Returning to Naples from Rome, the first thing Gao Shen did was rush to the club's headquarters in Naples. He headed straight into Marino's offid id out his s about the situation in Rome, urging him to keep a close eye on the pyers' movements, particurly emphasizing the importanonit the agents.

  Gao Shen had an easy rapport with the pyers, rgely because, uhe older coaches in their 40s, 50s, or 60s, he was closer to the pyers in age. However, the challenge was that Napoli's bargaining power was still quite limited at this stage. Even if they were promoted to Serie A season, if Premier League or La Liga clubs came calling, it would be tough for the pyers to resist the allure, especially the Premier League.

  The Premier League's lucrative broadcasting revenue model meant that even teams near relegation, or those retly demoted to the Championship, earned more than most Serie A clubs. This gave them the financial muscle to make entig transfer offers. In trast, Napoli and Serie A clubs were at a serious disadvantage in this regard.

  "We o carefully mahis situation. I don't want to see the pyers we've worked so hard to develop get poached by other teams before they truly tribute," Gao Shen expressed, voig his biggest .

  Selling pyers? Gao Shen wasn't fually opposed to it.

  After all, Napoli had never positioself as a football giant, and selling pyers was iable at some point. In fact, Gao Shen even had a vested i in Napoli selling pyers. With his 20% ission cuse, every high-priced sale would mean more money in his pocket. In some ways, he would be one of the biggest beneficiaries.

  But money, as much as Gao Shen liked it, wasn't his only priority. What he wanted mht now were results. If the pyers Napoli had developed were snatched away just as they were about to hit their stride, how could the team ever achieve the kind of success he envisioned?

  Marino, after hearing Gao Shen's thoughts, also appeared deeply troubled. He khis was indeed a major issue.

  During his time at Udinese, Marino had followed a simple philosophy: "If you pay, I'll even sell you my underwear." But Napoli was different.

  When De Laurentiis hired Gao Shen, the idea was to build a strong Serie A team with ambitions of peting in the Champions League. Napoli's ambitions were clearly higher than Udinese's.

  "I'll deal with this immediately and e up with a pn. By the time we're ready to renew tracts, we'll have everything under trol. Don't worry," Marino reassured.

  Gao Shen his matter wasn't within his direct purview, but he would tio keep an eye on it.

  "We're not that broke now, are we?" Gao Shen asked offhandedly.

  "We're ly swimming in cash either. We're just getting by with a tight budget," Marino replied with a ugh.

  Gao Shen raised an eyebrow, giving Marino a knowing look that said: Don't try to fool me, I'm not buying it.

  Marino suddenly felt exposed, as if Gao Shen could see right through him.

  Although Gao Shen was the team's head coach, there were many things he wasn't privy to, and the club certainly didn't want him knowing everything like the details of certairansfers. Gao Shen, for example, had always assumed Karayo was wholly owned by Napoli, but after the transfer, he found out that wasn't the case.

  At one point, Serie A club Lazio had expressed i in Karayo. Pescara offered to sell 50% of Karayhts for 1.5 million euros, but Lazio hesitated. In the end, Napoli mao purchase half-ownership for a cheaper price of 1.35 million euros. A year and a half ter, Napoli sold Karayo for 3.2 million euros. In essenapoli made a 250,000 euro profit on Karayo, essentially c his wages and bonuses for the time he was at the club.

  It was a shrewd piece of business, and Gao Shen couldn't help but admire the way De Laurentiis and Marino ha. While De Laurentiis appeared carefree and casual on the surface, he was sharp and ing when it came to business.

  Gao Shen's visit to Marino was also a subtle remio De Laurentiis, through Marino: Remember reement don't sell pyers easily before we've achieved results.

  Of course, De Laurentiis wasn't foolish. If the team started deliveris, the value of the pyers would increase, and it would make more seo sell them ter at a higher price. Unless a pyer became impossible to keep, their is wouldn't csh with Gao Shen's.

  ...

  "I heard that over the past two seasons, the club's annual broadcasting revenue was about 1.6 million euros. This season, that figure has skyrocketed to nearly 10 million euros. That was a ret development, right?" Gao Shen asked with a smile, looking at Marino.

  Gao Shen had his own els fathering information. His assistant, Lucas, was gettier at intelligence work, and Gao Shen also had media tacts and friends feeding him reliable information.

