Chapter 61: The dusk of the Chinese sun

Tang En's attitude towards Sun Jihai is very complicated. He personally persuaded him to Nottingham Forest. It is undeniable that Sun Jihai came first because he was Richards' replacement. This may not be fair to Sun Jihai himself, but it is the case. However, Tang En knew the performance of Sun Jihai from the Forest team. He was a dedicated professional player. He was not good enough to make up for his attitude. Overall, Tang En was quite satisfied. Except for some Chinese media complaining that Tang En did not give Sun Jihai the main position, there was nothing.

However, with the increase of age and frequent injuries, it is indeed an indisputable fact that his team gradually lost their position. Now Sun Jihai can't even play as a substitute guard. Most of the time, he can only participate in the game with the reserve team. Even when the Forest team is extremely short of people, Tang En did not give him any chance.

During that time, Chinese media attacked Tony Tangen and was not friendly to Chinese players.

But Nottingham Forest is not a charity, and players who do not have the ability and cannot keep up with the team's needs will naturally be eliminated. Sun Jihai is not the team's direct line, nor is he an indispensable player. Even if he is very good at spirit... He is not the only one with high spiritual values ​​in Nottingham Forest.

Next summer, Sun Jihai’s contract with the team will officially expire. Tang En no longer intends to give Sun Jihai any new contract. Not only that, he decided to sell Sun Jihai this summer. Now there are two Championship teams who are interested in Sun Jihai, and they won’t lose too much if they operate well.

Sheffield United and Crystal Palace both hope to get the Chinese all-around defender.

However, they just expressed their purchase intention and had not officially offered a price.

Just when Tang En decided to wait and see for a while, Evan approached him, hoping that he would reconsider the matter of renewing his contract with Sun Jihai.

Tang En was very surprised when he heard this request.

"What's going on? Evan? I remember we had a common view on Sun Jihai's future before."

Evan smiled and did not answer Donn's question immediately, but talked about Allen's affairs. "Didn't you always tell me that the plan cannot keep up with the changes? You know that Allen has been looking for sponsorship for the new stadium project. He first found the Arabs. Arsenal's Emirates Stadium was sponsored by the UAE, and it only took ten years of naming rights as the price. I think this is a very suitable price. But..." He spread his hands.

"The Arabs agreed to inject capital into this project, but they asked the clubs to set up a spokesperson to monitor whether their money was in place in name. Actually... you should be able to understand if I don't say it, right?"

Tang En nodded.

"I don't want to add a senior manager to the club that I'm not familiar with, no matter how much money he represents." Evan Doggetti said with a smile. But let Tang En understand that this man is actually a person with a strong desire for power.

"And China performed well in this global financial crisis. So Allen turned his attention there..."

When he said this, Tang En finally interrupted: "Have you found the rich man in China?"

"Not yet." Evan shook his head.

It's strange, but Tang En was a little regretful.

"So rethink the contract with Sun Jihai... is it that I want to make some hint to potential Chinese investors?" Tang En was not stupid. He quickly straightened out the relationship between the two.

"Tang told me that China is very disappointed with their own football. In this case, the only Chinese player who can still make Chinese fans feel proud is Sun Jihai, who is still playing football in the Forests. He is now the only Chinese player in China who still plays in the top European leagues."

Shao Jiayi, who played football at Cottbus, was listed and sold to the Bundesliga by the team. Zheng Zhi is also struggling in the Championship. Every time there are rumors that a certain Premier League team fell in love with him, and in the end it was just a wishful thinking of the Chinese.

As for those young players who were once highly anticipated, they are not doing well now.

Against this background, those Chinese fans can only regard Sun Jihai and Tang as the only comfort.

Tang is the hope of Chinese coaches, and Sun Jihai... naturally not the hope of players. But he can long be regarded as the most successful one among Chinese overseas players. And it is estimated that for a long time, no latecomer will be able to surpass his current status - the number one Chinese player studying abroad, the number one Chinese player playing in the European arena, the number one Chinese player scoring goals in the European arena, the number one Chinese player winning the Champions League, the number one Chinese player winning the Premier League, the number one Chinese player winning the double championship... Countless "first person" hats were slapped on him by enthusiastic Chinese media and fans.

Looking at these achievements, they can indeed be called "the most successful Chinese player".

Even though he is old and weak and has few appearances, just look at the beginning of the new season every year and is still on the Forest's first team list.  For those Chinese fans who have no other requests, it is the greatest comfort.

Tang En felt very sad. The biggest comfort of football in this country was that he could only play as a second-tier substitute for the Forest team, and he was already on the verge of being abandoned by the team.

"I understand." Tang En nodded, "I will reconsider giving Sun Jihai a new contract. But he must accept the salary cut. You must know. He is not within my new season plan."

What’s even more sad is that this greatest comfort has almost no competitive value for the Forests. The only reason why he can stay is because the club hopes to use him as a guise for attracting Chinese funds.   From a professional player to a flag hanging in front of the goal to attract financial owners.

Evan left with a satisfied smile, while Tang En stared at the two clubs on the table asking for prices and faxes.

If he asked these two clubs to quote for themselves, how much would Sun be worth at most?

One million? Or one million? Perhaps... not even one million?

