On the night of the match.
While Calderón was still celebrating the Champions League triumph, an unexpected guest came to see him.
Whether it was good news or not was still unclear.
What was certain was that a path had opened for the club to escape its financial crisis.
Calderón formally invited him into his office.
The middle-aged man who entered soon after shook hands with Calderón.
With his clean-shaven bald head and drooping eyes, he was instantly recognizable.
"Congratulations on Real Madrid's Champions League victory."
"Thank you, Vice President Adriano."
Adriano Galliani, vice president of AC Milan.
The man considered the true power behind Milan had personally come to Madrid for an obvious reason.
"I would like to use Ho-young."
"Heh."
Galliani was unusually direct.
Normally, he would circle around the topic to seize the upper hand in negotiations, but today he did the opposite.
'He must be desperate. Cunning old fox.'
Calderón saw right through him.
As expected, AC Milan were cornered.
They had dismissed Ancelotti and appointed Leonardo as head coach to win the Champions League, but instead were eliminated from every competition and ended the season without a trophy.
Originally, they had planned to sell Kaká to Real Madrid and begin a major rebuild, but Pérez stepped down and Calderón was elected instead, ruining those plans.
Naturally, Milan had reason to resent Madrid.
Yet Galliani had maintained a good relationship with Calderón all this time for the sake of this very meeting.
Logically, no one would sell the player who led the team to a domestic double.
But given Real Madrid's financial situation, there was a real possibility.
Galliani knew that, which was why he had knocked on Madrid's door.
However, Calderón did not look willing to let him go easily.
"If you were in my position, would you dare sell Ho-young? Do you know what the fans would say? There might even be riots."
"That may be true. But you have already won the Champions League. If you create another issue to divert the fans' attention, you could put out the immediate fire. Isn't that what the media is for?"
"I understand your point. But I am more curious whether AC Milan can even afford him. Surely you are not thinking of offering Kaká plus cash."
"You think too little of me."
"I am simply aware of Milan's financial condition."
"That is unfortunate. Your information seems slightly outdated."
Just weeks earlier, Italy's political, economic, and football circles had been shaken by a scandal.
Silvio Berlusconi, Italy's prime minister and Milan's owner, had been exposed for hosting an orgy with dozens of actresses and showgirls at his luxury villa in Milan.
While prostitution was legal in Italy and some public opinion was forgiving, the real issue was that minors had allegedly been involved.
To divert attention, Berlusconi decided to inject around 200 million euro into Milan's transfer budget.
As a result, Milan's shortlist included Robinho, David Villa, Zlatan Ibrahimović, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Ho-young.
Their top priority was Ho-young.
"Ho-young's current release clause is only 22 million euro. But Real Madrid require around 130 million euro."
Calderón quickly concealed his expression of surprise.
It was almost as if Milan had a spy inside the club.
'Galliani. Disgusting as ever.'
As Galliani said, Madrid's additional budget requirement was around that amount.
In reality, they needed even more.
The club's debt repayments this year were nearly double that.
"So you intend to take him for that price?"
"We cannot afford that either. And who would pay that amount for a player without an EU passport? He is only sixteen."
"Then?"
"The maximum we can offer is 88 million euro."
"That is absurd. This conversation is no longer worth continuing."
"You will regret not listening."
Calderón paused, and Galliani continued.
"I am not saying we will pay 88 million euro for Ho-young alone."
"Then?"
"You must be troubled by his release clause. Twenty-two million euro is far too low. But if you try to renew his contract to raise it, his agent will not agree."
That was true.
Last year, former president Pérez had raised Ho-young's wages to the maximum, meaning there was no need for a contract renewal anytime soon.
It was as if Pérez had deliberately left a problem behind for Calderón.
But Galliani had a solution.
"There is no need to move capital solely through Ho-young."
"You are suggesting we use another player as leverage."
"Arjen Robben would be ideal."
"Arjen."
Calderón had already considered selling him.
Frequent injuries and declining form had reduced his market value.
"So you propose a package deal with Robben?"
"Correct. We will pay 88 million euro for his transfer. In exchange, Ho-young comes as part of the deal."
"Eighty-eight million for both? Even a stray dog would laugh at that."
