When Gao Shen arrived at the Naples headquarters office, De Laurentiis and Marino were already waiting for him in the feren.

  Both men looked anxious, and when Gao Shen knocked aered, they seemed to find their bae immediately.

  Befao Shen's arrival, De Laurentiis had been the undisputed boss of Napoli. But since Gao Shen's arrival, his authority over football decisions had diminished signifitly, especially after st season's exceptional record.

  "The test update is that Arsenal has raised their offer to 10 million euros," Maried as soon as Gao Shen sat down.

  Napoli had already rejected three offers from Arsenal, but it was clear that the Gunners were serious aermined.

  "Wenger is dead set on poag from me," Gao Shen said with a bitter smile. He couldn't uand why Wenger seemed to have such a vea against him. Was it because he had robbed him of a Champions League runner-up spot?

  "You mentioned Gervinho called you?" De Laurentiis asked, his obvious.

  Gao Shen nodded, "Yes, he told me he wants to leave and hopes I will agree to let him go."

  De Laurentiis' face darkened, and he immediately cursed under his breath, clearly annoyed. He felt Gervinho was being disloyal.

  The club had already promised Gervinho a pay raise, even though it couldn't match Arsenal's offer. But this?

  "Holy, I uand him," Gao Shen said calmly.

  De Laurentiis and Marino looked surprised.

  Uand him? Was Gao Shen pnning to let Gervinho go?

  The two men exged gnces, unsure of how to interpret Gao Shen's words.

  "He said he didn't like the enviro in Italian football and wao go to Arsenal. I didn't say yes, but I told him I'd sider it."

  De Laurentiis was still visibly upset. Over the past year, due to Napoli's success and Gervinho's own impressive performahe Ivorian had bee a target of racial abuse from rival fans, something that was unfortunately all too on in Italy.

  Just like Gao Shen, who faced insults and derogatory ents at almost every match, racial discrimination was an ongoing issue in Italian football. The Italian Football Association often turned a blio it.

  Punish offenders? How? Punish the whole try? Even Napoli's own fans might get caught in the crossfire.

  As much as it hurt, in many cases, tolerance was the only viable solution.

  "What's your stan this now, Gao?" Marino asked cautiously.

  Gao Shen nodded firmly, "Let him go."

  He had already made up his mind on the pne ride back to Naples.

  There was no point in keeping a pyer who wao leave. Di Maria could repce Gervinho; this had been part of Gao Shen's pns for some time.

  While Gervinho was undeniably talented, his physical limitations made him less suited to the rigorous demands Gao Shen required of his pyers.

  "He was one of our best performers st season," Marino reminded him, trying to emphasize the weight of the decision.

  "Exactly," Gao Shen replied, his tone resolute. "Which is why, even if we do sell him, we 't just give him away. Otherwise, other teams will see us as an easy target, and they'll all rush in to raid our squad. We 't allow that."

  There was a real risk that if other clubs sensed Napoli's vulnerability, they would start aggressively pursuing their pyers.

  It was like trying to guard against thieves you 't protect against them forever, but you make it expensive for them.

  "If we let teams pick off two or three pyers easily, Napoli will fall apart. Everything we've built over the past year will be for nothing."

  Gao Shen's words carried the weight of vi. He was determio ensure Napoli would not be seen as a mere supermarket for Europe's elite clubs.

  "Well said!" De Laurentiis praised. "If they want our pyers, they should pay dearly for it."

  "What about rept options?" Marino asked, still ed.

  If Gervinho left, Napoli would be left with Di Maria, Sanchez, Callejon, aens on the wings. While promising, this still left the squad a bit thin.

  Gao Shen had already anticipated this.

  "tact Vilrreal in La Liga. They have a pyer named Antonio Valencia from Ecuador. He was on loan at Wigan in the Premier League st season. Wigan is iating to extend his loan. But I want you to buy him. The estimated price should be around 1.5 million euros."

  Antonio Valencia—Maer United fans knew him well.

  Although troversial, his loyalty and itment to Maer United were beyond question. However, opinions on his abilities were more divided.

  Fergusht Valencia in to repce Cristiano Ronaldo, a task that was almost impossible.

  Valencia had incredible speed, simir to Ronaldo in his prime. But while Ronaldo had dazzling footwork and could cut ih ease, Valencia was more straightforward. He preferred crossing the ball from wide positions and rarely cut inside due to his weaker left foot.

  Yet, despite these limitations, he had the ability to beat defeime and time again.

  The same had been said about Arjen Robben, another one-footed winger: everyone knew where Robben was going, but no one could stop him. (Fr Fr)

  There was even a saying in football that had stuck with Gao Shen: "If Valencia hadn't broken his leg, he'd have been one of Europe's top wingers."

  That was the level Antonio Valencia had been capable of.

  De Laurentiis and Marino had e to expect Gao Shen's etric decisions, but they were still a bit taken aback by this suggestion.

