When the door opened, the woman named Kaili appeared directly in front of it.
She was the only one among the group not wearing a suit, instead opting for a very elegant coat. The collar of the coat was deliberately pulled very low, revealing pure white lace trim.
The buttons on her blouse were also deliberately left undone, with two fewer fastened than usual. Her presence today, it seemed, was solely to knock on the door and then appear before Cao Baming as their representative.
This woman was indeed quite beautiful. Compared to most beauties, her face could be considered of an absolutely high caliber. However, her figure was slightly lacking, still a bit behind Wu Xue.
"Hello, we are from Nottingham Forest Football Club..." the woman initiated the greeting.
Cao Baming was about to invite them into the room to talk, but what happened next left him somewhat stunned.
After they had spoken a few words, these individuals straightened up in unison, bowing and expressing their respect. This included not only the head coach of Nottingham Forest, Steve Cooper, but also the club's top leader, Johnsen!
Although Cao Baming did not recognize who each of these people were, he understood that these were the individuals with the highest official positions in the Nottingham Forest club. They had come all the way to his residence to discuss matters and had bowed in unison as soon as the door opened. This was going too far, wasn't it!
This indeed made the top leaders feel a bit embarrassed. However, such a situation had thoroughly exceeded everyone's expectations.
A top superstar like Cao Baming was actually extending an olive branch to their home team, and even taking such proactive action.
If such a great treasure were to be lost, it would be a terrible shame. Therefore, no matter what, they had to hold onto it tightly at this moment. They could not let this opportunity slip through their fingers. This was their thinking.
They had to make Cao Baming feel their sincere intention. Not only did they want to express this sincerity to the utmost, but they also wanted to go even further. Hence, this situation had unfolded.
Even as they performed these actions, they felt a deep sense of awkwardness within themselves. But for the sake of having Cao Baming join their team, it was all worth it.
On their way, they had already been envisioning the scenario. If Cao Baming were to be the core of the team in the new season, there would be no need to worry about relegation battles in the league standings. They might even be able to contend for the league championship!
Just thinking about this made all of them extremely excited. At this moment, only the sufficiently high-ranking officials within the club knew about this matter, and these few were considered the most central figures among them.
This was the pinnacle of the top five leagues. A Premier League championship—how could they have ever imagined their club having a chance to win the championship before? It was something they had never considered.
But now, everything might be different. Everything would become completely different with Cao Baming's arrival.
Considering this possibility, how could they possibly care about face? In the face of such a bright future, what was face? What was money? It all became unimportant.
Because Mike had personally guaranteed that Cao Baming would not demand excessive salary upon joining the team. Although the specific figures had not yet been negotiated, they were confident that it was a price they could afford.
Even now, they still couldn't quite understand why Mike would say such a thing, or why Cao Baming would have such an idea, rejecting overtures from so many world-class teams to come to their seemingly unremarkable Nottingham Forest club.
Whether they understood or not, since such a good thing had happened, they certainly wouldn't ignore it.
At Cao Baming's invitation, the club's top brass entered the room. The subsequent negotiation content would be closely related to the team's signing and transfer matters.
Upon learning that Cao Baming's true intention was to showcase his greater strength within the team, everyone present felt a sense of heartfelt admiration. In fact, throughout history, they could only recall Maradona as a similar example.
And now, with Cao Baming, they felt that Cao Baming's strength seemed truly comparable to Maradona's back then. Recalling this now, it felt exceptionally plausible.
Cao Baming's straightforwardness was something none of them had anticipated. At this moment, Mike also arrived on the scene.
The negotiation finally reached the crucial aspects of salary and future planning. Cao Baming himself was not particularly concerned about these matters, but as the high-ranking officials of Nottingham Forest, they cared deeply.
Upon entering the room, Mike immediately took out a portable notebook and joined the discussion.
As a professional manager, he immediately posed several very critical questions, which made the subject matter much clearer.
When discussing remuneration, Cao Baming naturally understood that a club consistently ranking at the bottom of the Premier League could not possibly afford excessively high fees due to its scale and volume.
If they were to continue demanding the same salary standards as before, they would likely not be able to afford it even if they sold off all the other twenty-odd players and the coaching staff!
Therefore, there would naturally be a discount. Just as Mike had promised earlier, they would certainly offer a price that the club could afford and that would satisfy them.
At this moment, Mike paused his speech, intending to leave the final figure for Cao Baming to decide personally. Simultaneously, everyone in the room turned their gaze towards him.
Cao Baming pondered for two seconds. Their eyes all held a sense of expectation, but at the same time, there was anxiety, as they were unsure if they could truly accept the figure Cao Baming was about to announce.
They had already accumulated so much hope during their previous conversations with Mike. If this hope were to be extinguished by a basin of cold water now, it would be a truly terrifying feeling.