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Chapter 270 Pure as a String

"...Next season's Champions League newcomers, Tyne from England, is in contact with AC Milan, who want to sign Milan's star striker Miguel Ribeiro! And according to sources, the player himself is also keen to join Tyne..."

Galkin Lafayel saw this message on Twitter, and then looked at the poster:
Andrea Rossi.

He couldn't help but laugh.

Who would have thought that even this well-known transfer whistleblower would have a slip-up...

Andrea Rossi is a famous Italian football journalist. Because of his extensive network and numerous insider sources, he is able to leak team transfer news online in advance, and most of the time his information is confirmed to be true, giving him a huge influence online.

His tweet immediately sparked a heated discussion.

The comments section was full of mockery of Andrea Rossi, mostly from Milan fans who thought the story was completely fake.

The first part of this revelation was relatively normal.

Having just secured Champions League qualification, Tyne naturally needs to recruit players, and it's reasonable for him to set his sights on Ribeiro from Milan City, given Ribeiro's outstanding performance for Milan City last season.

But the second half of the revelation was utter nonsense.

What does it mean that "the player also has a strong desire to join Tyne"?
You mean Miguel Ribeiro gave up being a starter for a Serie A powerhouse to play in the Champions League for an English team that was fighting relegation last season?
We, Milan, are qualified to play in the Champions League!
Why would Ribeiro abandon his familiar tactical system and team environment to play for a Champions League newcomer?

Besides, since they're both playing in the Champions League, isn't it obvious which team they're more likely to achieve good results with?

Everyone knows that Ribeiro is a fan of Wang Lie.

However, they do not believe that Ribeiro would be blinded by emotions and replace reason with fan mentality when it comes to such a serious matter as his career planning.

Milan fans believe that Andrea Rossi, the gossipmonger, is talking nonsense.

Milan striker Galkin Rafael, a friend of Ribeiro in the team, shares the same view as these ordinary fans.

So when he saw this message, his first reaction was to laugh.

After laughing, he remembered that he should play a trick on Ribeiro, so he took a screenshot of the message and sent it to his partner.

Accompanied by a mischievous grin emoji:
When did you decide to go to Tyne?

He knew his friend was a fan of Wang Lie, especially in the last six months, as Wang Lie performed exceptionally well in Taien, Ribeiro's enthusiasm grew.

So he thought that might be why Andrea Rossi fabricated such a rumor in an attempt to attract traffic.

After all, Ribeiro truly admires Wang Lie, so it's more believable that he would go to Taien because of this.

After posting the message, Lafayette switched to Andrea Rossi's social media comment section to continue enjoying the sarcastic remarks from netizens towards Rossi.

After an unknown amount of time—maybe a minute, maybe a few minutes… it certainly wasn't an instant reply—he received a message from Miguel Ribeiro:
“Uh… he’s telling the truth, Galkin.”

After seeing Ribeiro's reply, Lafayette was looking forward to the other man joining him in criticizing Rossi's revelation for backfiring, so he wore an excited smile.

But after he saw the details of Ribeiro's message, his smile froze.

But he only froze for a moment before laughing again—he thought Ribeiro was probably joking with him.

So he replied, "Stop joking, Miguel. This joke isn't funny..."

Ribeiro's response this time was very quick, almost a "second reply":

“I’m not kidding, Galkin Rossi. His revelation is true.”

Now it was Rafael's turn to stare at his phone screen in silence for a long time, without responding.

After an unknown amount of time—perhaps a minute, perhaps several minutes—he typed on his phone, feeling both puzzled and somewhat angry.

But his trembling fingers caused him to make a series of typos.

In the end, he simply stopped typing and made a phone call instead.

The moment the call connected, he suppressed his anger, but still said in a very harsh tone, "Tell me you're joking with me, Miguel!"

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone.

Lafayette knew the answer without even needing to hear Ribeiro's reply:

Yes, Ribeiro really wants to leave Milan and go to Tyne.

His anger could no longer be contained, and he loudly questioned Ribeiro on the phone:

"Why? Why leave? Aren't you happy in Milan? You're our key player! So many fans love you! The head coach loves you too! Why go to Tyne?!"