  A pyer who had struggled fame time at Vilrreal, loao Wigan, and barely a regur starter could he really repce Gervinho?

  Sensing their doubts, Gao Shen smiled. "How much did Gervinho cost us?" he asked.

  De Laurentiis g Marino, who hahe transfers. Marino quickly recalled the figure.

  "600,000 euros," Marino replied. It had been a year sihey'd signed him.

  "Look," Gao Shen tinued, "I'm expeg to pay double that for Valencia. If you trusted me to find Gervinho for 600,000, why not trust me with Valencia at 1.5 million?"

  De Laurentiis and Marino exged looks again. They uood what Gao Shen was getting at.

  Gervinho, after all, was now being valued at 10 million euros by Arsenal.

  More than a 10-million-euro price difference.

  If the deal went through, Gao Shen would be entitled to 20% of that profit—2 million euros in his pocket.

  That realization made De Laurentiis' heart ache. The club had borhe costs of Gervinho's development, paid his sary, provided world-css facilities, and now Gao Shen stood to be signifitly.

  De Laurentiis couldn't help but feel a pang ret. Why had he been so generous in agreeing to that cuse in Gao Shen's tract?

  Initially, it had seemed like a fair punishment for any bad decisions. But now, it was turning into a costly arra for the club.

  He tried to suppress his frustration. He knew Gao Shen was ultimately helping the club, and the profits they were geing were still enormous. But splitting 20% of the profits with Gao Shen stung.

  Marino, oher hand, was blissfully unaware of De Laurentiis' internal struggle. He was still excitedly discussing how they could push Wenger and Arsenal to increase their bid even further.

  Gao Shen, De Laurentiis, and Marino tiheir strategy discussions.

  Gao Shen had already secured Gervinho's cooperation. The pyer wouldn't make any moves that would undermihe club's iating position. And the Ivorian winger had agreed not to pressure Napoli publicly.

  With that in mind, the trio devised a pn to further infte Arsenal's offer.

  The day, in an interview with local media in Naples, De Laurentiis casually mentiohat they had received an offer from a Premier League club but had rejected it for being insincere.

  "Chelsea signed Malouda from Lyon for 20 million euros," De Laurentiis noted. "I don't think Gervinho is any worse than Malouda."

  The e shockwaves through Italian football.

  Malouda's value was 20 million euros? Did that mean Gervinho was also worth 20 million?

  De Laurentiis added fuel to the fire, revealing that three Serie A giants had also inquired about Gervinho.

  "I won't say which clubs they are," he teased, "but I firm that they're ied in Gervinho and are in active iations with us."

  After that, De Laurentiis cimed he had already said too mud couldn't reveal any more information.

  Gao Shen chuckled when he read the interview.

  Did De Laurentiis really think he was being subtle?

  Everyone already khe three clubs were Inter Min, Roma, and Juventus. The media had reported on it for weeks.

  All three clubs had expressed i but had balked at Napoli's steep asking price.

  Serie A clubs, after all, didn't have the financial muscle of their Premier League terparts.

  Juventus, for example, had just signed Iaquinta from Udinese for a little over 10 million euros. There was no way they'd spend more than that on Gervinho.

  But the media jumped oory anyway, and soon enough, rumors of Gervinho's rising value spread like wildfire.

  Gao Shen and Napoli had made their high asking priown. Now, they just had to wait for Wenger and Arsenal to e back with a better offer.

  As Gao Sheed, the pressure mounted for Arsenal. Wenger, keen to bolster his squad with the talented Ivorian winger, couldn't afford to let Gervinho slip away. Napoli's firm stan the transfer iations and De Laurentiis' publients had driven the price up, and Arsenal were now in a positiohey had to make a move or risk losing the pyer to another club.

  Fao Shen, this art of the pn. He knew how to py the transfer market, and he uood that patience was a virtue. Arsenal's desperation would soon trao a higher bid, ohat would meet Napoli's expectations and allow the club to profit signifitly from the sale.

  Meanwhile, Gao Shen focused on the rept strategy. Antonio Valencia, the Ecuadorian winger from Vilrreal, was the perfect fit for Napoli's needs. While some doubted his abilities, Gao Shen had no reservations. Valencia's speed and strength on the right wing would provide the team with the attag dynamism they o fill the void left by Gervinho.

  Gao Shen's fiden Valencia's potential stemmed from his deep uanding of the pyer's capabilities. He had seen what Valencia could do, and he believed that with the right guidand development, Valencia could flourish at Napoli, just as Gervinho had.

  Now, all that was left was for Arsenal to meet Napoli's asking price. Gao She was only a matter of time before Wenger caved and raised his offer.

  As he sat bad waited for the deal to unfold, Gao Shen couldn't help but smile. Once again, his strategic thinking and careful pnning were paying off, not only for him but for Napoli as well.

  In the world of football, it wasn't just about talent och, it was about knowing how to navigate the plexities of the game off the pitch, and in that arena, Gao Shen roving himself to be a master.

  ******

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