As they walked back toward the office, OâNeill glanced at Richard with a curious expression.
"Richard, where did you find these players?" he asked, still trying to process what he had just witnessed on the pitch.
"What do you mean?" Richard replied casually, adjusting his jacket.
"I mean the Brazilian kid," OâNeill clarified. "Where did they come from?"
Richard chuckled. "Brazil, obviously."
"No, no," OâNeill pressed. "Iâm asking how you found them. Players like that donât just appear out of nowhere."
Richard stopped, turned around, and simply said, "Did you forget? I used to be a scoutâand an agent. I have my ways of spotting talent before the rest of the world does."
That was all he said. No further explanation, no detailed storyâjust a confident, matter-of-fact statement.
With the scrimmage over, Cityâs pre-season preparations officially kicked off. Richard, having played his part in assembling the squad, handed full control over to OâNeill. From now on, everything was in the managerâs hands.
The pre-season started with an intensive training camp at HMS Raleigh, the Royal Navyâs premier training facility in Cornwall. It was an unconventional choice, but Richard had no other option, as most of their pre-season matches were against non-league clubsâsuch was the reality of Cityâs position in the third tier of English football.
OâNeill also saw the benefits. A few weeks of disciplined, high-intensity training under military conditions could toughen up the squad both physically and mentally, preparing them for the long season ahead.
The first few days were brutal. Early morning runs in the cold coastal air, relentless drills, and exhausting strength training sessions had some players questioning their life choicesâespecially Ronaldo. The coaching staff watched closely, assessing who could handle the pressure of not just the training, but also the conditions they would have to endure in Manchester.
While City was deep into their pre-season preparations, Richard finally made his way back to his office.
Just as he was settling in, his phone rang. It was John, and from his tone, it was clear something urgent had come up. Without wasting any time, Richard hurried to meet him.
"So, whatâs the situation?" Richard asked as he took a seat in his office.
John, already prepared, pulled out a stack of papers and scanned through them before looking up. "Most of our outgoing transfers have been completed, and some are still being negotiated."
"Let me take a look," Richard said, reaching for the documents.
John handed them over, and Richard began reading through them carefully. But as he flipped through the pages, his expression darkened.
He glanced up at John, then back at the papers before finally asking, "Are you serious with these numbers?"
John let out a helpless sigh and nodded.
It was a straightforward document listing the players sold, their positions, the clubs they were joining, and the transfer fees. The problem? The prices were laughably low.
Michel Vonk (LB) â Hearts (Scottish Premier League) â ÂŁ50,000
Paul Walsh (MC) â AIK (Sweden) â ÂŁ55,000
Fitzroy Simpson (MC) â Cheltenham Town (League One) â ÂŁ70,000
Out of all the players on the transfer list, these three received the highest offers, which meant that from all 12 players, the highest offer was only ÂŁ70,000, and that was for just one player, Fitzroy Simpson.
This highlighted how low Cityâs squad value had fallen. Richard knew the team wasnât worth much after two disastrous seasons, but he hadnât expected it to be this bad.
He exhaled sharply and leaned back in his chair, rubbing his temples. "This is ridiculous..."
How much did Swales and Lee pour into signing all these players?
Probably more than ÂŁ7 millionâand yet, we canât even recover 10% of that?
The only sale that was remotely decent was Giorgi Kinkladze, who was sold for ÂŁ5 million but even then, he had originally been bought during Alan Ballâs tenure for ÂŁ7 million, meaning City had already taken a ÂŁ2 million loss on him alone.
Richard let out a frustrated sigh and turned to John. "What happened?"
"Demand," John replied flatly. "There just wasnât any demand for our players."
He continued, shaking his head. "Forget First Divisionâeven Second and Third Division teams werenât interested in players who had been relegated two seasons in a row. Thatâs why I had to look beyond England just to move them. No one on the transfer list you gave me attracted much interest, so for some deals, I had to personally reach out and convince clubs to take them."
Richard frowned. "No demand at all?"
John thought for a moment before answering. "Well, there was some demand, but most of it came from these clubs alone. Our players werenât exactly highly rated to begin with, and with the World Cup just wrapping up, clubs were more focused on signing young, promising talent. The market was filled with better options, so yeah... the fees we got were far from ideal."
"I see..." Richard groaned, rubbing his face. Complaining wouldnât change the situation now.
"How about our current cash flow?" he then asked.
John let out a heavy sigh. "Itâs bad. From your ÂŁ30 million loan, weâve already spent most of itâcovering the short-term loanâs due payments, penalties, expenses, and the financial hit from relegation. On top of that, many of our sponsors pulled out because of our situation."
He paused before continuing, "Right now, we have only ÂŁ9 million left in usable funds... and weâre still carrying a long-term debt of ÂŁ37 million."
Richard leaned back, deep in thought. "What about the sponsors?"
When Manchester City was under the management of the Lee consortium, they made a bold decision to switch their jersey sponsor from Umbro to Kappa, as Umbro was owned by a former vice president of the club.
But now, with the club relegated, Kappa decided to sever ties with City, removing them from their list of partners. This left the club scrambling for a new kit supplier.
As a result, after the sponsorship termination and penalties, the club was left with just three remaining sponsors: Brother International (a printer and electronics company), Cresta (a fruit-flavored sparkling drink brand), and Carlsberg, which still maintained a regional sponsorship deal, though it wasnât a significant one.
"There are also two new offers for sponsorship," John said as he began explaining the details to Richard.
"Walkers wants to be Cityâs shirt sponsor. Theyâre offering a fixed amount of ÂŁ1 million, paid in four installments throughout the season," he continued.
