Chapter 98

The Christmas holiday is not a time of leisure for everyone. At least, the presidents of various clubs in La Liga and Segunda División had to gather in Madrid for one thing.

There had been persistent reports that the Spanish tax authorities planned to implement a new personal income tax law. For foreign personnel with an annual income exceeding 600,000 euros, the Spanish government would increase their personal income tax rate from 24% to 43%, restoring it to the rate before the "Beckham Law" was implemented.

The so-called "Beckham Law" stipulated that eligible foreign players only needed to pay 24% personal income tax, while the tax rate for domestic players could be as high as 43%. It was said that this tax rate clause was specifically set by then-Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez to persuade then-Spanish Prime Minister to attract David Beckham, although whether this was true or not was unknown. However, it was a fact that Beckham became the first star to benefit from this new tax law when he joined Real Madrid. The implementation of the "Beckham Law" undoubtedly attracted more foreign talent to Spanish clubs and gave the two major La Liga giants, Real Madrid and Barcelona, some advantages in attracting top stars.

However, now the Spanish government plans to abolish this clause, which would undoubtedly impact the interests of Spanish clubs, as it means they would have to pay more taxes for foreign stars in the future with the same annual salary.

Thus, when the news was confirmed, it immediately caused a stir in the Spanish football world.

Against this backdrop, Little Sánchez came to the Las Rozas Football City in Madrid, where he had visited once in the summer.

When Little Sánchez appeared, the old acquaintance Arango was the first to approach him and chat. A few months ago, the president of Sporting Gijón had witnessed Carlos Cercas' intentional or unintentional mockery of Little Sánchez, and this time, he was clearly still happy to see this scene replay, regardless of the object.

In fact, in the football factions of La Liga, Sporting Gijón and Málaga were not on the same side.

Like other major European leagues, La Liga also has its factional divisions. The simplest and most straightforward division is the Real Madrid faction and the Barcelona faction. An interesting phenomenon is that clubs with "Real" in their names are mostly close to Real Madrid, while those with "Athletic" or "Sporting" are mostly closer to Barcelona. Therefore, Real Sociedad, Real Betis, and others are mostly under Real Madrid, while Athletic Bilbao and even Atlético Madrid are undoubtedly more inclined towards Barcelona. Of course, this is not absolute, as not all teams have "Real" or "Athletic" in their names. In such cases, ethnicity becomes the decisive factor. Spain is a multi-ethnic country, and ethnic conflicts have always influenced various fields of the country, including football. Southern Málaga and northern Sporting Gijón are naturally not on the same side in terms of factions.

Little Sánchez couldn't hide the smile on his face, nor did he want to. Málaga was currently second in the league, and he was the president of Málaga.

Arango was just the first to approach him, followed by Villarreal's president Roig, Sevilla's president Del Nido, and others, all congratulating Little Sánchez on Málaga's current performance.

Little Sánchez was no longer the "player president" of a few years ago. He naturally knew that these people were not genuinely congratulating him, nor were they showing respect for him. He noticed a difference: those who greeted him mostly belonged to the "middle-class" clubs of La Liga. These teams, while not comparable to Real Madrid and Barcelona, generally did not have relegation pressure. On the other hand, the presidents of several teams that had already arrived but chose to watch from the sidelines were mostly from teams with poor current performance...

Understanding this, it was not hard to guess why Roig and others were sending him friendly signals. It was simply because they were interested in Málaga's players.

However, even knowing the reason, Little Sánchez was still very happy. At this moment, he felt like a parent of a top student attending a parent-teacher conference. His status might not be higher, but his pride was genuine.

The only thing that surprised Little Sánchez was that someone actually took the initiative to greet him.

This person was Little Hill.

Little Sánchez was not surprised that Atlético Madrid had sent Little Hill as their representative.

Cerezo was the president, and Little Hill was the general manager. Logically, the representative for today's summit should be Cerezo, but since this involved issues of interest, Little Hill, as the largest shareholder of Atlético Madrid, had more reason to be here.

"Hello, Fernando." Little Hill, who took the initiative to approach, seemed to want to show his grace, but addressing Little Sánchez by his first name instantly made Little Sánchez feel his condescension.

"Hello, Mr. Hill." Little Sánchez maintained his smile but used the title to create a distance between them.

