For the first time in a while, we are not on the rankings. Is it because there are 5 chapters guaranteed anyway? : (

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Gao Shen spent a few days in Madrid handling various matters, big and small, mainly regarding the series of changes to the Valdebebas first team this summer. Next, company staff would head south to take over the remaining tasks.

For the foreseeable future, Carlo and Zidane would be jointly responsible for affairs in Madrid.

After explaining the main issues and ensuring the negotiations with Real Madrid went smoothly, Gao Shen set off for Amsterdam, Netherlands, to watch Leeds United's first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals.

As a world-renowned coach, Gao Shen's arrival drew Ajax's attention.

CEO Edwin van der Sar arranged for someone to pick him up at the airport and hosted a banquet in his honor. Also present were Leeds United's technical director, Jose Borrell, who had traveled with the team, Ajax's sporting director Marc Overmars (formerly of Arsenal and Barcelona), and Danny Blind, former Dutch national team coach and now a member of Ajax's supervisory board.

Interestingly, Ajax's supervisory board is quite different from those of Bayern Munich and other similar clubs.

After Ronald Koeman launched a youth revolution in the early 2000s with players like Ibrahimovic, Sneijder, and Van der Vaart, Ajax's performance declined sharply, debts piled up, and the gap with the top four European leagues widened.

As a result, the Dutch Eredivisie is now ranked around tenth in the UEFA coefficients and occasionally drops out of the top ten.

In 2011, a group of Ajax legends led by Johan Cruyff launched a "Velvet Revolution," forming a five-man reform group aimed at reviving Ajax.

At the time, the movement attracted a lot of attention in European football. Former players like Overmars, Edgar Davids, Bergkamp, Jonk, and Frank de Boer returned to Ajax.

This reform group became the club's supervisory board.

However, conflicts soon arose.

While Cruyff returned home for his daughter's birthday, the other four members appointed his long-time rival, Louis van Gaal—who had just been sacked by Bayern Munich—as the club's administrative director. The appointment was quickly pushed through and approved by the board.

Cruyff, unsurprisingly, would not accept this and filed a lawsuit, demanding the appointment be overturned.

In the end, Cruyff won the case but left Ajax as well.

Subsequently, under the leadership of veterans like Van der Sar, Overmars, Davids, Jonk, and De Boer, Ajax's reforms continued in an orderly fashion, eventually leading to the club's return to the Champions League quarterfinals this season.

Davids has since left Ajax, but Van der Sar and Overmars remain.

The current Ajax youth setup is once again brimming with talent.

For instance, Frenkie de Jong now has a market value exceeding €80 million. Brazilian forward David Neres is valued at €45 million, Donny van de Beek at €40 million. Then there's goalkeeper André Onana, Argentine left-back Nicolás Tagliafico, and others like Hakim Ziyech, Dušan Tadić, and Daley Blind.

The head coach is Erik ten Hag.

Interestingly, Gao Shen had snatched up Matthijs de Ligt before he made his breakthrough.

Back then, Gao Shen had wanted to sign both Frenkie de Jong and De Ligt as a package deal. Ajax's asking price for De Jong was within an acceptable range, but the deal fell apart due to legal complications.

The 22-year-old De Jong was a product of a joint youth academy between RKC Waalwijk and Willem II. Waalwijk owns 40% of the academy, and Willem II owns 60%. In 2014, De Jong joined Willem II's U17 team.

Under their agreement, any future resale of De Jong would require Willem II to share 40% of the transfer fee with Waalwijk.

After spending over a year in the Willem II academy, he was scouted by Ajax and transferred for a symbolic fee of €1.

Did you notice?

Willem II was pulling tricks on Waalwijk.

With a €1 transfer fee, 40% of nothing is still nothing.

But was it really just €1?

Of course not. Behind the scenes, Ajax and Willem II signed another deal involving the loan of five young players—François de Jong, Živković, Lesly de Sa, Ruben Ligeon, and Lucas Andersen—to Willem II for a season, free of charge.

Additionally, Willem II would receive 10% of De Jong's future transfer fee.

Gao Shen had initially wanted to acquire both De Jong and De Ligt. Though Ajax's asking price for De Jong was acceptable, Leeds United's legal department warned that Waalwijk might protest, which could cause trouble.

