Football: Starting from the 05 World Youth Championship

At 8 p.m., the 2009 FIFA Awards Ceremony officially began with the appearance of the host and award presenters.

The first to be revealed is FIFA's All-Star XI for 2009:
As expected, Real Madrid's Iker Casillas won the goalkeeper position by a landslide, beating all competitors to become the goalkeeper of the year once again.

In defense, Barcelona's right-back Dani Alves, Real Madrid's center-back Thiago Silva, Manchester United's center-back Nemanja Vidic, and Real Madrid's left-back Marcelo were named Player of the Year for their respective positions.

In midfield, Real Madrid's Lin Feng, Barcelona's Iniesta and Xavi were named the best midfield XI of the year.

There was a slight controversy regarding the three forwards selected; the final three were Messi, Torres, and Ronaldo.

Messi and Ronaldo's inclusion is largely uncontroversial; the only controversy lies with Torres and Eto'o.

Last year, Eto'o's performance in both the league and the Champions League was impeccable.

Compared to him, Torres' performance was also excellent, but still slightly inferior.

However, the two players' situations were quite different after the transfers were completed.

Torres' performance after joining Liverpool was phenomenal, while Eto'o's performance in the early stages of joining Inter Milan was not so satisfactory due to injuries. This is why Torres replaced Eto'o in the Team of the Year.

As the award presenters took turns appearing, the winners of various awards, including the Fair Play Award, the Puskás Award, and the FIFA President's Special Award, were announced one after another.

It is worth mentioning that, thanks to the establishment of the Scottish Premiership and various provincial football leagues, as well as its contributions to the vigorous promotion of grassroots football, the Chinese Football Association received the FIFA Football Development Award.

In the past, Chinese football had no chance to show its face at such events; it was like an outsider, completely unrelated to everything here.

However, in recent years, Chinese football has been appearing on the international stage more and more often.

With the resurgence of the national team, the improvement of youth training and professional league systems, and the increasingly strong football atmosphere among the public, Chinese football will undoubtedly play an increasingly important role on the international stage in the future.

After all the awards were presented, the focus of the event shifted to the 'Five Tigers of Football'.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Platini and Blatter to present the Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year awards!"

A round of applause erupted as Presidents Platini and Blatter walked from backstage to the front of the stage, chatting and laughing.

After the two appeared under the spotlight, everyone's eyes were involuntarily drawn to the envelope that Blatt was holding in his hand.

The final answer is hidden inside this envelope.

As the moment of revealing the answer approached, the five tigers, who had been relaxed and chatting, subconsciously sat up straight and looked eagerly at the award stage.

The camera panned across the group, and Lin Feng, who had already won two Golden Globe Awards, appeared the most relaxed among the five.

Harvey and Kaka knew they were just there to make up the numbers. Although they had a little bit of hope, they didn't have high expectations, so they remained relatively calm.

Cristiano Ronaldo's reaction was interesting. He tried to maintain a calm demeanor, but his subconscious forward lean and unwavering gaze betrayed his inner thoughts.

His chances of winning are slightly higher than Xavi and Kaka, but only slightly higher. With Lin Feng and Messi blocking his way, his chances of winning are less than 5%.

But what if?
After all, he's the guy who led his team to the Champions League final for two consecutive years. Maybe he can pull off an upset based on his reputation and sympathy?

Of the five, Messi was the most nervous.

Unlike the other three, he has the highest award rate besides Lin Feng.

Some analysts say Messi's final chance of winning is as high as 45%, almost on par with Lin Feng.

Although his honors are slightly less than Lin Feng's, his other statistics are in no way inferior, and he is even more entertaining in terms of playing style.

In addition, he is a new face, while Lin Feng is a 'veteran' who has won two Golden Globe Awards. Considering the tendency to prefer the new and tire of the old, he has a better chance than Lin Feng.

What's more, the UEFA president who strongly supported him was on the awards stage at that moment.

His appearance has further fueled Messi's hopes.

On stage, FIFA President Blatter gestured as if to hand an envelope to Platini, and then began to speak:

"Michel, you have a high reputation in the football world, and you are the only player in history to win the Ballon d'Or three years in a row. So, it's up to you to reveal this list."

