Brighton's CEO's open-minded attitude: Don't worry about the rumors of the manager's departure, just give enough money!
The first round of the Europa League will kick off in the early morning of 8 March, with Brighton playing a friendly against Red Wolves Roma at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome. Ahead of the game, Brighton CEO Paul Barber gave an exclusive interview to Andy Naylor, a correspondent for the Brighton newspaper TheathleticUK, about the many strong teams chasing De Zerbi.
De Zerbi is 44 years old and has taken over the reins of Brighton from Graham Potter, who left for Chelsea. De Zerbi has spent a year and a half at Brighton and has already proven his exceptional talent. Last season he led the Seabirds to sixth place in the Premier League. This season, McAllister and Caicedo have both left, while Brighton's league form has also declined, but they have shown great strength by winning the Europa League.
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has high praise for the Italian youngster and has introduced Xavi to his old club Barcelona, who will leave the club at the end of the season. There are also two other Premier League giants, such as Manchester United and Liverpool, who are both interested in him and want him to be their manager. It also proves that Dezerbi is a good coach.
Brighton's managing director, Paul Barber, has been worried about his manager: "We don't want him to leave, he's a great manager, maybe the best in the world today, and that makes him even more charismatic. But I think Roberto likes Brighton a lot, he likes the club, the people and the basic structure of the team and the work he's doing to benefit him and the team. However, in the future, he may find another way, we all know that.
However, Paul Barber later said that the agreement between the team and De Zerbi was enough to satisfy both parties: "Once a player is poached, but they don't leave right away, sometimes they don't leave with a cheap **, so we will continue to be prepared for those things." ”
Barber's point was obvious, that is, they could buy De Zerbi, but they needed to come up with a price that would satisfy them, and if they weren't, then the deal would not be negotiable. In fact, that's what the town of Brighton has always done. Cucurella, Caicedo, McAllister have sold for good prices. Even former manager Graham Potter and his employees had to pay $21 million in liquidated damages when they left the company. Suffice it to say, Brighton are open to trading for any player or manager, and are even willing to make some concessions if the price is right. However, there is neither a ** nor an instruction manual. Chelsea have a deeper understanding of this.