On May 23, the day after winning the Serie A championship, Lu Wenbin celebrated his 21st birthday.
When many of his peers were still in college, Lu Wenbin was already the winner of the FIFA Golden Ball Award and the world's top football star.
Given Lu Wenbin's current status, it is naturally impossible for him and his girlfriend to celebrate his birthday quietly.
On that day, Lu Wenbin hosted a banquet for the team's chairman, general manager, coach, teammates, agent Mendes, as well as his own personal lawyer, assistant, physical therapist, etc.
Moratti, Mourinho and others left after the dinner, while Sneijder and other teammates played with Lu Wenbin until very late before returning.
Then, it’s time to prepare for the Champions League final.
For the Champions League final, it is definitely not possible to go only one day in advance or even on the same day as in the league. You must prepare more in advance.
This time Inter Milan arrived three days earlier.
The Champions League final is on May 28th, and Inter Milan chartered a flight to London on May 25th.
The team that welcomed Inter Milan and provided them with a training base and accommodation was the London team: Chelsea.
Mourinho's previous club was Chelsea, where he achieved great success.
Although he did not win the Champions League, he led the Blues Chelsea to break Manchester United's dominance of the Premier League, winning two Premier League titles, two League Cup titles, one FA Cup title and one Community Shield title in three years.
It is Mourinho's contribution that has enabled Chelsea to get rid of the image of a nouveau riche and truly become a Premier League powerhouse widely recognized by the world football community and neutral fans.
Even though there were some unpleasantness when we left the last season, it's all gone now.
As a hero who has made important contributions to the team's rise, Mourinho will naturally be treated with courtesy by Chelsea Club when he returns to London.
Therefore, Chelsea contacted Inter Milan early on and expressed their willingness to provide Inter Milan with a training base and accommodation to help Inter Milan prepare for the game. Inter Milan also accepted Chelsea's kindness.
Although the English team Manchester United is in the Champions League final, as a rival in the league and owned by the Russian Abramovich, Chelsea naturally does not mind providing convenience to Manchester United's opponents: after all, it is not a national team match and has nothing to do with patriotism.
Of course, there is another important reason why Chelsea is so active, and that is Lu Wenbin.
Abramovich invests huge amounts of transfer funds every season to strengthen the team. He not only wants the league title, he also wants the Champions League title. He also wants Chelsea to become a giant recognized by the world football, not just a strong team in the Premier League.
However, after eight years in charge of the team and investing hundreds of millions of pounds in transfers, Abramovich has not yet achieved his wish.
At this time, Lu Wenbin entered his field of vision.
If Lu Wenbin's success at Hoffenheim might have been a bit accidental, then his brilliant first season at Inter Milan is enough to explain a lot of problems.
Many superstars may perform extremely well in one club, but fall from grace once they are transferred to another club.
For example, Shevchenko, the Ukrainian nuclear warhead whom Abramovich likes very much, performed superbly in AC Milan, but failed to transfer to Chelsea.
There is also Kaka, who was the son of God and the Ballon d'Or winner in AC Milan, but became an ordinary player after transferring to Real Madrid.
But Lu Wenbin is different.
Whether in Hoffenheim or Inter Milan, Lu Wenbin has been performing at a god-level, and his performance is getting better and better. It is a fact that he has scored more goals in Serie A this season than in the Bundesliga last season, and his goal efficiency is higher.
This shows that Lu Wenbin is not a system player, nor is he a representative figure promoted by Hoffenheim with the efforts of the entire team, but a superstar who can enhance the team's strength no matter where he transfers to.
The key is that Lu Wenbin still holds the record of winning any competition he participates in. This is the most crucial and enviable thing.
Abramovich felt that if he wanted to win the Champions League and transform the club from a strong team to a wealthy one, he had to bring in a superstar and key player like Lu Wenbin, no matter how high the cost.
Due to both Mourinho's personal connections and Lu Wenbin's interests, Chelsea naturally welcomed Inter Milan.
When Inter Milan arrived in London, not only did CEO Gourlay go to the airport to greet them, but after arriving at the club, owner Abramovich and chairman Bruce Buck also came out in person to entertain Inter Milan.
Abramovich and Mourinho were drinking and chatting happily, while Bruce Buck found a gap and asked Lu Wenbin: "Lu, congratulations on winning the Serie A championship and the Serie A Golden Boot."
Lu Wenbin smiled and said, “Thank you, Chairman Buck!”
Then, Buck expressed the intention of the boss Abramovich that Lu Wenbin wanted to play for Chelsea, and said that the salary would definitely not be a problem, and it was definitely the highest salary in the world unprecedentedly.
What this means is that the treatment is definitely much higher than that offered by Inter Milan.
Buck even revealed that if Lu Wenbin is willing to come to Chelsea, Abramovich will directly give Lu Wenbin a luxury villa in London, so Lu Wenbin will not have to rent or buy a house in London.
This treatment is indeed high.
Of course, Lu Wenbin’s current salary is only getting higher and higher, and if it is not higher than Inter Milan, they will not be able to poach him.
Lu Wenbin did not refuse, but tactfully stated that the season has not ended yet and everything will be discussed after the season ends.
Because he has the main club mission of conquering the five major leagues, he must win the treble once in each league.
Now that Inter Milan's first season has not yet ended, he naturally can't go anywhere.
If he fails in the Champions League final or the Italian Cup final and fails to complete the treble, he will not be able to leave Inter Milan this summer.
He can only leave if he wins the treble this season.
At present, there are many teams in the five major leagues that have contacted Mendes, all of which are world-class giants or super rich teams like Chelsea.
Even if he wins the treble and wants to transfer away from Inter Milan, Lu Wenbin cannot decide where to go now.
Whether it is the Premier League, La Liga, or even Ligue 1, all are possible. He will have to visit all five major leagues eventually.
Buck only mentioned it vaguely, and seeing that Lu Wenbin did not agree, he had no choice but to give up and go back to reply to Abramovich.
Abramovich was no surprise.
With Lu Wenbin's current achievements and status, he is definitely worth the price. It is impossible for a player to agree to transfer to a club privately without going through an agent.
In order to bring in Lu Wenbin, there is still a lot of work to be done besides salary and benefits.
After the welcoming banquet, Abramovich asked Buck and Gourlay to intensify their contact with Mendes, hoping that Lu Wenbin could transfer to Chelsea after the end of the season.
Inter Milan, on the other hand, has entered the Champions League preparation mode without distraction. (Seeking monthly votes)