After a barrage of questions, Ribeiro sighed before saying, "Galkin, you know I'm a huge fan of the King..."

"So you chose to go to Tyne because of the King?"

Ribeiro ignored Lafayette's interruption and continued after he finished speaking: "The other day, at his contract renewal ceremony, the King said that he wanted to start a great undertaking in Tyne..."

Lafayette interrupted Ribeiro again, laughing in exasperation: "So you really believed him? You really believed what he said? It was just a show, a 'show,' you understand, Miguel? A show! He just took Tyne's money and gave the team some advertising. Do you look at advertisements when you buy things? Why would you believe his empty talk on a show?"

After confirming that Rafael had finished speaking, Ribeiro said, "I know the King, Galkin, I know him. He's not the kind of guy who lies and cheats... Yes, some of what he says sounds exaggerated and abstract, but he always does it. He always proves with his actions that he's not lying or bragging. So yes, I believe what he says. He really is going to do something great in Tyne, and I want to be a part of it."

Rafael frowned deeply upon hearing this. He felt that he understood the meaning of each word Ribeiro said, but why did it sound so unfamiliar when put together?
“Miguel, to be honest, you might as well tell me it’s God’s will… like you had a dream yesterday where God told you to leave Milan and go to Tyne… I know, it must be that Tyne Club promised your agent a very high signing bonus, so he tricked you into going to Tyne, right?”

Rafael simply couldn't believe that there was any player in the world with such charisma that another person would abandon their promising future and embark on an unknown adventure for just a word from them.

He felt that no player in the world would be foolish enough to believe what another player said during a publicity stunt, and then, in a fit of rage, cut off all escape routes to rush to the mountains and seas.

Therefore, he could only find the most reasonable explanation from his own understanding.

Of course, it was Ribeiro's agent, Bruno Figueroa, who was behind this!

The root of all problems is the agent's greed!

After all, at the beginning of the year, Ribeiro's contract renewal with the club failed, which was widely believed to be due to Figueroa's high salary demands and his insistence on not budging.

As Ribeiro's friend, Rafael knew him well. He was a simple-minded young man—not exactly simple-minded, but not one to idolize anyone to this extent—what did he know? He just wanted to play football…

So who took advantage of his naive mind?
But facing the furious Rafael, Ribeiro on the other end of the phone remained remarkably calm: "I know this is hard to believe, but Galkin, I'm telling the truth. Tyne didn't come looking for us; on the contrary, we were the ones who sought him out..."

Lafayel was speechless. He wasn't shocked by Ribeiro's "shenanigans" in contacting Tyne, but rather because he didn't believe Ribeiro at all. He thought the other party was just making excuses to deceive him.

So he said, “You don’t need to do this, Miguel. We’re friends, what can’t we talk about? Don’t try to fob me off with excuses. I’m not a journalist, I didn’t record the call, and nothing we discussed will appear online…”

Lafayette was already somewhat disappointed with Ribeiro's actions, so he expressed his dissatisfaction directly, just as true friends should do.

After hearing him say that, there was indeed a moment of silence on the other end of the phone.

Ribeiro remained silent for a longer time this time, and Rafael, considering his feelings, said, "If it's inconvenient for you to say right now, you can send me a message after you hang up, and I'll know. Hey, buddy, we've always gotten along well, haven't we? Back when we first came to Milan, we didn't even know each other, but we became friends. There's no reason for us to have grown apart after three years, is there?"

Lafayette thought to himself, "Since he's been so frank, I'm sure Miguel will be frank with him too."

Sure enough, after he said that, Ribeiro finally spoke up: "You're right, Galkin. We talk about everything, and I wouldn't lie to you or deceive you. So... I really didn't lie to you, Galkin. It was indeed me who contacted Tyne. I was truly inspired by the King's words and wanted to go to Tyne to make a name for myself..."

Lafayette hung up the phone without listening to Ribeiro finish speaking—when Ribeiro, a sincere friend, still refused to tell the truth, what was the point of continuing the call?
The next day, Ribeiro came to him again, wanting to explain, but was decisively rejected by Lafayette.

He was unwilling to listen to the new reasons Ribeiro had "invented" overnight.

