"Zenit really has money, huh? I've never heard of those names before - Hulk, and they actually spent fifty million euros on him, plus another forty million euros on Witsel. This can't be money laundering, can it?"
The Sunset Café Bar remained bustling even on days without matches.
July in Bastia felt rather leisurely.
In the sweltering heat, many people chose to come to the bar to drink and boast.
For any football fan, waiting for the new season to begin was always torturous, much like the feeling the night before a date.
So, after the European Championship ended, discussing transfers between the major leagues and big clubs became one of their few pleasures.
"Zenit really made some big moves, but the Russian Premier League has nothing to do with us. We should focus on Paris Saint-Germain instead. Damn it, it's only July and they've already officially announced four players for a total of one hundred million!"
"PSG is trying to end any suspense about the Ligue 1 championship. Sigh, they have money."
"Currently, it looks like Lille, who ranks second in transfer spending, has only spent about fifteen million euros, and they even sold Hazard for forty million without making any major signings."
Many people discussing PSG's lavish spending couldn't help but shake their heads.
Ligue 1 was too poor.
PSG was simply an anomaly.
Of course, other leagues also hadn't invested much in the transfer window, usually just tens of millions.
Over one hundred million was extremely rare.
Even the two Spanish giants, Real Madrid and Barcelona, had only spent around thirty million euros in the summer window.
Media reports said Real Madrid would buy the Croatian midfielder Luka Modrić from Tottenham, who had performed excellently in the European Championship.
Barcelona spent 14 million euros to buy Alba, the left-back who also performed well in the European Championship, from Valencia, and spent 19 million euros to bring in Alexander Song from Arsenal.
In the Bundesliga, Bayern spent the most, mainly the 40 million euros they paid for Javi Martínez.
This signing broke Bayern's club record transfer fee.
Last season, Heynckes had achieved the unprecedented "triple runner-up," and Bayern was determined to regroup for the new season. At Heynckes' insistence, Bayern pushed through this deal.
According to media reports, to facilitate the transfer, Martínez made a significant sacrifice, agreeing to take 2 million less in salary each year to save Bayern 10 million in expenses - this 10 million was exactly the difference between his market value and the transfer price.
Bayern also spent over ten million to bring in Mandžukić from Wolfsburg.
As for other Bundesliga teams, last season's successful defending champions Borussia Dortmund's biggest move was spending over 17 million euros to buy Reus from Borussia Mönchengladbach.
With this money, Mönchengladbach spent over 15 million to bring in striker Luuk de Jong from Dutch club FC Twente.
Other Bundesliga clubs found it hard to make deals over ten million, like Bayer Leverkusen's biggest signing was spending 5 million to bring in Carvajal from Real Madrid.
Of course.
When it came to the most dramatic summer window, it was definitely Serie A and the Premier League.
The entertainment value was substantial.
In Serie A, Inter Milan and AC Milan provided the most drama, while the Premier League's most eye-catching move was van Persie joining Manchester United from Arsenal.
It was truly surprising.
The big-money football of the Premier League powerhouses was gradually heating up, with player purchases basically starting at ten million.
Chelsea and Manchester City, the two major teams, just kept buying.
Manchester United, Arsenal, Tottenham, and Liverpool also spent tens of millions on players to keep pace.
These moves gave fans something to talk about.
But no matter how much they discussed these teams far from Bastia, the fans ultimately cared more about Bastia's situation for the new season.
Geronimi had kept his promise.
He had led Bastia down a "path of no return" - as a newly promoted team, borrowing money to sign players, with net spending ranking in the top ten of Ligue 1.
But even so, it was still far from the transfer amounts of those big teams in the news, basically just a fraction.
On the first day of the summer window, Bastia officially announced they had spent 3.5 million euros to sign Sadio Mané from Metz.
They spent 400,000 euros to bring in N'Golo Kanté from Boulogne.
Then on July 15th, they officially announced the loan of two players from Chelsea. Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku.
The combined loan fees for both players were approximately 2.5 million euros. They also announced the same day that they had signed left-back Sidibé from Troyes for approximately 1.7 million euros.
Just the summer signings alone exceeded 8 million euros.
Not to mention the wage investments.
Fortunately, the team sold young striker Diallo to Rennes for 2 million euros.
There was also Tovan, who had performed well in the first half of last season but lost his position due to Julien's rise.
Chataigner wanted Tovan to be Julien's backup. But Tovan himself had decent ability and didn't want to be a substitute, choosing to leave for Lille.
This brought Bastia 1.8 million euros in revenue.
