Actually, even before the match against Werder Bremen, there had been rumors about Sahin's transfer.

But after defeating Werder Bremen, a bombshell dropped.

The European football giant, Real Madrid, announced their interest in Sahin.

Florentino himself admitted to reporters, "Yes, we are following Dortmund's Sahin, he is a very talented player."

The reporter asked even more bluntly, "So, do you want him to play for Real Madrid?"

"We want the best players in the world to play for Real Madrid." Florentino didn't answer directly, but it was still a signal to the reporter.

He basically nodded in a roundabout way.

Yes, Real Madrid wants to buy Sahin!

After this news came out, it was different from the previous transfer rumors.

First of all, this wasn't a rumor, and secondly, the allure of Real Madrid is hard to resist.

In European football, there are several teams with money, but when it comes to attractiveness, it's not just about having money.

Manchester City is very rich now, but their appeal is not enough, otherwise, Kaka wouldn't have given up on Manchester City at the last moment, and then chose Real Madrid six months later.

Real Madrid is powerful because they have strong financial resources and great appeal, and now they have a resourceful and powerful helmsman.

After taking office last summer, Florentino made a series of big moves, buying players like Kaka, Cristiano Ronaldo, Alonso, and Benzema all at once.

It shocked Europe at the time, and even the momentum of Barcelona, who had just won the treble, was suppressed by Florentino's big move after his return.

Real Madrid has proven time and time again that in the European football market, there is only what they don't want to buy, and nothing they can't buy—you know, even Barcelona's captain Figo defected to Real Madrid!

So when Real Madrid announced their interest in Sahin, it inevitably caused tension in Dortmund.

Club general manager Michael Zorc said, "Sahin is not for sale, we will not sell our core player."

However, his statement seemed meaningless to the media.

One of the criticisms of Dortmund has always been that they can't keep their core players.

Although the team has won the Champions League and league titles, it still lacks the foundation compared to Bayern Munich, especially since they fell into a financial crisis, they have completely lost their ambition.

As long as a player emerges, they sell him while his value is still high to earn money to fill the team's financial loopholes.

Dortmund has not completely escaped the financial crisis, so if Real Madrid really offers a high price, how could Zorc not sell Sahin?

What he's saying now sounds like haggling—"Unless you offer a price that satisfies us, Sahin is not for sale!"

※※※

In the thirtieth round of the league, Dortmund challenged Mainz away.

When the team arrived at the away stadium, Sahin was surrounded by reporters. The questions had nothing to do with the upcoming game, and they were all asking about him and Real Madrid.

"I am honored to be favored by Real Madrid. Real Madrid is a very great team, and I have also dreamed of playing for Real Madrid one day. But not now, I still have a contract with the club..."

Sahin's answer was more formulaic. A reporter then asked, "But isn't your agent negotiating a contract extension with Dortmund?"

"Yes..."

"So, what impact will this have on your contract extension?"

"I don't think it will have any impact. Our contract extension started a long time ago, and this matter just happened."

The reporters weren't so easy to deal with. Another reporter immediately threw out a more tricky question, "Please, is this related to your contract negotiation strategy? Is it to put pressure on Dortmund?"

Sahin quickly waved his hand, "This is baseless nonsense!"

After speaking, he turned and left, refusing to accept any more interviews.

※※※

Before the start of the match between Dortmund and Mainz, Marcel Reif was still saying that he hoped the recent transfer rumors and contract negotiations would not affect Sahin's performance in the match...

But his words came true. Sahin's performance in this match was indeed terrible, like he was sleepwalking.

And Dortmund's overall luck was a bit off.

Even though Zhou Yi was working hard, he couldn't turn the tide in this match.

His physical performance was still unstable, and he was substituted in the seventieth minute.

In the end, Dortmund unexpectedly lost 0:1 to Mainz, who were ranked far below them, away from home. It was considered a small upset in this round of the league.

In the thirty-first round, Dortmund faced Hoffenheim, whom they had defeated in the first half of the season, at home, but they were ultimately held to a 1:1 draw.

