LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 253
As the news broke that Son Jinho was taking over Manchester United…
Chelsea, in its third year under Mourinho, was going through a tough time.
In their Premier League opening match against Swansea City, a conflict arose between team doctor Eva Carneiro and Mourinho.
From that day forward, the relationship between Chelsea’s players and Mourinho began to falter.
Being human, footballers struggled to hide their disappointment at Mourinho’s obsession with winning over caring for injured players.
And the players’ discontent soon reflected in their performance on the pitch.
The once vigorous players now moved with a bit more caution, as if they were holding back.
But the impact of this change was colossal.
[“Chelsea’s ‘work stoppage controversy’ leads to a dismal loss, plummeting to 15th in the league.”]
Chelsea’s performance dipped to a point where football fans suspected the players of slacking off.
Chelsea recorded a humiliating 15th place in the league. It was hard to believe such a big club would produce such a poor report card.
For reference, they were merely 3 points clear of relegation zone 18th placed Swansea City.
Chelsea fans were seriously worried about the possibility of relegation.
‘…Did I move to London just for Chelsea to go downhill?’
Mrs. Hwang Mi-yeon, who had moved from Manchester to London to watch Chelsea matches up close, naturally found her worries deepening.
Contrary to her expectations of enjoying a happy retirement life by watching Chelsea play live each game, the team seemed to be entering a dark period.
– Han Gyeouri: Mom, Mom!
– Han Gyeouri: Do you know what they’re calling Chelsea these days in Korea?
– Cheolmo: …What are they calling it?
– Han Gyeouri: Cheolgangdak!
– Cheolmo: Cheolgangdak?
– Han Gyeouri: Chelsea deserves relegation! LOL!
And it wasn’t just Chelsea’s shocking ranking and performance that troubled her, but her daughter Han Gyeouri’s taunts were the real kicker.
With the news of Son Jinho’s takeover of Manchester United, even the Glazers could no longer be flippant.
As Mrs. Hwang Mi-yeon’s stress levels rose, time sped by, and the Premier League Round 25 match against Manchester United was held at Chelsea’s home ground.
Determined to tease Han Gyeouri if they won this game, Mrs. Hwang Mi-yeon was disappointed to see that the game was dominated by Manchester United.
With John Terry’s reaction a beat late, Son Jinho found space and took a relatively free long-range shot that found its way into Chelsea’s goal net.
Having scored the winning goal, Son Jinho spotted his mother-in-law among the Chelsea fans and, overjoyed, pointed at her for a celebratory gesture.
[Hey? Son Jinho seems to be pointing at someone in the stands!!]
And as Son Jinho celebrated, Mrs. Hwang Mi-yeon was caught on camera throwing a fistful of rock potatoes at him.
[…Um… it seems there was a mosquito on my arm.]
└ LOL!
└ But who is that?
└ Known among Chelsea fans. Apparently, it’s Son Jinho’s mother-in-law.
└ Crazy! LOL! Punching her son-in-law! LOL!
└ Real-life hooligan!
└ It’s hilarious seeing Chelsea fans clap at that! LOL!
*
– Father-in-law: No, dear;; No matter what, throwing rock potatoes at Jinho is a bit much;;;
– Cheolmo: No;;; I did it unconsciously ;;;
– Cheolmo: Jinho, I’m really sorry.
– Ho-woo: It’s okay! LOL!
– Han Gyeouri: Mom, let’s just cheer for Man U from now on.
– Han Gyeouri: If you switch to Man U, that makes three generations of fans!
– Cheolmo: Three generations…? Have you asked Haseong what he thinks?
– Han Gyeouri: He seems to like red jerseys, so obviously, he’s a Man U fan!
– Ho-woo: (Seeing Haseong liking a Liverpool jersey .avi)
– Han Gyeouri: What? Who gave Haseong a Liverpool jersey!?
*
Time flew by.
[Chelsea, Mourinho fired.]
[Appointing Gus Hiddink as the firefighting coach.]
[“The ‘Magician of Dismissal’ Roman Abramovich sets Chelsea’s resurgence in motion!”]
As Gus Hiddink stepped in as the fireman to Chelsea, just as they prepared to rebound, Manchester United found themselves out of the Champions League semi-finals.
Manchester United had won their home match against Bayern Munich, but in the return match at Allianz Arena, they lost 3-1.
The motivation of Manchester United players, who achieved a treble, was lacking compared to the Bayern Munich players.
[“‘Victory through Perseverance.’ FC Bayern Munich heads to the Champions League final.”]
Just before the match ended, Schweinsteiger blocked Son Jinho’s thunderous long-range shot with his face while bleeding, but he smiled with victory, and that image tugged at the hearts of football fans and made headlines.
*
Having taken over the world-renowned club Manchester United, I began a breathless, hectic life.
The moment I acquired Manchester United and meticulously checked the club’s condition, I was taken aback.
Manchester United was being operated in an unbelievably slapdash manner.
Really, there were countless areas needing attention.
The influence of the Scotsman Ferguson in operations turned out to be more significant than expected.
I realized that this giant club had been overly reliant on that one man.
‘How did he handle all of this?’
I decided to break down tasks like future football clubs might.
Until now, Manchester United had made recruitment decisions with just the CEO and the manager talking together. Of course, with capable individuals like David Gill and Alex Ferguson working together, the system had synergy and allowed for effective processing.
