Gao Shen spent the entire morning chatting with Ramos. They discussed many topics.
From the team to individual players and even the club itself, nothing was off-limits.
According to Ramos, ever since Gao Shen left, he had bottled up many things in his heart that he couldn't share with anyone, which had made him feel miserable.
Finally, he said something deeply emotional: "Boss, being captain of Real Madrid is really hard!"
Who could disagree?
If being Real Madrid's head coach is the hardest managerial job in the world, then being captain of Real Madrid is probably the hardest captaincy in football.
Casillas was a top professional, but not a particularly effective captain.
Still, Ramos had a point.
If you strip Casillas of the captaincy now, it would create a wave of problems.
In truth, Gao Shen hadn't intended to remove the captain right away. He met with Ramos to gauge his attitude, test his sincerity, and prepare for any future decisions.
It seemed Ramos could be trusted.
The guy might have his own interests, and he might not be entirely forthcoming, but he was reliable.
As soon as Ramos arrived at the hotel, Gao Shen had already received a message and observed him through the door.
This kid clearly still cared about him. That wasn't bad.
…
Standing at the floor-to-ceiling window in the living room, Gao Shen looked out at the streets of Madrid. Just across the way was the neighborhood where Zidane currently lived. Gao Shen had asked him to look for a better house.
It would need to be fully renovated.
Just as Gao Shen was amusing himself with the thought, the doorbell rang.
When he opened the door, he found Valdano, Zidane, and Carlo outside, along with a familiar face.
Fernando Hierro.
"Hello, Fernando," Gao Shen greeted with a smile.
"Hello, Gao."
Years ago, Hierro had been forced out when Real Madrid refused to renew his contract, causing a stir across Spain. It marked the beginning of the decline of the first generation of the Galácticos and led to Gao Shen's rise in 2006.
Now, after many years, Hierro was finally back at Real Madrid. It hadn't been easy.
Everyone knew he was here to rebuild his reputation, with his real goal being the Spanish Football Association.
With his stature, it wouldn't be difficult for him to work at Real Madrid. But his relationship with Florentino was so poor that he had no intention of returning—until now, when he needed to strengthen his résumé before aiming for a role with the Spanish FA.
Of course, that didn't mean Hierro was just a symbolic assistant.
On the contrary, his experience and stature could offer significant support to Real Madrid.
After all, this was a guy who had played nearly every role—from center forward to midfielder, defensive midfielder, and central defender.
But Hierro's story also reflected the reality of being Real Madrid captain.
At his peak, he scored 21 goals in 37 La Liga appearances as a midfielder, finishing second in the league's scoring charts, just behind Atlético striker Manolo.
He was only 24 at the time.
Over the next two seasons, his goal tally remained in double digits.
But with the arrival of midfielders like Redondo and Michael Laudrup, Hierro's role was pushed back, and he eventually became a central defender.
Sound familiar? A bit like Raúl's story.
At the time, Mendoza was president of Real Madrid.
Imagine this: during Lampard's peak, someone forced him to move from midfield to center back. Would he accept that?
So whether it was President Santiago Bernabéu, Mendoza, or Florentino today, Real Madrid had always followed a superstar policy—and the captain had always been the scapegoat.
To put it nicely, the captain "considers the bigger picture."
Another thing: Real Madrid captains rarely get a graceful exit.
Former captain Sanchís only retired at the club and retained his role thanks to then-president Lorenzo Sanz.
…
This time, Valdano brought the three assistants primarily to discuss the team's plans for the new season.
Gao Shen briefly summarized his earlier meeting with Ramos. Of course, he didn't share any private details, but made it clear that Ramos had earned his trust.
On the topic of the captaincy, Valdano and the three assistant coaches agreed with Ramos and supported maintaining the status quo.
Last season, when Casillas was unavailable, Ramos had worn the armband on the pitch. Over time, he built his reputation and influence within the locker room. Given the current situation, there was no need to rush a change. Instead, it would be better to continue supporting Ramos and let him take over gradually.
That had also been Gao Shen's original plan—an ideal situation.
But whether it could be achieved would depend on Casillas himself.
Gao Shen planned to find a chance to have a proper conversation with the Real Madrid captain. But there was no rush.
Then Valdano brought up another issue.
Real Madrid had made a profit.
This would be great news for almost any other club—maybe even all other clubs except Real Madrid and Barcelona—but not for Los Blancos.
Because as a membership-based club, Real Madrid was not allowed to generate profit.
If there were profits, the government would impose heavy taxes.
