Chapter 226 Mourinho's Reckoning

On the evening of the game, the generous Abramovich booked the second floor of Helene Darroze, a three-star Michelin French restaurant in London, and treated all Chelsea players and coaching staff to dinner.

If nothing unexpected happens, this should be the best French food in London.

The players wore all kinds of trendy clothes and danced to the music.

Helene Darroze does not allow for odd clothing, but this rule only applies to individual customers. Abu has reserved the entire second floor, and it is exaggerated to say that you can run around naked in the restaurant and no one will bother you.

Of course, the premise is that they cannot be discovered by the London police.

“Remember this place?”

Abramovich looked at Mourinho who was sitting next to him, and the latter looked a little unhappy.

"Sir, did you choose this place on purpose?"

Mourinho certainly remembers this restaurant, as Abramovich invited him to dinner here before. It was not a good memory, because Chelsea was ranked last in the league at the time, and Abramovich and Mourinho discussed leaving here.

Abramovich chose this place as the venue for the team dinner, obviously wanting to play a trick on Mourinho.

“Nothing special, I just like the Wagyu Beef here. After eating it last time, I feel the need to come here again.”

Abu smiled and called the waiter next to him: "Hey, is there a bigger table? There are nearly 40 of us here."

Abu stretched out his hand and waved him in the hall. He was right. The second floor of this restaurant was very large, but the largest table could only accommodate 6 people, and it was for couples to date.

After hearing Abu's request, the Chinese waiter looked embarrassed: "Sir, I'm afraid we don't have such a table here..."

"How can this be done? Do you want our teammates to sit separately? This will ruin the atmosphere."

Abramovich has the acumen and calmness of a businessman, as well as the openness and generosity of a Russian. In his opinion, during a team dinner, everyone should sit at the same table.

"Three tables! Three tables at most!"

Abu made the number three with his hands.

The waiter was also speechless. When Abu made the reservation, he only said that there would be about 40 people. Who knew that these 40 people would sit at the same table.

In the end, the restaurant owner had to step in and ask seven or eight waiters to put all the tables together.

“It’s okay if we sit separately.”

Looking at the busy waiters beside him, a trace of sympathy flashed in Mourinho's eyes.

Abu laughed and said: "I paid, so I should get the corresponding service, there is nothing to say about it"

"It's not their job to arrange the tables, and this is a Michelin restaurant. You are destroying the original decoration here."

“So I’ll pay more for service”

"..."

Mourinho sighed, the boss and the employees really have different ways of thinking.

"So you think that money and power can solve everything, is that right?"

In order to make it easier for the waiter to move the table, Mourinho and Abramovich stood up and walked to the bar, each holding a glass of red wine.

"nonono!"

Abramovich waved his hands again and again: "Money and power are great, but this is not enough. You also need to be decisive enough to know what to do and when. This is very important."

"Decisive enough?" Mourinho raised his eyebrows.

“I don’t think you made the right choice.”

"For example?"

"For example, if you don't give me enough money in the winter transfer window this year, this choice is wrong."

"..."

Abramovich took a step back and spread his hands: "Jose, there is no need to do this. The players we have now are very strong. You want that Swede? No problem at all. By the summer window, you will have a budget of at least 5000 million pounds. There is no need to be obsessed with that Swede."

Mourinho's mouth twitched and he intentionally avoided Abramovich's gaze.

Summer transfer window? Judging from the current situation, whether I can survive until the summer transfer window is still a question!
Abramovich put a hand on Mourinho's shoulder and said earnestly: "I remember telling you that when I was a kid I would play football with the kids next door, but I was too stupid. I couldn't beat them and would be laughed at. That's why I wanted to buy this team when I grew up. Believe me, I am sincere about football."

"Of course, I am more sincere about Chelsea. My team must be the strongest. Others cannot laugh at us, but we can laugh at others. This is my goal."

Mourinho opened the bottle himself, poured one-third of it into his glass and drank it in one gulp.

"Sir, I admire your achievements. But I want to talk to you about something else..."

"You want to sell players?"

Abramovich's sudden interruption left Mourinho speechless. At this moment, Mourinho felt like he was seen through by others.

call……

Mourinho let out a sigh and suddenly smiled with relief: "Sir, I may be more direct in my words. But... among all the team owners I have met, you are the one who likes to influence player transfers the most."

