Football: I am only 16 years old, and you want me to retire and make a comeback?

Chapter 512 As the era of Messi and Ronaldo slowly fades, the animal world is about to begin.
曼联官方：球队足总杯1/4决赛的对手确定为狼队，比赛时间为3月16日18时55分，比赛场地为莫利诺克斯球场。

《邮报》——因为晋级足总杯1/4决赛，3月份曼联的比赛数量将从4场增加到5场。

While reading the Daily Mail news, fans were initially tense, but then breathed a sigh of relief.

What? From 4 games to 5 games?
For Manchester United, who typically play eight top-level matches a month, wouldn't playing five matches a month be a piece of cake?

Playing five games a month is a normal match density for teams in the other four major leagues.

But for the Premier League, especially the Big Six, playing five games a month is practically like having a vacation.

In response, Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand shared his thoughts in an interview with Sky Sports.

In Ferdinand's view, Manchester United's starting lineup this season is stronger than both Manchester City and Liverpool.

"I know you might think I'm bragging about Manchester United, but let me finish."

Sensing that the reporter was about to continue speaking, Ferdinand quickly added something.

"Well... Manchester United are currently third in the league standings, so I'm sure there will be a lot of disagreement if I say they're better than Manchester City and Liverpool. But what I'm saying is simply a fact."

Ferdinand spoke while gesturing: "If we only compare the starting 11, the core players of both teams, then Manchester United is definitely the strongest. This can be seen from the previous Manchester derby and the Merseyside derby."

"However, Manchester United's problem right now is the lack of bench depth."

Ferdinand pointed out a very crucial issue.

Manchester United's bench depth is much worse than that of Manchester City and Liverpool, so they are prone to upsets when faced with a tight schedule.

Even the best players can't guarantee their performance if they play a high-level match every three days!

"So I think giving up the EFL Cup was a good decision; we can even give up the FA Cup."

"Yes, if the schedule becomes easier, Manchester United will definitely be able to climb to the top of the league table."

Ferdinand looked at the reporter: "We will win the championship, I have a very strong feeling."

Although Ferdinand often makes some nonsensical remarks.

But it must be said that what this Manchester United legend said today was quite objective.

"So... Rio, do you think Manchester United will win the Premier League title this season?"

"Yes, I can't guarantee the FA Cup and the Champions League. But if it's the Premier League title, I have great faith in Manchester United."

After discussing Manchester United's pursuit of the Premier League title, Ferdinand went on to lavish praise on Tang Ye.

Sky Sports officially posted the video of Tang Ye praising him separately on YouTube, and unsurprisingly, the video went viral.

It's a very simple principle: news about Messi, Ronaldo, Neymar, and Tang Ye, among others, absolutely needs to be published separately, because no matter what it is, it's a hot topic.

……

The Guardian reports that the Manchester United vs. Liverpool match has seen scalped tickets reaching as low as £280, sparking outrage among Manchester United fans who are hoping the club will take action against scalpers. Meanwhile, the Manchester United vs. Liverpool match has also seen scalped tickets selling for as low as £280, prompting calls from Manchester United fans to take action against the scalpers.

Manchester's weather in February was mostly in the single digits, but that didn't stop fans from traveling.

Thousands of Manchester United fans gathered outside Old Trafford, hoping the club would strengthen its management of the real-name ticketing system.

There was also dissatisfaction with the ticket price increase.

[Tickets must be registered under your name; we shouldn't be paying inflated prices!]

[Children's tickets for £66? Make your dreams come true!]

[The Glazers sold Manchester United and are going back home!]

The area outside the stadium was plastered with banners from Manchester United fans, creating an impressive spectacle.

In fact, Manchester United fans' dissatisfaction with the Glazer family has been going on for quite some time, but the team's recent good performance has kept the fans from protesting.

The rampant scalping at the Red Devils' derby finally ignited the fury of these "Red Devils."

"£280? Is that the cheapest ticket?"

In the Manchester United canteen, Tang Ye, scrolling through news on Dongqiudi (a Chinese sports betting platform), stared wide-eyed.

"I think so. There are only about 7 seats in total, and that's a lot of people from England, plus those from other countries."

Luke Shaw replied.

"correct"

Tang Ye switched to Baidu, searched for the exchange rate of RMB to GBP, and then used a calculator to do a calculation.

"That's 2500 yuan, that's really expensive. Xiao, do you know, the cheapest ticket to a game where I live only costs..."

