Chapter 601: Friendship is Priceless (Part 3)

“If we can just contain Haaland, we’ve already won half the battle!”

Tuchel decisively made his substitutions.

It was a friendly match, after all, so there was no limit on substitutions.

When he got to the sideline and saw that Arsenal had also made substitutions, the corner of his mouth twitched.

‘Damn it.’ Arsenal had actually subbed off Odegaard and brought on Camavinga.

A three-man defensive midfield of Camavinga, Rice, and Tchouameni.

They might as well have written “defend and counter-attack” on every player’s face.

What frustrated him even more was that Haaland had been subbed off for Alvarez.

That kind of small, fast, and agile forward was a nightmare for a tall defender like Rudiger.

Seeing a frustrated Tuchel, Arteta couldn’t help but laugh to himself.

‘He didn’t even have to think to know his tactical changes had caught his opponent off guard.’

With Alvarez on the pitch, forwards like Martinelli and Saka were lightning-fast.

It wasn’t just Rudiger; Thiago Silva was getting a headache too.

A veteran like him simply couldn’t keep up with that type of speedy forward.

As for playmaking, it wasn’t like Camavinga couldn’t handle it.

Besides, their boss, Qi Sheng, was helping him cheat.

Short Pass Expert, Long Pass Expert, and Ball Control Expert.

All three skills had been modified to 85.

In total, it had cost Qi Sheng 75 million, which was nearly 10 million euros.

The current Camavinga’s playmaking ability was every bit as good as Odegaard’s. He was a bona fide all-around midfielder.

‘He can defend, he can create plays… selling him for a hundred million British pounds wouldn’t be excessive, would it?’

“Qi, I want that Camavinga!”

As a long-time football fan, Ah Bu spotted the outstanding Camavinga immediately.

He was only 18, yet he played with real poise.

‘Buy him, and he’ll be good for at least ten years.’

“Not for sale.”

Qi Sheng rejected Ah Bu without a second thought.

“Fifty million.”

Ah Bu swirled the red wine in his glass and said confidently, “And I mean British Pounds.”

Though rumored to be a fool with more money than sense, a crafty old oligarch like Ah Bu was no one’s fool.

Spending fifty million British Pounds on a youngster was indeed a bit extravagant.

But player valuations in today’s football world were rising at an absurd rate.

“For one hundred million British Pounds, I might consider it.”

Qi Sheng didn’t actually mind selling Camavinga, but only if the price was right.

‘After all, I have a cheat system. I can make as many players like him as I want.’

“AHEM, one hundred million British Pounds?”

Ah Bu, who had been elegantly sipping his red wine, choked and coughed a few times before staring at Qi Sheng in shock.

“He can attack and defend. Isn’t that worth a hundred million British Pounds?”

“But he’s only 18 years old!”

“That’s exactly why he’s worth that much. He’s 18. Buy him, and you’ll have a player for the next decade.”

“Er… I’ll have to think about it.”

Ah Bu was certainly rich, but he couldn’t just throw money around without any restraint.

While he was still lost in thought, a deafening roar once again erupted from the stadium.

To let in the atmosphere, the door to the executive box hadn’t been fully closed.

Hearing the commotion, Ah Bu immediately snapped back to reality and looked at the TV inside the box.

“Shit! Fuck! That damn German, he betrayed my trust!”

It was no wonder Ah Bu was furious. With a bet worth several hundred million US dollars on the line, no one could remain calm.

Well, except for Qi Sheng.

On the pitch, Alvarez was celebrating with an excited knee slide.

On the replay, Ah Bu watched the entire sequence of the goal.

After dribbling past a pressing Jorginho, Camavinga decisively launched a ball over the top.

The angle and weight of the pass were both perfect.

Alvarez used his explosive acceleration to get on the end of Camavinga’s pass.

With a sudden stop, he cut inside past Rudiger.

Facing the onrushing Mendi, he finished with a delicate chip.

That goal alone was enough to justify Alvarez’s price tag.

For 15 million British Pounds, it was an incredible value.

With Arsenal scoring again, the match was all but over.

An agitated Tuchel made frequent substitutions, but the results only got worse.

Arteta, on the other hand, remained perfectly calm.

He subbed off Gabriel and brought on the masked Gvardiol.

