Football Dynasty

Chapter 123: You’re Fired!

From the meeting just now, it was clear to everyone that Richard, the current owner, meant business. The situation echoed the time when he fired the entire scouting department—he wasn’t playing around.

Firing the entire physio team? Was he out of his mind? What would happen if a player got injured?

John, who walked behind Richard, couldn’t help but question the decision. After all, for a football club, the pillars of the sporting department are the coaching staff, scouting, medical, and the academy.

So, someone with experience in football certainly couldn’t comprehend what Richard aimed to achieve by firing the entire physio team.

"Richard, I get it—you’ve already fired the entire coaching staff and the previous scouting department. But now, the physio team? Are you crazy? What happens when a player gets injured? Don’t tell me we’re supposed to take every injured player to the hospital."

"Isn’t it better?"

That was all Richard said to counter his questioning, leaving John speechless.

The injury rate among football players is high, and predicting specific injuries is challenging. In many ways, football has advanced medically, increasing awareness of terms like meniscus, metatarsals, peroneus brevis, and cruciate ligaments.

The sheer volume of injury-related terminology can be overwhelming, even for something as comprehensive as the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Richard opened the document, selected five of them, and placed them in front of John.

"These are the background checks for the five physiotherapists at City, including the head and his assistant. Two are licensed doctors, and the other three are former fitness coaches. So, if I ask you—when a player gets injured, like Paul Lake, would you trust his recovery to a fitness coach instead of professionals with medical expertise?"

In 1990s, many clubs still operated with relatively basic medical equipment. Physiotherapists primarily relied on manual techniques such as massage, stretching, ice baths, and bandages to treat injuries.

It’s the same with personnel—why would the current City squad only have five physios, with three of them being former fitness coaches and not medical doctors?

It’s because football clubs at the time had more generalized medical staff, where one or two physiotherapists treated players, while others focused on immediate treatment during and after matches.

This approach was less structured, and physiotherapists didn’t have the specialized roles or advanced skills seen in modern sports medicine.

Rest and basic treatments like ice packs, bandages, and heat were the most common forms of injury recovery. But for specific injuries like ACL tears, dislocated joints, and fractures, further medical assistance was often needed.

"..."

John was left speechless.

Even with physiotherapists on staff, injuries may not always be treated properly or in a timely manner, leading to extended recovery times or even more severe long-term damage.

For Richard, the current state of City’s medical department could be summarized as follows: a lack of preventative care, insufficient expertise in medical emergencies, and a less structured approach to injury prevention.

Paul Lake’s injury is the prime example.

Had they been providing tailored treatment plans based on his specific needs, perhaps Paul’s injury would not have worsened to this extent, potentially jeopardizing his career.

Richard spread his hands and stated matter-of-factly, "See? This is exactly my point. We must expand the medical department to avoid misdiagnoses and improper treatments in the future, ensuring the health of our players. Therefore, I plan to build a medical center step by step, eventually evolving it into a specialized hospital dedicated to catering to Manchester City."

"What?! But the budget—" John interjected, clearly surprised by Richard’s proposal. He felt that suggesting the club should build a hospital was a bit extreme.

Richard turned and looked at John, his tone calm but firm. "John, do you know how much a star player could cost in the future?"

John shook his head, unsure.

"I’ll tell you," Richard continued. "Ten million is just a standard transfer fee for a regular player. True stars? They’ll go for anywhere between thirty and sixty million. So, this isn’t just about the medical department. From a business perspective, if a player suffers a career-ending injury, we’re looking at a loss of millions. If multiple players fall to injuries, it becomes an astronomical figure. Keep any doubts about player value to yourself—time will prove me right."

"..."

That’s when John suddenly brought up the keyword ’budget,’ causing Richard’s eyebrow to twitch.

"Alright, enough with the medical discussion. Now tell me, how has Rivaldo already reached a verbal agreement with PSV? What have you been doing?!"

His plan to bring in the trio—Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, and Rivaldo—was in shambles, thanks to the guy in front of him.

Originally, his plan was simple: let the trio "R" take care of City’s front and then sell them for a high price after the 2002 World Cup. How much money could he rake from that?

John remained calm as he answered Richard’s question. "You said before that you’d handle Patrick Vieira’s transfer. But our current transfer budget isn’t enough to—"

"Didn’t I approve you to allow such a transfer?" Richard cut in sharply.

