Chapter 637: Chapter 73: Chen Can Solve This Problem

The Portuguese almost always hears insults from opposing fans at every away game.

Of course, Chen Zhong also hears quite a few, but he takes it lightly. After all, he is one of the most threatening players in Real Madrid, and such things are inevitable.

But Cristiano Ronaldo doesn’t see it that way. From his perspective, the reason he’s made enemies all over Spain is due to the lack of protection from Real Madrid’s Spanish players.

Compared to the close friendships among Messi, Xavi, Puyol, and others, he is clearly distanced by the Spanish group.

Especially after this season’s conflicts with Casillas, the sensitive Cristiano Ronaldo has clearly noticed being distanced.

When he scores, it’s always the foreign players, like him, who rush to celebrate with him. When faced with media scrutiny, rarely do Spanish players stand up for him. So far, Cristiano Ronaldo’s friends in the locker room are very few, only Pepe, Marcelo, Di Maria, and other players brought in by Mourinho or under Mendes.

Cristiano Ronaldo and Chen Zhong also maintain a "strange" relationship, but the Portuguese won’t, like Higuain and others, actively sit down to dine with Chen Zhong.

He even competes with Chen Zhong during training, making it seem like he has ulterior motives towards Chen Zhong.

Now, something interesting has come up.

When the issue had already reached the media and become a problem, as the captain of Real Madrid, Chen Zhong was the first to try to resolve it within the team.

All players knew this.

However, Casillas, who should have been closer to Chen Zhong, did not actively seek out Chen Zhong to explain the situation. Instead, it was Cristiano Ronaldo, who seemed to be at odds with Chen Zhong, who showed his trust in him.

On the other hand, Mourinho also received news from Francisco that Cristiano Ronaldo had reached out to Chen Zhong. Hearing this, Mourinho flashed a smile, looked at Francisco, and said, "Some people haven’t recognized their place yet."

"Don’t you agree, Francisco?"

"Maybe there’s something more to it," Francisco didn’t follow Mourinho’s words and instead defended Casillas a bit. This is Casillas’s standing in Real Madrid, much like Chen Zhong. When they make mistakes, people are always willing to defend the "excellent kids" from their own family a bit.

Even Real Madrid fans, toward homegrown players like Casillas and Chen Zhong who have become mainstays of the first team, show a bit more tolerance. Of course, it’s just a bit.

"Is that so?" Mourinho shrugged, not saying much more: "But I’ve never heard him call him captain."

At this point, Mourinho flashed an amused smile and mimicked the classic line from the movie "The Godfather": "He doesn’t even call him captain!"

Francisco stayed silent.

Mourinho, feeling a bit bored, picked up the A4 paper on the table, looked at the news on it, and suddenly said, "Do you think if Chen wants to bring in a certain player, it would be more effective than me speaking?"

Obviously, Mourinho was also aware of a certain tradition within Real Madrid, that the team’s captain had voting rights on transfer matters.

Back when Schuster was coaching, he sought Raul’s "support" to complete his desired transfer. Unfortunately, he didn’t achieve this goal and eventually became a "mad lion."

Francisco didn’t respond to Mourinho’s words, and Mourinho didn’t mind, as if he had just been asking and answering himself, amusing himself.

Recently, the media once again spread the news that Real Madrid was signing a center forward.

This time, the news came more fiercely than ever, because the target of the rumors was Athletic Bilbao’s Fernando Llorente.

This Athletic Bilbao player, standing at 1.95 meters, indeed became Mourinho’s top choice.

The Portuguese’s intentions were very clear: I want him, this winter break.

However, there is a difference of opinion over whether to bring in a No. 9 center forward this winter between Mourinho and Real Madrid’s higher-ups, or, more directly, between President Florentino and General Manager Valdano.

This summer, Mourinho wanted the club to bring in a tank-type striker for him, but the request was not approved. A few weeks ago, Mourinho again expressed his desire to bring in a center forward through the club’s sports director Padesa to the higher-ups.

Mourinho believes Negredo no longer has his heart in Real Madrid, Higuain’s recent series of minor injuries is worrisome, and Benzema doesn’t have Mourinho’s trust.

In Mourinho’s mind, the problem with Real Madrid’s front line remains severe.

However, the response Mourinho received was still "no signing of a forward."

Despite daily media reports linking Real Madrid with certain forwards, in reality, Real Madrid hasn’t taken specific actions.

The club believes there are three aspects to consider regarding whether to sign or not.

First, Higuain is undergoing conservative treatment, with a high possibility of avoiding lumbar surgery, which means the Argentine forward could return as early as January next year, ensuring no shortage of forwards;

Second, Real Madrid’s higher-ups always believe that the winter transfer market doesn’t have players outstanding enough to match Real Madrid’s standards;

Third, Benzema is a player that Florentino went out of his way to bring in, and the Real Madrid president hopes that the French forward can be given the utmost trust. Additionally, the higher-ups believe that it’s time to learn from Barcelona and use more homegrown youth academy players, with the B team’s forward Morata being a promising talent worth nurturing.

And isn’t Joselu still in Castilla?

Since Real Madrid’s youth academy consecutively produced players like Chen Zhong and Casillas, and external players like Mata and Soldado have also performed well, many Real Madrid fans have raised their expectations for the youth academy to another level.

Real Madrid’s honorary president Stefano also stated that there’s no need for Winter signings, and the most important thing is to utilize the current players well.

According to Spain’s Cadena SER, after news spread in the media about Real Madrid planning to acquire Llorente this winter, Florentino felt uneasy. To avoid misunderstandings, he called Athletic Bilbao’s chairman Makuya, assuring him that Real Madrid would not, under any circumstances, pursue Llorente this winter.

According to insiders, the reason Real Madrid is not poaching players this winter is partly because the club is still waiting to see Higuain’s recovery situation. On the other hand, Florentino’s consideration is, unless absolutely necessary, not to anger Athletic Bilbao. Real Madrid hasn’t even played their away match against Athletic Bilbao this season yet, and once relations with the Basque Club sour, the cost of signing Llorente would be too high. Llorente’s buyout clause is 36 million Euro, but if an agreement can’t be reached with Athletic Bilbao, including various fees, Real Madrid’s cost could soar to 63 million Euro, a price that could bring a superstar, and Llorente is not considered a superstar.

Spain’s "Mr. Football" magazine revealed that Florentino had actually reached an agreement with Makuya on acquiring Llorente next summer, which had already become an open secret within Athletic Bilbao. The reason for choosing next summer was also to respect Makuya.

In June next year, Athletic Bilbao will hold its presidential election. Makuya hopes to be re-elected, and selling fan-favorite Llorente before the election would greatly impact Makuya’s popularity, so Florentino chose to postpone the move.

And Llorente, encouraged by friends Alonso, Casillas, Albiol, and Alvaro, also wishes to join Real Madrid.

The magazine also mentioned that along with Llorente, the possibility of joining Real Madrid might include Athletic Bilbao’s defensive midfielder Javi Martinez.

Of course, there’s also a rumor that Fernando Llorente no longer wants to face off against Chen Zhong...

Amidst all the news and rumors flying around, the match between Real Madrid and Sevilla arrived as scheduled. It seems that due to the recent negative news around Real Madrid, Sevilla had other ideas about this match.

Even though this match was at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, they still expressed.

Football is round, and anything is possible.