The Sánchez and Hill surnames were no longer the main players in the current Spanish football scene, but history is history. Old Sánchez and Old Hill, who were once the presidents of Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid, respectively, were almost enemies. Now, one has passed away, and the other is in seclusion, but their sons have inherited their legacies. Little Hill is still at Atlético Madrid, though he has retreated to the background, while Little Sánchez is leading another "skinny horse." It would not be strange for them to avoid each other, but now they have a subtle connection because of "Lin Sen."

"There's no need to be so formal, call me Miguel." Little Hill seemed not to notice Little Sánchez's underlying meaning and said calmly, "Málaga's performance this year has been good. I believe we will have many more opportunities to cooperate."

"Opportunities to cooperate?" Little Sánchez smiled and asked.

"Of course. Don't you think we are already cooperating?" Little Hill's smile suddenly became playful.

Thus, Little Sánchez knew what he was talking about. Currently, the only two names that could connect Málaga and Atlético Madrid were Lin Sen and Koke. Lin Sen was clearly not a name Little Hill would mention, so he must be referring to Koke.

Obviously, in Little Hill's view, Koke was already an Atlético Madrid player, and Málaga was just helping Atlético Madrid develop him.

"In that case, I look forward to our future cooperation." Little Sánchez said calmly.

"I look forward to it too." Little Hill nodded, "I'll go ahead."

Watching Little Hill's leisurely back, Little Sánchez smiled. Just a moment ago, he almost thanked Little Hill for Lin Sen, and he was sure that if he had said it, Little Hill would not have been as casual as he looked. However, he closed his mouth at the last moment.

He would not lose in words.

This was the style of the Hill family, but not the Sánchez family. Little Hill was right about one thing: there would be many more opportunities for cooperation in the future.

...

When Carlos Cercas entered the venue, his mood was somewhat bad, but he did not expect to see a good show. The conversation between Little Sánchez and Little Hill was not long, and the tone and content seemed to lack any fire, but those who knew the inside story understood that the brief scene was far from peaceful on the surface.

Little Sánchez's restraint surprised Cercas. Was this still the Málaga president who openly condemned the other side over a mere referee issue last season?

Could it be that good team performance also improves one's patience... Cercas muttered to himself, but he had already decided to admit his mistake. Who could blame him for his loose tongue? But then again, who would have thought that the Chinese coach had such ability? It was said that Lin did not even consider Málaga as a job option at the time, but they ended up pushing him away. Now, the retribution has come.

Thinking about this, Cercas sighed.

"Francisco." Seeing Cercas approach, Little Sánchez's lips curled slightly, and he said with a double meaning, "You're late."

"Not late. The meeting hasn't started yet." Cercas naturally understood the hidden meaning in Little Sánchez's words, but he also knew that Little Sánchez still had some lingering anger.

So, he added self-deprecatingly, "Besides, what difference would it make if I came earlier? I just gave you an advantage."

Little Sánchez was somewhat taken aback by Cercas's quick admission of his mistake, and he inwardly cursed him as a sly old fox.

If it weren't for the interruption by Little Hill, Cercas would have been the one Little Sánchez most wanted to "talk" to. Now, with Cercas lowering his stance, if Little Sánchez continued to dwell on the issue, it would make him look petty.

"Let's go together." Cercas laughed, easily brushing off the "mistake" from a few months ago, "Let's see what the big guys will come up with today."

The "big guys" Cercas referred to were naturally the presidents of the major La Liga teams, especially the presidents of the two giants, Real Madrid and Barcelona.

This had become a tradition in La Liga. Whenever issues of interest were involved, it was mostly the two giants who led the charge, either openly or secretly. The others were merely there to support. The only agenda for today's summit was how to respond to the tax rate adjustment, but in reality, the adjustment of the tax rate would not have a significant impact on small clubs like Málaga. The threshold was set at 600,000 euros, and how many players in Málaga earned that much?

The most affected would still be the more traditional strong teams in La Liga.

Little Sánchez suddenly thought of the current television rights distribution, which most La Liga teams were dissatisfied with, and felt even more the sorrow of small clubs in La Liga. Whether it was advantageous or disadvantageous, small clubs had limited options.

Shaking his head lightly, Little Sánchez and Cercas walked into the venue side by side.

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