Ultimately, Real Oviedo secured the victory in this match thanks to that goal, walking away from the Mini Estadi with all three points.
Furthermore, there was more good news for Oviedo: with these three points, Real Oviedo rose to fifth place in the league standings, reaching the top five for the first time this season. If this were the final ranking at the end of the season, Oviedo would earn a spot in the playoffs. Although it was still far too early to say with only 9 rounds gone in a long 42-game season, it at least gave the people of Oviedo hope. Most importantly, after a slump in the early rounds, this three-game winning streak clearly demonstrated that the team's form was steadily improving.
However, all this good news failed to lift Hierro's mood at the moment, because Real Oviedo had received an offer.
Hierro hadn't expected that just after finishing the match against the Barcelona B team, he would receive an offer from Barcelona for André the very next day. Barcelona hoped to take André away from Real Oviedo for a price of €7.5 million.
"Fernando, what do you plan to do? Banches even called specifically to ask about this."
Sánchez asked, sitting in Hierro's office.
"7.5 million? That's bloody insulting. I'll talk to Banches about it. If he insists on selling André, then I'm quitting as head coach. Such an idea is far too short-sighted. Miguel, do you believe it? After one season, there'll be offers many times more than 7.5 million. I know we can't keep André for long—the modern football industry won't allow us to keep him, and it wouldn't be good for his development either—but André is absolutely not someone who can be taken from me for just 7.5 million."
Hierro wasn't actually angry that someone wanted to buy André. He knew that with André's talent, a small club like Real Oviedo couldn't hold onto him forever. He was angry because Barcelona's offer felt like a slap in the face.
"Then do we need to tell André about this?"
"I'll talk to him."
"Sigh, I'm genuinely reluctant. It would be brilliant if André could stay in Oviedo forever."
"Miguel, that's not realistic, and I don't think his staying here forever would be a good thing for Oviedo. You have to realize that it's precisely because of things like this that the club can develop and attract more talent. For a small club like ours, this is the correct path for development."
"I understand the logic. I was just speaking off the cuff."
After Sánchez left the office, Hierro contacted the team owner, Banches. On the phone, Hierro pointed out clearly that such an acquisition by Barcelona was not a good thing for the team. Selling André now would be a massive loss for Oviedo. Ultimately, Hierro managed to convince Banches, though he also promised that if another good opportunity arose, he wouldn't force André to stay. In truth, Hierro could understand why Banches was so tempted.
It wasn't that the owner didn't care about the team and only cared about money, but rather that Oviedo hadn't received an offer like this in many years. €7.5 million might not be enough to buy a player for the big clubs, but for Oviedo, it was different. For instance, the transfer fee for Oviedo's current top scorer, Saúl, had been only €1.2 million years ago, which was already a decent price in the Segunda División. Over the past few years, Saúl's annual salary was still only €380,000, which was already the highest at Oviedo.
"Boss, you wanted to see me?" André walked into Hierro's office.
"Yes, André. The team received an offer for you today. I discussed it with Miguel, and we don't want to hide it from you. Of course, we've already rejected the offer. Barcelona wanted to sign you for 7.5 million."
"Barça? The first team?"
"You're dreaming. I assume your performance yesterday caught Rafa's attention, so he wants to bring you to La Masia."
"Well, then what would I go for? To run from Oviedo to La Masia just to play in the Segunda División?" The originally excited André immediately deflated.
"Otherwise, did you think it was the Barcelona first team, letting you play in La Liga?" Hierro was amused by André's reaction.
"Okay, I definitely overthought it."
"So you're rejecting it too?"
"Of course, Boss. I'm not crazy. Besides, I'm not like some players who lose their heads the moment they hear 'Barcelona.' If it's the same Segunda División, why would I go play at La Masia?"
"Good. Then that's settled. You can head back now."
Hierro and André handled the unexpected poaching attempt amidst light conversation. Just as Hierro had said, Rafa Márquez had indeed taken a liking to André, but this wasn't just a casual move. Rafa's desire to bring André to La Masia was very strong.
After receiving Hierro's rejection, Rafa didn't give up. Instead, he took the video of yesterday's match against Oviedo to the office of the Barcelona head coach, Ernesto Valverde.
"Rafa, how do you have time to come over? Is something the matter?"
"Yes, Ernesto. This is the video of our match yesterday. Take a look first."
"What's wrong? I heard you lot lost yesterday. Was there a problem?"
"Just watch it first."
Before coming, Rafa had already cued the video to the moment André was substituted onto the pitch. Valverde took the tablet Rafa handed him and looked at him with some suspicion. In fact, since coming to Barcelona, Valverde had only visited La Masia right when he'd first taken office. He rarely concerned himself with what happened there. However, as the head coach of the club, he had obligations regarding La Masia affairs. So while Rafa's sudden visit was strange, he didn't show it on his face.
However, he soon realized why Rafa had come to find him. He was instantly captivated by the figure of a player in the video. Especially when he saw André adjust himself to the flank and witnessed the entire process of his assist to Saúl, Valverde even stood up unconsciously.
The video ended, and Valverde opened it again to watch a second time. It was as if he didn't believe what he'd just seen. Only after finishing the second viewing did Valverde slowly put the tablet down, his brow furrowed deeply.
"Rafa... who is this player?"
"His name is André Cristiano dos Santos Cleto. Sixteen years old. Portuguese. Cristiano Ronaldo's cousin."
Valverde's eyes widened.
"Ronaldo's cousin?"
"Yes. He was at Real Madrid's Castilla but was released due to disciplinary issues. Fernando Hierro picked him up for Oviedo."
"And you want him for Barcelona B?"
"I offered 7.5 million. Hierro rejected it immediately."
Valverde leaned back in his chair, eyes fixed on the frozen image of André on the tablet screen.
"Rafa, that offer was an insult. This kid... if he's really Cristiano's cousin and has even half that mentality..." He paused. "What's his release clause?"
"Thirty million euros."
Valverde let out a low whistle.
"Smart. Very smart of Fernando."
He looked at Rafa.
"Keep watching him. Every match. I want to know everything about this kid."
Rafa smiled. "Already planning to, boss."
As he left Valverde's office, Rafa couldn't help but feel excited.
This André Cristiano kid was going to be special. He could feel it.
And Barcelona would be watching very, very closely.
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