Tang Ye's teammates definitely wouldn't understand if he said it was in RMB, so he needed to do the calculations backwards: "It's only about 6 pounds, and that's for the first tier of leagues."

That's really cheap.

Rodri nodded slightly, pointing to Tang Ye's Dongqiudi (a Chinese sports betting platform) phone screen: "I've had a question for a long time, why do you watch what's happening in England on a Chinese app? Isn't there a delay?"

"Hey Rod, I definitely find reading Chinese more comfortable than English."

"Oh, haha!"

Rhodes shook his head: "Mainly because Chinese is too difficult. I still can't say more than a few words."

"That's because you didn't study hard enough, Rod."

Tang Ye reprimanded his underling.

How can you expect to master a new language in a short time if you don't study diligently?

That's impossible!

Not everyone has the same abilities as Tom, the good student!

……

Dongqiudi Match Preview: February 24th, 22:2, Manchester United aims to defeat Liverpool in the Merseyside derby. Rashford faces Arnold again.

Manchester United beat reporter: Academy graduate Mason Greenwood scored two goals in a Manchester United training match, including a one-on-one breakthrough against Tom.

"According to the scouting report, this player has outstanding talent and potential. If we wait 2 to 3 years, Manchester United might be able to acquire a strong right winger. Unfortunately, the current Manchester United doesn't have that much patience because the Manchester derby is about to begin."

Actually, Greenwood is quite pitiful. Under normal circumstances, a talent like him should be able to get frequent opportunities to play for the first team.

But Manchester United are in an awkward situation this season, with any non-starting player basically having to sit on the bench.

The rise of a talented winger will take time.

But that once-promising midfielder had already taken shape.

Dongqiudi (a Chinese sports betting platform) pinned post: The latest transfer market valuations for Premier League, Ligue 1, and Primeira Liga players have been updated, with Mbappe topping the list. (76231 comments)

[Witness history, let's take a group photo, brothers!]

[This is GGBond's second time being number one, right? What was the last time when they were ranked number one?]

Neymar's price remains at €1.8 million!

[Honestly, is Neymar really worth 1.8 million? He's not in the same league as Tang Ye, is he?]

[Forwards are still expensive; to be honest, I feel that anything under 2.5 million is a conservative estimate for Tang Qiuwang's stats.]

Dongqiudi (a Chinese sports betting platform) reposted the updated cover of Transfermarkt, showing Tang Ye holding up the Asian Cup trophy in front of the camera.

By selecting Manchester United as the keyword, fans quickly saw the changes in the market value of Manchester United players.

De Gea: €5000 million → €4500 million

Rodri: €6000 million → €7500 million.

Rashford: €8000 million → €9000 million

Lingard: €2500 million → €3500 million.

De Jong: €3000 million → €5000 million

Because of their good league performance, the overall market value of Manchester United players has been soaring.

Rashford and Rodri are only €10 million and €25 million away from breaking the €100 million mark, respectively.

Then it's global...

Attached is a ranking of the world's most valuable football players (February 21, 2019).

1. Tang Ye (Manchester United/China), 2 million euros.

1. Kylian Mbappé (Paris/France), €2 million.

3. Neymar (Paris/Brazil), €1.8 million.

4. Messi (Barcelona/Argentina), €1.6 million.

5. Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid/France), €1.5 million.

5. Eden Hazard (Chelsea/Belgium), €1.5 million.

I actually felt that Tang Ye wouldn't be able to reach 200 million euros in February; it would be around 180 million or 190 million euros. However, winning the Asian Cup gave him a boost, making him the most expensive player in football today as a midfielder.

Of course, due to inflation, Tang Ye and Mbappe, these two good brothers, are also the most expensive players in modern football history.

Marca – Ronaldo and Messi's market value both reduced, is the Messi-Ronaldo era coming to an end?

Every time market value is adjusted, people always keep an eye on Messi and Ronaldo's valuations, and then their fans start their battle.

Besides the battle, something else caught the attention of the fans.

Messi and Ronaldo's market value has both dropped out of the top three.

Cristiano Ronaldo is 34 years old, and Messi is 31 years old.

Is their era coming to an end?

There's a very well-Photoshopped image on Twitter that addresses this issue.

Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi left the stage one after the other, while on the other side, a red pig led a purple turtle slowly out.

The pig and the turtle's goal is the center of the stage, where the lights are focused and shine the brightest.

The Messi-Ronaldo era is coming to an end.

Animal World is coming soon!