This summer window, Bastia had a net investment of approximately 4.3 million euros.
The remaining players were basically free transfers.
Like the free transfer right-back Jonathan, Ilan who came from rivals Ajaccio, and Marko who came on a free from Saint-Étienne.
Chataigner worked tirelessly, managing to build up the team's overall structure before the new season began in August.
Of course. All Bastia fans knew that Geronimi dared to invest so heavily for two reasons. first, he wanted to completely revive Bastia and improve their performance; second, there was Julien.
Julien had no shortage of suitors. It was only because Julien had chosen to stay with the team this season. Once he was put on the market, there would definitely be no shortage of sincere offers.
The day Julien decided to transfer. Bastia would have their expenses covered for the next ten years!
The bar was noisy and chaotic.
Bertrand listened to the fans' expectations for the new season and various rumors flying around and smiled.
"Jacques, Bastia is doing well now. You've finished your pastis, and there's no next championship to give away."
As Bertrand was thinking, someone at the bar entrance waved at him.
"Hey! Bertrand!"
Many people noticed this scene.
When Bertrand saw who was calling him, his smile grew wider. He quickly asked, "Marco, have you finished everything?"
Marco smiled back, "Of course, you can trust my craftsmanship. Quick, get me a pastis."
Bertrand couldn't wait to see the finished product and said, "Quick, take the stuff to the back. You'll get your drink later."
Marco gestured to the door.
Soon workers carried several large wooden barrels into the bar.
As soon as the large barrels came in, the fans who were still drinking became curious. "Is Bertrand making wine again?"
Bertrand didn't hide it from anyone and smiled. "Jacques once made a barrel of wine to celebrate Bastia's championship. I want to follow Jacques' example and celebrate Bastia's double-crown season!"
"Wrong, it's a treble!"
At the entrance, A voice interrupted Bertrand. Modoso walked into the bar from outside, still smiling. "Don't forget, we're playing the French Super Cup next week! Don't you think we're going to lose, Bertrand? Ha-ha."
Bertrand laughed. "I couldn't be happier if Bastia won every championship. Our whole family are pure Bastia fans, loyal through and through."
Modoso followed up. "Are you coming with us to America next week?"
Bertrand shook his head. "No, I need to stay at the bar. I could go, but I need to accompany more old friends here to watch the game, right? Not everyone can go to America."
Modoso nodded. He then turned and shouted to the patrons in the bar. "Hey, everyone, listen up! The club has allocated three hundred more tickets for the French Super Cup final. Those of you willing to go to America with us Ultras Bastia as the away support, register with Bertrand. We're going to support Bastia on site! We need more people to show Bastia's spirit!"
Whoosh!
Many people in the bar were surprised. Previously, many wanted to go to America with Ultras Bastia, but there weren't enough tickets.
Now this was great news!
"I want to go!"
"Count me in!"
When the team's strength improved, as long as they had time, everyone was willing to go support the team in person.
If the miss this opportunity, they didn't know how long Bastia fans would have to wait before the team reached another peak.
Last time, they waited thirty or forty years.
How many thirty or forty years does a person have?
They couldn't afford to wait.
"I'm off." After explaining this matter, Modoso patted Bertrand's shoulder. "Help me register. Travel and accommodation are self-funded, tickets are free. I'll come find you tomorrow. I need to go notify everyone else now."
Bertrand nodded, watching Modoso hurry away.
An idea struck him, and he called out to Marco, who was directing workers moving the barrels. "Hey, Marco, make me five more barrels like these. I want to make treble championship celebration pastis!"
Marco smiled. "Sure! I'll work overtime to make sure they're ready before the French Super Cup final. I'm the best carpenter in Bastia!"
After Marco finished speaking.
Someone in the crowd shouted. "Marco! No wonder lately the pigeons in Saint-Nicolas Square have been spreading the word - if you want the sturdiest perch, you need to mention your name!"
"I suggest you carve 'Fattu in Bastia' as an anti-counterfeiting mark on your work, so the carpenters from Ajaccio can't steal your techniques."
Made in Bastia.
Marco, hearing others mock Ajaccio, also laughed and joined in. "Those southerners in Ajaccio not only have worse carpentry skills than us, they also play football worse than us!"
"Right!"
"This season we're going to teach Ajaccio a lesson in Ligue 1! We must settle the score for all these years they've mocked us as a lower-division team!"
Besides championships, what Bastia fans looked forward to most was the Corsica Derby.
Just as the fans said, they wanted their revenge!
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