Mourinho was gone.
After finishing a bottle of wine, he took the remaining two with him.
In his words, it was a vintage even Ferguson considered worth collecting. It didn't taste particularly good, but it was valuable.
Gao Shen remained seated in the office, watching blankly as Mourinho closed the door behind him. His emotions were complicated.
Of course, it wasn't because of what Mourinho said.
In his past life, Gao Shen had worked in the professional world for many years, especially in large corporations, where he thrived like a fish in water. If he were easily swayed by a few words, then all those years of effort would have been for nothing.
What occupied his mind now was his own future.
Because he had a strong feeling that Leeds United had a high probability of being promoted to the Premier League this season.
Sarri's coaching approach at Leeds United was heavily influenced by Gao Shen. The team lineup had been constructed by Gao Shen, and many of the tactical setups and player roles were based on his suggestions.
Of course, the Italian staff had done plenty of work on their own, but Gao Shen's impact was undeniable.
This had allowed Leeds United to gel quickly this season, to a degree that even surprised Gao Shen himself.
As Carlo had joked, "You must've overestimated the difficulty of the Championship!"
Maybe so.
Gao Shen believed he had taken it very seriously. Because getting promoted to the Premier League would mean tens of millions, even close to a hundred million pounds in revenue.
In other words, it was a business worth hundreds of millions.
For a hundred million yuan, shareholders of listed companies would do whatever it took—pull strings, fight legal battles. This was several times that amount.
Gao Shen had never expected it to go so smoothly.
Of course, part of that was due to his advantage as a transmigrator and a world-renowned coach.
For example, the players he brought in and the team he built—no other club could have assembled such a squad in just a few months. But Gao Shen did it.
At the start of the season, he had thought Leeds United had a 50-50 chance of promotion. But now, he felt it was at least 70-30.
So far, Leeds United was the only team in the Championship with six consecutive wins.
More importantly, the attacking football Sarri's team played, the offensive strength and dominance they showed on the pitch, didn't look like a Championship team at all.
It even made Gao Shen feel like he might have gone too far.
But of course, it was still early. The season was long and full of uncertainty.
Still, what Mourinho said earlier had made Gao Shen realize that he needed to start thinking ahead—what should he do if Leeds United gets promoted?
Sell the club and cash out?
That would be short-sighted. He wasn't going to just let someone else reap the rewards.
Wouldn't that be handing over the fruits of his labor?
But the Premier League definitely wouldn't allow Gao Shen to continue balancing his time between Manchester City and Leeds United.
If nothing else, Ferguson, Wenger, Redknapp, Benítez, and others would absolutely object to his dual role.
They were all hoping Gao Shen would step away.
Gao Shen truly appreciated Mansour and Mubarak.
He needed to think it through carefully and find a solution that would satisfy both Manchester City and himself.
…
Real Madrid lost 0-2 away to Manchester City.
The result was better than last season's, but the process was nearly identical.
After the match, the Spanish media unanimously criticized Mourinho's conservatism and his decision to bench Casillas.
The former led to Real Madrid being toothless in attack throughout the game, while the latter resulted in Adán's fatal mistake.
Even AS, long known as Real Madrid's mouthpiece, issued a rare appeal, urging the club's management to intervene and stabilize the dressing room.
Editor-in-chief Alfredo wrote in his column: "Real Madrid is on the eve of turmoil!"
This wasn't an empty warning. At the post-match press conference, Mourinho publicly blamed the players, saying some hadn't given their best, though he didn't name names.
While none of the players spoke out publicly, media reports indicated that the Real Madrid dressing room had reacted strongly. Even Ronaldo felt Mourinho's comments were unfair.
"He was aggrieved," reports said. "He had tracked back many times, even to the edge of his own penalty area. How could anyone say he wasn't trying? He felt the coach's criticism was unjust."
As AS had access to reliable information from within the Real Madrid camp, if even they were saying there was unrest in the dressing room, then there was definitely something going on.
And things only escalated from there.
Two days after returning from Manchester, Mourinho took the team to face Levante away.
It was the fourth round of La Liga, and Real Madrid lost 0-1.
The team played with low energy and poor morale throughout the match.
This only confirmed the suspicions from outside.
Following the loss to Levante, the Spanish media ramped up their criticism of Mourinho. But the Portuguese coach was stubborn as ever, insisting there were no problems within the team.
As for Casillas being benched?
No, no, he was injured.
What kind of injury? How long would he be out?
