"When even Mané leaves Liverpool, what else can you say?"
"He may have brought 60 million euros into Anfield, but to Liverpool supporters, Mané was surely worth far more than that."
"Why didn't they do everything they could to keep him? Or are Liverpool planning to bring in a new winger to replace him?"
"Mané has been one of Liverpool's most reliable attacking outlets over the past few seasons. From beating defenders to scoring goals, he could do so much by himself on the left."
"And then there's Shaqiri. I don't think you could buy a better backup winger for eight million. He was even good enough to start."
What Gullit found hardest to understand were the departures of Mané and Shaqiri. Wijnaldum may have left on a free transfer, but the two sides had failed to agree on a new contract, so Liverpool could hardly be blamed for that.
"And since Lovren left, Liverpool still haven't found a suitable center-back partner for Van Dijk."
"Ocho started regularly last season. I wouldn't say Liverpool losing the Premier League title was his fault, but he certainly performed poorly in a few matches and cost them points."
"There's nothing wrong with using Ocho as a rotation player, but asking someone so young to start at center-back for a title-winning side just isn't reasonable."
"Liverpool have had the lowest net spend among the Premier League's top eight clubs over the past two seasons. The fact that they still managed to win the Champions League is astonishing."
"They've remained in contention for trophies only because key players like Leo Lin have pushed themselves to the limit. Liverpool can't keep operating like this forever."
Even Gullit had seen enough. Liverpool needed to sign more players during this transfer window, at the very least.
On July 28, just as Gullit was voicing his doubts, news of a new Liverpool signing reached the studio.
"According to confirmed reports, Liverpool have just signed Norwegian midfielder Martin Ødegaard from Real Madrid for 29 million euros!"
"Martin Ødegaard never performed particularly well at the Bernabéu, but Liverpool have now secured his signature. He can play in central midfield or on the right, so he offers plenty of positional flexibility. The only question is whether he can succeed in the Premier League."
Ødegaard's arrival caught Scholes completely by surprise. Later that evening, Liverpool delivered a second piece of transfer news.
"It seems Liverpool had a reason for selling Mané. They've signed a new left winger, the young and extremely quick Luis Díaz!"
"According to reliable reports, Luis Díaz has cost Liverpool around 65 million euros!"
Luis Díaz was quick and excellent at beating defenders, though his crossing and finishing were not yet particularly strong. Even so, he was capable of producing moments of brilliance.
The arrival of those two players calmed Liverpool's supporters somewhat.
The following day, just as Leo Lin was preparing to leave for Spain's European Championship round-of-16 match, Barnett sent him a message. He had just completed a deal to bring one of his clients to Liverpool.
"I've just concluded a deal with Liverpool. A young French center-back named Konaté, the most talented defender among the young players I currently represent, is joining them for 50 million euros."
With three deals completed, Liverpool had signed Luis Díaz, Ødegaard, and Konaté. All three filled positions the club needed to strengthen, and each was young with plenty of potential.
For the first time, Leo Lin was not especially interested in which new players were joining Liverpool. Instead, he drove to Mané's home with Rodri and Firmino.
Mané's wife opened the door for them.
"Mané is at Liverpool taking care of the last few things. We're flying to Munich tonight."
"Lin, Mané said the only reason he didn't want to leave was because of you. Even so, he has decided to continue his career in the Bundesliga."
Mané's wife invited them inside to sit and wait for him to return.
The interior of Mané's home looked nothing like the house of a football superstar.
There were no expensive decorations. Everything was simple, exactly the way Mané liked it.
Mané finally returned about an hour later. When he saw everyone sitting together and talking, he put down the documents and luggage in his hands, looking somewhat at a loss.
He had not messaged Leo Lin because he did not know how to say goodbye.
"Lin, the next time Liverpool play Bayern, we'll be opponents."
Firmino and Salah stepped forward and embraced Mané, while Leo Lin patted him on the shoulder. Of the four Liverpool players countless supporters had hailed as the heavy artillery of modern football, one had finally become the first to leave.
"The four of us have scored so many Premier League goals over the past few seasons. Is there any team we haven't scored against?"
"Whether it was the Premier League, the Champions League, or any other competition, whenever the four of us played together, we always found a way to win!"
After several rounds of drinks, Firmino was clearly drunk. Leaning against Mané, he began boasting loudly, though everything he said was true.
"Whenever Lin passed me the ball, I didn't even need to look. I already knew where Mané was, where Salah was, and where Lin was. I knew what I had to do, and all of you knew what you had to do. Then we would score."
"What's the new kid called again? Dista?"
Leo Lin corrected him from the side.
"Luis."
"Right, Luis."
"People say he's fast. They say he's even faster than Mané. But to me, nobody is faster than Mané!"
The longer Firmino spoke, the more dispirited he sounded.
"Is this really what football is like? It's not how I imagined it."
"Lin, I always thought the four of us would retire together at Liverpool. I thought we would all stay at Anfield."
"I thought that even when I grew old and couldn't play anymore, as long as Liverpool still wanted me, I could sit on the bench and watch the team keep playing. I would only leave Liverpool on the day I finally left football behind."
"Damn it. Then the four of us would retire together. I'd make sure I stood in front of the other three so every supporter would be looking at me."
"Then I'd tell them about every match the four of us played together. Every goal and every little detail."
"Whether they were eighty, sixty, or had only just started watching Liverpool, I'd make sure they all knew what the four of us had done for this club!"
As Firmino spoke, he gradually drifted into a deep sleep. Salah had also drunk too much, and soon fell asleep leaning against him.
Leo Lin's glass was empty, so Mané poured him another glass of red wine, his hands trembling slightly.
After setting the bottle down, Mané looked directly into Leo Lin's eyes and spoke with complete seriousness.
"Lin."
"I used to think the same way. Just like Firmino."
Leo Lin said nothing. Slightly drunk, he stared through the window at Liverpool's neon-lit night.
Of course.
Who hadn't?