"The second offer is a bit more complex. It comes from a local business, Mancunian Transport, a Manchester-based transportation company. Theyâre offering a fixed amount of ÂŁ500,000," John paused for a moment before continuing. "But theyâre also offering bonuses. Theyâve proposed ÂŁ500,000 if we qualify for the playoffs. Both offers are for two years."
John looked at Richard and added, "What if we get promoted?"
"Well, there hasnât been much talk about it, but if we achieve promotion this year, Mancunian Transport is probably willing to double the sponsorship money for the following season," John replied.
"Two million..." Richard mulled it over.
Originally, he had considered including Rover Groupâs name, but then realized it might not be the most effective choice.
Given that Rover itself was still struggling, the marketing impact wouldnât be ideal. It would be better to wait until Rover was on firmer ground before considering them as a potential sponsor for Manchester City.
"Sign the contract with Mancunian Transport then." Richard confirmed.
The prospect of Mancunian Transport doubling their sponsorship money was generous, and Richard felt confident about securing promotion to the first division.
Though the team hadnât been in action yet, Richard believed the defense was strong enough to withstand attacks from any club. After that, it was all about hoping for the brilliance of Il Fenomenoâs talent to shine through.
âIf it were the first division, it would be a bit more difficult...â
Richard murmured as he mentally ran through the potential scenarios if City were to compete in the first division directly.
âCityâs upcoming season will be tough to predict then, even for Richard. Although the squad had talent, he still needed to see how they would gel together as a team. They had the potential for promotion, but the risk of finishing mid-table was also a real possibility in that caseâ
He was actually very fortunate to start in the third tier. Thatâs because Ronaldo, Cafu, and Roberto Carlos were still adjusting to the cold weather in England, and the playing style in Brazil and England was vastly different.
Given that, taking a year to adapt was undoubtedly a smart choice for the players, allowing them the time they needed to settle in and acclimate to their new environment.
"Then weâll go with Mancunian Transport for the main sponsor. What about the kit?" John asked, flipping through some papers.
Richard thought for a moment before replying. "Do you have any ideas?"
"To be honest," John began, "last season there was another supplier that reached out to usâJako. They were offering to provide all of our kit supplies, including the technical kits and training wear, for the next two seasons. They proposed a deal worth ÂŁ500,000 per season."
"Which means, it could be said that their offer would be lower this season if we reach out to them."
"Thatâs right," John confirmed.
Richard leaned back, considering the options.
Sponsorship deals were heavily influenced by the visibility and popularity of a club, and with City now in the second division, they couldnât reach the same high-profile deals yet. After all, City wasnât exactly a top-tier draw at the moment. But this, in a way, worked in his favor.
He wasnât particularly interested in locking City into long-term sponsorship agreements at this point. There were too many uncertainties, and what he needed currently was flexibilityâthe ability to reassess the situation once City had regained some form and visibility.
After all, it was about rebuilding the brand, not just signing a long-term deal for the sake of it.
Still, he thought it was a win-win situation for both parties. The sponsors wanted something more than just Cityâs logo on a kitâthey wanted to tap into the passionate, die-hard fanbase that still remained.
"John, go with Jako. Accept their offer. And also, regarding the current transfers that are still stalled, try to finalize the deals in the next 10 days, even if we have to sell below market price." Richard made his decision.
"You sure?" John raised an eyebrow.
"Yes, Iâm sure," Richard said decisively.
At this point, it was likely that every club was already aware of Cityâs predicament, with their aggressive moves to sell players and clean up. Now, they were stalling to drive the price lower.
It was bound to happen anyway. Clubs were competing with each other, and one teamâs loss was anotherâs gain.
If they could secure a player for a lower price from one of their competitors, theyâd have more money to spend elsewhere to get ahead. So Richard preferred to have all the transfer operations completed in the next 10 days, even if it meant selling at a loss.
After dealing with issue after issue and following instruction after instruction, Richard was finally able to focus on Cityâs preseason finally.
After a short training camp at HMS Raleigh, City played two friendlies against local non-league sides. They won 3-1 against Torpoint Athletic and 6-0 against Newquay.
In both matches, Richard was surprised to hear the news that it wasnât Ronaldo or Emile Heskey who managed to shine, but rather the 21-year-old Ole Gunnar SolskjĂŠr. His performance was exceptional, and Richard couldnât help but take notice.
In fact, SolskjĂŠr managed to score a hat-trick against Newquay, earning the respect of both the coaches and his teammates. OâNeill even jokingly referred to him as Cityâs next Shearer.
"This is interesting," he muttered to himself.
After the last two non-league matches, City finally returned to play at Maine Road, where they hosted Droylsden and secured a 3-2 win.
The Blues continued their preseason buildup with additional games against non-league opposition, winning 4-1 at Altrincham and 7-0 at Congleton Town.
With the final three matches against non-league teams, their preseason warm-up came to an end. But suddenly, OâNeill walked into Richardâs office and requested another friendly match for the squad.
"Why?" Richard asked, surprised. "Five friendly matches should be enough, right?"
"I need more time to refine the formation. Plus, I think we need more matches to help Curle adjust to his new role as a defensive midfielder," OâNeill explained.
Preseason friendlies were important for assessing new players, testing different tactics, and helping the team bond. However, playing too many matches also increased the risk of injuries.
Moreover, playing too much before the season, even in preseason, could have negative effects. If the players played too many games in the buildup and ended up feeling satisfied, tired, and disinterested, their excitement for the official matches would decrease.
So, Richard rejected the idea for another preseason match.
"Why not just do a scrimmage in training instead? Isnât that better?" he suggested.