The Greatest Manager of All time

Unlike James Cook, Cromwell, and Charisteas, who had been dragged into transfer rumors, Mark Nielsen had been actively transfer-listed by Swansea.

Other clubs had no reason to worry about Lynn's feelings, nor did they need to hesitate because of any past conflict with him.

Player transfers between football clubs were perfectly normal.

After Nielsen was listed, several Second Division clubs immediately submitted offers. No Third Division clubs came in for him, because they could not offer better contract terms than Swansea, let alone afford the transfer fee.

After all, Swansea had spent £200,000 to bring in Mark Nielsen.

That amount might not look like much, but for a Third Division club, it was a "huge sum" capable of solving urgent problems.

That evening, Lynn reviewed the offers from the interested clubs. Wigan Athletic and Swindon, both in the upper half of the Second Division, had each bid £300,000.

The other clubs' offers were all on the low side.

For a Third Division team selling a non-starting player, that kind of offer was already fairly high.

Lynn handed the negotiations to Mo Yuan.

Before the weekend league match, Mo Yuan held talks with the representatives from both clubs. In the end, both clubs raised their offers to £350,000. Swansea then nodded and agreed, leaving Mark Nielsen to choose which of the two clubs he wanted to negotiate with.

On the same day Lynn led the team away to challenge Torquay United, Mark Nielsen completed his move to Wigan Athletic. Swansea received £350,000 in return.

After deducting the transfer fee, signing fee, and contract costs from when they had brought Nielsen in, Swansea made roughly £70,000 in profit!

This counted as the first money Swansea had made from a player transfer in the Lynn era. It was not much, but it was still a milestone.

Inside the Swansea dressing room, there was not much reaction to the disappearance of the owner of the number 22 shirt.

Professional players had to get used to such things. If they were close friends, they could still keep in touch privately after a transfer. If they were merely teammates, then after sleeping on it, life would continue as usual.

Swansea grew increasingly impressive on the pitch. Before the second leg of the Football League Trophy semi-final arrived on February 5, they won two more league matches in a row.

...

On the evening of February 4, Lynn and Erin went shopping together.

The two wandered around the luxury counters in the Quadrant Shopping Centre.

Standing in front of the Chopard counter, Erin looked at the dazzling array of watches displayed behind the glass and asked curiously, "Why do you always give watches to players?"

Half of Lynn's body leaned against the counter as he answered casually, "Because I don't know what else to give. Cars? At this stage, they're a little expensive. It's not that I'm reluctant, but I'd have to treat everyone equally. Bags and clothes feel more like something a woman should give. Besides, watches have a good meaning. They remind them to treasure time."

Erin gave a soft "Mm," then picked out three watches of different styles and had Lynn try them on one by one.

Lynn put each one on and showed it to Erin. After Erin chose one she liked, she had the assistant wrap it in a gift box. Then they went to the Piaget counter and repeated the same process. Lynn ended up holding two gift-wrapped watches.

One watch was for Cristiano Ronaldo tomorrow.

The other was for Poulsen, whose birthday was in four days.

After buying the gifts, Lynn and Erin had dinner at a nearby Western restaurant.

Lynn asked curiously, "I haven't seen Will in quite a while."

The eldest son of the Taylor family.

Erin smiled and said, "You told him he needed £30 million before he could cooperate with you, so he's been obediently managing the family business. I imagine his plan is that if he performs well, the elders in the family will delegate more power to him and allow him to mobilize more funds."

Lynn smiled and said, "Although I only said that casually at the time, if he seriously wants to cooperate with me, there's still a time limit. If it's two years from now, that number will become £50 million. You know, when U.S. stocks hit a low at the end of last year, I put my money back into the market. By now, I've already made almost another £10 million."

Erin's smile was bright. "I know you can make money. You don't need to show off. By the way, I heard Uncle Lin went back to China to open a branch company. Is that true?"

Lynn nodded. "Yes. After Christmas, he went back to China and started contacting new investment targets. After all, market research in China takes time, and all kinds of relationships need to be handled carefully. He didn't even come back for Spring Festival because of it. My mum got angry with him and ignored his calls for three days. Heh."

Erin kept smiling, then asked, "Will you go back to China in the future? Uncle Lin has always wanted you to take over the family business."

Lynn lowered his head and cut his steak, not noticing the worry hidden behind Erin's smile.

Perhaps this little princess of the Taylor family was afraid that if Lynn returned to China, the two of them would be separated by distance and their relationship would end there.

Lynn said casually, "Probably not. My career is in Swansea now, not China. Besides, I don't even know what I'd do if I went back. Become chairman of an investment bank? What I'm thinking now is that I might as well forget it. In any case, I don't plan to return to China for development in the next few years."

