Chapter 72: Waiting

In the end, Tristan was not selected for the Spanish national team. Camacho's decisions sparked widespread controversy. In the forward position, aside from Raúl and Urces, he excluded Morientes, whose performance had been slightly below par this season, and Tristan, who had been outstanding. Instead, he called up Alfonso, a striker from the relegated Betis, to the national team. The only player from Mallorca to make the squad was captain N'Gonga, likely because they wanted to make N'Gonga's career complete. As the first and only Black player in Spain's history, it seemed a bit out of place that he hadn't participated in a major international tournament.

Tristan was deeply disappointed by this, to the point of thinking, "I wasn't selected because I'm not in a top club." After all, only two Spanish players were in the top six of the La Liga scoring chart—himself and Salvador, who played for Santander. Salvador wasn't selected either...

As news about the transfer market started to flood in, Santos publicly stated his interest in Tristan. Teams like Valencia and Deportivo La Coruña also expressed their desire to bring him in.

Alemany, in an interview, declared that Tristan was a non-transferable player, but everyone knew that for Mallorca, there were no such things as non-transferable players.

"They want to sell Tristan to fill the deficit?" Upon hearing his father's words, José didn't seem particularly surprised.

"Exactly. Tristan is now Mallorca's most valuable player. Right now, they aren't selling anyone; they're just waiting for the new head coach to take charge. Those guys don't want a deficit that they have to cover from their own pockets. To balance the books, the only way is to sell players," Alemany shook his head.

"Can't blame them. It's not that they're short-sighted; they just don't want to pay out of their own pockets," José shrugged. "The club might be theirs, but it's not owned by just one person... If it were, they'd find a way to improve the club, making their assets grow. But with so many shareholders, who wants to lose out? So, they'll just try to take as much as they can."

"Exactly," Alemany nodded. "Son, if you really manage to get 60% of the Asensio family's shares, you'll face the same situation. You can't be the one always paying, right?"

"If I have to pay, so be it. After all, they'll have to contribute proportionally. I'll have the controlling shares, I'll call the shots. They won't be able to do anything. I don't care about maintaining a friendly relationship. If they want to add transfers, they'll pay their share. Want new facilities? They'll contribute accordingly. If they don't, they'll need to fill in with their shares. If they refuse, I'll get the courts involved. It's even easier if they just pay—then they won't get dividends. I'll use all the dividends for facilities or to build a new stadium. That way, they'll have to cough up all their shares."

"Son, you're ruthless," Alemany stared at José, stunned.

"It's not about being ruthless," José sighed. "The shareholders at Mallorca are the biggest obstacle to the club's growth. To put it simply, if Mallorca is a tree, then these shareholders are parasites. They take all their nutrients from the tree. The bigger they get, the weaker the tree becomes. To turn Mallorca into a towering tree, we have to get rid of these parasites, only then can the club continue to grow."

José scoffed. "If getting rid of these guys means using harsh methods, so be it."

"First, we need the Asensio family to let go," under José's influence, Alemany started to view the club acquisition from this angle. "Antonio may be retired, but he still holds on to his shares. Juan probably can't make decisions alone; he still has elders above him."

"Those elders have no interest in this. They might even be unhappy with the idea of investing in Mallorca. When there were profits, no one complained, but now that there are none, the opposition will surely rise. If we start badly next season..." José murmured.

"So, the idea is to make the other members of the Asensio family realize the shares in Mallorca are no longer profitable. Then they'll pressure Juan to let go, right?" Alemany's eyes lit up.

"Exactly," José nodded. "That's why I'm stepping down as head coach. Since we're going to fail, I don't want to take the blame. It's better to clean up the mess later. Let someone else take the hit."

"That's true. It's almost like you've timed this illness perfectly," Alemany chuckled, poking fun at his son.

"I was planning to fake an illness," José laughed, "Who knew I'd actually get sick... But, it's better this way—no need to fake any records."

