As a result, at least 300,000 out of the city's one million people wore the post-match Nottingham Forest jerseys. Walking down the street, you could basically see someone in a number 10 Nottingham Forest jersey every two steps.
This spectacular scene had now become reality.
The football atmosphere in the city had reached an unprecedented height. They had never experienced such excitement before, and this was it.
But this was only the first step. The next step would be to print more jerseys and other team merchandise, with the goal of reaching a worldwide audience.
If they broadened their vision beyond their immediate surroundings, imagining their potential tenfold would not be an exaggeration.
Nottingham Forest had been making a fortune recently. Cao Baiming had also been busy. After meeting with the team's players, Cao Baiming began to focus on his own team's affairs.
After all, Manchester United was the most important matter at the moment, as he intended to have the team's lineup in a presentable state at least before the start of the new season.
The team personally trained by Mike had not disappointed Cao Baiming, especially with ample funding. Great progress had been made in terms of player recruitment. The most significant developments were the commitments from Guardiola and Verratti. Additionally, some players had already completed their contract reservations.
With the current situation, Cao Baiming felt more confident in approaching Messi, Suarez, and Neymar.
The agreed-upon date had arrived. On this day, they would meet in the city of Arsenal. Neymar and Suarez came from different cities.
Cao Baiming was not particularly close, and he chose Arsenal as their meeting point simply because the city held the friendship between Cao Baiming and Messi, serving as a hub of memories.
Cao Baiming woke up early that day. Mike was already waiting outside when he got up. The chauffeured car was parked by the door, ready for him to pack his belongings and depart.
Cao Baiming and Mike traveled to the airport together, boarded a private jet, and then headed for the city of Arsenal.
The specific meeting location was a Chinese cuisine themed restaurant where Cao Baiming and Messi had their first meal together.
This restaurant was famous throughout the city because its owner was a native of China, and Cao Baiming happened to be a VIP member. In fact, not only Messi but also Neymar had dined at this restaurant during Cao Baiming's birthday party.
An hour before the appointed time, Neymar and Suarez had already arrived in the city and found the restaurant. Cao Baiming himself was surprisingly half an hour late.
They thought arriving half an hour early was quite punctual, but these two had come even earlier. And Messi, being from the vicinity, had a very short journey.
The most unbelievable part was that Neymar managed to be so punctual. Based on Cao Baiming's understanding of his personality, his not being late was a shocking event in itself.
After all, he had been more than ten minutes late at the previous birthday party.
On this day, the three of them gathered in the city of Arsenal. Time had unknowingly flown by, and it was now about half an hour before the agreed meeting time.
When Cao Baiming arrived, he found that the three of them had already gathered and were chatting about various things.
He had originally planned to orchestrate this surprise meeting himself, but it seemed that this last step had gone awry, and he was only half an hour late.
Cao Baiming and Mike walked slowly forward. Messi happened to catch sight of them and proactively greeted them.
"Did you arrange for us to meet here? What's your intention, tell us quickly!"
Before Messi could speak, Suarez interjected, and Neymar quickly followed suit. "That's right! If it weren't for this opportunity, who knows how long it would have taken for us to meet again! Thank you, brother!"
Although Messi remained silent, a smile never left his face. He understood Cao Baiming's intentions and was the one among the three who best grasped the significance of the current situation.
Seeing Messi's expression, Cao Baiming knew that the plan, at this point, could be considered a success. However, this was only the first step.
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, they all entered the restaurant together, found a luxurious private room at the far end, and sat down.
Once seated, Cao Baiming ordered the supreme VIP set meal from the owner and then immediately got down to business with them, as the primary objective was to discuss transfers.
The excitement of the reunion of these friends had not yet subsided. They laughed and talked incessantly.
Despite their different languages, and with Cao Baiming making it four people from completely different countries, their conversation flowed without any hindrance.
Everything was so harmonious that they almost forgot Cao Baiming's original intention for the gathering.
Unlike Messi, Neymar and Suarez were unaware of Cao Baiming's true intentions. They could only speculate, but it was inevitable that the three of them, gathered together, would discuss such matters.
Now, they all had their own suspicions, and these suspicions were precisely in line with what Cao Baiming was about to say.
Without any suspense, before the food arrived, Cao Baiming stated his intentions directly.
He had invited them to discuss transfer matters. The purpose of today's gathering was to have the three of them play together on the same team again, and that team was naturally Cao Baiming's own team, Manchester United!
Having already prepared themselves mentally to some extent, they were not overly surprised upon hearing this.