I treated you like a friend, but you treated me like an idiot.

Then what is there left for us to talk about?

Ribeiro's transfer saga later turned into a dramatic and unpredictable saga.

To Rafael's utter surprise, Ribeiro went so far as to strike in order to transfer to Tyne!
Ribeiro's strike against training was a clear indication of his intentions to the club – this time, he was determined to leave!
At this point, Ribeiro's reputation among Milan fans had plummeted, and many were demanding the club release him, as they didn't want to see the Milan jersey worn by him...

In the end, Ribeiro did indeed get his wish and transferred away.

Just as the two clubs officially announced the news, some busybodies reported that Galkin Rafael, who has close ties with Ribeiro, unfollowed Miguel Ribeiro on social media platforms.

But Lafayette had already unfollowed him long ago...

Not only on the social media platforms that everyone can see, but also privately, Lafayette blocked Ribeiro's phone number.

He could accept that his friend wanted to transfer and leave to pursue his own new path, but he had to make it clear to him first.

Communicate frankly like a man, instead of hiding your true thoughts as if it were something shameful... Speaking of which, does Ribeiro also know that his sudden departure from Milan is a very unethical thing to do, so he has to use lies to cover it up?

He couldn't accept that his former friend had tricked him into thinking he was an idiot.

※※※

"...I don't think there's anything wrong with passing the ball to Wang, and I don't need him to speak up for me. Actually, I thoroughly enjoy everything at Tyne, both life and football. To me, Wang is my football god. If I could always play alongside my god, I'd rather not score a single goal!"

Hearing Ribeiro's words to the media before the match stirred up unpleasant memories for Galkin Rafael...

Looking at his former friend shaking his head in the video, Lafayette snorted.

Since the start of the new season, zero goals and only three assists—with such a performance, how dare he say he's enjoying it…

I don't know what's so enjoyable about it!
If you had stayed in Milan, you would have achieved very different results.

This season we will aim for the Serie A title and also strive to reach the Champions League semi-finals.

And you, Miguel Ribeiro, as you slowly rot in this country bumpkin team, perhaps you will eventually realize what a foolish decision you made under the influence of your agent.

But by then, it might be too late.

You left the team that was best suited for you and joined a team with no foundation because of greed, which destined you to have very limited achievements in your career.

With your talent and ability, this shouldn't be the case.

Do you really believe what you believe?

Do you really think you can win more in Tyne than you can in Milan?
In tomorrow's game, I will show you with my actions what a terrible choice you made!

※※※

"Miguel Ribeiro: The King is my football god!"

Ribeiro retorted to Dadomo: "Shut up, I don't need you to teach me how to play football!"

"Ribeiro: I'd be willing to never score a goal as long as I can play with the King!" "...Miguel Ribeiro has recently become the most talked-about player in Tyne. The Portuguese star has been making waves on social media, but that wasn't enough. Today, outside the hotel, he suddenly spoke candidly to all the reporters, expressing his admiration for the King..."

"Yes, we all know Miguel Ribeiro is a fan of the King, but his remarks to reporters today still shocked many people. In the history of world football, there has been more than one King of Football, but no one has dared to say that he is the God of Football... Now Ribeiro is telling the world that the King is the God of Football! So... has the true god descended?"

Lawrence Dadomo responded to Ribeiro's comment: "Gentlemen, if you don't know what a 'die-hard fan' is, then go and watch what Miguel Ribeiro said in that interview. If you don't find it nauseating, disgusting, or vomiting after reading it, then congratulations, you're already a qualified die-hard fan! We often say that haters rack their brains, but fans are always quick-witted. Well, this is it."

"...Dadomo also stated that he wasn't surprised at all by Ribeiro's threat to strike against Milan, because Ribeiro's idol, the King, always had unpleasant endings with his former clubs—from Born to Atlético Barcelona, ​​from Atlético Barcelona to Sofia United, and from Sofia United to Tyne... It can only be said that Ribeiro truly deserves to be the King's loyal fan, practically a pixel-perfect replica of his idol. This is truly the 'most beautiful mutual journey'..."

