Gao Shen's house in Madrid was never put up for sale.
Spanish media had always interpreted this as a sign that he had no intention of permanently leaving Real Madrid.
Real Madrid fans firmly believed that Gao Shen would one day return.
But even Gao Shen himself hadn't expected that he would come back so soon, or in this way.
He arrived quietly at Madrid Airport the day before Real Madrid's home match against Athletic Bilbao, without even notifying the club.
Zidane came to pick him up.
The two chatted the whole way from the airport to their apartment complex, discussing the news from the past few days.
Real Madrid had stirred up quite a bit of excitement, and the response in Spain to Gao Shen's return had been enthusiastic.
But what surprised everyone was that Gao Shen's "part-time job" didn't spark much controversy among Real Madrid fans. They seemed entirely unbothered, which was not what either the club or the PR firm had expected.
They had done a lot of preparatory work, only to end up swinging at thin air.
According to surveys conducted by AS and Marca, most fans found it perfectly normal.
One fan put it bluntly: "When he was coaching Real Madrid, he was also the owner of Leeds United. Did we say anything? Didn't he still bring us six straight Champions League titles and five straight La Liga titles?"
Some fans recalled how, when Gao Shen was managing Real Madrid, they suffered crushing defeats to Leeds United in the Champions League group stage, both home and away. Although UEFA and the club clarified the matter at the time, many still accused him of match-fixing.
Analysts believed Gao Shen was determined to prove himself, which led to Real Madrid's sixth Champions League title under him—earned by beating Leeds United in the final.
What could be a better testament to professional integrity than that?
Having witnessed that, Real Madrid fans had long seen the truth. They believed in Gao Shen's professionalism.
Besides, wasn't Real Madrid keeping a close eye on things? Wasn't UEFA?
More importantly, Gao Shen was no longer a coach. He was now the technical director. It was far more difficult for him to influence matches or interfere with lineups. Would he really instruct the coach and get the whole team to help fix matches?
If that were possible, Leeds United wouldn't have lost the final back then.
So, there was no need to worry. Real Madrid fans overwhelmingly expressed their trust in Gao Shen.
He used to be the head coach of Real Madrid and the owner of Leeds United. Now he's the technical director of Real Madrid, still owns Leeds United, and serves as technical director for other clubs. What's the difference?
Real Madrid and most Spanish fans were unfazed, but Catalan media and fans sharply criticized Gao Shen, claiming his actions violated fair play, carried the risk of collusion and match-fixing, and even reported him to UEFA.
UEFA quickly responded, stating that it would not comment on hypothetical situations.
They also clarified that they would not interfere with clubs' decisions regarding third-party partnerships or the hiring of staff. There would be no scenario where both clubs were expelled from the Champions League, as some Catalan fans had speculated.
UEFA did have a rule: if two clubs share the same major shareholder, they cannot compete in the same European competition. Tottenham had nearly fallen foul of this rule in the past.
Tottenham owners Lewis and Levy had invested in multiple European clubs, and that almost cost them Champions League eligibility.
Gao Shen was indeed the owner of Leeds United, which is why he couldn't coach in the Premier League. But he was not a shareholder of Real Madrid or PSG. He was only a partner to both clubs, so he did not violate UEFA regulations.
Media and fans close to Real Madrid quickly realized what was happening and shifted their anger to the opposition, accusing Catalan media of deliberately twisting the facts out of spite.
"Gao Shen is back, and Real Madrid's dawn has broken!"
"Enjoy your season while it lasts. Next season belongs to Real Madrid!"
The media coverage, especially the discussions about the changes Gao Shen might bring to the club, had amazed fans and filled them with anticipation for the new season.
Public opinion is hard to predict, but overall, the narrative had been successfully steered in the right direction.
...
On the evening of his return, Gao Shen had dinner at Zidane's house.
Professional footballers tend to follow one of two paths: they either marry and have kids very early, or very late.
Why?
Because players generally aren't highly educated. They're like student-athletes—those who don't perform well academically. In Europe, the kids who are good at football tend to be the most popular throughout their school years. Early relationships and early marriages are common.
Zidane had his son Enzo when he was 23, which was considered relatively late.