Considering Ajax's price was slightly inflated at the time, Gao Shen and Leeds United decided to pass on De Jong and only signed De Ligt.

This transaction revealed the underbelly of European football. From the top five leagues to second-tier leagues like the Eredivisie and Primeira Liga, everything was increasingly driven by capital operations.

Ajax's interest in Gao Shen was largely because Leeds United had already become a new force in European football, with many believing the club had the potential to become a genuine powerhouse.

Moreover, Leeds United placed great emphasis on youth development and had a global scouting network that ensured a steady stream of young talent.

During the dinner, Van der Sar openly expressed his hope to cooperate with Leeds United on youth development.

The Eredivisie places few restrictions on non-EU players; theoretically, clubs can field as many as they like.

However, there is a strange rule: each non-EU player must be paid at least €200,000, which is a heavy burden for many Eredivisie clubs.

But for a top-tier club like Leeds United, which earns hundreds of millions annually, this amount is negligible.

Therefore, Leeds United could potentially send talented youth players not currently getting minutes to Ajax for development.

Of course, this would involve paying training fees.

Gao Shen was quite interested in this kind of cooperation. Leeds United had become a large, resourceful club and did need such partnerships.

In particular, with his remaining years as a transmigrator, he could scout and develop some hidden gems at Ajax for significant returns.

From Ajax's perspective, they couldn't afford a massive youth development and scouting operation. Their selection was limited, and a partnership with a big club like Leeds United would be a win-win.

...

"I think this is a very good proposal."

Gao Shen set the tone and then looked at Borrell.

"Both of you can work out the details of the cooperation and try to sign a long-term partnership agreement."

Borrell understood immediately.

The idea was essentially to turn Ajax into a satellite club for Leeds United. Ajax had a wealth of youth development experience, even world-class, which was incredibly valuable.

Leeds United's youth academy was already impressive, but lacked deep experience, as the entire system had only been restructured a few years ago.

Learning from Ajax would be very beneficial for Leeds United.

Van der Sar and Overmars assumed Gao Shen was referring strictly to player training and immediately began introducing Ajax's deep youth development history. They even mentioned that Barcelona's La Masia was built based on Ajax's system, transplanted by Cruyff and others.

Ajax could be described as the Shaolin Temple of football.

Spain's entire youth development model was deeply influenced by Dutch football and Ajax.

Even goalkeeper coaching curricula came directly from Van Gaal's longtime assistant, Frans Hoek.

In short, Dutch football, especially Ajax's system, had deeply shaped Spanish football.

That's why Barcelona frequently bought players from Ajax.

Last year, reports emerged that Barcelona was interested in Frenkie de Jong, whose market value at the time was just a few million euros.

Around €7 million.

But after the Champions League group stage this season, his market value soared—first to €40 million, then €60 million, and now up to €80 million.

In his previous life, when Ajax reached the semifinals, Frenkie de Jong's value hit €85 million.

Barcelona eventually signed him for €75 million plus €11 million in add-ons, paid in installments over five years.

On the flight from Madrid to Amsterdam, Gao Shen reviewed Ajax's first team and youth academy players. He didn't see anyone suitable for Leeds United.

Players like Neres, Ziyech, and Van de Beek were all valued at over €40 or €50 million.

Tadić was a bit of a surprise. After years in the Premier League, he had faded, but upon returning to Ajax this season, the versatile Serbian player had a breakout year.

Unfortunately, at 30, age had limited his ceiling, making it difficult for him to reach another level in his career.

In European football, there were many players like Tadić—capable, but lacking that bit of luck.

Of course, it was already impressive that Tadić had performed so well at Ajax this season. Many others never got that chance.

Another standout was Ajax youth product Noussair Mazraoui.

Originally a midfielder, Mazraoui had good technique and excellent passing ability. After being converted to a right-back, he flourished. With captain Joel Veltman sidelined by a long-term injury, Mazraoui had become the first-choice right-back.

Leeds United's database also rated him highly, calling him one of the keys to Ajax's Champions League success this season. His partnership with Ziyech down the right flank was a major attacking weapon.

His current market value was around €15 million.

Gao Shen came to Amsterdam to observe this match in person, primarily to watch Mazraoui.

He also wanted to see what kind of spark would fly when an old shady business met a new one.

(To be continued.)

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◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.

◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)