……

Wang Lie finally understood how this kid managed to be so hard-hearted—because he wasn't truly hard-hearted; he was simply carefree and heartless…

He and Vitini are completely different in style. Vitini thinks a lot, so he is relatively sensitive and easily angered and influenced by the outside world.

Ribeiro, on the other hand, has no heart at all, so the outside world's evaluations and discussions about him do not anger or affect him.

Although he was certain that Ribeiro was not easily influenced by external factors, Wang Lie still planned to talk to Ribeiro, not because of the public opinion storm, but for something else.

So after finishing the acclimatization training and returning to his hotel, Wang Lie knocked on Ribeiro's door.

Seeing his idol standing at the door, Ribeiro was somewhat surprised: "King? What do you want with me?"

Wang Lie asked, "Can we go inside and talk?"

Ribeiro nodded repeatedly, stepping aside to make way: "Please come in!"

Once inside the room, Wang Lie didn't beat around the bush but went straight to the point: "It's about what you said to the Italian journalist..."

Before he could finish speaking, Ribeiro tensed up: "Did this cause you any trouble? I'm sorry, that was definitely not my intention..."

Clearly, this kid has also seen the feedback online.

Lawrence Dadomo's response successfully sparked a frenzy among Wang Lie's haters.

Because "one fan can be as effective as ten haters" is indeed an objective phenomenon.

Ribeiro's statement, which directly elevated Wang Lie to the throne of "God of Football," does indeed resemble an abstract stunt performed by a charlatan.

But as everyone knows, Ribeiro is not a fan of Wang Lie; he is a genuine fan.

Therefore, his abstract remarks once again confirmed the truth of the saying "one fan is worth ten haters".

This perfectly proves Lawrence Dadomo's past criticisms of Wang Lie's fans—that they are neither cultured nor knowledgeable, and are like frogs in a well living in their own world.

Ribeiro's initial intention was simply to protect Wang Lie and clarify to the public that the team did not ask him to sacrifice himself to become a stepping stone for Wang Lie.

But it's clear that in terms of wordplay and verbal skills, he's far behind professional players who specialize in that...

Therefore, it had the opposite effect he expected.

Now the internet is full of people mocking him and Wang Lie.

He didn't care about being mocked, but he couldn't accept that the god in his heart would be implicated because of him.

So as soon as Wang Lie opened his mouth, he couldn't wait to apologize, emphasizing his proper attitude.

If this scene were seen by outsiders, those haters would definitely say it's solid proof that Wang Lie is a "ball tyrant," acting arbitrarily and unreasonable within the team, forcing his teammates to bow down and admit their mistakes...

But in reality, Ribeiro genuinely apologized to Wang Lie.

Because he is too sincere, those who don't know him may find him incomprehensible and think he's a freak...

After all, in the eyes of those with dark hearts, who would so readily admit their mistakes unless they were forced to?

Seeing this, Wang Lie quickly waved his hand: "I didn't come here to talk about this—those sounds don't affect me."

He wasn't saying that to appease his fans; he was telling the truth.

After all, this isn't the first time he's been attacked and cyberbullied.

If he weren't mentally strong enough, he would have collapsed long ago.

How could I have achieved what I have today?
Of course, to those who don't understand Wang Lie or are prejudiced against him, Wang Lie's words are nothing more than a display of hypocrisy...

In short, no matter what he does, those haters who nitpick will always find an angle to attack him. So why care about how others evaluate him?
The more unhappy these people are, the happier Wang Lie is.

Wang Lie continued to say to Ribeiro, "I came to you just to ask you, was your statement, 'I'd rather never score a goal than not be able to play football with me,' sincere, or just something you said in anger to annoy the reporters?"

Ribeiro then understood, and waved his hand: "I'm not saying this out of anger, absolutely not out of anger, Wang. This is what I really think. I hope you can score more goals, I hope you can score a thousand goals! I hope you can achieve something great that no one before you has done, and no one after you can do!"

Wang Lie was taken aback when he heard Ribeiro's passionate words.

He then shook his head and smiled wryly: "Miguel, if I didn't already understand your personality... to be honest, the way you're saying that makes you sound like a sarcastic, weirdo..."

