Chapter 96

On January 5, Chelsea welcomed their first home game of 2005, facing Middlesbrough, who were ranked 5th in the Premier League. Middlesbrough had been a surprise team this season, managing to outperform Premier League heavyweights like Tottenham and Aston Villa.

However, Jowan Xian didn't care about any black or white horses. He made several adjustments for this match, the most significant being the debut of new signing Roy Keane at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea fans welcomed the legendary star with their most enthusiastic applause and cheers. Wearing the number 14 jersey, the blue kit made him look even more masculine and rugged.

At 3:50 AM on January 5, amidst the cheers of over 40,000 fans, Chelsea relied on assists from Keane and Duff in both halves to secure a 2-0 victory over Middlesbrough, with Lampard scoring both goals. The score was a bit low, leaving Chelsea fans somewhat unsatisfied, but a smile appeared on Jowan Xian's lips. It was now the critical moment for the title push, and with fewer and fewer resources available, winning without expending much effort was already satisfactory.

Since the post-match press conference after the Liverpool game, Jowan Xian's relationship with the English media had once again frozen. After the Middlesbrough game, critical news resurfaced, mainly about his decision to sign Torres but not play him in the last two league matches, suggesting that Torres' transfer was a complete joke!

The media's noise didn't affect Jowan Xian, but recently, he did encounter a thorny issue.

Kaka's father and agent flew from Brazil to London to discuss a matter with the club: a salary increase!

Chelsea's first-team salaries were divided into five tiers. The first tier included Terry, Lampard, and Owen, with annual salaries of 6 million pounds; the second tier included Rooney, Kaka, and Torres, with annual salaries of 4.5 million pounds; the third tier included Makelele, Joe Cole, Duff, and Cannavaro, with annual salaries of 3 million pounds; the fourth tier included Ramos, Bridge, Cech, Parker, and Keane, with annual salaries of 1.5 million pounds; and the fifth tier varied from several hundred thousand pounds.

In this era, Chelsea's salary standards were absolutely the highest in the world. To attract more and better players, Roman Abramovich offered huge annual salaries. For example, Real Madrid's Ronaldo, Zidane, Beckham, and Raul earned only 6 million euros, which is equivalent to the second-tier salary at Chelsea!

However, in a club, comparisons are often the most feared. After 22 rounds of the Premier League, Kaka had become the most shining star on the field, with astonishing statistics! After 22 rounds, he had scored 25 goals and provided 16 assists, and he had been named the man of the match 9 times and the player of the month 3 times!

Leading the goalscoring and assist charts, Kaka was undoubtedly the biggest star in the Premier League, and a salary increase from the second tier to the first tier was justified. Moreover, a relatively unknown Torres had joined the team and was to be paid the same as Kaka, which would not satisfy Kaka's father, Bosco.

Family agents have always been a thorn in the side of the football world, causing headaches for all clubs. The most famous example was the Anelka brothers. To seek huge profits, Anelka's greedy brothers constantly created transfer dramas, even at the cost of his professional achievements, leading to constant transfers and constant movement between teams.

In comparison, superstar Kaka and Messi's "father" agents were a bit better, but still despicable and unforgivable. Messi's tax evasion was clearly related to his father, and Kaka's father, Bosco, was equally greedy, pushing for a transfer from Milan to Madrid that was detrimental to all parties involved.

Jowan Xian understood that, given Kaka's performance, a salary increase was inevitable, but not now! Kaka had only joined Chelsea for half a year and had not yet won a title. He was in the ascending phase of his career, and causing a fuss at the club would affect him.

Family agents often do not follow the rules like hired agents, and sometimes their actions are even inexplicable to the players themselves. For example, when Jowan Xian asked Kaka about the salary increase, Kaka said he didn't know about it!

Jowan Xian couldn't help but sigh. Family agents were truly a pain, not even communicating with the players! But then he thought of something. When Ye Xuan sought a contract extension for him, she didn't communicate with him either. Could she be considered a family agent?

"Ha ha... he he... ha ha..." Jowan Xian sat in the manager's office, laughing like a madman.

Kenny stood at the door, about to knock, but suddenly heard a creepy laugh and almost stumbled! He steadied himself and then knocked.

"Xian, I think you need to talk to Bosco. This is within your jurisdiction," Kenny said. When dealing with other department directors, he would call them to his office, but for the manager Jowan Xian, he had to come over to "consult."