At the same time, their rival, Bayern Munich, thrashed Hannover 96 7:0 at home.

Sahin's performance in this match was still not good. Marcel Reif criticized Sahin during the match for being disturbed by transfer rumors and contract negotiations, failing to maintain his state, and being too distracted by off-field matters.

Sahin's problem also became the focus of everyone's discussion after the match.

Since Real Madrid spoke out, Sahin's state began to become erratic. Although Sahin denied that his poor state was related to transfer rumors and contract negotiations, everyone believed that he was just unwilling to admit it publicly.

Within the Dortmund club, they were also talking about Sahin and his agent Reza Fazeli.

"Michael, how are the negotiations with Sahin going?" Klopp found club general manager Zorc to inquire about the contract extension.

Although Sahin didn't admit that his recent poor form was related to the contract extension, Klopp believed that the problem lay in the contract extension.

"Not too good, Jurgen. Fazeli's conditions are too high. They are asking us to increase Sahin's salary by another one and a half times. It is difficult for the club's current finances to meet this... He also proposed high bonus requirements." Zorc shook his head. "In addition, the figures they proposed for the liquidated damages are also far from our expectations."

Klopp then asked, "Do you think they can ultimately accept our conditions?"

"If there was no Real Madrid, it should be possible." Zorc spread his hands and smiled wryly.

So Klopp knew that it would be difficult for Sahin to calm down and accept the conditions offered by Dortmund when Real Madrid had sent him an invitation.

Seeing Klopp fall silent, Zorc said, "I will try my best, Jurgen. Anyway, Sahin's contract with us will not expire until 2013."

Sahin's current contract has a liquidated damages clause of only six million euros. Based on Sahin's performance in the last two seasons, six million euros is completely like getting it for free.

The original contract stipulated that this liquidated damages clause could be activated when there was only one year left on the contract.

So even if those clubs are now coveting Sahin, they can't use the liquidated damages to take Sahin away.

Unless they wait until the summer of 2012.

So there is still time for the Dortmund club.

Now, even the summer of 2010 has not yet arrived, and the club has two years to complete the contract extension.

But Klopp can't wait that long. If the contract extension is not finalized for a day, Sahin will continue to be courted by wealthy clubs like Real Madrid, which will prevent Sahin from focusing on the current competition.

If Sahin's condition continues to be affected by this, Dortmund's results will also be affected.

Now Dortmund has 60 points after 31 rounds, Schalke 04 has 58 points, and has caught up. Werder Bremen with 54 points is also closely following behind.

If Dortmund makes a slight mistake in the next three rounds of the league, it is still possible to fall out of the Champions League zone.

Klopp doesn't want this to happen.

So he asked Zorc, "Can't we sort this out as soon as possible?"

Zorc quickly realized what Klopp was worried about, and he asked, "Have you talked to Sahin?"

"We have talked, but Sahin told me that he is a professional player, and the contract extension is left to the agent, and he will not intervene. As for the temptation of Real Madrid, he also said that he did not think about it too much... I think they are all his excuses, some polite words, with no practical significance." Klopp spread his hands.

After hearing Klopp's words, Zorc also fell into deep thought.

Sahin says he won't be affected, but in reality, he has been affected.

But Sahin is indeed very important to Dortmund, how can we easily let him go?

According to Zorc's philosophy, if we want to sell a player, then we must definitely prepare a plan in advance. Once the player leaves the team, I must have a player who can replace him immediately.

Otherwise, I will not sell the player.

If we must let Sahin go, do we have someone who can successfully replace him?

Thinking of this, Zorc's eyes suddenly lit up, and then he asked, "Jurgen, what do you think of Zhou Yi?"

"Huh?" Klopp didn't react at first.

"You are playing with two cores now, but it is actually mainly Sahin, with Zhou Yi as the supplement, right?" Zorc continued to ask.

"Ah, yes..." Klopp suddenly understood, and he looked at Zorc, "You mean..."

"I still remember that during the time when Sahin was injured, Zhou Yi took on the main responsibility alone, and he did a good job." Zorc looked at Klopp and smiled.