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

Chapter 728 Li Laoba's Camel Xiangzi Theory: Cristiano Ronaldo Needs to Make Concessions

7 month 27 day.

With less than 20 days left until the start of the new Premier League season, Manchester United players have set off for the United States to prepare for their final pre-season friendly.

Their opponent is Napoli from Serie A.

Like the two matches during their China tour, Manchester United's matches during their US tour are still commercial in nature.

However, considering that their opponent is Napoli, who also belongs to one of the top five leagues, some fans believe that the match against Napoli is Manchester United's real warm-up game and a preparation for the new Premier League season.

From this perspective, the match between Manchester United and Napoli is quite interesting, as both sides hope to test their form with a high-level game before the start of the season.

The Daily Mail reports that the pre-season friendly between Manchester United and Napoli may have a hidden agenda, with Ten Hag hoping to test Osimhen's abilities.

Manchester United are in a real bind trying to find a suitable center forward. From management to coaches to fans, everyone is struggling to find the right striker.

The reason is also very simple.

Manchester United's starting lineup is ridiculously strong, and a versatile center forward is a rare find in today's football world. There are even fewer center forwards who can fit into Manchester United's starting lineup.

Currently, there are three center forwards who are 100% capable of fitting into Manchester United's squad strength: Kane, Lewandowski, and Haaland.

These three players are indispensable to their respective clubs, and getting Kane and Lewandowski away would be an impossible task.

As for Haaland...

Compared to Tottenham and Bayern, Dortmund is more likely to let him go, as a transfer fee of over 1 million euros is already an exorbitant sum for Dortmund.

However, another problem arose here.

According to media reports, Haaland's father, a former Leeds United player, had a significant conflict with Manchester United around 2000. A violent foul by Manchester United captain Roy Keane resulted in Haaland's father being injured and bedridden.

Because of this incident, you can't be sure what the Haaland family's attitude towards Manchester United is.

Haaland is an adult now, shouldn't he be able to make his own decisions?
Thinking this way is obviously inappropriate, because based on past experience, family feuds and even club conflicts are often hidden variables in transfers.

……

boom!
Manchester United's chartered plane landed at Charlotte International Airport in North Carolina.

"The aircraft is taxiing on the runway. Please do not unfasten your seatbelt or attempt to open the window shade while taxiing."

Upon hearing the flight attendant's words, Tang Ye unbuckled his seatbelt, put his hands behind his head, and waited for the plane to slowly taxi.

At this point, Rodri was somewhat surprised, because this was the first time he had encountered a situation where he couldn't open the sunshade.

"This airport is for both military and civilian use; it has both airplanes and fighter jets."

Tom, an expert, explained: "The airport in my hometown is also a dual-use military and civilian airport. You can't see anything before takeoff because the fighter jets might be parked or something, so they don't allow you to take pictures."

wow！

Taking a deep breath, Tang Ye's words piqued Dembele's interest: "Can I take a look at the fighter jets?"

Tang Ye glanced at the flight attendant at the front of the room, then bent down and secretly pulled up the window shade.

Take a quick look, then cover it up.

"How about it?"

Are there any fighter jets?

Dembele moved closer.

There's nothing there.

Tang Ye was somewhat disappointed: "This airport is too big, it's full of airplanes. We should have seen it before landing, we should have been able to see it before landing."

"That's a shame."

Dembele shook his head: "Actually, Tom, I feel you should join the army."

"Well, why?"

"You should put your abilities to good use; flying a fighter jet is the best way to utilize them. Yeah, you know, once you become a fighter pilot, remember to invite me for a ride in your plane."

He punched Tang Ye with his fist and said, "Your China has some really powerful fighter jets, though I don't know what they're called."

"He flies fighter jets, oh, come on!"

Rodri shrugged, clearly disagreeing with Dembele's suggestion: "You want to ride in Tom's fighter jet? Fuck! What will you do when he lands on the other side of the aircraft carrier?"

Hey!

Tang Ye nudged Rodri: "Don't dwell on that! I only passed the ball to Osman because I made a mistake."

Tang Ye knew perfectly well why Rodri was saying that his fighter jet would land on the wrong aircraft carrier!

Tom and Osman's own goal has become a source of ridicule among fans online, and even Manchester United players are making a fuss about it.

