Half an hour had passed since the meeting began, and Mike noticed Cao Baming's growing impatience, glancing at his expression from the corner of his eye.
Finally, after the business magnate opposite him finished speaking, Cao Baming couldn't help but stand up.
“I understand what you all mean, but I think these words can be dispensed with. Because the club's owner and Mike have already reached a private agreement. It's not impossible to continue the charade and play along with you all, but I'm a bit tired today and want to go back early.”
After Cao Baming finished speaking, the entire room fell silent. No one spoke for a full ten seconds, everyone looking at Cao Baming, who was standing there, with expressions of shock.
But Cao Baming paid them no mind and sat down on his own. He had anticipated that these guys would be surprised and would eventually speak up. He had seen this countless times, too many to count.
Mike himself had informed Cao Baming of the situation, so he knew it in his heart. However, even he couldn't believe that Cao Baming would openly reveal it in full view of everyone.
The agreement with the owner was that if he played along with this act in front of so many business titans, the team's ownership would ultimately be handed over to him. But at this very moment, wasn't this equivalent to breaking faith? Violating the original promise.
Cao Baming had already secured his position. He was completely certain that as the team's owner, no matter what he did today, he couldn't go back on his word.
Since he had gone to such great lengths to gather so many people here today, he must have already made thorough plans and laid the groundwork for everything else. Even if he wanted to renege on this decision now, it would be too late. Most importantly, Mike's bid was the highest among these people.
If necessary, he could even add a few hundred million more, just to see what these guys would say.
After a long period of silence, everyone's gaze shifted from Cao Baming's face to the Manchester United owner, who occupied the most important seat in the conference room. At this moment, he and his assistant both wore expressions of shock. Although he completely understood the meaning of Cao Baming's words, his mind had gone blank.
What this guy said was the absolute truth, and that was the most troublesome thing. This was equivalent to exposing his true colors in public. The owner was incredibly angry at this moment, but he couldn't do anything about it, so he could only maintain a calm demeanor and sit there.
Seeing the people around him constantly throwing glances his way, the owner finally couldn't sit still and began to speak, offering a few perfunctory words.
There might have been other solutions, but he couldn't think of any in such a tight timeframe. Even his assistant next to him had no advice to offer.
“So you were playing us all along? If you had already finalized the deal with someone, what was the point of calling us here today? Explain yourselves clearly, or this matter is not over.”
“What’s the meaning of what you’re doing? Don’t tell me this is real. If you admit this is real, then today’s matter is far from over!”
“You just have a lousy team, don't you? This kind of thing is so common, no one would even pick it up if you threw it on the street. Who are we? We're here to do charity. Who in their right mind would want this junk? Forget it, you guys sort yourselves out, I'm leaving!”
Soon, others in the room began to vent their anger, and some even left. Cao Baming watched all of this, but he wasn't surprised at all, as it was all within his expectations.
The moment he decided to stand up and utter those two sentences, he had already foreseen this scene. It wasn’t just a premonition; he had truly seen it.
The team owner was speechless, because no matter what he said to explain now, his words would only become less credible.
His previous plan had completely fallen apart, and instead, he had been blacklisted by some commercial giants.
At this moment, he looked at Mike, who was sitting next to Cao Baming, with an angry expression, but he couldn't utter a single word. He just glared at him with fierce eyes.
Mike quickly realized the problem and was about to respond. As a professional manager, he was quite adept at handling such situations and had already thought of how to salvage the situation.
But just then, Cao Baming stopped him, preventing Mike from saying what he intended. Instead, Cao Baming stole his lines.
“The previously agreed-upon price can be increased by another 200 million, and the contract deferral period we mentioned will be extended by two years. Is that acceptable? This is to express my apologies. I am truly sorry for what happened today, I didn't want it to be this way.”
Mike had to swallow his words for the time being. After all, the person speaking was his boss, and he couldn't presume to interrupt. It was clear that he wanted him to stay quiet for now.
Several senior executives from Manchester United were present in the room. They knew they probably couldn't afford to offend Cao Baming, so they only dared to look at Mike with fierce glares, but not even a glance at Cao Baming.
Upon hearing what he had just said, everyone became even more perplexed.
“Why? Why are you doing this? Isn't this detrimental to you, to me, and to everyone else? Are you really willing to forfeit so much profit? This is 200 million, this is a two-year contract, this is no joke!”
To these questions, Cao Baming did not show much emotion. Instead, he calmly turned his head.
“Alright, alright, I'll tell you then. I suddenly remembered today is an anniversary, and I need to go to the beach to watch a fireworks display at 4:30. If I'm late, the show might be over!”
Instantly, everyone was stunned.
At Cao Baming's words, Mike almost burst out laughing, but he managed to hold it in, not making any sound, and maintained his composure.
Everyone else in the room was in a state of daze, unable to recover for a long time. They didn't know what to say, only feeling shock.