"Oh, you can see me? I thought I was invisible!" Messi said with a smile, appearing very relaxed.
The other people seated in the room at this moment all wore expressions of embarrassment.
Seeing this, they could only try their best to smooth things over.
"Didn't you two come together? We don't have much time when two people come at once. If you both speak, it will inevitably get chaotic. So, let's follow a sequence, with priority given to those who arrive first, and clarify things one by one. There are no real issues, right?"
"Is there really a sequence? Are you sure? We clearly came together."
"No, no, no, we're going by... height order, no, no..." The executive stammered for a moment.
"Alright, skip that, let's get straight to the terms," Messi stated concisely.
The executives looked left and right, pondering hesitantly. A few seconds passed.
At this moment, they were contemplating various realities and possibilities. Cao Baming was now definitively not going to stay. They needed to quickly devise a solution for the team. Messi absolutely could not leave too!
"You... you don't have any thoughts of leaving, do you?" the executive asked proactively, looking at Messi with curiosity, clearly hoping for a negative answer.
Cao Baming was standing nearby, watching this unfold with his own eyes and not saying a word, but inwardly, he was already smiling in advance.
You've gone this far, and you're still hoping he'll stay? Truly shameless. Do you want to be the team's... owner? Is shamelessness the most basic qualification?
After carefully listening to his explanation, Messi immediately gave a positive reply.
"You're right, I do have thoughts of leaving. And that plan we discussed earlier, you said..."
"You're talking about the salary reduction, right? Oh, that was all a misunderstanding. There were disagreements among the team's upper management at the time. We've completely resolved that disagreement now. We won't cut your salary; we might even increase it. Can we talk things through properly?"
Upon hearing the words "increase salary" from the executive, Cao Baming could no longer suppress his laughter. Maintaining his composure would be too much of a stretch now.
Isn't this all to save face for these people? They've already said so much.
It was precisely because Cao Baming was there before that Messi didn't seem as important. But now, the team is in a crisis, and if Messi leaves too, everything will spiral out of control. That's why they're saying all these nice words now.
However, it was all over. Messi rejected all the benefits, and externally, his decision was now even firmer than before he arrived.
No matter how enticing the conditions offered were, they were useless. Moreover, just moments ago, he had a prime example right beside him: Cao Baming had also listened to a series of tempting offers from these people and rejected them. If he were to stay for these conditions now, wouldn't he lose too much face?
Messi's unexpected rejection surprised everyone. The team now faced a monumental reality: the two core players in this room were about to leave the team simultaneously.
This was devastating news, striking the Arsenal club like a bolt from the blue. If this news were to reach the outside world, it would undoubtedly cause an explosion of nuclear proportions.
Just then, Arteta walked into the room. However, at this point, the situation was irreversible, and he had no power to change it.
Arteta let out a long sigh. In his heart, he felt that Arsenal's winter had arrived; it was an irreversible situation.
Yet, the expressions of both players were resolute, and their tones were even more so. It was virtually impossible to sway their minds. Arteta understood this better than anyone else in the room because he knew their personalities best.
There was no other way now; they could only accept the current outcome.
Time passed by almost two hours without anyone noticing. Despite preparing so much material and rhetoric, it was all in vain. Both of them were leaving now, a scenario they had never envisioned before, and one that was far worse than any outcome they had imagined.
As he was leaving, Messi explained the truth to the others in the room. He hadn't been entirely decided on leaving when he arrived, but their attitude had solidified his decision, strengthening his resolve.
He said these words for no other reason than to make them feel even worse.
If you want both fish and bear paws, the only outcome you'll get in the end is neither.
At this moment, they finally realized the truth of the situation. But it was too late to regret it.
Cao Baming walked out of the room lightheartedly. This matter was not a big deal for him at all. Although he was leaving his old team, he was now a free agent, and finding a new team would be his next consideration.
As for Messi's situation, it was entirely consistent with Cao Baming's. However, the possibility of both of them transferring to the same team was extremely low. After all, even super-rich clubs like Real Madrid, Manchester City, or Paris Saint-Germain wouldn't have enough funds to sign these two superstars at once.
Moreover, Cao Baming already had a vague idea in mind: to find a weaker team and join it. As for transfer fees and salaries, he didn't need to consider them at all. They could offer as little as they wanted, because Cao Baming was not short of money at all.
All of this was for the team to be able to afford him. After all, it wasn't easy for a weaker team to afford him.
Mike had been busy with this matter for the past few days. As Cao Baming's agent, this was his job: to negotiate with the teams Cao Baming had his eye on and find suitable options.
The scope of selection had now narrowed down to fewer than ten teams, all of which met Cao Baming's previously set expectations.