Platini quickly declined, saying, "No, no, Mr. President, you should do it. You have led FIFA for many years and your achievements are obvious to all. When it comes to prestige, you are the highest mountain in the football world!"

With so many people watching from below the stage, Blatter saw that the other party's attitude was firm and didn't want to continue the argument.

So they had no choice but to open the envelope and reveal the final answer:

"The winner of the 2009 FIFA Ballon d'Or is—"

Everyone held their breath, straining to hear, afraid of missing any detail.

"Lin Feng!"

As everything settled down, thunderous applause erupted at the scene.

Many guests stood up from their seats, clapping and looking in Lin Feng's direction.

Winning the Ballon d'Or once is nothing special; there are quite a few people in the football world who have received this honor.

Winning the Ballon d'Or twice is quite an achievement. Before Lin Feng, only five people in the entire football world had achieved this honor.

But winning the Ballon d'Or three times in a row is truly remarkable.

Only the current UEFA president, Michel Platini, has ever achieved this feat in history!

When the answer was revealed, Kaka and Xavi's expressions didn't change, as if they weren't surprised by the result.

Kaka immediately congratulated Lin Feng, while Xavi first looked at Messi with pity before also extending his blessings to Lin Feng.

A flicker of disappointment crossed Ronaldo's face, but he quickly regained his composure, stood up, gave Lin Feng a warm hug, and whispered in Lin Feng's ear:

"If this keeps up, the Golden Globe Award pedestal will be covered with your name. At least leave some room for everyone else!"

"Hehe, definitely next time!"

Lin Feng chuckled, patted Ronaldo on the shoulder, glanced at Messi and saw his disappointed expression, so he decided not to disturb him and went straight to the stage to receive his award.

Congratulations, Lin!

However, just as he left his seat and stepped into the aisle between the two rows of seats, Messi's voice came from behind him.

"Thank you!"

At this point, Lin Feng didn't know what words of comfort to say.

After a simple thank you and a light hug, he walked toward the podium.

He has walked the path to the podium twice, and won the Golden Globe twice, so the initial excitement is long gone.

He walked onto the stage, shook hands with the guests and the host, and then accepted the Golden Globe Award trophy from Blatter.

"Congratulations, Lin! Your performance over the past three years has been truly amazing!" Blatt congratulated Lin Feng with a smile.

Since discovering Lin Feng's potential three years ago in Serie A, Blatter has been very optimistic about him. He even used his power in FIFA to help promote Lin Feng and set him up as a role model for young players to learn from and emulate.

Looking back now, I realize that my judgment back then was incredibly sharp, and my decision to choose Lin Feng as a typical example was absolutely correct.

In recent years, influenced by the two unparalleled stars, Lin Feng and Messi, football's influence worldwide has been expanding. A large number of young fans have been attracted to the sport by Lin Feng and Messi, injecting a powerful fresh blood into the football world.

The football pie is getting bigger and bigger, and all of this is thanks to him as the FIFA president.

"Thank you, Mr. Chairman, you have brought me such good fortune!"

Lin Feng, who had just received the trophy, was in a very good mood. In addition, he had indeed received some help from Chairman Blatter, so he flattered him a little.

His words amused Blatt, who laughed and said:

"If that's the case, then I hope that next year's World Cup will continue to bring you good luck. To be honest, I really hope to see you lead the Chinese team even further!"

If the Chinese team achieves good results in the World Cup, the development momentum of football in China will become even more rapid, and the corresponding football market will expand exponentially.

This is a huge achievement and a huge reward for FIFA!
……

The news that Lin Feng achieved a three-peat in the Ballon d'Or, equaling Platini's record and becoming only the second player in history to receive this honor, spread rapidly online after the awards ceremony.

Fans who support Lin Feng celebrated wildly with great joy.

Meanwhile, Messi's fans were just as heartbroken as he was.

Messi really has a chance at this year's Ballon d'Or.

The vote count that was later released showed that the gap between the two was very small.

Lin Feng received a total of 773 votes, while Messi received 682 votes.

