Chapter 8

Millwall is a magical club, at least in Audrich's eyes.

Millwall hates Chelsea, despite Chelsea being far in West London.

Although Audrich is from East London, Millwall is located in Southeast London.

Geographically, West Ham United and Charlton are closer, and so is Millwall, but it is Millwall and West Ham United that have become the arch-rivals in the East London Derby, a rivalry that dates back a century.

Millwall also has a rivalry with Crystal Palace in South London, and Millwall's presence in the South London Derby is significant, while Charlton, caught in the middle, only has a faint derby atmosphere no matter who they face.

Audrich, along with the club's transfer team, came to South London. Here, Millwall's South London Derby rival, Crystal Palace, won the Championship last season and would be stepping onto the Premier League stage in two months.

However, at this moment, Millwall submitted a transfer offer to Crystal Palace.

The target was Gareth Southgate.

The first offer was 1 million pounds.

This offer received no response from Crystal Palace, likely being dismissed with a sneer.

Southgate is only 23 years old, an excellent center-back, though he currently plays as a midfielder for Crystal Palace. He is a key player in Crystal Palace's promotion and has a background rooted in the club.

However, when the second offer of 2 million pounds was faxed to Crystal Palace, it took only half an hour for a response.

5 million pounds!

Faced with this reply, Audrich smiled.

He wasn't afraid of the other party's high demands; he was afraid they wouldn't counteroffer.

After a series of negotiations, Millwall's offer of 2.8 million pounds made Crystal Palace surrender.

2.8 million pounds, a sum that could even buy a top striker!

Is Southgate worth this much?

From a purely competitive standpoint, perhaps not. Andy Cole, who scored 41 goals in a season, transferred to Newcastle United for 1.75 million pounds, and although he transferred to Manchester United for 6 million pounds the following spring, breaking the transfer record.

But players' values hadn't been inflated yet, and the truly valuable ones were the goal-scoring forwards.

Audrich's reasons for buying Southgate were twofold: first, Southgate is young, capable, and a future mainstay of the England national team. Having a local international player in the team's dressing room is what Audrich needs. Second, poaching a star from a rival club is highly beneficial for boosting fan morale.

In the small apartment in South London where Southgate lived, Audrich and Andrew personally visited to talk to Southgate.

Southgate recognized Andrew, but only as an acquaintance. He wasn't particularly enthusiastic about the arrival of the Audrich brothers. His wife served them tea and then left the living room to the men.

After introducing himself, Audrich placed a contract in front of Southgate.

Without even looking at it, Southgate said calmly, "Please go back. I have no interest in joining Millwall. A club without a manager has no future for me."

"The manager, I am."

Audrich said just as calmly.

Surprise flashed across Southgate's face, followed by a wry smile.

He naturally thought Audrich was joking. If not, it would be absurd.

Audrich opened the contract, held it up in front of Southgate, and said calmly, "6,000 pounds a week. If we get promoted, the contract will be updated, and the salary will increase to 8,000 pounds, with a 10% annual increase. Additionally, bonuses will be awarded based on the team's ranking at the end of the season. The contract is for five years."

Southgate's expression froze. He couldn't believe the contract in front of him was so generous!

This was far more than what he earned at Crystal Palace.

He was somewhat tempted. Professional athletes have a short career span and face the risk of injuries and other issues.

Earning more money is a natural human desire, and there's no need to be overly proud.

He still hesitated, saying, "You're so young, the manager?"

Audrich closed the contract and placed it on the table, his eyes calm and level with Southgate's. Both men were around 1.85 meters tall, so neither was looking down on the other.

"Gareth, I'm not here to beg you to join Millwall. I came personally to show my sincerity. Crystal Palace accepted my 2.8 million pound offer and allowed your transfer. If I were in your shoes, I wouldn't hypocritically say a player is priceless, but in my eyes, you're worth at least 15 million pounds. I know your value, and I believe this contract is what you deserve. I have a coaching license, and I don't need to show it to you. I don't have time to prove my coaching abilities here. If I had the time, I could demonstrate over 20 corner kick tactics, more set-piece strategies, and attacking and defensive concepts. But I am the owner and the coach of the team. I don't need to prove anything to you. My team is Millwall, the future's most successful English club. I don't care what you think. The opportunity is in front of you, and missing it will be your loss."

Andrew, though smiling, was genuinely nervous for Audrich.

Audrich's tone was somewhat condescending, fitting the typical British arrogance.

Audrich's indifferent expression also exuded a confidence that was not feigned, which made Southgate stare at him for a long time before regaining his composure.