Mourinho's words were rather euphemistic, he said "influence" instead of "interference", which was considered to be giving Abramovich a lot of face.

Abu raised his eyebrows: "Do you think you are definitely right?"

"Of course!"

Mourinho held the wine glass in one hand and was reluctant to put the empty glass back on the bar.

"Ha ha!"

Abramovich laughed loudly: "Okay, the budget is 1500 million euros, no more, but I won't interfere with how you operate it. Of course, I also have a premise."

Under Mourinho's gaze, Abramovich stretched out three fingers on his right hand: "Hazard, Jiang, and Oscar, you can't sell these three players. I can ignore the others, but only this winter."

When talking about the word "winter", Abu deliberately emphasized it.

Mourinho's eyes lit up: "To be honest, I was a little surprised"

“You only have this one chance”

Abu smiled, put the empty glass back on the bar and left.

"correct!"

Abramovich suddenly stopped halfway through his walk, turned his back to Mourinho, and said slowly: "Be decisive when making a choice. This is advice from a businessman."

……

“La mano arriba cintura sola”

“Da media vuelta danza kuduro”

“No te canses ahora que esto solo empieza”

"..."

Oscar held the microphone, put one foot on the sofa, and sang "Danza Kuduro", a Spanish song that is difficult to sing but very rhythmic.

PS: The theme song of "Fast and Furious 5".

"Ladies and gentlemen, follow me, let's rock it!"

Oscar sang and shook his body, looking really happy.

Terry put his hand in front of his mouth as a megaphone and shouted, "Sir, we don't have any ladies here!"

"Ha ha!"

Jiang Yuan and Mourinho sat together. They were the only two people present who did not go up to dance.

Of course, there is also the boss Abu. The busy Abu ran to the bathroom to answer a phone call not long ago.

At this time, Hazard suddenly walked to Jiang Yuan's right, holding a bottle of Belgian Leffe beer in his hand: "Jiang, this is for you!"

At this time, Jiang Yuan winked at Hazard frantically, and the latter was stunned, and then he noticed Mourinho next to Jiang Yuan. According to the rules set by Mourinho before, he was not allowed to drink now.

"Forehead……"

Hazard stood there holding the bottle, not knowing what to do.

Unexpectedly, Mourinho stood up, walked to the bar, and got a bottle of beer for himself and Jiang Yuan: "This stuff is good for drinking alone to relieve boredom, but drinking it with a group of people is a celebration!"

After saying that, Mourinho grabbed the wine bottle with one hand, and with a "pop", he used the corner of the table to push the bottle cap off. In an instant, white and yellow foam gushed out.

"Cheers!" Hazard had already started drinking, but Jiang Yuan still didn't know why he was toasting him.

"Eden, what are you doing?"

Gurgling.

Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle...

"Wow!"

Hazard finished a 450ml bottle of beer and put it on the table: "Jiang, thanks to your penalty, I got a hat trick!"

So this is what Hazard was talking about.

Jiang Yuan smiled and said, "What's the big deal? We are all brothers. And I was only thinking about getting past Delaney at the time, so I didn't have time to think about the penalty."

This is true. In such a short time, Jiang Yuan's brain had no time to react, so he just helped Hazard.

The first hat trick of the season is of course of great significance.

"No no no!"

Hazard's face was a little red, probably because he had drunk several bottles without anyone's knowledge.

"I must thank you, Jiang. I recognize you as my brother!"

"..."

Jiang Yuan now understood that Hazard didn't want to toast him, this guy was simply drunk.

Hazard's head fell on Jiang Yuan's chest, and the latter spread his hands to Mourinho: "Jose, what should I do?"

“This is simple”

Mourinho put the bottle on the table, grabbed Hazard's shoulders with both hands, and then threw Hazard to the ground.

Then he took out his cell phone and took a few pictures of Hazard's face.

Click!

Click, click, click!

……

On January 1th, London time, in the third round of the FA Cup, Chelsea faced Scunthorpe at home at Stamford Bridge.

There were less than 32 people in attendance, which was a bit too small for Stamford Bridge.