  Marino was surprised but didn't deny it.

  That amount of broadcasting revenue was unparalleled in Serie B, with the exception of Juventus.

  "And I've heard Lete's sponsorship deal for this season is worth 2 million euros. Between broadcasting rights and sponsorships, the club's ine should be around 10 million euros. It doesn't sound like the club is struggling financially," Gao Shen said, making it clear to Marino that he was well-informed.

  In addition to sponsorship, Lete had the chest advertisement oeam's kit, justifying the 2 million euro sponsorship fee. The improved broadcasting rights deal was also thanks to Napoli's excellent performan the Coppa Italia, which allowed De Laurentiis and Marino to secure favorable terms.

  What Gao Shen wasn't fully aware of, however, was that over 20 panies were already vying for the Serie A chest advertisement for season. The sponsorship fee was expected to more than double, and even then, petition would be fierce.

  Matchday revenue, another major source of ine, had always been a strong point for Napoli. During their two years ihird tier, Napoli averaged 31,550 fans per game, an attendance figure that only the Min clubs, the Rome clubs, and Fiorentina could match Juventus couldn't even e close.

  This season, the team had three sold-out Coppa Italia games, and demand for Serie B tickets was through the roof. Every home game sold out well in advance, further boosting the club's coffers.

  Even with Napoli's high attenda wasn't just a matter of pag the stadium. Ticket prices were parable to Juventus's, making Napoli the only Serie B team to achieve this level of financial success.

  Market research suggested that if Napoli were promoted to Serie A season, their ticket prices could surpass those of Roma and Lazio, putting them on par with A and Inter.

  Napoli, as the rgest city in southern Italy, had more than enough of a fao support this one club. De Laurentiis, with his extensive Hollywood es and business a, kly how to py the game.

  Marino uood that Gao Shen was giving him a clear message. Rising from his seat, he looked directly at the young coach.

  "Rest assured, Gao. I promise you, my boss and I will strictly adhere treement. If we do decide to sell a pyer, you'll be informed well in advance so you pn accly. As for the pyers' treatment, we'll work within reasonable limits. You have nothing to worry about."

  De Laurentiis was currently out of the try, handling some matters in the Uates, but he had left clear instrus before his departure.

  Marino khat Gao Shen was the erstone of Napoli's current success, and under no circumstances could they afford to mistreat him.

  This man was their golden goose, and they had to treat him with utmost care.

  ...

  After his meeting with the ma, Gao Shen had no more s.

  As Ai had pointed out, for the time being, no one was likely to make a serious move against Napoli.

  If something did happen, it would probably be in the wiransfer window or summer.

  For now, the team was safe.

  Over the few days, Gao Shen tinued his daily routi the trainier in Fort Volturno. Whenever he had some free time, he would chat with the young stars, not just to build rapport but also to gather material for his future autobiography a potential retirement iream.

  In training, since Pelle had missed the Italian National Youth Team's matches, Gao Shen had him stay behind to tinue w. He focused on training Pelle to bee a more effective target man, further tapping into his potential. The results were promising, and Pelle's improvement was noticeable.

  However, during this two-week iional break, Gao Shen realized he had made a critical ht.

  He had uimated the toll of iional duty.

  The problem was the stant traveling, especially for the South Ameri pyers, who had to fly long distances for national team duty. This was a major drain on their energy, even though they were still young.

  This would undoubtedly impact their performan the league immediately following the iional break.

  And this weekend, Napoli was set to py their Serie B debut at home.

  When this hit Gao Shen, he couldn't help but feel a bit downcast. He had pnned for so much, but he had missed this one crucial detail.

  Even the most astute coach miss something important.

  He had never faced this issue before as a fan, nor did it e up while pying Football Manager. And during his brief time managing Real Madrid, only Zidane had gone on iional duty. As a result, Gao Shen had never really sidered this problem.

  Gao Shen immediately discussed the first round with the coag staff.

  The oppo is Treviso, a team relegated from Serie A st season, and they are quite strong. Although Napoli is pying at home, they o pay careful attention, especially given the influence of numerous South Ameri iionals...

  Fortunately, they are all pyers from the National Youth Team. After the game, they all returo Naples early. The problem wasn't particurly signifit. Gao Shen asked Bueura to take charge and work on adjusting a their physical fitness.

  In any case, the first game of Serie B must be a success!