Sorry, that's team business. No further details could be disclosed.
This only stirred up more controversy.
…
While Mourinho was under fire in Spain, Gao Shen also experienced a minor setback.
After the Real Madrid match, Gao Shen led his team to London to face Fulham away.
Javi Martinez was carrying a minor injury, and both Fernandinho and Yaya Touré had played the full game against Real Madrid, so Gao Shen took a calculated risk.
He fielded a midfield trio of David Silva, Henderson, and De Bruyne, with Henderson acting as the holding midfielder.
It was definitely a bold gamble.
But the decision paid off in the opening stages. From the first whistle, Manchester City launched a relentless attacking wave.
Especially their forward pressure, which made Fulham look completely overwhelmed.
In the sixth minute, Van Persie found the net, but the goal was ruled offside by the linesman.
Just two minutes later, Hazard received a long ball from Jerome Boateng, dribbled into the box, drew the defense in, then cut it back to David Silva, who fired a left-footed shot that struck the post.
Then came the 13th, 14th, and 15th minutes...
City's attacks just kept coming, each wave more dangerous than the last.
Finally, in the 16th minute, De Bruyne played a diagonal pass from the outside. Hazard met it on the left side of the box and squared it without taking a touch. Van Persie volleyed it into the net.
After taking the lead, Manchester City didn't slow down. They continued to press hard, forcing Fulham goalkeeper Schwarzer into a series of outstanding saves, and pinning Fulham deep in their own half.
Veteran Dutch manager Martin Jol switched to a 4-5-1 and dropped his lines into and around the penalty area just to contain the pressure.
But as soon as the second half kicked off, City struck again.
From the restart, they launched a direct attack. Leighton Baines surged down the left and sent a long diagonal ball. Van Persie got to it first and headed it into the path of Robinho on the right. Robinho followed up with a simple finish.
2-0!
Only seven seconds had passed in the second half.
City continued to bombard Fulham, constantly creating chances. But Fulham defended resolutely.
Then, in the 65th minute, Fulham began targeting City's weaknesses more strategically.
Especially Mousa Dembélé.
The Belgian midfielder had originally played as a winger and striker, but now operated behind the front line, supporting striker Zamora.
Back when Gao Shen was coaching Napoli, he had tried to sign Dembélé from AZ Alkmaar as a Plan B for missing out on Modric, but failed.
Now, it was this very Belgian who forced Neuer into a full-stretch save with a long-range shot in the 71st minute, sparking Fulham's comeback.
In the 75th minute, Dembélé dribbled past Henderson and threaded a pass into the box. Zamora received it with his back to goal and laid it off. Midfielder Murphy ran onto it and shot, the ball deflecting off Kompany's leg and into the net.
Neuer had no chance.
2-1.
Two minutes later, City counterattacked again. Van Persie set up Robinho with a clear chance, but the Brazilian's shot lacked power and Schwarzer saved it.
Then came Fulham's equalizer in the 81st minute.
Dembélé and Dempsey combined with a slick passing move outside the box. Dempsey slipped a ball into the area, Zamora controlled it, turned, and fired past Neuer.
2-2!
After that, no matter how hard City pressed, they couldn't break down Fulham's defense again.
…
Facing his first draw of the season, Gao Shen remained upbeat.
"Our opponents were very efficient tonight. They had only five shots, two on target, and scored twice. We created 32 shots, one of which was ruled out and one hit the post."
He singled out De Bruyne for praise, saying the Belgian would become the best midfielder in the world.
"I have no doubt about his potential. What matters most is that he's constantly improving. He just needs to keep working, especially on physical duels and overall fitness."
Gao Shen was aware that the two goals conceded in the second half were related to some of the younger players' performances.
But he chose to focus on encouragement, especially for players like De Bruyne, Henderson, and Jerome Boateng.
He also mentioned Fulham's Dembélé.
"He doesn't score or assist much, but he's Fulham's most important player."
"I knew about him back when he was at AZ Alkmaar, and tonight he played brilliantly!"
Manchester City's 2-2 draw with Fulham, combined with Manchester United's 3-1 win over Chelsea, meant the Red Devils leapfrogged City to top the Premier League standings.
This made Ferguson very pleased.
With five straight wins, United were brimming with confidence, and Ferguson even declared his intent to defeat Manchester City and win the title this season.
But no one expected that just after this bold claim, Ferguson would get a rude awakening.
(To be continued.)