The difference between the two candidates was only 91 votes, the smallest gap in the past five years.

Unfortunately, it was this difference of just over 90 votes that shattered Messi's and his fans' Ballon d'Or dreams once again.

They couldn't help but wonder if Messi would have won his first Ballon d'Or if Barcelona hadn't lost to Real Madrid in last year's Champions League semi-final.

But there's no going back in life; the past can't be undone. All we can do is work harder to seize the opportunities we have now.

Compared to the votes of Lin Feng and Messi, the votes for Ronaldo and others were quite dismal.

Cristiano Ronaldo, who ranked third, only received 196 votes, nearly 500 votes short!

Moreover, the gap between him and the two behind him was not wide. Fourth-placed Xavi received 170 votes, and even fifth-placed Kaka received 124 votes.

Barcelona's entire team performed exceptionally well last year. Apart from Messi and Xavi, Iniesta, Eto'o, and others also delivered impeccable performances.

This objectively took away some of the votes that originally belonged to Messi. If all these votes were concentrated on Messi, perhaps Messi could really overtake Lin Feng.

……

The impact of Lin Feng's third Ballon d'Or award was quickly reflected both on and off the field.

Sponsors have been coming to contact Lin Feng and his agent in droves, and their endorsement fees have increased by 30%-40% on top of the original amount.

Nike was the fastest to act, the most determined, and the most ambitious!

Nike sent its European head to him to offer a lifetime contract worth up to $5 million.

The $5 million is just the guaranteed reward; the contract also includes several additional incentive clauses.

Winning the Ballon d'Or, winning the World Cup, or reaching certain social media follower milestones will trigger additional rewards.

This translates to an average of $1000 million in sponsorship per year.

This sponsorship will continue even after retirement!

This type of contract is incredibly attractive to almost all professional players.

After all, the most glorious moments for players are only during the golden period of their careers.

Once they pass their peak, their exposure will gradually decrease, and once they retire, their exposure and fame will plummet even further.

Therefore, the vast majority of players' income comes from the era in which they played football.

If they don't transition well after retirement, they might not even be able to find a job and end up living off their savings.

In the football and NBA worlds, there are numerous examples every year of players falling back into poverty after retiring because they live off their savings.

In this context, the lifetime contracts offered by sponsors provide a strong safety net and guarantee for their lives after retirement, making them far more attractive than ordinary sponsorship contracts.

So when Nike offered this lifetime contract, even Mendes, who was used to big occasions, couldn't help but gasp.

He knew that Nike valued Lin Feng, but he didn't expect them to value him this much.

Of all the players under his management, only Lin Feng has received a lifetime contract offer so far.

Other players don't even have the chance to sign this!
However, what Mendes considered a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, Lin Feng rejected after merely glancing at the contract.

"This kind of opportunity is rare and hard to come by. I suggest you consider it carefully and don't make a decision hastily!"

Mendes even doubted his ears, wondering if he had misheard.
This incredibly valuable lifetime contract was rejected?
It's worth noting that before Lin Feng, Nike had only ever offered a lifetime contract to Michael Jordan, the "God of Basketball."

Other basketball stars like Kobe and LeBron didn't have this opportunity.

As for football, it was completely unheard of.

Before Lin Feng received this contract, many people even thought that Jordan was an exception and that Nike would never offer such a generous contract to anyone else again.

Lifetime contracts were indeed rare in the 09-10s, but a few years later, they were practically commonplace, with football and basketball superstars almost all having one. They weren't that precious anymore.

Signing now is just a way to gain a title and show off.

However, they suffered a significant loss in terms of the contract amount.

Lin Feng remembers clearly that Nike offered Ronaldo a lifetime contract worth a total of $10 billion.

He now surpasses Ronaldo in both ability and honors, and he also has the huge Chinese market to rely on.

Is it unreasonable to ask for a contract with equal treatment?

So if he signs the contract now, he'll be making half the money he was supposed to.

It's only a few years before Nike signs a lifetime contract with Ronaldo. Waiting a few more years means an extra $5 million; he understands the math perfectly well. (End of Chapter)