As Real Madrid's revenue increased sharply, they were forced to spend it each year.
Of course, the board of directors still played a supervisory role. The money had to be spent wisely and in ways that didn't harm the club's interests.
So when fans see Real Madrid making an overpriced transfer, it's often a case of spending excess profits. Privately, there might be other means of ensuring the club isn't actually losing out.
And now, Gao Shen had gone and made money in the transfer market.
"Florentino and José Sánchez have been racking their brains over this. You know, Real Madrid has made a lot of external investments in recent years, but they don't always pay off," Valdano explained.
Gao Shen, Zidane, and the others couldn't help but laugh.
This was a good problem to have for Real Madrid.
They were too good at making money, but legally not allowed to keep any profit. So each year, they had to come up with ways to spend it all.
"To be honest, it's not that I don't want to buy," Gao Shen said, "but there really aren't any suitable players available in the market right now."
Because when you spend, it has to follow certain principles.
Take Real Madrid's current front line.
There's Benzema and Higuaín, with Morata and Joselu in the youth ranks. Why buy another striker?
Who would you buy?
And more importantly, would that cause unrest in the dressing room?
On the wings, you had Cristiano Ronaldo and Di María. The bench was indeed weak, but there weren't many quality wingers left on the market.
Hazard, Gareth Bale, and Robben were all at Manchester City, and Real Madrid didn't dare make a move.
Why?
If you mess with City's players, they'll fight you to the death and ruin your season. Then no one wins.
A perfect example was Paris Saint-Germain's attempt to sign Neymar, which nearly turned into a war.
Gao Shen had considered signing Neymar himself, but problems quickly emerged.
After initiating contact, Real Madrid found out Neymar and Barcelona were already deep in negotiations, and the terms offered by Barça were insane—totally beyond what Real Madrid could match.
Matching those terms would collapse the club's entire wage structure.
Sure, they could hide the details like Barcelona did. But the risks and consequences were well known.
Both Real Madrid and Barcelona were membership-based organizations. The president might have significant power, but the board was audited annually.
You couldn't just cover things up.
Only someone like Rosell would be foolish enough to try. It wasn't an exaggeration to say Neymar and his father had conned him.
The key difference here was that Real Madrid didn't spend like Leeds United.
Leeds could sign Cancelo or Felipe Anderson for €1 million. That was impressive. But for Real Madrid?
Unless it cost eight figures, no one even blinked.
Wingers were hard to find. What about defenders?
Well, Gao Shen had thought about David Alaba from Bayern.
He didn't even consider Jordi Alba, because he knew the kid only wanted to go to Barcelona.
But Bayern didn't want to sell Alaba.
Deals between elite clubs had unwritten rules—you don't mess with each other.
The biggest difference between Calderón and Florentino was that the former didn't care about class, while the latter did everything by the book and maintained appearances.
If Bayern refused to sell, Real Madrid couldn't force them. They could only wait for an opportunity.
As for right-back, Arbeloa and Carvajal were sufficient.
The center-backs included Ramos, Pepe, Varane, and Albiol. That was enough too.
That only left the midfield.
Midfield depth was indeed a bit thin. But looking around European football—who could realistically join Real Madrid?
The club wasn't interested in players who were too weak. And the strong ones didn't want to sit on the bench behind Xabi Alonso.
Javi Martínez was arguably the best defensive midfielder in the world at the moment. But his price was sky-high, and Manchester City weren't selling.
Who else?
De Rossi at Roma?
Not for sale.
Mascherano at Liverpool was a great option, but bringing him in would force the team to play a double pivot. That meant benching either Toni Kroos or Modrić, which didn't fit into Gao Shen's plans.
So in today's football, there really weren't many options for a single-pivot holding midfielder.
Hierro, who had come from Málaga, made a strong recommendation: Málaga midfielder Isco.
The 20-year-old Spanish midfielder had made 29 La Liga appearances the previous season, scoring five goals and assisting four. He was Málaga's best player.
His current market value was around €15 million. But because of his age and importance to Málaga, it would take at least €20 million to make a deal.
After hearing this, Gao Shen understood.
"Alright, let's go with him," Gao Shen nodded.
Valdano secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Hierro looked pleased.
Valdano had worried about resistance from upper management, while Hierro was happy to see his recommendation accepted. It was a good sign.
As for Gao Shen, he truly thought Isco was a good player.
"By the way, when do you plan to speak with Ronaldo?" Valdano asked, looking concerned.
That was currently the biggest topic outside the club.
(To be continued.)