Chapter 668 126: Premier League's Top Star! Wang Shuo is Here! Creator of a Maradona-esque Legend in the Biggest Transfer in History

The American, Dick Law, still clearly remembered Arsenal's glory days at the turn of the century.

He hadn't started out in the football industry. But thanks to his numerous contacts in the Brazilian football world, he had a chance encounter with Arsenal's then-vice chairman, David Dunn. Still, he never imagined that he would one day enter the professional football scene.

Let alone cross the ocean to the United Kingdom to work for Arsenal.

After the final of the 2002 World Cup in Korea and Japan, he suddenly received a call from David Dunn, asking if he had the connections to get in touch with Gilberto Silva.

"Wenger is desperate to get him, but you know, we aren't familiar with the Brazilian transfer market."

That was understandable.

In 2002, Brazilians and the Premier League seemed utterly incompatible.

Dick Law agreed to help. Through a friend who was a company CEO, he eventually made contact with Atletico Mineiro and Gilberto Silva's agent, ultimately succeeding in signing the highly sought-after Brazilian midfielder.

Arsenal reaped the rewards of Gilberto Silva's success.

Players in the Premier League and Europe were getting increasingly expensive. Constrained by the construction of their new stadium, Arsenal wanted to find players who offered better value for money, so they turned their sights to South America.

And so, Dick Law became the ideal partner for Arsenal.

From 2005 to 2009, he helped Arsenal establish a complete scouting system in South America and pioneered a channel for promptly relaying information back to North London.

In 2007, David Dunn left Arsenal.

In 2009, Gazidis, who was unfamiliar with the business of football, arrived at the Gunners.

He needed someone familiar with the business of football, skilled in contracts and transfer negotiations, and who could also serve as a liaison between the board and Wenger.

And just like that, Dick Law came from South America to the United Kingdom to become Arsenal's head of transfers.

Two years went by, and he witnessed firsthand as Arsenal's fortunes steadily declined.

Arsenal's chief scout, Steve Lawley, was a highly experienced scout with a vast network of contacts.

Everywhere he went, club officials and player agents would press notes and information into his hands, all wanting to recommend players for Arsenal.

But that situation was gradually changing.

Take Thibaut Courtois, for example.

Arsenal were struggling in the goalkeeper department, and the Belgian keeper's talent and ability were undeniable.

Gazidis, Wenger, Steve Lawley, and Dick Law had all met to discuss him. Everyone agreed he was outstanding and exactly what Arsenal needed.

A four-million-euro transfer fee wasn't expensive, either!

But at the critical moment, Chelsea got involved.

They kept driving up the price, constantly raising their bid, as if money was no object.

His four-million-euro valuation was driven all the way up to nine million euros.

The deal was done!

It felt like nothing had changed.

Nothing at all.

Arsenal was still penny-pinching.

Dick Law and Steve Lawley could only watch helplessly as one talent after another slipped through Arsenal's fingers.

When they called Wenger to report the news, the Arsenal manager immediately cut his vacation short and rushed back to London to get the details of the negotiation.

Upon learning that Courtois had accepted Chelsea's offer and that Varane had decided to join Real Madrid from Lens, Wenger was utterly speechless.

He had personally called Varane earlier to invite him to join Arsenal.

In the end, for this center-back valued at just four million euros, Real Madrid had offered a whopping eleven million.

...

"The logic of the European transfer market has completely changed."

Dick Law looked at his colleagues, his face a mask of helplessness.

"Teams like Chelsea, Manchester City, Real Madrid, and Barça act as if they're rolling in cash. They're no longer just competing for established superstars; they're also targeting young players around the age of twenty."

"A few million here, ten or twenty million euros there... it's nothing to them. They don't bat an eye."

Were there any more rational transfers, then?

There were.

Bayern signed Neuer from Schalke 04 for a thirty-million-euro transfer fee.

The German goalkeeper's market valuation at the time was twenty-eight million euros.

But Barça was the most shameless of all.

For Fabregas, who had a market valuation of fifty-five million euros, they were only willing to offer twenty-eight million.

"Fabregas told me he's willing to pay out of his own pocket to make up the difference," Wenger said with a sense of resignation.

"Pay out of his own pocket? Is he insane?" Dick Law was baffled.

This was a transfer fee, not a salary.

"He's made up his mind. Barça will still put up the money, but it'll be deducted from his future salary."

At this, Wenger couldn't help but laugh in exasperation.

'I've seen people grovel before, but never this pathetically! It's just ugly!'

It was Barça that had come knocking in the first place.

And now, it had turned into Fabregas begging to go back to Barça.

'If the player had a shred of sense, never mind what he truly felt, all he had to do was engage a little more with Real Madrid. Just to put some pressure on Barça. They would've coughed up the money for sure.'

'But now?'

'Fabregas, as if terrified of giving Barça the wrong impression, had flatly rejected Real Madrid and was clinging desperately to his one-way ticket back.'

'Barça was expertly exploiting his desperation. A truly masterful play!'

"Nasri doesn't want to stay, either. I suspect he's already close to a deal with Manchester City."

As he said this, Wenger felt another wave of helplessness wash over him.