As Niang had anticipated, the biggest obstacle in the Bocchetti transfer deal wasn't the player himself, but Fiorentina.

He had arrived in Italy secretly and gone to see Bocchetti, who was vacationing in his hometown of Naples, to express Liverpool's interest.

Sure enough, Bocchetti himself was excited to be courted by Liverpool. He didn't hesitate at all, saying that as long as the personal terms were acceptable, he would be very willing to join Liverpool.

Niang found this scene quite emotional.

When he was the general manager of Liverpool and first started buying players, many media outlets were dismissive of Liverpool, believing that they had no advantage in competing with other teams.

The reality was just that. Many players didn't want to come as soon as they heard it was Liverpool. Liverpool's once-golden brand, apart from still having some appeal to some English players, was no different from a continuously falling stock on the entire European continent. Talented players looked down on them, unwilling to come, fearing being trapped. Even the players in Liverpool's own squad were considering fleeing the quagmire at the time.

This was Liverpool when Niang and Chen Xing had just taken over.

When the media reported that they were trying to buy Chen Hero, almost no one believed it. The reason was simple: Liverpool at the time was not qualified to compete with other powerhouses, lacking both performance and money.

But no one expected that Liverpool would ultimately attract Chen Hero not with money, nor with glorious honors, but by playing the sentiment card…

Thinking back to the beginning and looking at everyone now scrambling to join Liverpool.

Niang couldn't help but feel emotional.

If it weren't for Chen Hero, it was unknown how long it would have taken for that situation to improve.

Why can Liverpool attract the attention of so many players and gain their favor now? Isn't it because this Liverpool team can win many championships, making those high-level players believe that going there wouldn't degrade their value, that they would have a goal to strive for, and the possibility of realizing their great ideals?

All of these things ultimately converge on Chen Hero.

Niang used to consciously exploit this point, playing the hero card, telling those hesitant players, "We have Chen Hero in our team. With Chen Hero, are you afraid of not winning championships?"

This was simply an invincible weapon. As soon as he said it, the other party's doubts would immediately be dispelled.

But now, Niang no longer needs to consciously exploit this point, because this point has long been spread and deeply rooted in the hearts of every player, following Liverpool's sweeping European campaign last season.

Bocchetti's quick agreement to join Liverpool was out of this kind of mentality. Perhaps even Bocchetti himself didn't realize that this was completely a subconscious thought that governed his decision.

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After settling things with Bocchetti himself, Niang officially contacted Fiorentina.

Fiorentina's attitude was as Bocchetti had expected.

They refused, saying that Bocchetti was not for sale.

Niang laughed when he heard this.

He had rarely heard of a defender being non-transferable, let alone Bocchetti, who was neither cultivated by Fiorentina themselves, nor a local to Florence, nor a spiritual leader or banner of the Fiorentina team.

Why would Fiorentina say he was not for sale?

Wasn't it obvious?

Fiorentina wanted to sell Bocchetti, but needed Liverpool to show enough "sincerity."

The so-called "sincerity" meant Euros, or pounds.

Back then, Nesta was a local Roman and a leader and banner cultivated by Lazio themselves, wasn't he also non-transferable? What happened in the end? In order to repay debts and reduce the economic burden, he was sold to AC Milan.

If Liverpool was very rich now, as wealthy as Manchester City, then getting Bocchetti would be a piece of cake. They could just use money to crush Fiorentina, requiring no skill at all.

But now Niang didn't want to spend money so lavishly. This was only Liverpool's first signing of the season. If they spent big money right away, how would they lower prices for future signings? By then, the whole of Europe would know that Liverpool were rich and stupid, and no matter who they wanted to buy, they would face malicious price increases from the sellers.

Not to mention that Liverpool's finances aren't that great right now, because they are burdened with the construction project of the Stanley Park stadium.

Niang had to be careful and calculating.

He offered Fiorentina a bid of five million euros.

This offer was rejected by Fiorentina without hesitation. They even thought Liverpool were joking with them—Fiorentina's main center-back, an Italian national team player, second only to the starting Ranocchia and Chiellini in the center-back position, was only worth five million euros? What a joke!

Don't buy our Bocchetti if you don't have money!

Niang wasn't surprised that five million euros was rejected.

Negotiation is actually quite skillful. If you offer too high a price at the beginning, you can only increase it later, and there is no way to lower it. If you set the price very low from the start, although it may anger the other party, it will also give them a psychological hint—I am not easy to deal with, I will not offer too much money.

