"Gao Shen!"
Amidst the misty lake, he seemed to hear the shouts of Real Madrid fans.
Gao Shen suddenly opened his eyes, and what he saw was a slightly unfamiliar ceiling.
It felt unfamiliar because since taking charge of Real Madrid, he had not spent much time in Cheshire each year, although he had always kept this mansion.
He took a deep breath. His wife Su Qing, sleeping beside him, clung to him like an octopus, lying on his left side and murmuring softly, "It's still early, sleep a little longer."
Yeah, it was quite early.
That damned biological clock.
Gao Shen even forgot that he was now laid off and unemployed.
But his body clock could not be adjusted. He still woke up on time every morning.
After the night of celebrations at the Bernabéu, Gao Shen stayed in Madrid for another two days to deal with a few matters, though he kept a low profile. Then he flew to Cheshire, England with his wife and child.
Although his contract would not be renewed, there was nothing that needed resolving between him and Real Madrid.
The commercial contracts would continue, and his share of profits remained the same.
Florentino intended to give Gao Shen an honorary role as presidential advisor, mainly to appease the fans and maintain the connection between Gao Shen and Real Madrid.
According to Florentino, even if Gao Shen coached another team in the future, that position would still be reserved for him.
"I and all Real Madrid fans hope that once you have rested enough, you can come back. We will always wait for you."
That was what the Real Madrid president told Gao Shen in person when they had dinner later.
Go back to Real Madrid?
Gao Shen did not have that idea, at least not for now.
In fact, if Real Madrid had reorganized and refreshed the squad according to Gao Shen's plan in 2017, it would never have reached this point, and Real Madrid would not have fallen into last season's state.
Ronaldo was indeed very strong, but no matter how strong a player is, there are limits in a team sport like football.
When the rest of the team had to compromise and sacrifice their own strengths to facilitate Ronaldo, and when the head coach Gao Shen had to give him special consideration in building the team's tactics, this Real Madrid was no longer frightening.
But from the moment Real Madrid decided to keep Ronaldo, Gao Shen had to do that.
Florentino also had his own difficulties and frustrations.
Real Madrid had made a lot of money in recent years, but expenses were also huge, especially with plans to renovate the Bernabéu.
Real Madrid's commercial team assessed that if they sold Ronaldo and brought in Mbappé, the commercial value would drop significantly, because while Mbappé might replace Ronaldo on the pitch, he was far inferior commercially.
This was not just a commercial consideration. At that time, Ronaldo and many players were up for contract renewals, and many internal issues became complicated and difficult.
Even Florentino was in a tough position, with major differences within the board.
In short, to sum it up in one sentence, everything that goes up must come down.
From the outside, many people would think Real Madrid was foolish, and with hindsight, they would say the decisions were inappropriate. But only when you were inside the Real Madrid vortex would you realize how hard it was for everyone.
Now, after last season, Real Madrid had basically reached a consensus on the direction, so there was not much more to say.
Gao Shen was very familiar with this.
Not only Real Madrid, many companies are the same.
…
Maybe he still needed to adjust. After stepping down as Real Madrid's head coach, Gao Shen felt quite strange.
It was not just having too much free time. There was also a sense of emptiness, as if something was missing.
In the past, he did not feel this even when taking a month off in the summer, but now his life felt very empty.
So he had to find more things to do.
For example, he got up every morning to make breakfast for his wife and child.
After finishing his business in Madrid, he flew straight to Cheshire. In the morning, he met with the Leeds United management and visited the site of the second phase of the stadium project.
Leeds United's new stadium had been officially named after Amazon from the United States, so it was now called Amazon Stadium.
The sponsorship fee was 20 million euros per year, and Leeds United had extensive cooperation with Amazon.
In addition, AXA Insurance's deal to sponsor Leeds United's new training base had been increased to 25 million euros, including naming rights for the training base and sponsorship of the training kit.
On top of that, Leeds United worked with Amazon and AXA in various promotional areas, including online marketing.
When the new stadium was completed last year, Leeds United announced the launch of the second phase of the stadium project, which directly razed Elland Road. The entire project was now in full swing, and the construction schedule was on track, with the aim to be in use before the end of May 2019.
All of Leeds United's phase two commercial properties had been leased to Australia's Westfield Group, which would build the largest Westfield shopping center in northern England next to the Leeds United stadium, including the entire commercial street.
The two sides signed a long-term contract with very high rent.
However, the rent was signed directly with Gao Shen's company by Westfield Group, not through Leeds United.
Not only that, the Amazon Stadium and AXA Center naming rights, as well as the commercial leasing within the stadium, were all private properties of Gao Shen and did not belong to Leeds United.
On the contrary, Leeds United had to pay substantial annual rent to lease the training base and stadium from Gao Shen.
But the costs of building the stadium and training base, as well as daily maintenance, were borne by Leeds United.