Enzo Zidane was a highly anticipated youth player at Real Madrid. Like many children of football legends, he was famous the moment he debuted. Everyone hoped he would follow in his father's footsteps, but that rarely happens in reality.
Jordi Cruyff played for Manchester United. What happened there?
Kluivert's son did well at Ajax, but after moving to Roma, his career declined sharply.
As for Enzo, he left Real Madrid in 2017 on a free transfer to Alavés. He played two matches early in the season and even came on against Barcelona, but after that, he disappeared from the lineup.
In January 2018, he transferred to Lausanne-Sport in Switzerland.
This season, he was loaned to Majadahonda in the Segunda División, a club in Madrid's northwestern suburbs. He was a key player there, but the team was in danger of relegation.
It's fair to say Enzo Zidane's development had been underwhelming.
He had just turned 24, while his younger brother Luca was about to turn 21. Luca was Real Madrid's third-choice goalkeeper behind Courtois and Lunin.
The third son, Théo Zidane, was 17, a midfielder playing for Real Madrid's U18 team. The fourth, Elyaz, was 13, a left-back, currently in the youth system as well.
Zidane also had a nephew, Delis Zidane, who was trained in France but also had a poor professional career.
Interestingly, Zidane's eldest son, second son, and nephew were roughly his height. But the third and fourth sons were significantly taller, both around 1.94 meters.
Gao Shen was very familiar with the Zidane family. At the dinner, he not only saw all four of Zidane's sons, but also met Enzo's girlfriend, Karen—a pretty young woman said to be a Portuguese born in Venezuela.
Everyone was familiar with each other, and even Gao Shen didn't bother being too formal, so the dinner was lively and relaxed.
...
"Looks like you're about to have a headache."
After dinner, Gao Shen and Zidane went into the study to talk. He joked as he teased the Frenchman.
What headache?
"Enzo's grown up and has a girlfriend. From how close they are, you still can't relax. You better start saving up," Gao Shen said dramatically.
In reality, Zidane had already made plenty of investments. Money wasn't an issue.
Looking at his four sons, the third and fourth were still unknowns, the eldest probably wouldn't make it, and the second's situation wasn't optimistic either.
They had all received top-tier youth training at Real Madrid, often even personally guided by Zidane himself.
That was exactly why Su Qing hoped Gao Ming would focus on academics.
To be honest, making it in football required as much effort as studying, if not more. The competition was harsher and the risk higher.
The world is fair. High risk, high reward. The high wages of footballers depend on where they play.
Of all the professional athletes in the world, how many are truly high earners?
If you include the top five European leagues, plus second-tier ones like the Portuguese Primeira Liga or Dutch Eredivisie, how many players are there in total?
Fans tend to focus on the top five leagues and assume that all players earn huge salaries. But unless you're playing in one of those leagues, the reality is your salary may be lower than someone with a higher education.
And being a footballer is a short-lived career.
Gao Shen worked in this industry, so he fully understood the risks.
As for talent... please. In this world, very few things come down to talent alone.
Just look at Zidane's four kids. Are they really lacking in talent?
Unlikely.
But they were born into privilege, raised in elite football academies, and grew up without lacking anything. That kind of life produces orderliness, but also mediocrity.
Simon Kuper once pointed out in The Economics of Football that most professional players come from poverty. Why?
Not because middle-class or wealthy kids don't play or lack talent. It's because they don't carry the same drive or crushing pressure that poor kids do—the kind of pressure where not making it in football means having nothing.
When Cristiano Ronaldo was 10, he traveled alone from Madeira to Sporting Lisbon for training. Alone. He spoke with a strong island accent and was mocked for it.
Because he was physically weak, he trained like a madman, even sneaking into the gym in the early hours. That was how determined and desperate he was.
Without that, there would be no Cristiano Ronaldo today.
Messi's story was similar.
Despite later becoming close with Piqué and others, in the beginning, Messi was bullied by the richer academy kids.
Barcelona claimed they paid for Messi's treatment. In reality, they only covered a small part. Most of it came from his father, who worked while caring for Messi.
Of course, the job was arranged by Barcelona.
You can imagine the hardship Messi endured in those years.
No pain, no gain.
Sometimes, the path to success is that simple. But not everyone is willing to take it. And not everyone can go all the way.
(To be continued.)