"How did it go?"
In the president's office at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in Madrid.
As soon as Florentino hung up the phone, Zidane, Butragueño, Valdano, and Manuel Redondo stepped forward and looked at the Real Madrid president with concern.
Recently, Florentino had clearly aged. He was under immense pressure.
At this moment, the president wore a helpless expression. He sighed heavily and shook his head. "He turned me down."
The four others were stunned!
Who was Florentino?
Everyone in European football knew his capability and decisiveness. He rarely acted impulsively, but when he did, he could even convince the biggest stars.
And now, Gao Shen had turned him down.
After Florentino briefly recounted his phone conversation with Gao Shen, Zidane and the others immediately understood. In fact, they had vaguely anticipated this outcome.
Gao Shen had always valued emotion and loyalty. Those who knew him well understood that, with the way Manchester City treated him, he would not leave easily.
So it wasn't surprising that Florentino had been rejected.
Still, even with mental preparation, it was hard not to feel a bit disappointed now that it had actually happened.
"What do we do now?" Valdano looked at Florentino.
The Real Madrid president sat down in the chair behind his desk, took off his glasses, placed them on the table, and rubbed his tired eyes. It was clear he was mentally and physically exhausted, bearing the full weight of the crisis.
This made Valdano and the others hesitate to push him.
"I really regret it," Florentino said suddenly.
Valdano, Zidane, and the others all looked at him in surprise.
"If I had shown him enough respect back then, Gao Shen wouldn't have chosen Manchester City. Then none of what we're facing now might have happened. We might even have overtaken Barcelona."
Florentino's voice sounded aged, filled with deep regret.
No one could deny that this was a very real possibility.
Just look at the team Gao Shen had built at Manchester City.
A huge sum of money had been spent, but that team was now the most valuable in the world. Suarez had only cost 15 million euros, yet he had finished second in the European Player of the Year vote, even ahead of Ronaldo.
Some media outlets had long evaluated Manchester City's transfer activity, noting that although Gao Shen had been mocked for spending 400 million euros, if one calculated the current market value of the team, it had already surpassed 800 million euros—ranking first in the world.
In other words, in just over two years, the value of Manchester City's squad had doubled.
Because in reality, Gao Shen hadn't even spent the full 400 million. Surely Mark Hughes' prior investments shouldn't all count against him?
More importantly, that figure was only temporary. Given the age and potential of Manchester City's players, their total value could eventually exceed one billion euros.
Take Gareth Bale, for instance. His current value was at least 70 million euros.
Player value aside, how many titles had Gao Shen already brought to Manchester City over the past two seasons?
Was that just a coincidence?
Absolutely not!
Gao Shen had already done the same thing at Napoli.
More than two years had passed since his departure, but that Serie A team was still able to sell over 200 million euros worth of players this summer—all from the foundation Gao Shen had left behind.
Despite selling so many, the current core remained: Hamsik, Nainggolan, Verratti, Callejón, Mertens—still the same group from Gao Shen's time.
Media and fans might have forgotten Gao Shen's impact at Napoli, but in European football circles, with time, his brilliance had become even more evident.
Especially this past summer, Napoli offloaded another wave of players yet remained competitive at the top of Serie A. It all stemmed from Gao Shen's original work.
Did Florentino regret it?
He regretted it so much.
And not just him—the Bayern Munich board had been openly saying how much they regretted not hiring Gao Shen.
It was also said that Chelsea owner Abramovich was so harsh with Ancelotti because he regretted choosing him instead of hiring Gao Shen. His frustration got taken out on Ancelotti.
Now, the moment of choice had come again.
"Jorge, if Mourinho stays, what are the chances we qualify from the group?" Florentino suddenly asked.
Valdano thought deeply before shaking his head. "Hard to say. The locker room is in disarray, full of conflict. Many issues that were previously suppressed have now surfaced. It's a huge mess."
Some problems don't seem serious until you actually weigh them. Once you do, they can become overwhelming.
That was exactly Real Madrid's current problem.
