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Chapter 266 The King's Disciples

In English, there is a word that looks very similar to "Factos":
factors
Meanings such as "factor", "factor", "factor number".

Ribeiro retweeted this fan's video with the caption "Factors," what does that mean?
So it's clear that this isn't what Ribeiro really meant.

Given that Miguel Ribeiro is Portuguese, this should be a Portuguese word?
There is indeed such a word in Portuguese:

Factos
It means "fact" or "indeed." It is generally used when expressing agreement with someone's statement or viewpoint.

Looking at it this way, it makes sense:

The video created by @WangisKing was actually based on a comment made by commentator Connor Cowley during the Tyne vs. Burley United match:

"Wang's transfer to Tyne in January of this year can be described as Tyne's best transfer in 165 years. At the same time, it is also the most failed and foolish transfer in Sofia's 159-year history! Without a doubt!"

Ribeiro's reposting of this video also indicates his agreement with Connor Cowley's words:

"That's right, that's exactly it."

Wang Lie's arrival at Tyne was indeed the greatest transfer in Tyne's club history.

Sofia's decision to let Wang Lie go was undoubtedly the most failed and foolish transfer in Sofia's history.

If Vitini's act of liking the video was enough to attract media attention and cause a public uproar, then Miguel Ribeiro's actions—not only liking it but also sharing it, and even posting it on Factos—were practically blatant harassment...

He went all out against Sofia.

To be honest, in modern football, it's very rare for a player to harbor such deep malice towards a particular team.

Not to mention that this team is a powerhouse.

If you're talking about players from rival clubs who hate their rivals, that's within the realm of what normal people can understand.

However, Sofia and Tyne are not exactly mortal enemies. In the more than 100 years of history before 2037, there was absolutely no enmity or story between them.

Neither Vitini nor Miguel Ribeiro were influenced by the club's traditional history, but entirely by their captain.

In other words, their feud with Sofia was a personal one, because Wang Lie had a personal grudge against Sofia.

However, this behavior carries significant risks.

The grudges on the field carry over off the field, which inevitably draws criticism.

In addition, Sofia United is a well-known top club in England, with a large following throughout the country.

With Vitini and Ribeiro going head-to-head with Sofia United like that, what will Sofia United supporters think?
Will they just laugh it off?

Leaving aside ordinary fans, Marvin Block, a retired legend from Sofia United, immediately posted an angry statement online condemning this behavior:

"This is an absolute disgrace! But not to Sofia, it's to Tyne! It's a disgrace to football! For a professional player to share such an insulting video and even like it is a blatant provocation against Sofia!"

His tweet was flooded with comments from fans, most of whom were supportive. After all, it was very clear what stance Marvin Block took in the conflict between Wang Lie and Sofia United.

Therefore, his fans are all filtered and selected.

Those Wang Lie fans wouldn't come here looking for trouble if they had no other choice.

Fans who support both Wang Lie and Sofia United are a "silent minority" who rarely speak up and have little presence.

As for those longtime Sofia fans who don't like Wang Lie... they are extremely rare. Even one of them alive should be protected and studied.

Therefore, most of the people active in his comment section are Wang Lie's haters.

They may not support Sofia, but they absolutely hate Wang Lie.

The comments under his tweet were mostly from people having team building activities.

They are clamoring that Sofia United should blacklist Vitini and Ribeiro and never sign them again.

There are also calls for the English Football Association to conduct an ethics investigation into Vitini and Ribeiro – they believe the two have violated the ethics of professional footballers.

In addition to lashing out in Marvin Block's comment section, these people also went to Vitini and Ribeiro's social media accounts to cyberbully them.

“Damn it, why are they so crazy?” Anderson Nova couldn’t help but curse when he saw the comments under Vitini’s social media post. “I remember you said something similar at the press conference before Tyne’s game against Sofia last year, why didn’t these people react this strongly then?”

He saw the screen filled with yellow, because it was full of banana emoji icons.

These people didn't say a word, they just kept handing out bananas.

This is how they insulted Vitini, calling him a black gorilla.

Although he didn't get to criticize himself, Anderson Nova's blood pressure still spiked while watching.

Because he, like Vitini, is also Black.

Racial discrimination exists everywhere; he also encountered it when he played football in Spain.

So now Vitini's comments section reminds him of some unpleasant memories.

Vitini, however, was not as angry as he was, because this was a result he had anticipated after liking the post.

There were already many racial jokes about him online, and now that he's stirred up a hornet's nest, how can he possibly expect to escape unscathed?
In response to Nova's doubts, Vitini shrugged and said, "Because they hadn't even played their match against us yet, and now they've really lost 0-9."

Before that 0-9 defeat last season, there was a consensus among Sofia United fans that no matter how well Tyne performed or how arrogant he was, if he were to actually face Sofia United, he would still be thrashed by the mighty English top club... Well, thrashed might be an exaggeration, but Sofia United should still be able to beat Tyne.

