When Portuguese referee Proença blew the final whistle, Gao Shen roared, raised his arms high, and charged onto the Allianz Arena pitch in sheer excitement.
Behind him, Manchester City's players and coaching staff, who had been eagerly waiting, rushed in one after another.
The players on the field were also celebrating wildly.
In front of hundreds of millions of fans and viewers around the globe, the live broadcast camera immediately focused on Gao Shen, circling around him with a 360-degree close-up, capturing his emotion and excitement for the entire world to see.
"Let's congratulate Manchester City! Congratulations to Gao Shen!"
"This is the first time since the Champions League was restructured that a team has successfully defended the title. Manchester City have made history!"
"Even more importantly, tonight marks Gao Shen's fourth Champions League final—and he's won all four! He truly is the King of Finals, the King of the Champions League!"
"In the history of the UEFA Champions League, no head coach has ever won four titles. Gao Shen becomes the first, and in doing so, rewrites Champions League history!"
"Without a doubt, tonight belongs to Manchester City. This is Gao Shen's legendary moment!"
"At the Allianz Arena, right in front of Bayern Munich, Gao Shen and his Manchester City have created a historic achievement!"
"Remember this face, football fans around the world!"
"His name is Gao Shen. He's only 31 years old, yet he's already won four Champions League titles. He is universally recognized as a coaching genius!"
"Sir Alex Ferguson once said that modern football is forward-looking and always sets the trend."
"This is absolutely true, as we saw in this Champions League final. Throughout the match, Bayern Munich failed to show any real competitiveness against Manchester City."
"Even playing at home, the German side only managed four shots, while Manchester City had 15."
"There's no doubt that, both in terms of data and the final scoreline, Manchester City were superior."
"They controlled the final from start to finish and successfully defended their title. Let's congratulate Manchester City and their fans around the world."
"At the same time, congratulations to Gao Shen."
"After winning his fourth Champions League, Gao Shen has become the first manager in history to do so."
"But as Ferguson also said, Gao Shen is just 31 years old. He could still coach for another 40 years. He has a long journey ahead, and we have every reason to believe that he'll continue to surprise us in European football."
"In addition, we've just received word that the eight heads of state attending the G8 summit at Camp David in Maryland, USA, were also watching this peak showdown."
"There's no doubt that tonight, Gao Shen has become the most talked-about name on the planet!"
…
Meeting room, Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, Madrid, Spain.
Florentino was seated in the conference room with a group of Real Madrid's senior executives, watching the Champions League final.
Manchester City had defeated Bayern Munich 2-0 away from home, deservedly winning the title, and becoming the first club to successfully defend the Champions League title since the competition's reformatting.
Gao Shen also became the first coach in Champions League history to win four titles.
And especially at the end of the broadcast, when the commentator mentioned the G8 summit, and the interactions between the British Prime Minister and the U.S. President on Twitter, it was clear just how influential Gao Shen had become.
Yes, whether it was the Prime Minister or the President, they were all trying to ride Gao Shen's popularity wave tonight.
But Florentino was thinking beyond that.
The glory tonight belonged to Manchester City. All Real Madrid could do was sit and watch.
"José." After a brief silence, Florentino turned to the man closest to him.
José Sánchez, former head of the commercial department and now the general manager of Real Madrid.
A highly capable figure. Back during the first Galácticos era under Florentino, he had already served as head of the commercial department. Even during the presidencies of Martín and Calderón, though many directors were replaced, none dared to touch him.
Many say he's Florentino's man inside Real Madrid, but that's not entirely accurate.
People are always more complicated than labels.
During Florentino's second term, Sánchez was promoted from head of the commercial department to general manager. Valdano continued as technical director.
"How's the research in your department going?" Florentino asked.
Sánchez pulled his gaze away from the broadcast and opened the notebook in front of him. "Mrs. Gao sent us some information earlier. We've carefully reviewed Mr. Gao's sponsorships over the past few years…"
At this point, Sánchez glanced at his colleagues and gave a wry smile. "To be honest, it far exceeded our expectations."
The conference room immediately buzzed with low murmurs.
"What do you mean?"