The reason is very simple. Scunthorpe is a team that many people don't know.

It’s right that you don’t know the existence of this team, because it is a League One team, and there is a Championship between it and the Premier League.

On the field, except for Zouma, Fabregas and William, all the others were substitutes.

Jiang Yuan sat on the bench, with Terry sitting on his right. Chelsea's golden boy and captain were on the bench at the same time, a situation that only happened in the FA Cup.

"Jiang, guess the score"

Terry nudged Jiang Yuan's shoulder.

"What's there to guess? We are players, not fans. The score is decided by us."

“But we are both substitutes now.”

"Forehead……"

Jiang Yuan rolled his eyes at Terry. This guy's angle of speech was still very tricky.

That being the case...

"I guess 3:1!"

5 hours later.

The second headline on the front page of The Times: In the third round of the FA Cup, Chelsea beat Scunthorpe 7-0 at home, Remy scored a hat-trick, William scored twice, Falcao and Fabregas scored.

……

On the 13th, one day before Chelsea's next game against West Bromwich Albion, Mourinho announced the starting lineup for tomorrow's game after training.

"Goalkeeper: Courtois!"

"Defenders: Ivanovic! Zouma! Terry! Azpilicueta!"

"Midfield: Fabregas! Matic! Willian!"

"Forward: Hazard! Jiang! Remy!"

???

After Mourinho read out the starting lineup, the players' eyes were all on Costa. Although the starting lineup did not change much, everyone noticed the problem.

Costa, who has no injuries and is in good form, has been on the bench for three consecutive games. And it seems that it is not just a substitute. If I remember correctly, the Spanish center did not play in the first two games.

What are you doing?
"Snapped!"

Mourinho closed the folder and then looked around at the players present: "This is the starting lineup. Any questions?"

"..."

Costa hesitated and finally said nothing.

"That's it then, let's disband!"

Having said this, Jiang Yuan looked at Costa. The Spanish center stood there motionless, wondering what was in his mind.

"Jiang, let's go!"

Terry patted Jiang Yuan on the shoulder and whispered.

"arrow"

The training session was over, and all the first-team players left the field, except Costa, and of course, Mourinho, who was standing in front of Costa.

"José..."

"Last summer, Atletico asked the club for your price. They wanted you to return. Um... do you remember this?"

Mourinho threw the folder on the ground, and his hands, which had nowhere to go, finally ended up in his down jacket pockets.

"call……"

The sensitive Costa had expected it, but he was still shocked when he heard the confirmation from Mourinho.

"Jose, am I not performing well on the field? I'm averaging more goals per game this season than last season."

Costa took a step forward and Mourinho immediately took a step back.

"You are an excellent player, but as a professional player, you need to pay attention not only to what happens on the court, but also what happens off the court."

Mourinho looked somewhat relaxed, with no emotion visible on his face: "Atletico Madrid is a good place, and you are Spanish, there is nothing wrong with returning to Spain"

Costa gritted his teeth: "Why? I have paid so much for the club, and I abide by the club's discipline and do my best on the field. Why do you have to let me go? (Spanish)"

"Keep the record? (Spanish)"

Mourinho suddenly laughed: "I thought we could say goodbye with a smile, but now it seems that we can't do it (Spanish)"

"As a player, as a professional player, where is your sense of unity? Also, where is your respect for the head coach? You have been pointing fingers at me from behind. If you really have an opinion about me, you should stand in front of me and tell me, instead of talking to other teammates. You told those Spaniards in the second team that I am incompetent and that I am not good enough to coach Chelsea. I don’t understand the point of doing this. Diego, please remember that you are the core, but not necessary. We have Eden, Jiang, and William... To exaggerate a little, a dog can be tied to the center position of Chelsea to score a goal (Spanish)"

"call……"

Mourinho took a deep breath, and when his emotions calmed down a little, he continued: "We have already negotiated your transfer fee with Atletico Madrid yesterday. You can leave as long as you agree. The weekly salary there is no worse than Chelsea (English)"

After hearing what Mourinho said, Costa's tone turned cold: "What if I don't agree? (Spanish)"

"Then... just sit on the bench (English)"

Mourinho is smiling.

……

(End of this chapter)