Ribeiro quickly waved his hand to defend himself: "No, I sincerely hope that you can become the first player in the history of world football to score a thousand goals, Wang! And I also believe that you can do it!"

※※※

One thousand balls...

After returning from Ribeiro's room, Wang Lie had been thinking about this matter.

He became the first player in the history of world football to actually score 1,000 goals.

He hadn't actually thought about this before.

When he was still struggling at Sofia United, he had a total of 710 goals in his career.

But his career was clearly nearing its end—no matter how unwilling he was, that was the reality at the time.

Later, although he got the cheat code that made him younger by scoring goals, he didn't think about it. He just wanted to score as many goals as possible to help himself become younger, and he didn't think about setting any goal records.

Now that Ribeiro brought it up, he suddenly realized:
So, in Ribeiro's eyes, he actually had a chance to break the unprecedented 1,000-goal mark?

What does one thousand balls mean?
No one in the history of world football has ever been able to do this – although in the 1960s and 70s, some people claimed to have scored a thousand goals, but because television broadcasting was not advanced at that time, data statistics were treated like child's play, and any number claimed was simply a number without any evidence.

Therefore, none of the players who claimed to have scored a thousand goals have been recognized by FIFA or the public; it was mostly just self-entertainment.

Later, with the development and advancement of television broadcasting, the number of goals a player scored in his career became clear and traceable.

This makes breaking the all-time goals record meaningful and more achievable.

There might be some minor flaws in the data, such as whether a goal that deflects slightly off an opposing player should be counted as an own goal or as the player's own goal.
However, there is not much room for controversy anymore.

Before transferring to Tyne, Wang Lie had made 989 appearances in his professional career, scoring 710 goals and providing 229 assists.

Every match, every goal, and every assist is documented with video recordings; these are solid statistics.

He has now surpassed the 1,000 mark, becoming one of the ten players in world football to have made over 1,000 appearances.

His total number of goals in all competitions has reached 759.

759 goals, 241 goals short of 1,000 goals.

It's not impossible to achieve, after all, the ball is round and anything is possible.

However, the difficulty is absolutely enormous, and the possibility of achieving it is infinitely close to zero.

The gap of 241 goals, even based on his peak season of 79 goals, would take more than three seasons to reach.

Three seasons from now, he will be 41 years old...

It's important to know that this calculation method assumes he scores 79 goals per season.

That is, the number of goals scored is 79 for the three years when the person is 39, 40, and 41.

No one in the history of world football has achieved this number.

Furthermore, considering that his performance will gradually decline with age, and his goal tally will certainly decrease, the actual completion time should be even longer.

It might take until I'm forty-five or forty-six to finish?
Assuming he finishes at age 46, that's 241 goals in seven years, averaging 35 goals per year...

Let alone 46 years old, many strikers wouldn't score that many goals even at 36, and it's even difficult for them to score at 26...

Not to mention that Wang Lie, at 46 years old, is unlikely to continue playing football, so he is destined to have no chance of completing the 1,000-goal record.

So even though Wang Lie's performance in Tyne was like that of a god descending to earth, no one thought about setting a "1,000-ball" record.

Wang Lie himself didn't have any either.

Until today, he heard the word from Ribeiro.

Then he discovered... it seemed like it might actually be possible.

Because he has a cheat code!

His career will be greatly extended – even if he finishes this season and his physical age reverts to 31, his physical condition will still allow him to play for another five or six years.

Not to mention that he discovered his physical attributes, which had improved significantly with each goal scored, far surpassed those of his physical attributes at the corresponding age, so his professional career may last for more than five or six years.

In this way, the chances of scoring a thousand goals with video evidence will be greatly increased.

And this goal was actually proposed by Ribeiro...

Wang Lie thought it was worth a try because he knew he had a cheat code.

Ribeiro shouldn't have known this, so on what basis did he think he could score a thousand goals?

Could it really be the power of faith?

Is it just blind faith in oneself?

This kid's thought process is really something else!
※※※

P.S., I'm back! I haven't finished writing about the competition yet, but the promised time has come, so I'll resume updates. Thank you all for your patience, understanding, and support!

(End of this chapter)