano and bellowed at Anelka.

Anelka stood there, expressionless and motionless. He allowed Twain’s spittle to spray on his face. In his impression, this was the first time the manager had blown such a big temper with him.

In fact, when he calmly thought about it, this individualistic manager really indulged him during his time in Nottingham Forest this season. However, things had gotten to this point. Did he have any recourse?

Once the cracks had appeared, things between them would not be as smooth as before.

With a slight sigh, Twain slowed down his speech and continued. “I’m disappointed in you, Nicolas. Very, very damn disappointed. When the club wanted to buy you, I was the first to object, because I knew you wouldn’t have any attachment to this team. We paid good money to buy you, and in the end, you would still leave for some reason, which was not in line with my standards for building the team. I want my players to have feelings for this team and feelings for their teammates. Players who can be like brothers. We are united and worked together for championship titles, bonuses, glory. Whatever it is, we strive together. We’re a single unit, not scattered sand. But you came, and you wore the red jersey from Nottingham Forest, so you became one of us, and I became responsible for you. I accepted you and I let you play as the f**king main force, as the damn core! For you, I even gave up Eastwood, who I like so much. I never hide my fondness for that kid. The entire team knows it. Is this what I get in return? Huh? Well, that’s just great.”

Twain spread his hands and shrugged. His tone was full of sarcasm and disdain.

“If you want to leave, I’m not going to stop you as long as a team can afford that price. That’s not meant to deliberately make things hard for you. That’s just my respect for you. You’re worth that price. I’ll let you go. Of course, if you change your mind and don’t want to leave, I also welcome you to stay. But no matter what you decide, I hope you won’t regret it.” Twain waved his hands. “I have other things to be busy with.”

He was showing him the door and Anelka turned to leave.

Not long after Anelka had left, Kerslake and Dunn dashed in.

“How did it go, Tony?”

“How do you think? If he wants to go, he’ll still go. If he had wanted to stay, I wouldn’t need to make such a great effort to persuade him.” Twain sat behind his desk and rested his chin on both hands.

Dunn said thoughtfully in Mandarin, “Whatever can happen will happen.”

“What did Dunn say?” Kerslake did not comprehend him.

“Same meaning as what I said just now.” Twain translated on his behalf.

“So, you’re just going to let the kid go?”

“Do you think it’s going to be so easy? If no club offers twenty-five million pounds, Anelka is still our man until his contract expires. I don’t care if he’s willing to or not. I just want him to understand one thing: I’m the boss here.” Twain pointed to himself.

Kerslake nodded. “Looks like his brothers are going to be busy again.”

“It’s better than having them buzzing around our ears with nothing better to do all day,” Twain grunted. “We’ll just settle the matter with the Frenchman as it is first. I’ve said everything that needs to be said. Now there’s nothing more we can do about it. Oh, that’s right. Reject Bayern’s offer for Ribéry. Tell them that Ribéry is not for sale.”

Kerslake nodded.

“As for the substitute goalkeeper, I’ll ask Pearce tomorrow to see how much the transfer for Peter Schmeichel might be. Gunnarsson’s transfer application is approved. He can go anywhere he wants. And then there’s… damn it, what were we talking about before Anelka came in?”

“The friendly games.” Dunn reminded him.

“Ah! The Amsterdam Tournament!” Twain recalled. “Yes, we can confirm our participation. As for the Premier League Asia Trophy… Forget about that one, there’s no point. Flying so far out there wastes our time and energy and the opponent is still one from the league. The players will not be motivated to play. You’re in charge of contacting the other friendlies, David.”

Kerslake accepted the task.

Dunn took down Twain’s words in a small notebook. This would be the working arrangement of the team in the future.

“In addition, the site for the summer training… Since we’re taking part in the Amsterdam Tournament, let’s put it in the Netherlands. That’s it for the time being.”

※※※

On their way home, Dunn and Twain discussed Anelka again.

“I’ve said before that I hope you don’t let him go.”

“Yes.” Twain nodded.

“I’ve changed my mind now. I think it’s better for you to sell him sooner.”

“Are you worried that he’ll affect the unity of the team?”

Dunn nodded in acknowledgment.

“He has always been antisocial, so it won’t affect it in any way.” Twain was not worried about that. “Even though I predicted that there would be such a day, I’m still very disappointed. Ah, Dunn. A season of hard work has not been able to stay his heart. This damn Anelka, he’s never going to accomplish anything big! Does a genius overflowing with talent have to have such a terrible character? That’s bulls**t.”

Dunn also knew that whether Anelka left or not, he was no longer in the manager’s plan for the new season. The honeymoon period for the two men had only lasted one season before the end was announced. In fact, it was not surprising at all for this to occur between two highly individualistic people.

After a moment’s silence, Twain sighed and mumbled, “What a pity, it’s really such a shame.”