"Alright, rest up. I can't help much with the Asensio family, but when it comes to the minor shareholders, I can certainly intervene. Their dividends aren't much anyway. If you manage to get the Asensio family's shares, it should be easy to buy the remaining 10% from the minor shareholders at market price."

"Unfortunately, even if I succeed, it'll still be only 70%. If I could get over 50%, I could propose a full acquisition. That's when things will get tricky with Grande."

"Grande has always wanted to take control of Mallorca. Be careful," Alemany warned.

"Don't worry, Father," José smiled. He had already devised a plan for Grande. As someone who often opposed his father, José was eager to teach him a lesson.

The Spanish national team's performance in the European Championship didn't meet expectations. Despite advancing to the knockout stage after losing to Norway and then beating Slovenia and Yugoslavia, they were knocked out 2-1 by France. Raúl's missed penalty in the final moments sealed Spain's fate. The only bright spot was Mendieta's exceptional performance, making Spain's central midfield seem worry-free for the next few years...

While Spain faced criticism for their failure, Mallorca's announcement of a new head coach went largely unnoticed. The local coach, Vázquez, who had a good start with Rayo Vallecano last season, signed a two-year contract with Mallorca. The club's management claimed to admire Vázquez's coaching style, believing he could bring progress.

Mallorca's fans, however, remained silent—Vázquez? Wasn't he the same guy who José demolished 3-0 in his first game as a manager? How could he lead Mallorca to progress? Let's see him win a UEFA Cup first...

For Vázquez, last season had been turbulent. He led Rayo Vallecano to a series of victories early on and was at the top of the league for a while, even staying in the title race mid-season. However, after losing 3-0 to Mallorca, his form plummeted, and they finished in 10th place—two spots below Mallorca. Teresa, the iron lady, wasted no time and fired Vázquez at the season's end.

Naturally, Vázquez harbored resentment toward José. Not only did his humiliating attitude after the loss hurt his pride, but the subsequent string of defeats at Rayo Vallecano made him blame José for his downfall.

Perhaps that was why Grande insisted on hiring Vázquez as Mallorca's next coach. His reasoning was solid—Rayo Vallecano's excellent early season results proved Vázquez had potential, and Mallorca couldn't afford a world-class manager, so he was the best choice for their current position.

As for the two-year contract—Grande had plenty of reasons for that. He couldn't exactly tell Vázquez, "You're hired for a few months, until José's illness is over," that would be too cruel...

"This guy really seems intent on opposing us," Alemany grumbled to José.

Grande had suggested Vázquez as a candidate, and everyone knew his motive. Since Vázquez didn't like José, he would certainly try to eliminate all traces of José's influence from the team. With José's high standing among the fans, Alemany's lack of shares would make him even more vulnerable to Grande. With Antonio Asensio no longer involved, it would be easier to wrest control from Juan Asensio.

"Let him stir the pot. It might be for the best anyway. Mallorca's veterans are too many and the atmosphere is stale. Let him be the scapegoat for now. Later, I'll come in and clean up," José laughed. He knew that Mallorca's waters weren't easy to navigate. If Vázquez tried to bring his Rayo Vallecano tactics to Mallorca, he would probably end up failing badly.

"If Vázquez actually does well with the team…" Alemany asked with some concern.

"Don't worry. If he outperforms me, I'll quit coaching forever!" José laughed. It wasn't that he underestimated Vázquez; it's just that he didn't believe Vázquez could manage the complex dynamics of Mallorca's locker room. Besides, with Tristan likely being sold and Eto'o gone, it would be incredibly difficult for Mallorca to achieve good results.

The management needed to balance the budget, so there wouldn't be much transfer money for Vázquez. Without the ability to reinforce the squad, the aging players would struggle even more. Moreover, their potential had been drained by José last season. Vázquez's situation was akin to Rafa Benítez replacing Mourinho at Inter Milan—it wasn't a promising start.

"Don't get too cocky. If things go poorly, they'll clean the slate," José grinned. Right now, he just had to wait—wait for Mallorca to fall apart, wait for the Asensio family to lose interest, and wait for his return...

This waiting period wouldn't last long...