Whenever Tang Ye and Dembele have any issues, Rodri, De Jong, and De Ligt will inevitably bring up the own goal.

Although these three guys themselves made mistakes during the game.

"Let me take another look."

After the plane taxied for half a minute, Tang Ye secretly pulled open the window shade again and saw the transport planes queuing up to take off.

"I remember the US military is quite generous; I didn't even have to close the sunshades when I came here last time."

Dembele told Tang Ye about his experience.

"Could there be something inside that transport plane?"

"..."

Dembele's words prompted Tang Ye to think.

"Hmm...it's probably something from the Umbrella Corporation. They want to turn people into zombies."

"Ha ha!"

……

Reprint: Manchester United players have arrived in Charlotte, USA, for their third preseason friendly against Napoli on August 2.

With some time still to go before Manchester United's friendly match against Napoli, the only news at the moment is about Manchester United players arriving at the airport; otherwise, it's all transfer rumors.

The transfer windows in the Premier League in recent seasons have been quite unique, meaning they have lasted for a relatively long time.

However, the long duration does not mean that Premier League teams can afford to slack off. Manchester United needs to finalize their center forward selection within a month.

Otherwise, Ten Hag might really have to let Bruno Fernandes play as a center forward!
Just as fans were closely watching Cristiano Ronaldo and Harry Kane's social media posts, well-known football expert Li Laoba posted his latest video on Bilibili.

The video went viral, reaching 80 views in just two hours, which is an extraordinary achievement in the football section of Bilibili.

"Hiccup~"

"Actually, don't be fooled by the fact that the Chinese team has a high overall market value, and the starting lineup is the most valuable in Asia. The Chinese team is facing a lot of problems right now, and some people haven't realized it yet."

"Hey, let me state upfront that I personally don't watch the Chinese Super League much, and I don't even know all the players on the national team."

When the topic turned to the Chinese national football team, Li Laoba habitually put on his own armor: "Besides, I'm not some spy sent by Japan or South Korea. As a Chinese person, of course I hope the Chinese team does well."

"But the problems the Chinese team is facing now are very serious, so serious that they cannot be solved by Tang Ye and Escriva alone."

Do you know why I said that?

Li Laoba squinted, a strange smile spreading across his face. He then gestured to his wife to get him a plate of watermelon. "The match between China and Manchester United felt like reading a book. Like Rickshaw Boy!"

"Tang Ye is the camel, and the other players in Manchester United are like Xiangzi riding on the camel. That's right, I'm talking about Wu Lei and Wu Xi!"

Li Laoba's expression was serious.

【No, are you sure you've read *Camel Xiangzi*? ???】

[Damn it, Camel, I can't take it anymore, I can't take it anymore, Lao Ba, what's wrong with you?]

[If you have a low level of education, just admit it. The brothers won't care. But don't deny it.]

Li Laoba clearly misunderstood the content of the book "Camel Xiangzi," and there is a strong suspicion that he guessed the content from the title.

This is just like "The Shawshank Redemption".

People who haven't seen the movie but insist on pretending like to guess its content based on the title, saying how moving the protagonist Shawshank is, and what kind of spirit his prison break embodies.

Actually, Shawshank is the name of the prison.

Li Laoba is clearly the kind of guy who would portray Shawshank as the protagonist.

of course!

Although I haven't read the book, Li Laoba's football philosophy is still there.

As long as people can understand his metaphor, they can still understand the meaning behind Li Laoba's words.

"Tang Ye is a camel. How many humps does a camel have? Two at most, right? Besides Tang Ye, how many other people are there in the national football team? There are only 10 in the starting lineup, plus a head coach who only knows how to blow-dry his hair."

Li Laoba extended his right index finger, his expression serious.

"Eleven people are riding on that two-humped camel. It's no longer a question of whether it can run fast, it's a question of whether the camel can even handle it!"

"Okay, we say Tang Ye is amazing, number one in the world, invincible."

"No problem, I'm also a Tang Ye fan, and I support this view. Let's exaggerate a bit and assume that this camel is a naturally intelligent being, a reincarnation of a demon king, with 500 years of internal energy, and can support the weight of 11 people."

"So!"

Li Laoba tapped the table.

Here comes the point!

“If you’re walking on the outskirts of the desert, there’s definitely no problem. But when you finally discover an oasis in the desert and prepare to compete with your rivals, problems arise.”

