At the beginning of July, Manchester City officially announced the transfers of several key defenders: Cannavaro, Thuram, and Capdevila, who was loaned to Deportivo La Coruña. These moves effectively positioned Manchester City as the club with the largest cash reserves in the league.
Richard whistled as he reviewed the "package structure" sent by Parma for his two best defenders. The Italian clubs have always been very creative financially. Deals were not always simple cash transactions. The terms were staggering.
For Cannavaro: £25 million upfront, with another £25 million to be paid in installments over two years.
For Thuram: £20 million upfront, plus £25 million in installments over the same period.
At first, Parma had proposed the classic Serie A system—a co-ownership deal. They wanted to purchase 50% of the players' rights and pay only half upfront. But Richard had rejected it outright.
"Hmmm…" Richard rubbed his chin.
