"Under this premise, Nasri remains a valuable asset to the team, and simply letting him go is not wise from a commercial standpoint."
Belgistan deliberately emphasized the words "commercial standpoint" when he mentioned them.
It was obviously said for commercial director Belada to hear.
You are the commercial director, don’t you know that players are listed as asset numbers in the team’s financial reports?
Seeing Belada’s indifferent demeanor, Belgistan patiently used a metaphor to explain to him:
You have many cars in your garage that you can’t drive all at once. Do you choose to scrap one with a hammer, or sell it to a used car dealer?
Even if Nasri is a hopelessly battered car, he still has resale value!
However, Belada insisted on his view that Nasri must be released from the contract.
"Terminating Nasri’s contract on the spot is not only the view of our core player Tang but also the opinion of captain Kompany and team stalwarts like Agüero and Joe Hart. If we go against them, it would only be detrimental to locker room unity."
Upon hearing, Belgistan knew that this subordinate of his intended to oppose him.
Even though he felt his dignity as the head of team management was challenged, Belgistan still prioritized the greater good and continued to patiently explain to Belada.
"Belada, I have served as a sports director for many years at other clubs, and this experience taught me one thing: players’ opinions matter and must be heard, but you can’t follow them blindly. As management, you must have a broad vision and holistic planning.
"Nasri earns an annual salary of 3 million British Pounds with the team, and the contract isn’t due for another two years."
"If we terminate his contract now, we would incur a wasteful 6 million British Pound expense. The owner has told us that Manchester City is indeed wealthy, but our money isn’t for fools. Do you want to be that fool?"
Commercial director Belada’s eyelid twitched.
Belgistan speaks with velvet-gloved barbs!
The word "fool" sounded especially jarring, just short of directly naming and shaming him.
"Nasri dares to demand 6 million British Pounds? Wishful thinking!"
"He violated the clause prohibiting deliberate damage to the club’s social reputation. I’ve been generous enough; otherwise, based on our strong legal team, not only would he receive nothing, but he’d also owe us compensation!"
Belada assured Belgistan that with just a 3 million British Pound budget, given his superior negotiation skills, he could make Nasri leave obediently;
Furthermore, this money should be his hush money, included in the termination agreement, so that he would never speak about the undercover incident to the outside world.
Despite lengthy explanations, the subordinate still couldn’t grasp the essence, and Belgistan felt as if they were talking at cross purposes, finding it absurd.
His tone turned impatient, and his voice rose by eight octaves.
"It’s ridiculous, you graduated with a master’s degree, didn’t the teachers teach you math, Belada!"
"We can completely dispose of Nasri to a lower-mid-tier Premier League team for over 10 million British Pounds, yet you say we should pay 3 million British Pounds to terminate his contract? Count with your fingers, which option is more profitable, and beneficial to the company’s interests?"
The disagreement led to an argument in the office.
The shouting grew louder, so much so that Belgistan’s female secretary in the adjacent room couldn’t resist tiptoeing over, ear to the door.
With a "bang," commercial director Belada suddenly put his feet up on the table.
Seeing the two big feet of his subordinate pointing at him, with dirt from the soles flying onto the table and even splattering on his nose, Belgistan couldn’t hold back anymore—he slammed the table and stood up!
"Get out! Get out of my office!"
Belada put his legs down, stood up, shrugged, and marched out.
Before leaving, he paused, turned his head, and coldly said to his superior: Fresh chapters posted on novel⁂fire.net
"Since there’s a disagreement, let’s jointly consult the opinion of the Abu Dhabi Consortium."
Belada graduated from European Business School with a major in business studies, completed his master’s in e-commerce at Ramon Llull University, Spain, and furthered his studies in integrated management at IESE Business School.
His career path is quite unusual; before 2004, he had no connection with football, working as a product and commercial development manager at a telecom company in Spain.
After 2004, he entered the football industry in Barcelona, serving for seven years as a sponsorship director, responsible for helping Barça secure sponsorships, and was poached by Manchester City in 2011 as the international commercial development director.
After having been deeply involved in the football industry for eleven years,
this season, he was promoted to commercial director of Manchester City Club, officially stepping into the core management of a team!
Back then, during the Manchester City management meeting discussing whether to choose De Bruyne or Tang Long, Belada keenly realized the Asian market behind Tang Long would bring more opportunities and partnerships to Manchester City, thus advocating for Tang Long rather than De Bruyne.
He had lived in six different countries, mastered four languages, had a wide range of global industry contacts, and frequently traveled to Asia for sponsorships.
He knew well that Tang Long’s joining was an excellent opportunity for Manchester City to attract more attention;