"Even the most powerful demon king couldn't run with 11 people on his back. Others have a caravan of 11 camels, with a head coach pushing from behind. How can you compete with that? Aren't you just handing over the oasis to someone else?"

That makes sense; Li Laoba does understand football. And he also understands camels quite well.

Is the person upstairs a paid troll? Can you help me out if you're making money? I really want to earn this money (crying) (crying)

That makes sense. So what's the solution? You can't expect the people on the camels to get off, can you? How would they get around in the desert then?

"Is there even a question? The solution is to give the camel another 500 years of power. With 1000 years of power, can't it carry 11 people across the desert?"

Both the video and the comment section are somewhat abstract.

Nobody was talking about football, but football was mentioned everywhere.

Commenting on the game, but in a stream-of-consciousness style.

It may seem like a riddle, but if you think about it carefully, you'll find that it's actually quite understandable.

Li Laoba doesn't understand Camel Xiangzi, but he puts that aside.

You only think about theories about deserts and camels.

If there is no camel, or if the camel has health problems, then the 11 people on its back will have to walk barefoot in the desert.

This is the predicament that the Chinese team is currently facing.

If a camel collapses, the ordinary people on it simply cannot survive in the harsh desert.

In the past, camels could continuously improve their skills to compete with their fellow travelers in the desert.

However, as its skills continue to improve, this camel will naturally encounter its own bottlenecks.

Too powerful, too powerful. Slow down the rate of improvement.

At this time, bad things may happen.

……

The Manchester Evening Post's front-page headline reads: Cristiano Ronaldo is open to joining Manchester City.

From previous rumors linking him to Manchester United, to the current rumors linking him to Manchester City.

These news reports all point to one key point: Cristiano Ronaldo really doesn't want to stay at Juventus any longer.

Cristiano Ronaldo is a very ambitious player, and he has been since his debut.

The Portuguese wanted to win the championship, but the gradual decline in the competitiveness of Serie A, coupled with Juventus' unwillingness to invest heavily in transfers, meant that the team's ability and the Portuguese's wishes were becoming increasingly incompatible.

Juventus have already played two pre-season friendlies during the summer transfer window, but Cristiano Ronaldo did not participate in either of them, which speaks volumes.

According to a report by a reporter from The Sun, while it cannot be said that Cristiano Ronaldo and the Juventus management have fallen out, their relationship may have become somewhat strained.

The Sun's front-page headline: The Glazer family desperately wants Ronaldo back because the Portuguese star can significantly increase the club's commercial value.

"The Glazer family did not directly ask Ten Hag to complete the transfer because the Manchester United management was worried that Ronaldo's return might destroy the TY dynasty that the club had established."

Regardless of how The Sun knows what Manchester United's management is thinking, it's fair to say that this viewpoint is very reasonable and has a high degree of truth.

Cristiano Ronaldo has an aggressive personality, and if Tang Ye also has an aggressive personality, then there will be no problem with this transfer.

Because the Manchester United squad is now full of Tom's faction, except for Bruno Fernandes and Dalot, who are both Portuguese.

The problem lies in Tang Ye's personality.

If Tang Ye backs down, he will be in a close 50/50 situation with the returning Ronaldo, which will undoubtedly affect Tang Ye's performance on the field and indirectly impact what Manchester United values ​​most.

That's the Chinese market!
Tottenham Hotspur was able to dominate the South Korean market through Son Heung-min, and Manchester United can similarly use Tang Ye to gradually penetrate the Chinese market.

The new season will be Tang Ye's fourth season at Manchester United, and the existing La Liga and Serie A fans in China are gradually being absorbed by Manchester United.

With the Qatar World Cup just around the corner, Manchester United now needs to solidify Tang Ye's status as the team's leader, which conflicts with Ronaldo's transfer.

It's said that the main reason Ronaldo can't come to Manchester United is because of the Portuguese player's high salary.

Actually not.

The underlying principle here is that you can't have your cake and eat it too.

Is there a solution to this problem?

Of course there is.

Tuttosport – Agent Mendes has told Ronaldo that he will have to make some concessions if he wants to transfer to Manchester United.

Manchester United's intentions are quite clear.

You can come back if you want, but I won't let you be the boss.

……

(End of this chapter)