Even rational Sofia United fans, while not believing Sofia United can easily beat Tyne, would think the two teams are evenly matched.

Therefore, these Sofia United fans still felt a sense of superiority when facing Tyne.

But after that 0-9 defeat, all their pride was crushed to dust by Tyne.

That crushing defeat remains a thorn in the side of every Sofia United fan.

Just mentioning it causes them unbearable pain.

This is why the video so broke down Sofia supporters; the video creator clearly knew exactly where Sofia supporters' weaknesses lay.

"Will this have any negative impact on you?" Anderson Nova asked with some concern.

“A negative impact?” Vitini tilted his head and thought for a moment. “Perhaps I’ll hear more boos when I play at Redstone Stadium? But I often hear boos at away games, so it doesn’t affect me much…”

He laughed as he said this:

“You see, Anderson. A bad reputation has its advantages. I’ve taken a lot of flak anyway, and the more I’ve been criticized, the stronger my heart has become. Now I can better understand how Wang felt when he left Soforth…”

When Wang Lie left Sofia, he had already been subjected to cyberbullying for several months, including spreading rumors, making personal attacks, and implicating his family. Which of these tactics hadn't been used against Wang Lie?
But these attacks did not break Wang Lie; on the contrary, they contributed to his current performance. Vitini has always believed that the explosive performance of the 38-year-old Wang Lie is inseparable from the attacks he suffered in the past.

Wang is definitely determined to prove those bastards who were pessimistic about him wrong with his performance!

And now he feels the same way.

"...When we play Sofia United away, I'll let those who booed me know that my dislike for them is a hundred times greater than their dislike for me!"

※※※

The attacks on Vitini have largely focused on racial discrimination.

However, due to the regulatory policies of online platforms, these racially discriminatory attacks have been somewhat restrained. At least the trolls who have lost their temper can no longer directly call Vitini "an underdeveloped black monkey" in the comments section.

On Miguel Ribeiro's side, the attack was even more intense.

Besides personal attacks like insults, many people also brought up old grievances—actually, not very old grievances, just over two months ago.

In order to successfully transfer to Tyne, Ribeiro resorted to striking out to put pressure on Milan City Club.

This is why he contacted Tyne immediately, but the time it took for him to successfully join the team was relatively late.

For Milan fans, Ribeiro's decision to strike in order to leave is indeed very upsetting.

Many of them still haven't fully forgiven Ribeiro.

The current dredging up of old grievances is based on this mentality of Milan fans.

They accused Ribeiro of having poor character, going on strike to join Tyne and harming Milan's interests. They also criticized him for demanding a higher salary from Milan, ultimately forcing him to leave when Milan refused to comply.

Ribeiro's despicable character is used to refute Wang Lie's despicable character. After all, one is influenced by one's company; rats always attract each other.

So if Ribeiro is this kind of scoundrel, then Wang Lie is obviously no better. The fact that someone as despicable as Ribeiro idolizes Wang Lie proves that Wang Lie is also a despicable person…

The theoretical basis for this attack is actually even more outrageous.

Putting aside the fact that choosing to strike in order to join one's desired team is not uncommon in the football world, it is hardly an unforgivable crime.

The claim that Ribeiro used Tyne as a front to make exorbitant demands for a high-salary contract extension from Milan, only to be betrayed and forced to join Tyne is a complete fabrication.

Firstly, Ribeiro did indeed discuss a contract renewal with Milan City, and the renewal has not yet been successful because the two sides could not reach an agreement on terms.

But that happened in January of this year, and it had absolutely nothing to do with Tyne or Wang Lie. At that time, Wang Lie hadn't even transferred to Tyne yet…

The haters simply pieced together a few real events to create a so-called truth that never happened.

The key issue is that there are still many people online who fall for this. Some of these people are bad people who know the truth but choose to attack you with rumors, but most are fools who don't understand the truth at all and don't want to understand it. They believe whatever others say and then follow along to spread rumors.

Vitini has developed a stronger heart through countless boos and insults, and he still has no problem controlling his temper even when he's not on the field.

So how will Miguel Ribeiro respond to these stupid and malicious attacks?
Will he tell everyone the truth and defend himself?

Will he apologize to the public for his decision to skip training in order to go to Tyne?

nothing.

After taking a nap and letting public opinion develop overnight, he posted a brand new update.

"Good morning."

Then he posted a photo of the tattoo on his wrist.

The tattoos there are very small, and with the fancy font of the numbers, they would just look like ordinary tattoos if you didn't look closely.

It wasn't until Ribeiro released the photos that everyone could clearly see the specific content above:
6, 3, 9:0
He simply released the photos without offering any further explanation.

But there are always clever people in the comments section who quickly figured out the meaning of the numbers and shared it with others who didn't understand:

"This is from last season's match! '9:0' is the score, that's easy to understand, right? '6' is Wang's goal tally in that match! As for '3', it's obviously Wang's assists! He was involved in all nine goals in that match! I never expected Ribeiro to have numbers related to that match tattooed on his body..."