"Right now, I'm busy with player transfers. How can I have time to talk about a salary increase?" Jowan Xian crossed his arms and said with a mature tone, "Find a reason to send him away. I don't want to see that kind of person!"

"Ah?" Kenny smiled bitterly, "Xian, Bosco has already threatened that if we don't give him a salary increase, he will arrange a transfer for Kaka!"

"What? He dares!" Jowan Xian's eyes widened, and he stood up abruptly. He took a deep breath, a sinister look flashed in his eyes, and he nodded, "Alright, I understand. I'll handle it."

Kenny felt relieved that he was no longer shirking responsibility. Dealing with this "Big Cannon" Jowan was exhausting. He even thought about suggesting to Abramovich to replace the current manager system with a general manager system like in Spain and Germany, but considering the results and changes Jowan had brought to the team, he had to hold his tongue.

The typical structure of a Premier League club includes four main departments under the CEO: public relations, business, finance, and the manager. Under the manager are the transfer director, chief scout, youth academy, medical department, and coaching staff. The transfer director oversees the sports department, and the chief scout oversees the scouting department...

Kenny could hold his tongue, but Jowan Xian could not. He certainly wouldn't deal with the greedy and disgusting Bosco but would go directly to the player, Kaka!

After the match, the team had a routine day off, so Jowan Xian called Kaka to arrange a meeting. Kaka laughed and said he was at home, as his fiancée, Caroline, was on winter break and had come to London to visit him.

Kaka and Caroline were a model couple in the football world, not only respectful but deeply in love, and both were Christians. Such a golden couple could receive everyone's blessings, and Jowan Xian was also interested, so he smiled and said he would visit.

Since Kaka had a female guest, Jowan Xian couldn't go alone, so he went with Lucy. He then realized that their villas were not far apart, only a 15-minute drive.

Caroline was 17 years old, with brown hair, brown eyes, and a charming smile. She wore a white dress, looking very pure, with long, bare white legs and pink socks with white lace, and white flat shoes. She exuded a sense of tranquility amidst her youthful charm.

This was Jowan Xian's first time meeting Caroline in person, and he felt even more impressed. Only such a perfect match could be worthy of Kaka. He even regretted taking Kaka to nightclubs in the past, as Caroline was indeed a girl worth Kaka's lifelong commitment.

Seeing Jowan Xian staring speechlessly, Caroline smiled, "Brother Xian? What are you looking at? Hello."

"Ah... ah! Hello, hehe, hello, Miss Caroline," Jowan Xian blushed, feeling guilty for leading Kaka astray in the past.

Kaka and Lucy greeted them and invited Jowan Xian to tour the villa, smiling and asking, "Boss, what's so urgent that you had to come see me during the break?"

As soon as the topic turned serious, Jowan Xian's expression became solemn, and he turned to Lucy, "Lucy, why don't you chat with Caroline? I need to talk to Kaka."

Lucy nodded gently, and Caroline waved, smiling, "Brother Xian, I'll make you some authentic Brazilian barbecue. You must try it later..." She looked very cute and playful.

Sitting on the sofa, Jowan Xian got straight to the point, "Your father went to the club to discuss a salary increase."

Kaka immediately felt embarrassed. He didn't expect the boss to come to him personally over this matter. His face turned red, and he said sheepishly, "Boss, this... this was my father's idea. I couldn't do anything about it."

Jowan Xian's expression was neutral, "Kaka, I believe you understand how much I value you."

"Of course, I understand!" Kaka nodded repeatedly, his expression serious, "The joy of playing under you is something neither São Paulo nor AC Milan could give me! I would even be willing to play for you until I retire. It's a happiness!"

Jowan Xian's expression finally softened, and he nodded, sighing, "You understand this, but your father doesn't! You trust me, but your father doesn't! You will become the highest-paid player at Chelsea, but you must understand, it's not now!"

Kaka looked distressed, "I know it's the transfer period, and the club is very busy. I've talked to my father about this. He... he said I just need to play well, and I shouldn't worry about the rest..."

Jowan Xian took a deep breath and finally revealed his true intentions, narrowing his eyes, "A successful man needs a good woman behind him, and similarly, a good player needs an excellent agent! Kaka, let me ask you, do you want to stand at the top of the world?"

"Top... top of the world?" Kaka was stunned.