Marca Front Page Headline: "Liverpool's Winning Streak Disrupted by Internal Conflict, Reportedly Over Playing Time!"
The Sun Front Page Headline: "Emre Can and Wijnaldum Come to Blows—Wijnaldum Left with a Bleeding Lip, Emre Can with a Swollen Eye!"
The Sun's version of events was by far the most sensationalized. With nothing more than a blurry photograph, the rest of the story was essentially invented.
Of course, that was The Sun's usual style. Fans familiar with the paper knew it was a tabloid with virtually no bottom line when it came to chasing traffic.
Whatever attracts attention is what The Sun will write.
Much of the gossip surrounding players often begins as speculation from The Sun before being verified. If it later proves true, it becomes The Sun's "exclusive scoop."
If it cannot be confirmed, they simply publish a quick apology.
That has always been their reporting style.
In the history of football, Liverpool fans likely hate The Sun more than any other newspaper, because the paper once slandered both Liverpool Football Club and its supporters during a notorious stadium disaster.
Liverpool's official club has long despised The Sun and refuses to cooperate with it in any form. Yet now, The Sun had once again targeted Liverpool.
On April 15, 1989, a severe crush occurred during the FA Cup semifinal between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest, resulting in the deaths of 96 Liverpool supporters.
The tragedy shocked the entire English football world.
But shortly afterward, The Sun published a report titled "The Truth."
In that article, the newspaper accused Liverpool supporters of deliberately causing the chaos. It fabricated a series of claims—alleging that Liverpool fans provoked police, drank excessively, threw objects, and intentionally created dangerous congestion—placing the blame squarely on the supporters present at the scene.
Many believed the report was meant to reduce pressure on the authorities involved or shift responsibility away from them.
When the findings of the Hillsborough investigation were eventually released, they confirmed that none of those accusations were true.
The Sun immediately issued an apology.
But by then, the damage was done.
From that moment on, Liverpool Football Club and its supporters formed a lasting hostility toward The Sun. The club publicly declared it would never cooperate with the newspaper again.
So when The Sun once again published negative news about Liverpool, Mike was furious.
He was determined to strike back at The Sun.
But before doing that, he needed to find the mole.
Judging from the angle of the photos and video, the images must have been taken by someone working near the Liverpool training ground or passing by the area.
Eventually, that person was likely bought off by The Sun and sold the material to them for money, which allowed the tabloid to obtain inside information.
At the same time, Mike needed players to step forward and clarify the situation immediately, minimizing outside concerns about Liverpool.
Public opinion inevitably puts pressure on players, and Klopp did not want any media noise affecting Liverpool's excellent form.
...
April 10th, 8:00 AM.
Sky Sports Headline: "Liverpool's Lin to Appear Live at 4 PM Today to Announce His New Contract!"
Leo Lin naturally took on the responsibility.
However, his appearance on Sky Sports was primarily meant to discuss his new contract with fans and Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard, while also briefly addressing the recent incident.
It was a perfectly timed move.
Not only would it boost Leo Lin's exposure, but it would also demonstrate Liverpool's willingness to reward outstanding performances with improved contracts.
At the same time, it would subtly refute the fabricated story from The Sun.
Two birds with one stone.
...
On April 9th at 6 PM, Leo Lin had been eating with teammates in the club cafeteria. As he was preparing to leave the club, Mike approached him, accompanied by the sporting director.
Barnett had already arrived at the club.
He had received advance notice and had already reviewed the new contract Liverpool prepared for Leo Lin.
As Leo Lin's agent, it was only natural that he wanted to secure the best possible terms for his client.
Liverpool's new offer showed clear sincerity.
After all, Leo Lin had signed his previous contract less than a year ago.
But his performances had been so outstanding that Liverpool wanted to upgrade the deal, offering a contract that matched his current level.
"Lin, you have no idea how much effort it took for me to convince the chairman to offer you a new contract so quickly."
Mike said, putting an arm around Leo Lin.
In reality, he was lying.
The new contract had actually been proposed directly by the Liverpool chairman.
Mike said this simply to give himself more leverage during the negotiations and steer the discussion in Liverpool's favor.
Both sides soon arrived in Liverpool's conference room.
A new contract document lay in front of Leo Lin.
Compared with the previous one, the terms were far more detailed, and both the bonuses and weekly wages had been significantly upgraded.
"In your previous contract, the weekly wage was £40,000," Mike explained.
"After reaching a certain number of appearances, it would automatically rise to £100,000."
"Clearly, that no longer matches Lin's current performance. So in this new contract, the weekly wage will be increased to £110,000, along with several additional clauses."
Mike gestured for Leo Lin to take a look.
Flipping to the third page, Leo Lin saw that besides the £110,000 weekly wage, the contract also included numerous bonuses.
Reach 30 appearances: £500,000 bonus.
Reach 50 appearances: £1,000,000 bonus.
Win the Premier League title: £3,500,000 bonus.
Win the Champions League: £5,000,000 bonus.
Win the Premier League Young Player of the Year award: £2,000,000 bonus.
At the very bottom was another clause.
If Leo Lin were to win the Ballon d'Or—at any time during the validity of the contract—he would receive an additional £8,500,000 bonus from the club.
Compared to the previous contract, the bonuses had been comprehensively increased, and the weekly wage had risen by £20,000.
But Barnett still wasn't satisfied.
"Two issues," Barnett said plainly.
"First, £110,000 per week isn't enough."
"Second, the £500,000 signing bonus isn't enough."
Straightforward and direct.
Barnett and Mike were old friends, so there was no need to beat around the bush.
Mike looked slightly troubled.
For Leo Lin's current age, this contract already offered a five-year term.
Five years later, Leo Lin would only be 22.
For a player that young to already be earning a six-figure weekly wage was extremely rare in world football.
"Barnett, just name your price," Mike said.
"Let's reach an agreement quickly. My wife is waiting for me at home for dinner, and you know what her temper is like."
Mike knew Barnett's negotiation style.
The longer negotiations dragged on, the worse it would be for him.
Before the meeting, Barnett had already asked Leo Lin about his preferences.
Now he spoke directly.
"We want £130,000 per week."
"The contract length should be reduced from five years to four."
"And the signing bonus should be £1.5 million."
"Also, we retain full ownership of the image rights."
Mike lit a cigar.
After taking two deep puffs, he let out a long sigh.
"Deal."
...
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