“We all know Ribeiro is a fan of the King, but this is the first time we've known that he idolizes the King to this extent! Now I think many people can understand why he would rather skip training than not join Tyne, right? For him, after the King publicly issued the call, he knew that this was probably the only opportunity in his life to fight alongside his idol. After all, the King is already thirty-eight years old, and who knows how much longer he can play?”

So what's wrong with forwarding a fan's video yesterday?
He even tattooed the statistics of this match that broke down the defenses of Sofia supporters on his body!
This is more than just a close-range attack; it's like tearing open Sofia's wounds and then sprinkling salt, cumin, chili powder, Sichuan peppercorn powder, sesame seeds, and chopped green onions...

Last night, those haters were clamoring that a fan video was humiliating Sofia. Now Ribeiro has shown them what real humiliation is!

※※※

After playing yesterday's match against Burley United, all the Tyne players who participated in the game were given a full day off and did not have to go to the training ground to train.

However, for those who are ambitious, they can train anywhere and don't necessarily have to go to a training base.

For example, you can do it in your own home gym.

In the gym of his villa, Wang Lie chatted with Ribeiro about the events that had been brewing since last night while they were doing post-match recovery training.

"Actually, you didn't need to post that photo. The popularity of the video you shared will gradually fade, but your tattoo will remain on your body and be repeatedly mentioned by people with ulterior motives."

Wang Lie, speaking from experience, offered Ribeiro some advice.

Although Ribeiro regards Wang Lie as a god in his football career, it doesn't mean that he will blindly obey all of this god's words.

He also has his own ideas.

So he grinned and said, "I just want them to remember it forever, to mention it over and over again."

Seeing Ribeiro's attitude, Wang Lie stopped trying to persuade him; he wasn't the kind of "saintly hypocrite."

He simply told Ribeiro, "Then you need to train even harder and improve yourself. That way you can prove them wrong time and time again."

Hearing Wang Lie's words, Ribeiro felt that he had gained Wang Lie's approval on this matter, and he happily said, "Of course, I will, Wang. Just thinking about how I can slap them in the face again and again in the future gives me a lot of motivation!"

As he spoke, he began to tinker with the fitness equipment even more vigorously.

Wang Lie stopped talking; the break between training sessions was over.

For a moment, the only sounds in the gym were the metallic clanging of machinery and heavy, muffled breathing.

※※※

"Ah, you've lost, Vitini!"

Anderson Nova exclaimed upon seeing Ribeiro's latest tweet.

Vitini, of course, knew what he was talking about, and snorted, "True respect is kept in the heart, Anderson. Given the bond between me and the King, who fought side by side with me, the King knows very well that my loyalty is impeccable."

Nova laughed, “Well said, Vitini. But who is closest to the king, living right next door?”

Vitini took a deep breath, but finally couldn't hold back and yelled, "Damn Dean!"

At the same time, he gritted his teeth inwardly:

Six more wheels... six more! You just wait, you bastard!
In the thirteenth round of the league, six rounds later, Tyne will host Kensington.

That was also the first time Sonny Dean had returned home since leaving Tyne.

And Vitini will give him a "generous gift"—a generous gift to express gratitude.

※※※

Sonny Dean suddenly shivered.

He glanced at the air conditioning vent in the hotel room.

His roommate, Grant McGrey, noticed his little action and asked, "What's wrong?"

Dean frowned and said, "I suddenly feel a little cold..."

These words made McGrey nervous: "Is the air conditioning set too low?"

Dean shook his head: "The temperature is just right. It's not cold anymore, just like that last moment..."

McGrey was still uneasy: "Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure." Dean checked himself, and the electric-like chill had indeed disappeared.

Seeing his certainty, McGrey breathed a sigh of relief: "You need to protect yourself, Sonny. You're the core of our team now!"

Dean gave him a smile: "Don't worry, Grant, I'm in great shape right now."

McGrey gave him a thumbs up: "It's all up to you in tonight's game against Heringham!"

Dean nodded and made a promise to his roommate.

※※※

"Sonny Dean!!"

As the commentator shouted in a drawn-out voice.

Sonny Dean, who had just taken a shot, ran toward the corner flag with his arms outstretched.

"Dean's goal sealed the victory for Kensington! 2-0! With less than twenty minutes left in the game, Dean knocked the final nail in the coffin!"

Dean stood in front of the corner flag, arms outstretched, body slightly leaning back, facing the Heringham FC fans in the stands who were waving their fists at him and roaring angrily. Despite the huge boos, his face showed no fear, but a calm smile.

How could Vitini, that foolish bird under the king's protection, possibly endure such a storm?

That silly bird is nothing but a king's lapdog.

And I, Sonny Dean, am the true inheritor of the King's spirit!
Fake fans are just people who talk about him all the time.

True fans are already on their way to becoming him!
(End of this chapter)