He took off Martinelli and brought on Eevee to play center forward.

Alvarez subsequently shifted to the wing, where he looked just as comfortable.

After Raya came on as goalkeeper, Arsenal’s play actually became even smoother.

Compared to Ramsdale, Raya’s ability to play out from the back was superior, which impressed Arteta.

As the match neared its end, Arsenal launched another swift counter-attack.

Saka dribbled past Marcos Alonso and then crossed the ball into the middle of the box.

The tall and imposing Eevee finished with a stunning scorpion kick.

Even Qi Sheng, who had been calm until then, stood up and pumped his fist.

As for Ah Bu, his face was black as thunder.

He was the one who proposed the bet, after all. He had originally hoped to use it as an opportunity to invest in Misha.

Now the jet was gone, and so was his chance to invest.

The thought of losing out on several billion euros made Ah Bu want to feed Tuchel to the sharks.

“Roman, thanks for the jet.”

Qi Sheng teased Ah Bu with a smile.

“Maria, arrange to have that Boeing 787 delivered to China. I, Roman Abramovich, am a man of my word!”

Ah Bu was unhappy, to be sure, but he didn’t have the slightest regret.

A loss was a loss. It was no big deal.

With his net worth, it was a minor sting at most.

“Qi, I want that Camavinga. Can you sell him to us during the winter transfer window?”

Ah Bu was already crunching the numbers in his head.

‘If he could buy Camavinga, it would also indirectly weaken Arsenal.’

‘Maybe Arsenal would even lose the Premier League title because of it.’

“Not this season. But I can sell him to you next season.”

Qi Sheng shrugged. “I have to consider the fans’ feelings. But a transfer fee of one hundred million British Pounds is the baseline.”

“No problem.”

Ah Bu was a little disappointed, but he understood Qi Sheng’s position.

Even after nearly twenty years in charge of Chelsea, he had only just barely won the approval of the notoriously picky English fans.

“Roman, on behalf of Misha, I welcome you aboard!”

Qi Sheng said with a smile, opening his arms to Ah Bu, who looked completely stunned.

“Qi, what do you mean?”

Ah Bu was in disbelief, afraid he had misunderstood.

“I can give you up to 5% of the shares. Based on Misha’s valuation, that’s roughly 100 billion euros. That is, if you can afford it!”

Qi Sheng had originally planned to offer 20% of the shares in an IPO, so giving 5% to Ah Bu wouldn’t affect the grand scheme of things.

“It’s only five billion euros. I can afford that!”

Ah Bu declared with immense bravado, giving Qi Sheng a big hug.

“Qi, my investment in Misha will be purely financial. I’ll give all my voting rights to you.”

“Furthermore, I’ll personally put up 100 million US Dollars to have that Boeing 787 completely customized before I hand it over to you.”

Ah Bu looked at Qi Sheng with a serious expression.

“Even though we are friends, I believe friendship is about mutual support, not one person just taking from the other.”

“This is a small token of my goodwill. I hope you’ll accept it.”

Qi Sheng smiled and nodded. “Of course. I’m sure our friendship will be a long and lasting one.”

“This is our group’s Purple Gold Card. It has a spending allowance of 10 million euros, which refreshes automatically every year.”

“Your family can use this card to spend freely at any of Misha’s subsidiary brands.”

“When you stay at Banyan Tree or Four Seasons hotels, you’ll also be given priority for the presidential suite.”

“In the future, we’ll be opening some Chinese restaurants in Europe, and they will be included in the card’s benefits as well.”

Since Ah Bu was being so generous, Qi Sheng naturally had to reciprocate.

In fact, Qi Sheng had already arranged for this card to be custom-made exclusively for Ah Bu.

As for the spending limit, it wasn’t actually as high as he’d claimed.

But raising or lowering the limit was something Qi Sheng could do with a single word.

“Thank you for the gift.”

Ah Bu accepted the card with a smile, placing it very carefully into his wallet.

An annual spending allowance of 10 million euros was nothing to Ah Bu.

But the gesture was what he truly appreciated.

With his current status and wealth, it was difficult to find a genuine peer he could talk to.

Qi Sheng’s net worth was by no means less than his own; in fact, it was terrifyingly greater.

Ah Bu naturally wasn’t going to pass up a friend like that.