But not everyone had the prowess of David Gill and Alex Ferguson.
It was a moment when change was essential for the club’s stable development.
However, some club officials opposed these changes, claiming it damaged Manchester United’s tradition.
Having recently achieved a treble, club members were cloaked in pride for the Manchester United club, and the backlash was more intense than anticipated.
[Son Jinho persuades the fans, “Our esteemed boss has now retired, and we must live in the era beyond the great manager Alex Ferguson. It’s much easier to change the system than to find a second Alex Ferguson.”]
Fortunately, with Ferguson’s support, I succeeded in quelling the opposition from both fans and the club. Looking back now, I believe that the connections I built with Ferguson during his tenure as the manager were my greatest asset.
Anyway, with a massive overhaul confirmed,
The first thing on my agenda before proceeding with the reforms was to fill Manchester United with my own people.
Currently, Mino Raiola was partially managing affairs for me, but I couldn’t rely on him forever.
– Mino Raiola: Jinho, how about signing Paul?
– Mino Raiola: The agent fee would be a mere €15 million (about 1.75 billion KRW) between us.
Honestly, letting Mino handle my duties was like handing fish to a cat.
I firmly rejected Mino’s proposal but declared I would recruit the promising 15-year-old Erling Haaland to the Manchester youth team.
While the youth transfer offered no significant profit compared to Paul Pogba, perhaps he understood I was saving some of my face, as Mino Raiola nodded without further comments.
– Mino Raiola: Well, it would be a burden to spend money right now anyway.
Of course, the truth was different.
‘No, I just told you to bring Haaland, c’mon!’
Roy Keane, who injured Erling Haaland’s father, was a legend of Manchester United, but somehow I succeeded in smoothing it over.
“Please take good care of Erling.”
That’s how parents feel.
They would wish for their children’s success more than dwell on past grudges.
‘Jude Bellingham, Erling Haaland…’
Thus, a powerful one-two punch to secure the future of Manchester United was ready.
If I had my way, I would’ve wanted to bring Kylian Mbappé, who plays for Monaco, too.
However, unlike the promising Haaland, Mbappé was in the process of establishing himself and increasing his playing time at AS Monaco, so I failed to convince him.
After all, it was important for the young talent to gain match experience.
The issue arose because Man U had established starters like Cristiano Ronaldo, Robin van Persie, and Sadio Mané.
‘For Haaland, he still has plenty of time before his debut anyway.’
When the time came for Haaland to debut in the first team, Robin van Persie would likely be contemplating retirement, thus leading to a natural generational transition.
In any case, after finalizing Haaland’s acquisition, I began the process of hiring individuals to operate the club on my behalf.
The first person I sought was Ed Woodward, who was responsible for Manchester United’s finances.
Honestly, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say no one in the Premier League could match Ed Woodward’s ability to generate revenue.
However, he had failed to properly negotiate player signings and departures, and he often dragged out negotiations, leading to failures in signings, making the CEO position unsuitable for him.
I was looking to ask him to be the COO, responsible for the overall operations of the club.
Perhaps it was due to having worked together at Manchester United, but Ed Woodward gladly accepted my proposal.
Successfully bringing Ed Woodward on board, I began to recruit external personnel who could serve as the knife of reform.
There were limits to reforms with just the club’s internal members involved, given the multitude of relationships at stake.
We approached Jason Wilcox, who started as a youth coach at Manchester City and became Southampton’s sporting director.
We offered him the sporting director position, which oversees the club’s sporting affairs, including player recruitment and squad composition, as well as operational strategies.
He was instrumental in nurturing many promising talents at Manchester City and proved his abilities while serving as Southampton’s director, thus filling the gaps currently present at Manchester United.
Finally, I brought in Jean-Claude Blanc, the CEO of Paris Saint-Germain, to take over Manchester United’s CEO position.
Having successfully revived Juventus after the Calciopoli scandal and later transforming Paris Saint-Germain into a world-class football club, his capabilities were well-established.
[Jean-Claude Blanc announces the expansion of the training ground and stadium: “We will make Old Trafford a true theater of dreams.”]
He began to meet expectations as soon as he stepped into Manchester United.
[Jean-Claude Blanc: “Through digital performances and media content, I will elevate the club to a global scale.”]
However, perhaps due to being addicted to oil money,
Every project he initiated was outrageously expensive.
I planned to implement Jean-Claude Blanc’s projects in phases due to capital issues.
“I’ve looked into companies holding shares. If we push for collaborations with current shareholders, we could generate substantial synergy. If carried out as planned, a true theater of dreams will be born, accommodating concerts from famous singers and all forms of cultural activities.”
“Hmm, I see.”
But in the midst of our discussion, I found myself swayed by Jean-Claude Blanc’s reasoning.
I ended up borrowing money from the bank in the name of Manchester United to make it happen.
Yet again, the club’s debt increased, sparking alarm among Manchester United fans.
“Life is usually like this: if you succeed, it’s views of the Thames, if you fail, it’s Thames River water, right?”
I forced myself to ignore the grumbling and pushed forward like a bulldozer.
[Owner Jinho, despite fans’ concerns… “Right now, my heart is aflame with the passion to create a club I’ve never experienced before.”]
If we fail to qualify for the Champions League next season, wouldn’t the era be referred to as the “Mangu Era” instead of the “Leeds Era”?
Hmm.
Should I prepare for a possible move to Spain just in case?