From the man behind the football king to the football king.

Chapter 905: Recruiting from Real Madrid
After two years of silence, Manchester United finally made moves again this summer.

On the afternoon of July 2021, 7, Manchester United officially announced that Sporting CP midfielder João Palinha joined the team.

Palinha performed well during this European Cup and was selected into the best team of this European Cup. He can be regarded as one of the biggest discoveries of this European Cup.

The 26-year-old Portuguese international can be said to be a late bloomer. Born in the youth training of Sacavente Football Club, Palinha joined the Sporting CP youth team for 2013 euros in the winter of 4, but it was not until he joined the Portuguese Super League team Braga on loan in the summer of 2018 that he began to emerge in the professional football field.

The 2019-2020 season was the season in which Palinha rose in the Portuguese Super League. He played 34 games for Braga in the Portuguese Super League and the Europa League, helping Braga to beat his old club Sporting CP to rank third in the Portuguese Super League, and also advanced to the knockout stage of the Europa League as the first in the group stage.

After the season ended, Sporting CP took back Palinha. Under Ruben Amorim, Palinha quickly gained a foothold, played 32 games in the Portuguese Super League that season, and helped Sporting CP regain the league championship after 19 years.

Thanks to his outstanding performance in the club, Palinha was also selected for Santos' European Cup squad. He started as a substitute and gradually took over the main lineup. He was one of the heroes of Portugal's defense of the European Cup.

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Due to its outstanding performance in the past two seasons, Palinha has also attracted the attention of some teams in the top five leagues. However, there are not many teams that have actually made an offer to Sporting CP, and they are all mid- and lower-level teams in the top five leagues.

No one expected that Manchester United would suddenly swoop in and sign Palinha at lightning speed.

The reason why Manchester United acted decisively was naturally because Bruno tried his best to recommend him to the team.

As a national team teammate and midfield partner, Bruno naturally knows Palinha better than anyone else.

It can be said that the current Paline reminds Bruno of Kante during his time at Udinese.

Of course, there are some differences between Palinha and Kante. Kante is known for his excellent midfield sweeping ability, while Palinha is better at stealing the ball.

During this European Cup, Palinha contributed at least 3 steals in every game, and a total of 6 steals in 25 appearances, making him the steal king of this European Cup.

However, since Palinha's time in the spotlight was not long and he had no experience playing in the top five leagues, his value was not high, only 2000 million euros. This was after the bonus of the European Cup. Before the World Cup, his value was only 1000 million euros.

According to media reports, Manchester United has signed a "4+1" contract with Palinha, which means a four-year contract with a one-year priority renewal option. The transfer price is £4 million, with a £2000 million floating clause.

Manchester United agreed to sign Palinha in order to find a qualified substitute rotation player for Kante. The French midfielder is now 30 years old and has passed the peak of his career.

The key point is that since last season, Kanter's injuries have shown a clear increasing trend.

Kanter, who had always maintained a very high attendance rate, missed a total of 2020 games in all competitions in the just-concluded 2021-18 season. Although some of these games were due to rotation, Kanter also missed a full 11 games due to injuries.

As for the defensive midfielder position, Manchester United currently has no player who can replace Kante. Fred's ability is still a little lacking, and although Bellingham has shown great potential, he is too young to take on the responsibility of Manchester United's defense in a short period of time.

Moreover, Bellingham is not a player who is good at defense. Manchester United's positioning of him is actually Bruno's successor.

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As August arrived, Manchester United began intensive preparations for the new season, and Bruno also returned to the team and joined the training camp.

The new season's league will start in mid-August, but Manchester United has game tasks in early August, and there are two games: the Community Shield and the European Super Cup!
On August 8, after the afternoon training, Bruno was left behind by Mourinho and Giaretta.

"The club received a fax," Mourinho said.

"What fax?" Bruno asked.

"Real Madrid is looking for our players," Giarreta interjected.

"Which one did they take a fancy to?" Bruno's expression immediately turned serious. "Could it be that they haven't given up on me yet?"

Bruno was well aware of Real Madrid's interest in him. Real Madrid began pursuing him when he first started to make a name for himself in Novara in Serie B.

Unfortunately, Bruno is a die-hard Manchester United fan and has little interest in joining the Galacticos. He has repeatedly rejected Real Madrid's recruitment.