That way, when he raises the price slightly later, it may satisfy the other party.

What's more, he still had Coates.

Was Coates willing to come to Fiorentina?

That wasn't a problem. He just wanted to go to a team where he could play. Whether it was the Premier League or Serie A, or La Liga. What's more, Fiorentina was not a weak team. At the very least, they could participate in the Europa League, and if they were lucky, they could even get a Champions League qualification.

Such a team should be enough for Coates. If Coates wanted to go to a powerhouse… he should know that he would still be a substitute in a powerhouse, just like he was at Liverpool. Since he wanted to escape Liverpool and give up the honors of being a quadruple champion, why would he go to a powerhouse that is not even as good as Liverpool and continue to be a substitute?

Niang dared to propose this player-plus-cash transaction model only after he had thoroughly analyzed the mentality of both parties.

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After being rejected by Fiorentina, he offered six million euros.

As expected, it was rejected again.

Then he increased it to seven million euros.

This time, Fiorentina didn't reject it so quickly. It could be seen that they were seriously considering the offer.

Fiorentina is not a black shop like Porto and Lyon, who insist on selling each of their players for tens of millions of euros before giving up.

They were very clear about Bocchetti's strength and also knew the appeal of the Liverpool team to Bocchetti. Compared with Liverpool, Fiorentina, which is not even a powerhouse, really has no appeal…

So if they can't keep him by force, letting Bocchetti go is the only option. It’s just they also hope that selling Bocchetti can bring more benefits to the team.

After considering for a few days, they rejected the seven million euro offer again.

Niang knew that he was close to Fiorentina's bottom line.

This price was still very attractive to Fiorentina. They were not rejecting it because they didn't want to buy, but because they were waiting for a better offer.

But this time Niang didn't plan to continue increasing the offer. He made another offer, which was seven million euros. Not a penny more, not a penny less.

This time, Fiorentina didn't reject it directly. They made a new offer to Liverpool. Regarding Bocchetti, they hoped Liverpool could offer ten million euros.

This was purely a blatant demand for a high price.

Bocchetti is definitely not worth ten million, otherwise he would not be a substitute for the Italian national team, but an absolute starter.

Secondly, this is also a bargaining strategy. If the lowest offer that Fiorentina can accept is eight million, if they counter-offer eight and a half million right away, then it will be difficult to say. Liverpool can take the opportunity to lower the price, even lower than seven million.

The key is that they are willing to counter-offer, which shows that Bocchetti is not a non-transferable player at all. As long as the price is right, they might even offer a buy-one-get-one-free deal.

But time was limited, Niang's task was still very heavy, and he was not interested in haggling with Fiorentina for a Bocchetti, saving 500,000 euros after a month of haggling.

He directly offered seven million euros, plus a Coates, and then told Fiorentina that this was his bottom line. If Fiorentina didn't accept it, then there was nothing to talk about.

Liverpool now has the qualifications to be strong.

If it were four years ago, if Liverpool dared to do this, they would have been kicked out by the other party: "Buy or don't buy, who cares!"

This time, Fiorentina took a long time to consider.

At this time, Bocchetti defected. He suddenly posted a message on his Twitter: "Maybe it's time to change the environment and accept new challenges."

This sentence caused a lot of speculation. The media, who had been paying close attention to the transfer market, were like sharks following a slave ship, smelling blood, and swarmed in.

They reported and speculated whether Bocchetti was about to leave Fiorentina.

This move put a lot of pressure on Fiorentina.

But it also made them realize that Bocchetti had been won over by Liverpool, and his mind was now full of the new life after joining Liverpool.

Fiorentina knew that the general trend was over, and they could not keep Bocchetti.

After a struggle, they agreed to Liverpool's offer.

And as Niang had expected, Coates himself didn't have any resistance to joining Fiorentina. After all, Fiorentina had just released a center-back, and he would be able to play as a starter after going to Fiorentina.

He even mocked Bocchetti, thinking that joining Liverpool was such a glorious thing? Entering a wealthy family is like entering a deep sea! Soon you kid will know that the Liverpool you came to crying and shouting about is not a good place!

Of course, these were all Coates's inner thoughts. He had no interest in reminding Bocchetti. He just wanted to escape Liverpool as soon as possible.

It has to be said that Niang's grasp of people's hearts has reached a high level.

So easily, he completed Liverpool's first transfer transaction this summer.