Sun Jihai has a low presence in the mainland of the team, perhaps because he is a Chinese and relatively low-key. His living habits are different from other European teammates. He never attends parties where many sexy girls can adjust the atmosphere, nor does he relax in nightclubs. After training every day, he drives home alone with his wife and children. He plays with his children on the grass in the backyard of his home. Tang En accompanied Tang to Sun Jihai's home during the Spring Festival two years ago

A small Spring Festival. When Tang and Sun Jihai were chatting in Chinese, Sun Jihai mentioned his wish - "Actually, there is no wish. I make money here alone and support my wife and children. How can I not work hard? My wish is to make money hard, make more money when I can still make money, so that I can live a good life after retirement. I don't think about the others... my teammates are actually very good to me, but I can't play with them. After all, we are not a world-class person."

His life was so simple that it was a bit boring. But he had been used to it for a long time. Playing football in Nottingham was a job for him. His children were already in school in Nottingham and received British education. But after he retired, Don En believed that the family would return to China immediately. With the savings of working in the UK over the years, he lived a life like any ordinary Chinese.

Sun Jihai didn't know that the club and China were connected around him. He didn't know that his fate and future had changed some changes due to these things.

His agent had notified him before that two Championship teams hoped that he would join. Sun Jihai meant that it depends on what the Forest team said. Anyway, there is still one year left for the contract, so he is not in a hurry to sell himself. Joining those teams in a free form a year later, maybe it will attract more buyers by then.

In addition. After the team's vacation, he just came to the training ground on time every day to participate in training, and drove home after the training. Occasionally, he received a few media reporters from China, signed autographs and took photos with them outside the training ground or somewhere else. His life was the same as in any previous season.

Until one day, Tony Donn called his agent, hoping to discuss with him about the place where the contract renewal was negotiated.

This news surprised Sun Jihai - he is not a fool or a passionate teenager who likes fantasy. He knows his position in the team. If Nottingham Forest Club is smart enough, the best way is to sell him this summer. Then they can still receive a little money. Otherwise, after a year, they won't get anything. He thinks this way based on the fact that the team will definitely not renew his contract with him again.

Unexpectedly, Tang En actually wanted to discuss the contract renewal with his agent.

His agent was not surprised. He vaguely heard the club's market subjective Alan Adams was active in China.

He felt that he could win a pretty good contract extension for Sun Jihai and himself.

Tang En's new contract for Sun Jihai is renewed for two years this summer, but Sun Jihai must receive a salary cut of 50%.

Sun Jihai's Chinese agent rejected Tang En's contract. He believed that a 50% salary cut was completely unacceptable. Because this contract was not renewed for two years on the basis of the original contract, Sun Jihai could still get 100% salary in the new season, and once this contract was signed, he would lose half of his income. This is the main reason why he disagrees.

They can completely reject this contract and then get a 100% salary a year with peace of mind. They can freely transfer to other teams after the contract expires next year.

But Tang En would never agree to the other party's requirements for the unchanged salary standards. The team is now racking their brains to increase revenue and reduce expenditures and control spending. If Sun Jihai leaves this summer, it will be beneficial to everyone. But Allen wants to find a rich man in China who is willing to pay for his new plan, so Sun Jihai has become an important player instead. Even so, Tang En will not allow a second-tier substitute to offer a contract with the same salary requirement as before.

He showed off to the other party that Sun Jihai's level is no longer worth his original salary - of course, it was not said that, it would be too hurtful to say that. He said it very tactfully, just to give an example to the Chinese agent. No club in this world would offer such a contract for a player who was about to retire. Even Maldini of AC Milan must accept a salary cut contract. What's more, a Chinese player?

The agent also made the statement clear - the club believes that Sun Jihai is useful, so we should meet our requirements.

Tang En said that would not work. What is met is reasonable demand, not asking for a price everywhere. Let’s do this. In order to show sincerity, we should give in to each other - a 25% salary cut.

This proposal was recognized by the other party. So the next step was simple, everyone met and signed together, and had a glass of champagne to celebrate.

Sun Jihai will continue to belong to Nottingham Forest in the next two years. When the contract expires, he will be 34 years old. At that time, whether he planned to continue working in the UK or returning to China to play football for Dalian is not the thing Tang En should worry about. What's more, there may be several inquiries next summer and the fax of Sun Jihai's money that can be sold will appear on his desk again.

If Allen can really successfully attract Chinese funds, then who will worry about whether Sun Jihai can continue to stay in the team?

Tang En is not a great charity in Chinese football. He has no leisure to cultivate a savior or set a banner for Chinese football.

After Sun Jihai was finished with work, good news came from the other side.

Abon Lajo showed up to the Villa Club. During a secret conversation with Martin O'Neill, he told the coach that he wanted to play football in Nottingham Forest. The reason is simple. He has confidence in Tony Donn. He believes that going to Nottingham Forest can satisfy his desire to win honors. Tony Donn is a head coach who can lead him to victory and glory, even if he has just recovered from a heart attack.

Martin O'Neal couldn't convince Abang Raho. This kid was obviously fascinated by Tony Don't's personal charm.

The Villa team began to seriously consider how much money it would cost to give Abanglahob...

Three days later, Nottingham Forest announced that they would introduce speed striker Gabriel Abanglaho from Aston Villa for a transfer fee of £16 million.

In the new season, Abanglaho will wear the No. 18 jersey left by Arshavin, galloping across the Forest's frontcourt and defeating every opponent with speed.

After Anelka, Don finally has a real speed striker.

If Van Nistruy and Zykic were more like a heavy hammer, then Abanglaho was a sharp dagger. With a hammer and a dagger, Don can easily and calmly face enemies of various styles...
Chapter completed!