"In return, we include a buy-back clause for Ho-young."
"A buy-back?"
"We will keep him for only half a season. We can even add a clause stating he will not play in the Champions League. When he returns, you will only need to pay 70 million euro. That is our offer."
With a buy-back clause, Madrid could re-sign the player within a set period.
In other words, they could sell Ho-young now and bring him back in six months.
This was exactly what Calderón wanted.
An opportunity to secure both money and the player.
He only needed to solve the immediate crisis.
However, one concern remained.
'What if he does not return?'
If Ho-young felt betrayed and refused to come back, the buy-back clause would be meaningless.
Calderón had to consider that carefully.
Galliani addressed it.
"There is no player above the club. Nor is there a player beneath it. Everything moves by capital. But Ho-young is still young and untainted."
"What do you mean?"
Galliani presented a prepared report.
It was a Spanish AS article from last year, when Milan first approached Ho-young.
"Today, Ho-young drove Leonardo Araujo out of Madrid. This demonstrates his absolute loyalty to Real Madrid."
"AS published that. It had nothing to do with us. It seems his camp leaked it. At the time, we made him an extraordinary offer."
"What kind of offer?"
"We were ready to restructure our youth budget and pay him the same wages as Kaká, our top player. That was eight times his salary then."
"I see."
"We also offered a luxury mansion worth 30 million euro, luxury cars for his family and relatives, and every benefit Italy could provide. But the result was disastrous. His loyalty to Madrid was unshakable. Even if the world split in two, he would return. You must know that better than anyone."
Calderón found himself nodding.
He was being persuaded.
'He has a point. This strategy only works on someone as loyal as Ho-young. It would never work on Ronaldo.'
Just six months.
If Ho-young stepped away temporarily, the club's situation could improve significantly.
Once finances stabilized, Madrid could even revive connections in the Middle East that they had previously missed.
German clubs were already signing massive sponsorship deals. They had to act quickly.
"Very well. I will speak to Ho-young first. Tell me what compensation he would receive."
"Of course."
Galliani confidently presented his prepared terms.
The next morning.
Thousands gathered at Plaza de Cibeles in Madrid.
They had come to witness Real Madrid's victory parade.
Last year it was the La Liga trophy. This time, it was the Big Ears.
Raúl and Ho-young climbed the statue and lifted the trophy together, kissing the goddess.
"Waaaaah!"
"Madrid! Madrid! Madrid!"
As it was the tenth Champions League title, the celebration lasted longer than usual.
Then came the Q and A session.
Among the selected fans, one woman wearing Ho-young's jersey asked,
"You had a collision with Marco Materazzi during the match. Are you alright?"
"Thank you for your concern. As you can see, I am fine. I am not sure about him though. It was a heavy collision."
"He deserved it. He started it. Did anything happen after the match?"
"No. But during the match, he made some insulting remarks."
The crowd murmured.
"But as you can see, I am fine. Today is a good day. Let us enjoy this moment."
The square erupted.
"Materazzi, you bastard!"
"I knew it the moment he came on!"
Online reactions were no different.
Spanish reports spread worldwide, sparking outrage.
Materazzi's social media was flooded with insults, mostly in Spanish and Korean.
"Do not ever come to Madrid."
"If you come to Korea, you are finished."
He translated them one by one and sneered.
'Idiots. They will quiet down soon.'
Instead, he focused on training to regain form.
He hoped to be selected for the 2010 World Cup squad.
Though he had lost his starting place, there was still a chance.
But the controversy intensified.
Some Italians defended him. Others called him a disgrace.
The next day, a headline appeared.
"Italy national team coach Marcello Lippi says, 'Marco Materazzi was never under consideration.'"
Materazzi stared at the article in disbelief.
He had known his chances were slim, but hearing it confirmed felt crushing.
Age and performance were factors, but this incident clearly played a role.
"Damn it!"
A season that should have ended with a treble and a World Cup call-up had turned into a disaster.
The morning before Ho-young was set to fly to Japan.
Calderón summoned him privately.
"I have something important to discuss."
"Yes, sir."
A tense atmosphere hung in the air as Calderón spoke.
"Do you love this club?"
(To be continued.)