In front of him, Audrich had a presence that didn't seem like a charlatan. This arrogance and confidence are sometimes what is needed on the field and by a coach.

Southgate pondered for a moment and then asked, "My status in the team?"

This was a sign of interest. Audrich said solemnly, "You will be my captain when you join the team. However, your position will change. At Crystal Palace, you played as a midfielder. At Millwall, you will be a starting center-back. Trust me, I have footage of your entire season's performance. I understand your role and abilities better than you do."

Southgate was silent for a long time before finally nodding in agreement.

As they left South London and got into the car, Andrew said in a daze, "I've never seen a negotiation like this before."

Audrich, sitting in the passenger seat, said calmly, "I am the owner and the coach. I don't need to look at anyone's face. If I beg players to join my team, what authority would I have?"

"Ha ha, where to next?"

Andrew asked with a smile, feeling that his brother was starting to have some authority.

Audrich said casually, "Take me back to the club. I'll stay there, and you'll have to run around. Your company can also take this opportunity to sign some players. I'll offer high salaries, and you'll facilitate the deals. It's a win-win."

Andrew gladly accepted the task. Although he had previously interacted with Southgate, by the time they met, Southgate was already a key player for Crystal Palace, and their relationship was rather distant.

But most of the players on Audrich's acquisition list were ones Andrew had interacted with over the past two years. This was a good opportunity for him to start his career as an agent, leveraging Audrich's high-salary offers.

When Audrich returned to Millwall, he began sending transfer offers to clubs across Europe.

The team was being rebuilt, so he started by networking for talent at each position.

For the goalkeeper position, the club retained Casely-Keller, who had the ability but was not at the top level for Premier League matches.

Thus, Audrich approached the German second-tier team, Oldenburg, to purchase their young goalkeeper, Hans-Jörg Butt.

This future third-choice German goalkeeper had just been promoted to the first team and had only two appearances in the German second tier last season. He was still being evaluated by Oldenburg.

The offer was 100,000 pounds, a significant sum for a small club, especially for an untested goalkeeper.

Soon, the transfer of the 20-year-old goalkeeper Butt was approved, with the final offer being 150,000 pounds.

With Southgate joining the center-back position, his height of 1.85 meters was still insufficient for aerial defense. Audrich sent a transfer offer to Cambuur, who had been relegated to the Dutch second tier last season: 200,000 pounds for center-back Jaap Stam.

After raising the transfer fee to 350,000 pounds, Millwall's negotiation team flew to the Netherlands to discuss contract terms with Stam.

For 100,000 pounds, Audrich acquired 18-year-old Patrick Vieira from French AS Cannes.

Perugia had just been promoted to the Italian second tier and needed money. Audrich used 300,000 pounds to take their young player Gattuso, which made Perugia's chairman, Sandrini, mock Audrich as a fool in the Italian media.

Because Gattuso had signed a contract with Perugia just a month ago, Perugia had almost made 300,000 pounds without spending a penny...

17-year-old Michael Ballack, who had not yet signed a professional contract, was lured to London by Andrew with a weekly salary of 3,000 pounds.

A transfer request of 1 million pounds shocked the chairman of Sparta Prague. Transfers in Eastern European football were not as expensive as in mainstream European leagues, so Audrich only had to raise the price to 1.2 million pounds for Millwall to have the opportunity to negotiate with Sparta Prague's star, Pavel Nedved.

If Andrew hadn't already been in contact with Nedved before he joined Sparta Prague's first team, this transfer might have fallen through.

But the high salary offered by Audrich was enough to make the star consider the benefits.

Just describing Audrich's grand vision to Nedved wasn't enough. Audrich personally called Nedved to express his sincerity and offered an automatic release clause in the contract if the team failed to get promoted the next season. Only then did Nedved agree to join, seeing it as a chance to try his luck in England. If it didn't work out, earning a year's salary and then leaving would still be a good deal.

Audrich then offered 500,000 pounds to French Metz for Robert Pires.

For 300,000 pounds, he brought back 20-year-old Bernd Schneider from the German second-tier team, Jena.

For 100,000 pounds, he took 18-year-old Luca Toni from the Italian third-tier team, Modena.

For 350,000 pounds, he acquired 18-year-old Ruud van Nistelrooy, the "Little禁区 King," from Dutch Den Bosch.

For 200,000 pounds, he brought back 17-year-old David Trezeguet from Argentine Platense.

Just as Audrich was preparing to travel to France to meet a friend, Andrew gave him another surprise.

17-year-old Zambrotta, who was about to sign with Como, was lured to London by Andrew.