Chapter 339: Brother Lion, Lead Us One More Time
After the initial round of negotiations, Li Ang quickly understood what Abramovich really wanted: to pay for peace of mind.
Or perhaps, to send a message to Real Madrid—to make them back off.
After all, hadn't Marca recently reported that Cristiano Ronaldo's contract talks with Madrid had collapsed because he asked for €30 million after tax—and Florentino refused?
And now Chelsea was directly offering Li Ang a €35 million net annual salary!
Abramovich simply didn't believe that the famously tight-fisted Florentino, who always guarded Madrid's wage structure, would dare match that.
Li Ang didn't quite know what to say about his boss's audacious offer.
But to him, accepting the highest salary in football didn't seem wise.
The reason was simple: even Real Madrid, a commercial giant, feared the consequences of overpaying Ronaldo—worried it would collapse their wage structure.
Chelsea's global commercial reach was nowhere near Madrid's yet.
Sure, they could shoulder the cost in the short term. But give it one or two seasons, and agents for every other star in the squad would start poking around.
Li Ang was close with most of his teammates—but only when personal interests weren't in conflict.
He'd never believed in testing friendships with money. That only led to problems.
Besides, he wasn't like Ronaldo, who insisted on proving superiority in both trophies and paychecks.
Li Ang preferred tangible, practical benefits.
Right now, he was already making a net salary of €20 million per year—comfortably the highest at Chelsea.
Jumping to €35 million would net him just €15 million more per season—something he could easily earn from a couple of extra endorsements.
But if that raise ended up upsetting the locker room, and Chelsea failed to secure their third straight Premier League title because of internal discord?
Then he'd lose far more than just €15 million.
At this stage, team harmony and continued success mattered far more to Li Ang than chasing a record-breaking paycheck.
Another Premier League title would send his commercial value soaring again—his endorsement income the following year could easily increase by tens of millions more.
Whether in transfers or in life, thinking long-term was always the right move.
So that same night, Li Ang rejected Chelsea's offer of a new contract with a €35 million net salary.
But in response to Abramovich's goodwill, Li Ang gave a clear and respectful counter-proposal:
"I'm happy to sign a new three-year extension, but we don't need to raise the salary that much. If we really must increase it, I think €25 million net per year is a better figure…"
His decision to voluntarily lower his salary left Chelsea's negotiators stunned.
They had dealt with countless players and agents over the years. But Li Ang? He was one of a kind.
Unsurprisingly, the renewal process went extremely smoothly.
July 25th, the day before Chelsea's first match in the International Champions Cup,
Chelsea CEO Marina Granovskaia held a surprise press conference at the team hotel—officially announcing Li Ang's three-year contract extension.
The moment the news broke, all transfer rumors surrounding Li Ang instantly vanished, and peace returned to the squad.
With the media now fixated on contract figures, Chelsea's other players were no longer swarmed with questions about whether they knew any "inside info" on Li Ang's future.
Even Mourinho felt like training quality had improved that day.
July 26th, Chelsea faced their first ICC opponent: Paris Saint-Germain.
Both coaching staffs had the same goal—to test attacking chemistry between forwards.
What followed was an all-out showcase for the American audience: a back-and-forth goal fest.
Before kickoff, Li Ang laughed and chatted with former teammates Higuaín and Di María, who had finally escaped Manchester United to join PSG.
Di María still hadn't fully recovered from another preseason knock and missed the reunion with his old Real Madrid brothers.
The game was light-hearted and entertaining, with both teams enjoying the runout. It ended in a friendly 3-3 draw.
As usual, Li Ang only played the first half. So did all the starters except for the front three.
In defense, Mourinho tested three different center-back pairings:
Maguire and Thiago SilvaGary Cahill and KalasKalas and Zouma
Among them, Maguire and Silva looked the most solid.
Cahill and Kalas weren't bad either, providing a similar dynamic to last year's Maguire-Kalas combo—solid complementarity.
Kalas wasn't quite ready to dethrone Silva from the starting lineup. But he was set to be the first-choice backup for both center-back and right-back this season.
He'd have plenty of game time.
But over at left-back, Bertrand had become a headache.
He played well last season—not world-class, but very solid. He had great chemistry with Hazard, and their left-flank partnership was sharp and dangerous.
But since the title defense and Champions League triumph, Bertrand had let himself go a little over the summer.
Maybe it was the fact that Aké had been loaned out again, making Bertrand the only true left-back in the squad—he just didn't feel threatened.
Mourinho gave him a pass for one mediocre friendly. But in the second match, Bertrand once again failed to meet expectations.
Li Ang didn't know what Mourinho would do, but this time Bertrand probably wasn't getting off the hook so easily.
Before their second ICC match against Barcelona, Chelsea finalized their second signing of the summer.
That afternoon, Li Ang welcomed an old friend at the hotel.
Fernando Llorente.
To be honest, Li Ang hadn't expected to ever become teammates with him.
It wasn't about Llorente's quality—Li Ang had always appreciated his work rate, his aerial ability, his hold-up play. He was the classic "big man" striker you wanted in tough battles.
He just hadn't imagined Juventus letting him go this easily.
But apparently, Llorente had wanted a longer-term deal.
With Morata now fully promoted as the starter, Juve didn't want to keep spending on Llorente, especially with his wages.
So he became available.
And now, he was a Blue.
