Julien was actually somewhat surprised when he learned that David Gill and his father Pierre were in constant contact.
Ferguson had emphasized multiple times in his autobiography and interviews that Gill was one of "only two true partners" in his 26-year coaching career at Manchester United, the other being former chairman Martin Edwards.
Gill joined Manchester United as Finance Director in 1997, was promoted to CEO in 2003, and had held the position ever since.
Julien remembered that Gill should have left Manchester United at the same time as Ferguson.
Their relationship had long surpassed that of mere colleagues, they were close friends.
Gill had fully supported Ferguson's transfer decisions, such as bringing in Rooney at a high price in 2004 and signing Van Persie last year.
During Manchester United's slump from 2004 to 2006, when results were poor and profits declining, Gill publicly backed Ferguson to stay: "Ferguson will be in charge of Manchester United for many years to come."
Ferguson once said: "We've had disagreements, but every conversation was pleasant because Gill was always straightforward and always put Manchester United's interests first."
He also said, "Gill always understood my needs regarding players and executed them efficiently."
So now that David Gill was approaching his father, it was hard to ignore Ferguson's hand behind it.
But obviously, Julien would absolutely not wade into Manchester United's murky waters. Any giant club facing imminent turmoil—whoever goes there is doomed.
Don't think you're the one who can save the team. When you're in the thick of it and find yourself the only one trying to move forward while resistance comes from all directions, you'll realize that lying on the pitch is the best choice at Manchester United.
Ferguson had said before retiring: "The decision to retire is one that I have thought a great deal about. It is the right time. It was important to me to leave an organization in the strongest possible shape, and I believe I have done so."
These words were indeed correct.
Once he left, no one could clean up the mess.
Julien would have to be absolutely crazy to go to Manchester United.
That evening, Pierre called Julien to tell him about their meeting.
David Gill had deliberately tried to steer the conversation toward transfers, but Pierre this blue-collar type whether intentionally or not, just didn't pick up on the subtext.
It really did just become a dinner meeting.
"Same as before, don't discuss transfers with anyone before the winter window closes."
Julien reminded him again. After this year together, he trusted Pierre's skills as an agent.
In Julien's memory, this French working-class father always wore an expression of worry about making ends meet—how could his meager salary cover food, clothing, and necessities for six children? This had become his eternal anxiety.
Life's burdens weighed on his shoulders, yet he had never taken out his anger on his children.
Now, the entire family's life had finally undergone earth-shaking changes.
Julien felt Pierre was a genuinely good person, otherwise, who would work so hard to support six children without complaint?
But there were also shortcomings, such as being so busy with making a living that he neglected disciplining his children.
His predecessor had grown up wild like this, recklessly wasting his talent.
Julien had rejected Manchester United, but he was also thinking about his own future.
He increasingly understood which team suited him best. He had no so-called "childhood dream team." He would only make the choice that best suited him.
And right now, the most suitable teams numbered only two or three.
Opening the hotel window, he could see the sea in the distance. Having seen plenty of sea views in Bastia, he wasn't that impressed, but as France's second-largest city and second-largest port, Marseille's nighttime prosperity was incomparable to Bastia's.
However, Marseille was clearly divided into two parts: south and north.
Anyone familiar with Marseille knew that southern Marseille was heaven, with beautiful coastlines and endless tourists, while northern Marseille was hell, filled with countless drugs, guns, gangs, and pimps.
The next day, Bastia's players were already up in the morning for warm-up training. Since they had no budget to rent a training facility, they exercised on the hotel rooftop.
From the rooftop looking toward the distant Vélodrome Stadium, sparse Marseille fans were already appearing on the nearby streets.
Some Bastia players were slightly nervous. Many of them knew Marseille was one of Europe's devil home grounds.
Especially combined with Ligue 1's lax management environment, anyone coming to play at Marseille would have a rough time.
"Relax, they're just a bunch of softies. They shout loud but can't actually do anything."
Rothen had represented Monaco multiple times in "Mediterranean derbies" against Marseille. Though not as big as the national derby between Paris and Marseille, he had long experienced Marseille's home atmosphere.
This was the veteran's role.
Rothen continued, "I played here once and silenced the entire crowd. This is a 60,000-capacity home ground, and they all went silent."
As he spoke, he showed a sentimental expression, reminiscing about the past.
That was his youth.
Of course, such memories inevitably carried some embellishment or exaggeration. But no one delved deeper.
When Julien looked over, he thought of Deschamps' phone call a few days ago, when Deschamps had complained about Marseille fans and told Julien about a small incident.
The incident was simple, happening earlier this year. At the time, Marseille had only achieved 10th place in Ligue 1, and Deschamps expressed dissatisfaction with some extreme fans during an interview.
As a result, Richard Zeroual, the leader of Marseille's extreme fan organization "South Winners," followed Deschamps when he went out to dine and cornered him.
Zeroual told Deschamps, "I heard you want to take my head off, is that right? Well, you better be careful, because after me, the next one to lose his life will be you. Tell me, who wants me dead? Your brain-dead fans or President Sarkozy? You better leave Marseille because I'm in charge here, otherwise who knows which of us will meet God first!"
This incident made the papers. In Zeroual's own words, "Deschamps was trembling in front of me. He was scared, like a little dwarf looking up at me, so he ran off to the national team, not daring to stay in Marseille anymore because he knew what he would face."
Deschamps said he simply ignored Zeroual and left.
At the same time, Deschamps told Julien that Marseille might be the only club that could be controlled by fan organizations.
There were many complex matters involved, and Julien had no desire to understand them. But this Zeroual was indeed a character.
From the poorest neighborhoods of northern Marseille, he had managed to develop South Winners through sheer passion and an exceptional ability to persuade people.
What he preached was "Marseilleism."
What is Marseilleism? In the eyes of Marseilleism believers, Marseille and France were separate. Marseille was founded by Phoenicians 2,600 years ago, while France was a country established by barbarians. Marseille was just a button reluctantly attached to France.
In the European historical view, Greek civilization was the first civilization, Roman civilization the second, and everything else was barbarian. The essence of Marseilleism was that Marseille was superior to France, which explained on a deeper level why Marseille versus Paris was called the national derby.
In any case, through this ideology, Zeroual's South Winners enjoyed many privileges within Marseille club like stadium seating, financial allocations, etc. making South Winners the club's underground empire.
He was even arrogant enough to say he had countless ways to make Marseille's chairman suffer, even to force him out.
The only question was: what kind of show would Zeroual and his South Winners put on tonight?
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