Mourinho's handling had exposed many things that should have remained hidden. Even worse, the media and fans were latching onto it, scrutinizing the players and the dressing room.
Now, nobody in the locker room felt safe. Everyone was on edge.
Casillas was in a particularly difficult situation.
Even if he reconciled with Mourinho, many Real Madrid fans would still see him as a traitor.
That label couldn't be erased in the short term. It would take a long time to slowly fade.
Casillas understood this very well, which is why his attitude had become so firm.
He had played his whole career for Real Madrid. He could have retired here as both club and national team captain, becoming even more legendary than Raúl or Hierro.
After all, in terms of titles, both with the club and country, his achievements surpassed theirs.
As captain, he aimed to become a legend—maybe even the greatest in Spanish football history.
But now, it was all gone!
Who could accept that?
The Casillas incident was destined to become a turning point in both Real Madrid's and Spanish football's history.
Inside the dressing room, many players were distancing themselves from Mourinho, but nobody dared speak up.
Maybe they didn't dare. Maybe they didn't want to. Maybe they just couldn't.
There was no doubt that changing coaches was the fastest way to solve the current crisis. But the risk was enormous.
Keeping Mourinho carried its own risks too.
Right now, Real Madrid was like a damaged ship adrift on the Atlantic, tossed by waves. No one knew what could happen next.
"Florentino, I must remind you, this is an extremely risky move," Valdano warned.
Though he was close to Gao Shen, he had to acknowledge that if Florentino waited without a firm commitment from Gao Shen, he might pay a heavy price.
He could even lose his presidency.
If Florentino were forced to resign again, there would be no coming back.
"Yes, Florentino," Zidane agreed. "I heard Mubarak and Gary Cook from Manchester City are in talks, trying to negotiate leniency with the Premier League board."
"If we keep Mourinho now, and Gao Shen stays at Manchester City next summer, and our results are a disaster, it will be catastrophic."
Florentino looked at the two men in front of him with some surprise, then suddenly laughed. "You've both been staunch supporters of Gao Shen becoming Real Madrid coach. Why are you trying to talk me out of it now?"
Valdano and Zidane exchanged looks, smiling bitterly.
They were close to Gao Shen, but they were also Real Madrid executives.
At a time like this, it was their duty to offer professional advice.
Yet even now, Zidane and Valdano had different views on Mourinho.
Zidane insisted he should be fired and all bridges burned. Valdano was more cautious, worried about provoking the Portuguese camp and the players who supported Mourinho.
Both had their own reasons and concerns.
It could only be said that in the current situation, Real Madrid had no guaranteed path to success.
Florentino slowly reached out and picked up his glasses from the table.
Manuel Redondo immediately stepped forward and handed him a cleaning cloth.
He began wiping them slowly, thoroughly cleaning each part, from the lenses to the temples.
Then, he put them back on.
"In 2009, you all advised me against it, but I didn't listen and made a huge mistake. Looking back, that was the worst decision I've ever made as president. We missed a perfect opportunity to revive Real Madrid."
"Thinking about it now, I really regret it."
As he said this, Florentino stood up.
"Now, things have reached a point where we have to choose. This time, I'll make the decision again. And I still won't listen to you."
"You all know that I've always believed in never relying too heavily on any one person or role when managing an institution. It's irrational. But this time, I'm willing to give it a shot."
"Gao Shen is the first person who has ever made me feel that he was born to manage Real Madrid. I've felt that way since 2006. It's been five or six years since then, and after everything, I've realized I may have gone down the wrong path."
"So I want to go back to 2006."
"Give Gao Shen a chance. Give Real Madrid a chance. And give myself a chance."
As he said this, Florentino narrowed his eyes slightly, his sharp gaze sweeping over the four men in the room.
"From this moment on, everything said here today stays between the five of us. Understood?"
Zidane, Valdano, and the others immediately nodded.
"Tomorrow, I will summon Mourinho and Casillas to have a proper talk. I hope they can both prioritize the bigger picture."
With that, Florentino waved his hand to adjourn the meeting.
"That's all."
(To be continued.)