What Lynn had originally wanted to say was that he could find someone to marry, have a child, and give his parents peace of mind. That way, Lin Jiajie's desire to train a successor could skip Lynn's generation entirely. Ideally, it would be a grandson, so Lynn's son could take over the family business.

But this was not something he wanted to mention in front of Erin.

After all, his relationship with Erin was subtle.

Erin relaxed slightly. As long as Lynn did not return to China, even if he simply stayed in Britain, she would be happy.

After dinner, Erin extended an invitation to Lynn.

"Come to my place tonight. I recently bought a bottle of 1982 Lafite, the one you used to mention all the time. We can try it."

Lynn burst out laughing.

1982 Lafite.

What a tacky bragging line.

That was from a long time ago.

After laughing, he shook his head and said, "Not tonight. Another day."

Erin narrowed her beautiful willow-leaf eyes, which seemed to hold autumn water, and said lightly, "Do you already have a date with some beauty?"

Lynn felt a little awkward.

This was probably the first time Erin had directly pointed out Carter's existence in front of him.

But he had a clear conscience. He had never confirmed any real relationship with Erin. With Carter, it had only developed from a one-night stand into a long-term physical relationship, with a bit of mutually beneficial cooperation in work added on top. Lynn separated these things very clearly.

He smiled and said, "I have a match tomorrow night, and the club has something important in the daytime. How about this? After tomorrow night's match ends, I'll come find you. Let me see whether a real 1982 Lafite lives up to its reputation."

Erin herself probably had not realized that her earlier words had slipped out without thought. She did not feel intense jealousy or resentment. She simply felt that Lynn had been spending less time with her.

After sitting in the passenger seat of Lynn's Bentley, Erin suddenly sighed.

"Ever since you became the club's manager, it feels like you've been rejecting me more and more."

Lynn started the car and smiled. "I'm at that age now. Men have to focus on their careers. I can't live as freely and lazily as I used to."

Erin curled her lips and turned her head away. "No. You're only doing something you like. That's all. If this job made you suffer, you'd be the first one to run away!"

"Hahaha, you really do understand me. Yes, I'm enjoying this job very much."

...

On the morning of February 5, the weather in Swansea no longer required an overcoat.

Lynn came to the club dressed neatly in a suit.

He arrived at his office early. Since there was a match tonight, the morning training session would start late, allowing the players to rest properly at home.

Around 9:30 in the morning, there was a knock at the office door.

Lynn walked over lightly to open it, his steps revealing his good mood.

After opening the door, he saw Tony Benn and Cristiano Ronaldo's family of three, just as expected. Cristiano Ronaldo's parents had come all the way from their hometown in Portugal.

Cristiano Ronaldo was much stronger than he had been half a year ago, and he had grown a little taller too. Today, he had specifically put on the suit the club had tailored for him. He had also tidied his curly hair and styled it in a fashionable way.

After entering, he said solemnly to Lynn, "Boss."

Lynn nodded to him with a smile and patted his shoulder. Then he reached out to shake hands with Cristiano Ronaldo's father and mother.

"Welcome. Thank you for coming to witness a moment of great significance for Cristiano."

Cristiano Ronaldo's parents smiled, though they also seemed a little nervous.

Today was Cristiano Ronaldo's sixteenth birthday.

Lynn first walked to his desk and gave him the gift he had bought the day before.

"Open it and take a look."

Cristiano Ronaldo lowered his head and opened the gift box. Inside was a refined yet sporty Chopard watch. This Chopard racing-series sports watch looked very good on Cristiano Ronaldo's wrist, though it also made him look mature earlier than expected.

Cristiano Ronaldo raised his arm and examined it himself. A faint smile appeared on his face as he said to Lynn, "Thank you, Boss. I like it very much."

"As long as you like it. Come on, this is also for you. A Parker pen. You'll use this pen to sign the first professional contract of your life with me. After signing the contract, take this pen home and keep it. One day, when you see this pen again, you'll feel that it holds great meaning."

As Lynn spoke, he handed a brand-new Parker pen to Cristiano Ronaldo.

Lynn's family had many pens like this, given by some of Lin Jiajie's business partners.

After taking the pen, Cristiano Ronaldo pressed his lips together and kept smiling.

Tony Benn placed the contract on the desk. A copy of the contract had already been sent to Cristiano Ronaldo's parents several days ago for review. They had consulted a lawyer to ensure there were no unreasonable clauses before accompanying Cristiano Ronaldo here today to sign it.

If there was anything unreasonable about this contract, then it was unreasonable toward Swansea.

Because once Cristiano Ronaldo signed his name and the contract came into effect, Cristiano Ronaldo would receive a £2 million signing fee!