The specific operating model was overseen by Su Qing. Gao Shen did not get involved, and the media and fans outside were basically unaware of these details.
It was just like back when Elland Road and the Thorp Arch training base did not belong to Leeds United.
Who among ordinary people cares about that?
Besides, the entire club was now Gao Shen's private property. Wasn't it normal for money to move from the left hand to the right hand?
The reason for pushing the phase two commercial project forward urgently was that in September last year, UEFA announced that three stadiums would compete for the right to host the 2018/19 Champions League final. After the preliminary selection, the one in Azerbaijan was discarded because it was too far away.
The remaining two were Leeds United's Amazon Stadium and Atlético Madrid's Metropolitano Stadium.
In the end, Leeds United's Amazon Stadium won the right to host the final, while Atlético Madrid got the Europa League final.
This caused a huge response at the time. The Amazon Stadium, hailed as the world's top and most advanced football stadium, had already won numerous awards worldwide. Hosting the Champions League final as soon as it opened was undoubtedly the greatest recognition.
The British government and the Leeds City Council were also thrilled, because hosting the Champions League final would greatly boost the city's economy.
Behind the scenes, Gao Shen had also put in a lot of effort, mobilizing connections within UEFA and holding several talks with Atlético Madrid. Atlético decided to bid for the 2020 Champions League final.
This time, the Mattress Makers would have almost no rivals.
It was precisely because Leeds United won the hosting rights that Westfield Group signed the operating rights for the phase two commercial project and the commercial street at a high price, planning to open before the Champions League final.
Leeds United was now very popular in the city. It not only created jobs, it also boosted the economy and paid a large amount of tax every year. It was like a goose that lays golden eggs.
Leeds United fans were also very satisfied with the club's development, especially since, after moving into the new stadium, the basic ticket prices had not increased at all. That was truly conscientious.
Nowadays, Leeds United's Amazon Stadium was always packed. Not to mention the league and the Champions League, even FA Cup and League Cup matches were often two-thirds full. Where else in the Premier League could you find such attendance?
So now, Gao Shen was really looking forward to seeing how much Leeds United's matchday revenue would grow after moving to the new stadium.
…
After breakfast, Gao Shen played with his son in the garden for a while.
Strangely enough.
The kid had not liked Gao Shen much before, even resisting being held by him, but now he was especially attached.
When it was nearly time, the family set off from Cheshire to the northeast, heading for Leeds.
Turn onto the 621 from the M62, and soon you could see Leeds United's magnificent Amazon Stadium.
Standing 40 meters high, the whole structure rose in the southwest of Leeds city center. Coming from the 621, you could see the Amazon Stadium logo from a distance. It was eye-catching, and the architecture was unique.
Norman Foster had won numerous awards thanks to this building.
After exiting the motorway at the southwest junction, Gao Shen did not head north to the AXA Center. Instead, he circled the roundabout and went onto Elland Road.
Near the roundabout, the second phase of the commercial project was nearly complete, apart from the roof that would connect to the new stadium.
The commercial street between the two buildings was basically done, but the scene was still messy and a bit chaotic.
The landscaping and interior finishes were not yet complete, and that would take time.
Gao Shen found a place to park outside the construction site. After getting out, he looked at the new stadium and then at the phase two project. He felt very satisfied.
Not only was the design excellent, the level of completion was extremely high. It basically reproduced the design draft.
"Let's go in and take a look," Gao Shen said with interest.
Su Qing held Gao Ming's hand, and the family of three entered the construction site.
Soon, the person in charge from the Chinese company handling the project received the news and came over.
"Mr. Gao, Ms. Su, why didn't you let me know you were coming?" The Chinese manager was also from China. They had had dinner together before. His company had taken on two of Leeds United's major projects in succession, and he had been in Leeds for five years.
Gao Shen's visit was not a big deal. A third-party company supervised quality, so he did not need to worry. Moreover, he trusted the standards of the top construction company from the land of infrastructure mania.
What he cared about most was the construction schedule.
"Don't worry, we are already rushing the project. Now, the steel and membrane for the roof need to be ordered from China and shipped over for assembly, which will take some time. All in all, rest assured, we will complete the project on schedule."
After hearing this, Gao Shen felt relieved.
"Thank you, Mr. Yang."
"You are welcome, Mr. Gao. As I said, I am your most loyal fan."
If you had not mentioned it, I would have forgotten.
Su Qing knew he was a football fan, so she had prepared a gift for Gao Shen to bring. Gao Shen went to the trunk to get it.
It was a commemorative jersey for the six consecutive Champions League titles, signed by Real Madrid's players.
"It is not on sale yet, you cannot buy it outside."
The other party was immediately overjoyed that we had catered to his interests. He repeatedly assured them that he would strictly control quality, quantity, and schedule.
Gao Shen and Su Qing were also very happy.
After taking another look around the construction site, they headed to the AXA Center.
(To be continued.)