Li Ang never quite figured out the details behind it all—he only knew that the moment Llorente's agent leaked his intention to leave Juventus, Mourinho immediately instructed the club to begin negotiations.
In just about two weeks of talks, Chelsea signed Llorente on a free with a three-year contract.
For Chelsea, it was an undeniably high-quality signing. Mourinho's fondness for tall target men was no secret.
With the departures of veterans like Ibrahimović, Drogba, and Torres this summer, the additions of Suárez and Llorente ensured Chelsea's attacking line remained one of the strongest in the Premier League.
That said, although Llorente had joined up with the squad, he didn't feature in the friendly against Barcelona during the International Champions Cup.
Chelsea suffered their first defeat of the U.S. tour in that match.
After praising Suárez's performance, Mourinho began conducting what he called a "midfield and backline sorting experiment."
Throughout the game, Chelsea rotated players constantly across defense and midfield.
Azpilicueta even spent thirty minutes at left-back, leading to speculation that the coaching staff were subtly sending a message to Bertrand…
In this context, it was clear Chelsea were using the match to experiment. Winning or losing was irrelevant.
Llorente had only just passed his medical at a local hospital. He didn't even have time to properly get to know his new teammates before they were back on a flight to London.
In four days, the Community Shield would kick off—Chelsea vs. Manchester City in the first major clash of the new season.
The English press and Premier League fans were watching closely.
Mourinho, determined to avoid starting the season with a loss, threw himself into intense pre-match preparations the moment the team returned.
Chelsea's final transfer operations for the summer also began to accelerate.
The first matter: Lukaku's transfer.
Truth be told, Mourinho didn't want to sell him—not yet.
After two seasons of development, Lukaku had become a key component of Chelsea's attack, even if he wasn't a starter.
He could play anywhere across the front three. His physicality made him a perfect impact sub.
Most coaches wouldn't want to part with a young player like that.
But Lukaku had his own ambitions. For two seasons, he'd accepted a backup role at Chelsea without complaint.
His biggest flaw—positional awareness—was hard to fix quickly, but aside from that, he did everything the coaching staff asked of him.
Still, he wasn't content with being a super-sub. He wanted to start, to prove himself as a lead striker.
His desire was understandable. But Chelsea simply couldn't offer him that.
After multiple failed attempts to find a compromise, Mourinho eventually gave the green light for Lukaku to seek opportunities elsewhere.
Despite not being a starter, Lukaku had scored impressively over the past two seasons. His highlights were eye-catching.
Once Chelsea signaled his availability, offers from top clubs across the big four leagues poured in.
With so much interest, Lukaku's agent took his time sorting through the options.
Originally, Everton were leading the race.
But once Manchester United entered the fray with serious money, the entire situation shifted.
Li Ang, upon learning United had stepped in, had a chat with Lukaku—he laid out the pros and cons of joining United at this point in time.
But it was clear Lukaku had likely already received a verbal promise from Louis van Gaal. The idea of becoming the new No. 1 at Old Trafford had fully taken root in his mind.
Seeing this, Li Ang gave up trying to persuade him and simply wished his younger brother good luck.
Chelsea and United were now ironing out the final details of the transfer.
Barring any surprises, the deal would go through for no less than £60 million.
With Lukaku's exit all but settled, Chelsea moved quickly on the market.
They spent £5 million to bring in Serge Gnabry from Arsenal—a 20-year-old winger Chelsea's scouts had been tracking for months.
Next, they beat Spurs in the race to sign Kieran Trippier from Burnley for £6 million, a promising young full-back who had impressed the previous season.
Neither player was brought in to start—one was a future bet, the other a coachable rotation option.
For bench depth, both were solid signings.
Then, on the eve of the Community Shield, Chelsea confirmed their final major signing of the summer:
From Benfica, they brought in Jan Oblak, the best goalkeeper in Portugal the previous season.
The €26 million fee raised eyebrows. After all, Oblak had never played in one of Europe's top four leagues.
Still, Chelsea were clearly placing a big bet on the 22-year-old Slovenian.
Originally, Thibaut Courtois—brilliant on loan at Atlético—was meant to be Chelsea's next great keeper.
But he chose the wrong role model: John Terry's libido.
Now, Mourinho would never sacrifice De Bruyne just to keep Courtois around.
So the club's only play was to keep loaning Courtois out, then sell him later for top dollar.
Li Ang stayed out of all these transfer matters. But as he watched Chelsea's recruitment team add one "future star" after another, he couldn't help but sigh with admiration.
Chelsea's scouting and management team? Top-tier.
August 2nd, Wembley Stadium.
Chelsea vs. Manchester City—the season's first battle.
Li Ang walked down the tunnel with his teammates for the opening ceremony.
For the first time, he wore the captain's armband.
Looking straight ahead, he felt the weight of responsibility settle on his shoulders.
Behind him, his younger teammates looked up to him, eyes full of fiery hope.
They wanted to charge toward greatness again.
This was a new golden age for Chelsea.
They were chasing a Premier League three-peat to declare the birth of a new Blue dynasty.
They dreamed of doing what even Bayern hadn't: defending the Champions League.
The Real Madrid dynasty still echoed across the continent.
Bayern's brilliance had burned bright—but faded fast.
Now, it was Chelsea's turn to carry the sword for the Premier League.
And under the pressure of that responsibility, Li Ang would not retreat.
He had always believed that circumstances forge heroes.
But now, he intended to create the waves himself—to seize this golden era of football for his own.
This... was the path of a man.
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