John hesitated. "But usually, under Lee’s management, I was the one who handled those kinds of—"

Richard raised his hand abruptly, clearly frustrated. He was tired of John hiding behind Francis Lee’s management style to making decisions on his own.

"Am I Francis Lee to you?" Richard’s voice was low but sharp.

"..."

"What was my instruction to you before? Take care of Vieira’s transfer, right?" Richard pressed on. "Now, tell me, how far along is the transfer? What progress have you made?"

John frowned, hearing the urgency in Richard’s tone, but he still tried to explain. "Well, after I get the fee from Rivaldo, I can raise the funds to meet As Cannes’ asking price for Vieira—"

"Are you sure about that?"

"What do you mean?"

Richard took a deep breath. "Do you know that Berlusconi approached Vieira before you even made your first move? While you were busy negotiating Rivaldo’s transfer behind my back, Vieira was already halfway to signing with AC Milan."

John stood frozen, completely dumbfounded.

"That’s impossible, I already—" he stopped mid-sentence and instinctively reached for his phone, intending to call AS Cannes, but Richard waved his hand dismissively.

"There’s no point. How do you expect to compete with AC Milan now? Even if you offer him a bonus, there’s no way Vieira will change his mind—especially not when Berlusconi himself got involved directly."

John stared at him, still processing. "How did you find out about this? There hasn’t even been any news yet..."

Richard cast him a brief, sideways glance. "His mother told me."

John shut his mouth instantly, realizing he was completely out of his depth.

Richard let out a long sigh, picked up his phone, and dialed—this time, calling Rivaldo directly.

The phone rang twice before the line clicked.

"..."

"Rivaldo, it’s Richard."

A brief silence followed. Then came Rivaldo’s voice—calm, respectful, but distant. "Yes, Mr. Richard."

"I’ll get straight to the point," Richard said, leaning forward. "I heard about you and PSV. But I want you here at Manchester. We’re building something big next season. You and Ronaldo—we’ll build the team around you both. You won’t just be a star. You’ll be the foundation."

Another pause. A longer one.

"You haven’t signed anything yet, have you?"

"No," Rivaldo replied. "But where I come from, a promise is as good as a contract. And Mr. Richard..." Rivaldo hesitated for a moment before saying what was on his mind. "I’m getting older, and with how City is performing right now, I’m not confident the club can compete at the top level anytime soon."

’You’re still 22, for god’s sake! Can’t you come up with a better excuse than that?’

"..."

Richard took a deep breath. He didn’t respond. Instead, he quietly ended the call, his expression unreadable, then dialed again—this time, Vieira.

The line picked up quickly.

"I’m sorry—I’m really sorry!" Vieira said before Richard could even speak. "I just signed the contract with them. They’ll probably announce it tomorrow."

Richard slowly set the phone down.

Sometimes your investment pays off, and sometimes it doesn’t. Even if you’ve approached the player’s family, at the end of the day, football is all about the relationship you build with the player. If it fails, then somewhere along the line, there was an external factor that caused it to fall through.

Admit it and move on—but first, you need to remove those external factors

Across the room, John stood frozen, wide-eyed, as the weight of the moment sank in.

He hadn’t expected AC Milan to move so quickly—swooping in and snatching up Vieira while he was still busy finalizing Rivaldo’s transfer to PSV!

"Two, John..." Richard could barely get the words out before his voice rose in frustration. "TWO! You just lost two players—players I personally recruited and watched develop!"

How much had he lost in value? Ten million? Twenty?

He had just lost two future stars—talents he knew would rise to the top and could’ve been sold for a massive profit. The thought of it all made Richard’s blood boil.

"Get out."

"...What?"

"I said get out. Don’t come back here again. Go, get your payout from Miss Heysen and be thankful I even gave you that. Consider it a gesture for your so-called contribution—like selling fucking Rivaldo behind my back!"

"W-wait, I didn’t mean to—"

"I don’t give a damn anymore. Just go. When you sabotage my players and my club, your position is already gone, John. There’s nothing left to discuss. Just leave."

"I—" He wanted to say something, but no words came out. With a heavy sigh, he turned around—until Richard stopped him.

"Wait—"

John felt a flicker of hope, hoping for another chance... but then he saw Richard pull out a document from his drawer and hand it to him.

"Let’s skip the handover process and public statement. You don’t need to come in today, tomorrow, or ever again."

"..."