Just as Lynn had promised Cristiano Ronaldo's family more than half a year ago.

Cristiano Ronaldo's parents had previously worried that Lynn might go back on his word, but this young man had kept his promise, without even bargaining.

In truth, even if Lynn had reduced the signing fee by £500,000 or £1 million, Cristiano Ronaldo would still have signed. But Lynn kept his word. He would not haggle over every little thing when dealing with one of his own people.

When Cristiano Ronaldo smiled and signed his name on the contract, Tony Benn picked up a camera and took a photo of them inside Lynn's office, commemorating what Lynn called a historic moment.

After the signing ceremony was completed, Lynn put an arm around Cristiano Ronaldo's shoulders, which were not yet especially broad, and asked, "Do you have a birthday wish?"

Cristiano Ronaldo lowered his head and stayed silent for a moment. Then he suddenly raised his head and looked firmly at Lynn.

"Yes! Boss, I want to play. A real match. That is my wish."

From the day he arrived at Swansea, Cristiano Ronaldo had trained hard in the corner of the first team. He had lived almost like an ascetic.

Training ground, apartment.

Almost every day repeated the same two-point routine.

If there was anything else in his life, it was the private tutor Swansea had hired for him to help him learn English and some basic knowledge.

He almost never went out with his teammates, because he was the youngest player in the squad.

There were barely any people in the youth team. Most of them were seventeen or eighteen. Those players would go out together after training every day, but Cristiano Ronaldo did not mix with them. At first, it was because he was unfamiliar with them. Later, through observation, he realized he was simply not from the same world as those players.

Fortunately, Lynn had placed Cristiano Ronaldo in first-team training, while his matches were played with the reserve team.

There were not many reserve teams around, and because of geographical factors, Swansea's reserves currently played against reserve sides from the Welsh Premier League in order to save costs.

If they played against English reserve teams, the travel would consume manpower and resources, and it would not be good for the players either.

Cristiano Ronaldo was the top scorer in the reserve league.

Unfortunately, because he was playing against Welsh reserve sides, there was no attention on him at all. No one knew how different this not-yet-sixteen-year-old was on the pitch.

Today, he was sixteen.

He had signed the first professional contract of his life.

Cristiano Ronaldo wanted to play. He no longer wanted to compete with those older boys who felt more like amateurs. That had already made him lose interest, even feel tired of it.

Lynn did not think for too long before saying to him, "All right. You'll be in the matchday squad tonight as a substitute. I'll give you thirty minutes of playing time. Get ready!"

After hearing Lynn's promise, Cristiano Ronaldo revealed an ecstatic expression and nodded firmly.

"Boss, I'm already ready!"

"But you still need to eat three hours before the match, take in enough water, and warm up properly. You need to arrange your time well today."

"Okay. I'll go to the dressing room in a moment, change, and get ready to join the morning training."

Originally, Lynn had planned to give Cristiano Ronaldo the day off so he could celebrate his birthday with his family. But since Cristiano Ronaldo had made this request, and after Lynn considered it, he felt he could satisfy him. Since that was the case, he would not be stingy.

He said to Cristiano Ronaldo's parents, "Please stay in Swansea for a few more days. Have a look around the area. Treat it as a short holiday. I've already arranged accommodation for you, so please don't refuse."

Seeing Lynn's warm sincerity, the parents agreed to stay in Swansea for a few more days.

The accommodation he had arranged for them was Mo Yuan's holiday estate by the sea.

When he saw them out, Lynn flipped several cards in his right hand. His movement was natural as he placed his hand on Cristiano Ronaldo's back, and the cards instantly merged into Cristiano Ronaldo's body.

Since the Welsh derby, Lynn had not used any of the system points he had accumulated, because he had been waiting for this day as well.

Cristiano Ronaldo was sixteen now. After signing with the club, it meant that for at least the next five years, Cristiano Ronaldo would be Swansea's player. Lynn could now focus on developing him boldly and without worry.

Out of twenty-two points, he directly exchanged five cards for Cristiano Ronaldo.

One-Touch Passing.

Outside of the Foot.

Super Sub.

Sensitive Touch.

Double Touch.

Five cards were used on Cristiano Ronaldo all at once!

There were also two other cards, One-Touch Passing and Sensitive Touch, which he had used on Charisteas yesterday.

Lynn smiled as he sent Cristiano Ronaldo's family of three out the door.

Then he walked to the window of his office and looked down at Swansea's training ground.

In history, when Cristiano Ronaldo was eighteen, he was still a flashy kid who only knew how to showboat.

But Lynn was confident that under his careful coaching and the influence of the cards, by the time Cristiano Ronaldo turned eighteen, he would not simply be a talent bursting onto the scene.

He would be a beast shaking the whole of European football!