However, Real Madrid has shown a tenacious will to fight again and again after repeated failures, and there are rumors of signing him almost every summer.

This is not Bruno's deliberate hype to raise his own value. It is Florentino and Real Madrid's management really want to dig him to the Bernabeu. "It's not you. Real Madrid can't afford you now. It's another player." Mourinho laughed.

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Bruno laughed too.

Mourinho's words are not a joke, but the truth.

Bruno's current market value in Germany is 2.5 million euros. Considering his golden age of 27, if the transfer is completed, the actual price must be much higher than his current market value, and the conservative estimate is 3 million euros.

Given Real Madrid's financial resources, it is certainly not a problem for them to sell everything they have to come up with 3 million euros, but it is impossible for a team to do such a thing if it wants to operate normally.

In fact, judging from the current market value of both parties, it is no longer realistic for Real Madrid to continue poaching Bruno.

After Cristiano Ronaldo left and the value of most players in the team plummeted due to their age, the total value of Real Madrid has now dropped to 7.5 million euros. Bruno alone is equivalent to one-third of Real Madrid.

For some small teams, perhaps a big-name star will emerge occasionally, and the value of one person may account for the majority of the team. However, for a top-tier giant, such a situation must not occur, otherwise the situation will get out of control.

"Who is that?" Bruno was surprised. "Is it Kane? Or Mbappe? Rashford?"

Bruno knows that after Ronaldo left, Real Madrid has been looking for a reliable scorer. In the past three years, Real Madrid has shown its covetousness for Manchester United's front trident more than once.

Bruno even thought that if Florentino had the money, he would have wanted to pack up Manchester United's front attacking group F4.

"It's Mbappe," Mourinho said.

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When Bruno heard the name Mourinho said, he thought to himself that it was true.

In the front three of Manchester United, Rashford is a product of Manchester United's youth training, and is the prince in the eyes of the club and fans, and the future king of Old Trafford. Although Harry Kane is not a product of Manchester United's youth training, as a British, he has the advantage of a household registration book, and his excellent scoring ability makes him almost irreplaceable in Manchester United.

In comparison, the Frenchman Mbappe is in an awkward position, especially after Brexit, when Mbappe also needs a work permit.

Correspondingly, if these three players can really transfer to Real Madrid, Rashford and Harry Kane will occupy the team's non-European player quota, but Mbappe does not need it, after all, France and Spain are both EU countries.

In addition, Real Madrid's current star player Benzema is also French, and they have a good personal relationship. If the two can partner up in the team, it will also be a good thing.

The most important thing is that Mbappe is not completely irreplaceable in Manchester United. The newly rising Greenwood and the presence of the veteran Mahrez make Manchester United have a suitable substitute for Mbappe.

Judging from what Mourinho and Giarretta said, Real Madrid must have made an attractive offer to Manchester United, otherwise they would not even consider it.

"I don't agree." Bruno decisively rejected the possibility of this deal. "I think you know better than me what Kylian's position in the team is. If the team wants to remain competitive, he must not be sold."

Although Manchester United has won five consecutive Premier League titles and four consecutive Champions League titles, Bruno is a person who never knows what satisfaction feels like. He hopes that the team will continue to pursue six consecutive Premier League titles and five consecutive Champions League titles.

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"Can't you listen to Real Madrid's offer first?" Giarretta became anxious and said angrily when he heard Bruno's direct refusal.

"I can't sell it no matter how much money you offer." Bruno shook his head.

Although the presence of Greenwood and Mahrez can make up for the cost of losing Mbappe to a certain extent, as a time traveler, Bruno knows that Mbappe can grow into a superstar, which is something Greenwood and Mahrez cannot achieve.

"Bruno," Mourinho groaned, and said, "Real Madrid has made an offer of 2 million euros for Mbappe."

"Yes, 2 million euros, and, you know, this is only their first offer," Giarretta immediately followed.

Bruno was silent. He understood what Mourinho and Giarretta meant. Generally speaking, the first offer is a tentative offer, which is far from the other party's psychological bottom line. Real Madrid can directly offer 2 million euros, which shows that they are really optimistic about Mbappe and have a strong desire to introduce the Frenchman. It also shows that their psychological price is higher than 2 million euros.

(End of this chapter)