The transfer market in 2011 was bustling, with the top 10 transfers dominated by big names in the football world.
IbrahimoviÄ, Agüero, Mata, Sánchez, Eto'o, Fà bregas...
If Ye Chen's transfer succeeded, the £30 million fee would place him 4th on the 2011 transfer leaderboardâjust behind Agüero's â¬45 million, Pastore's â¬43 million, and Falcao's â¬40 million.
The record-breaking Agüero transfer had actually cost Manchester City £35 million plus an additional £3 million in potential add-ons.
In other words, Agüero's fee was just £5 million more than Ye Chen's!
But what kind of stats did Agüero have before joining City?
In the 2010-2011 season at Atlético Madrid, Agüero made 41 appearances, scoring 27 goals and assisting 7 times. His total contributions came to 34 goals. Moreover, he delivered a goal and an assist in the UEFA Super Cup final against Champions League winners Inter Milan, leading his team to a 2-0 victory.
Even a player like Agüero cost only £35 million.
Now, Manchester United was offering £30 million for Ye Chen, who had played just four professional matches...
It felt like a dream!
Ye Chen himself couldn't believe how fast his market value had skyrocketedâit was overwhelming! Even he felt a bit dazed.
So, why was his manager seeking him out at this moment?
Was it purely about the money and pushing for a transfer?
Or was there another reason?
With these questions in mind, Ye Chen got into Klopp's car and headed to Dortmund.
"Ye, I think it's time for you to get a professional agent," Klopp said while driving.
A professional agent?
Klopp's words were like a wake-up call for Ye Chen.
As someone who had lived two lifetimes, Ye Chen thought he could handle everything on his own. He hadn't even considered hiring an agent.
But what happened last night made him start to rethink.
For example, if he had a team representing him, he wouldn't have had to wait for Li Xinran's call to find out about the false online rumors regarding his doping test.
Moreover, he would undoubtedly face more sponsorship deals and contract negotiations with clubs in the future.
As a player, he couldn't possibly handle everything on his own.
It wasn't his area of expertise, and now that he was just beginning his professional career, he wanted to focus entirely on games and training.
By the way, where were Raiola and Mendes in all this?
As Europe's top football agents, shouldn't they have spotted his potential by now?
Honestly, it felt unprofessional!
They deserved some criticism!
"Well, let's see how things go. No rush," Ye Chen finally replied after a moment of contemplation.
In Europe, player transfers generally involve two main stages.
The first stage is between clubs, where negotiations take place. A club can only approach a player after the selling club agrees to the terms. Approaching a player prematurely violates regulations.
That said, enforcement isn't always strict.
Many transfers involve initial discussions between clubs and agents about the terms and conditions before any official agreement.
The second stage begins once the selling club accepts an offer, allowing them to negotiate a contract with the player.
If the player doesn't sign, the deal won't proceed. Players can stay with their current team until their contract expires unless the club decides to terminate it early.
If both parties fail to reach an agreement, the player can force a release by paying the release clauseâthough this typically results in higher costs.
Such situations rarely occur unless relations break down completely. For a player, being forcibly released is seen as a major disgrace... as Ye Chen knew all too well.
When Ye Chen left Manchester United, he was on a youth contract, so the club only had to pay a mere £2,000 in compensation.
For a wealthy club like Manchester United, £2,000 was nothing.
Yet their actions left a lasting psychological scar on Ye Chen, and thinking about it still made him furious.
Currently, though, Ye Chen had no interest in leaving Dortmund. He genuinely loved the club.
It wasn't about unfinished tasks. He simply couldn't imagine another team better suited for him.
Choosing the right team involves two key factors: style and strength.
As the reigning Bundesliga champions, Dortmund had broken Bayern's dominance, proving their strength.
As for style, Dortmund was arguably the best club in Europe for nurturing young talent.
They even had a unique recruitment policy focused on signing players under the age of 23!
Take their current main attack line: Kagawa Shinji, the core playmaker, was 23; PeriÅ¡iÄ, the main left winger, was 23; and Lewandowski, who had been promoted to a starting role, was also 23. The main right winger, Götze, was just 19!
Götze had been promoted to the first team the previous year at the age of 18 after Kagawa's injury.
Additionally, GündoÄan was 22, Sven Bender was 22...
Dortmund's squad was brimming with youthful energy!
This trust in young players was why Klopp didn't hesitate to play 17-year-old Ye Chen during difficult moments for the team.
In other clubs, young players usually came on after the 75th minute. But what could you really do in just ten or so minutes?
Sometimes, you wouldn't even get a chance to make an impact.
Now that a transfer offer had been made, Dortmund's management was clearly on alert.
After all, if Ye Chen, with only four matches under his belt, was already attracting a £30 million bid, what would happen after 10 or 20 games?
Even without his current jaw-dropping stats of 12 goals in four games, a goal every two matches would still put him in the European spotlight.
That's why Watzke urgently asked Klopp to bring Ye Chen to the officeâto negotiate a new contract with a release clause of at least â¬100 million.
The current â¬50 million clause simply didn't feel secure enough!
Knock knock!
Klopp knocked on the door.
"Come in!"
When the door opened, Ye Chen froze for a moment but quickly smiled.
As expected, the moment had arrived.
Just moments ago, he'd been wondering why Mendes and Raiola hadn't approached him. Now, here they wereâspeak of the devil!
Seeing Klopp and Ye Chen enter, the two agents stood up immediately.
Watzke smiled warmly. "Ye Chen, come in. Let me introduce you!"
"This is Mr. Mino Raiola."
"Hello, Mr. Raiola!" Ye Chen extended his hand.
"Hello!" Raiola replied with a friendly smile. "I'm a football agent, and I'm looking forward to working with you."
Ye Chen nodded. "Likewise."
"And this is Mr. Jorge Mendes," Watzke continued.
Mendes offered his signature smile. "Ye, hello. I've watched your four games and even a training session. You're absolutely incredible! I think you can become the best player in the world!"
"Thank you for the kind words, Mr. Mendes!" Ye Chen responded with a smile.
"Jorge, you said the same thing to Ronaldo!" Raiola grumbled, clearly annoyed.
The two rivals were already starting to compete!