Dax777 said:
The thing is, football is a business. When you buy a player, the transfer fee isn't just some made up amount of Monopoly money that's used to show on paper who is most expensive, it's actual cash being transferred between clubs. It's all very well saying that one man should respect the wishes of another man and that everyone should be telling each other "well I'd really like this transfer to go through but what's most important is that you do what is right for you". That's not how it works. There may be some friendships and sentimentalities, but people want what is in their best interests, and if a club were to base all of its transfers on being nice to everyone then it would end up never signing anyone.
Doing things like speaking privately to a player and getting their word is important because transfers ultimately are a "first over the finishing line" job. You may have everything in place, but until you've signed on the dotted line another club can undercut you and steal your place, just like Real did to City. Therefore you have to use every tool in your arsenal to stay ahead of the game. If that means signing a pre-contract which binds a player's hands and stops them from talking to other clubs, you sign a pre-contract. If that means signing a youth player so that in exchange, you get first option on the player you actually wanted all along but couldn't sign right now, you sign that youth player. If that means phoning a player up because he's been like a son to you and asking him to ignore all other clubs even though he has a right to do so, you call that player. If you don't exploit your natural advantages, like relationships already formed, you're going to suffer. We tried to do this, and we thought we had it all lined up, and it still wasn't enough. It just goes to show that you can never have enough advantages over other clubs in the transfer market, and you should utilise every one that you can.