……

Time quickly came to the day of the Reds vs. Reds match.

The match was in the afternoon in Manchester, and the area around the stadium was already quite lively by noon.

"Mr. 2 million euros, please have a seat."

Rhodes stood in the aisle, offering a "please" as if Tang Ye were his honored guest.

"Oh, Rod, stop messing with me."

After putting his bag away, Tang Ye went to his seat and felt somewhat helpless towards Rodri.

My little brother Rod has been joking with him more than once these past few days!
"We're playing Liverpool soon, Rod, we need to be serious."

Tang Ye settled into his seat, glanced out the window, then turned to look at Rodri: "The Red Devils meet in Rodri, we need to be prepared and have the right attitude."

"Oh, come on!"

Rhodesley sat down as well: "The second half of that sentence shouldn't have been said by you."

Yes, I think so too.

Then came Mata's voice.

"Okay, then Rod, tell me what I should say?"

Tang Ye shook his head.

Rodri was thinking.

"Um……"

"Rod, Liverpool, we can beat them so easily, we can start preparing to become second in the Premier League."

"Yes, yes, yes! That's it, that's it!"

Mata pointed at Rhodes, approving of the latter's incredibly realistic imitation: "If it were Tom, then that's exactly how it should be said. Not..."

"We need to stay serious."

Lingard raised both hands like a duck, while shaking his head back and forth.

Hey!

Tang Ye put his hands on his head.

Rhodes's imitation gave him the feeling that his cards had been completely exposed, which was extremely unpleasant.

Fortunately, everyone who wears GG Master's clothes is his best teammate.

Otherwise, the secret to GG Master's greatness might be revealed!

hoohoo!

The bus had already started moving, but the Manchester United players' chatter hadn't ended yet.

"To be honest, we really should be more serious. I remember when we played Liverpool last time, nobody on the bus was talking."

Ashley Young suddenly said, "I remember Tom was wearing headphones and listening to music, and then he didn't hear Marcus say anything."

"Wow, your memory is really good, Yang."

Tang Ye smacked his lips.

He had long forgotten about that.

"No, no, no, it's not that my memory is good, it's that your memory is terrible, Tom."

Ashley Young laughed and said, "Do you remember what we had for breakfast?"

"..."

It was a very simple question, and Tang Ye thought he could answer it.

But he was wrong. All he knew was that he had drunk half a bottle of Coke that morning, which was handed to him by Alai.

See, I told you.

Ashley Young shrugged.

They're all the same, they're all the same.

Tang Ye interrupted Ashley Young, who was about to say something: "Those aren't important things. We need to remember the important things, like... um, how our opponents played today."

As he spoke, Tang Ye already had images in his mind.

Robertson, Van Dijk, Matip, and Arnold – that’s Liverpool’s defensive backline.

If these four players are standing on the field at the same time, what kind of actions will they each take?

As he pondered, Tang Ye gradually forgot what he had just been talking about with his teammates.

My gaze drifted out the window; two birds were flying high up, one after the other.

……

"United!"

"United!"

Outside the stadium, Manchester United fans, who had just welcomed the team, went wild.

Several lone Liverpool fans were caught and quickly surrounded by the home team's fans.

"Is that Liverpool? You're about to lose second place!"

Since Tang Ye returned to the team, Manchester United fans have become increasingly arrogant.

Fortunately, there were armed police protecting them, so the away fans weren't intimidated: "The third-place team should show some respect when speaking to the second-place team."

"Do you think you'll be second after today? No! Impossible! Salah will pierce your goal!"

Liverpool fans gave their opponents the middle finger, a gesture that seemed incredibly sarcastic.

"Fuck you!"

"20! 20 times!"

A Manchester United fan made a "2" gesture with his left hand and clenched his right fist: "We have 20 Premier League titles, how many do you have? Come on, tell me how many you have?"

"Those 20 are in the past, you idiot!"

A physical altercation quickly broke out between the two sides, with Manchester United fans and Liverpool fans pushing and shoving each other at the front.

"Don't do it! Don't do it!"

Special police rushed over and separated the two sides.

Security for the Manchester derby has always been at the highest level. For today's crucial match in the standings, Manchester police even borrowed a significant number of special police officers from a neighboring city.

With so many police officers ensuring safety, it's virtually impossible for fans at the scene to start a fight.

"Idiot! Arnold is the highway! Just wait for Rashford to get past him!"

Fuck Manchester United!

……

(End of this chapter)