"We originally estimated that his annual commercial sponsorship income was between 8 to 10 million euros. For comparison, Mourinho's commercial income in the past two years was only around 4 million euros—and much of that was arranged by our club."
Everyone nodded. That was common knowledge.
In fact, there's a common misconception among fans and media: just because a player or coach is famous doesn't mean their sponsorship income is high. That's not always the case.
Take the first generation of Real Madrid's Galácticos, for instance. Only Zidane, Ronaldo, and Beckham had real commercial pull. The others—Figo, Raúl, Carlos—had little to none.
The head coach position, by nature, doesn't carry much commercial value. Mourinho was an exception. Ever since Mendes helped build his brand during the Chelsea era, Mourinho had been actively managing his commercial profile.
Even so, Mourinho only earned around 4 million euros a year in endorsements.
That was already high. Many globally renowned managers don't even reach that.
"What about Gao Shen?" Florentino asked.
"According to Mrs. Gao's information, it's over 20 million euros."
A collective gasp spread across the conference room. Even Florentino's expression changed.
"That high?"
"And that doesn't include revenue from China. Our preliminary estimate is that income from the Chinese market is at least on par with his foreign endorsements."
Florentino was truly stunned.
Because this was an industry secret. No one had ever gotten accurate numbers before.
Some coaches may carry big reputations but have limited commercial value—like Ferguson.
Gao Shen, on the other hand, has both the reputation and the commercial power. But no one expected him to be this far ahead—surpassing even superstars like Ronaldo and Messi in off-field value.
"This doesn't make sense. Could the data be wrong?" one director asked.
José Sánchez smiled. "We've verified it through our own channels. Many of the sponsors have approached us, and I've confirmed the numbers are accurate. In fact, several of them said they plan to renew their deals. After winning his fourth Champions League, Gao Shen's value will only go up."
"Why is that?"
That was the question on everyone's mind.
"Because behind Gao Shen is China, a market of 1.4 billion people. And even beyond that, the entire Asian region is the most dynamic economic zone in the world right now. No brand or corporation can afford to ignore it."
For years, Real Madrid had been working hard to break into the Asian markets using various methods.
There had been progress, but not to the level they had hoped for.
Meanwhile, Leeds United, which Gao Shen had acquired, had been doing remarkably well in China. Especially after their promotion to the Premier League, their popularity had soared.
"I think we need to reconsider the issue of image rights," José Sánchez said.
"Yes, Florentino. I didn't give it much thought before. Now that we know this, are you reconsidering?" asked another director.
"I think it's worth revisiting."
The room buzzed again, each person voicing their thoughts. Clearly, everyone had their eyes on this lucrative opportunity.
According to Sánchez's report, even a 50% share of image rights would be worth at least 20 million euros annually.
Don't be misled by Real Madrid's 400 million euros in annual revenue—20 million euros is still a substantial figure.
Florentino looked deeply moved. He hadn't expected Gao Shen's commercial value to be this astronomical. It made him hesitate.
As a businessman, he understood how appealing this was.
But after thinking carefully, he shook his head firmly and said, "No change."
Then he turned to José Sánchez and added, "Stick to the original plan. We won't take any image rights."
Everyone was stunned but could also sense Florentino's determination.
This would be the first time in the new century that Real Madrid voluntarily gave up a coach's image rights.
Don't underestimate the importance of this change. The real significance lies in what it represents.
In the past, Real Madrid was the golden platform. For players, joining Real Madrid was the ultimate honor, a ticket to stardom. Asking for image rights was like saying: you benefit from Real Madrid's platform, so we deserve a share in your commercial value.
But now?
Not demanding image rights was like admitting: it's not Gao Shen who needs Real Madrid. It's Real Madrid that needs Gao Shen.
"That's final!" Florentino declared.
"Jorge, your technical department should start making the final preparations. Then, I, José, Jorge, Zidane, Emilio, and Tapias will all head to Cheshire together."
José Sánchez was the general manager and head of the commercial department. Jorge Valdano was the technical director. Zidane was a close friend of Gao Shen. Emilio Butragueño was the vice president and head of public relations. Tapias was the vice president and chief legal officer.
This group would each bring assistants.
It would be the largest and most high-profile managerial recruitment delegation in Real Madrid's history.
(To be continued.)