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

Chapter 801 Portugal's Icebreaking Operation: Carrington, the Absolute Iceberg

2022 Qatar World Cup Asian Qualifiers Final Round Group B Standings (as of Round 8):

1. China, 20 points. (Advanced)

2. Japan, 18 points.

3. Oman, 10 points.

4. Saudi Arabia, 8 points.

5. UAE, 6 points.

6. Vietnam, 4 points.

Tang Ye had just returned to Manchester when the result of the match between Japan and Oman came out.

As expected, Japan defeated Oman at home.

So even if the Chinese national football team lost to Saudi Arabia yesterday, it doesn't matter, because no matter what the result is, they will still advance ahead of schedule.

In the end, all that tension was for nothing!
Of course, this perspective is based on the situation before the 8th round of matches, when the Chinese team had not yet secured their qualification.

After the Chinese national football team drew with Saudi Arabia and secured their place in the World Cup finals, the situation changed dramatically.

For the Chinese national football team, which has already qualified, they really don't want Japan to defeat Oman.

Because Japan defeated Oman 3-1, the gap between Japan and China is now only 2 points!

In response, Bilibili's well-known content creator "Poor Brothers Duoduo" released a video.

"I told you long ago, guys you can go and check out the videos I posted before. I said a long time ago that the Japanese team is very strong."

With his glasses, large belly, and sleazy expression, Li Laoba gives fans the impression that he knows football very well.

"Now, Japan (Manchester accent) and China (London accent) are only 2 points apart, so is the Chinese national football team's chance of finishing first in the group uncertain?"

"Thank you to this fan for paying for the question! Li Laoba is very grateful for your support!"

"Let me answer this question."

Li Laoba always takes paid questions very seriously.

"First of all! I don't think it's important for China to win the group, because knowledgeable football fans know that the World Cup group stage seeding is based on FIFA rankings, so winning the group is not important at all!"

In the video, Li Laoba's eyes are sharp, as if he is criticizing those so-called "fans who don't understand football" in front of their phones.

"So, my personal suggestion to Eric Ten Hag is that since the Chinese national team has already qualified for the World Cup, you shouldn't let your Tom go back home. You should hurry up and try to win both the Premier League and the Champions League."

"I, Cristiano Ronaldo, am about to turn 37, so let's win the Champions League to celebrate!"

【The dagger is revealed】

I understand now! So that's how it is!

So here's the question: how can we improve our FIFA rankings if we don't beat Japan? Japan's ranking is currently higher than ours.

[Li Laoba is a complete idiot. Has he forgotten that Japan overtook us in the rankings last year? We're only two places behind now. If we win one match in a head-to-head confrontation, that should be enough. Let Tang Qiuwang have another burst of brilliance.]

Do you really think I, Tang Qiuwang, am some kind of genius? You can make a pig plow the field, but you can't make a pig plow the field forever...

[These guys are too naive. Li Laoba is practically handing a championship to his father, Cristiano Ronaldo. How will Manchester United win the Champions League if Tang Ye doesn't stay at the club? Will they rely on Rashford or Ten Hag?]

Fans are all criticizing Li Laoba, thinking he's an idiot who doesn't understand football at all.

In fact, they were all wrong, and almost everyone fell into Li Laoba's trap.

A closer look reveals that Li Laoba has amassed over 80 followers in China over the past few years by playing with abstract art, and his fame is approaching 1000 million.

With such a large fan base, he can make a lot of money just from paid Q&A on his WeChat official account, not to mention advertising revenue from platforms like JD.com and Pinduoduo!

Everyone got fleeced!
……

Match Preview: At 10 PM on February 20th, Manchester United will face Leeds United away in the 26th round of the Premier League. Will the Red Devils be able to continue their unbeaten run in the league, and will Cristiano Ronaldo be able to regain his starting position?

附带数据——最近5场比赛C罗替补出战4场，场均评分6.7分（队内排名第7），获3个进球1个助攻。

Overall, Ronaldo's stats are still quite good, and even though he's almost 37, he's definitely qualified to be Manchester United's starting center forward.

but!

Everyone knew that the Portuguese man was in big trouble.

Cristiano Ronaldo and head coach Erik ten Hag are rivals!
Carrington Base, afternoon of February 17.

"No, you can't do it like that, you know? The pace of the practice matches isn't fast right now, but you'll see the problem in the actual games. The way you're dribbling the ball doesn't pose any threat to the opponent at all. If they track back to defend, your advance will be wasted, and you're just wasting time!"

The players had just finished their afternoon training session, and Tang Ye was criticizing Greenwood and Lingard on the field.

As the captain of both the club and the national team, Tang Ye bears a heavy burden.

Cristiano Ronaldo looked at Tang Ye, who was instructing the young players on the training field, without saying a word. Instead, he turned to look at Rodri, who was walking towards the locker room.

"You need to leverage TY's supporters to improve your situation at Manchester United and gradually resolve your conflict with Ten Hag."

Remembering Mendes's words, Ronaldo chased after Rodri.

Maintain a slow pace so that when Ronaldo catches up with Rodri, the two will enter the corner together, avoiding Tang Ye's attention on the training ground from noticing their conversation.

"Rodri!"

Ronaldo greeted him, and Rodri naturally turned around and gave Ronaldo a high five: "Hey, Cristiano, you seem to be in good form lately, haha!"

"Of course!"

Cristiano Ronaldo seemed pleased and shrugged, but quickly realized this wasn't the focus of the day, and his expression turned serious.

“Rodri, I remember you’ve been here for a long time, almost as long as when I first came to Manchester United.”

"That's far from it. Tom and I arrived around the same time."

Rodri sensed that Ronaldo had something to say, and his tension inevitably increased.

"So, how's your relationship with Ten Hach? Is it good?"

"Hmm... it's been so long, so it must be pretty good. But Eric still didn't like me much during my first season here."

Rodri waved his hand dismissively: "There's nothing we can do about it. He met Tom when he was in Utrecht. His starting point was too high, and he's unlikely to meet any more players who can satisfy him."

"Um……"

Ronaldo nodded, and Rodri continued, "But it's okay, that's just how Eric is. He'll get used to it over time, once he's more familiar with you. He only recognizes people he knows well."

Ten Hach only recognizes people he knows.

Upon hearing this, Ronaldo pursed his lips, looking somewhat helpless.

Rodri can wait, Rashford can wait, they can both wait for Ten Hag's attitude to change, because they are both young and have signed very long contracts with Manchester United.

But Cristiano Ronaldo is different!
He has a 1+1 contract and is about to turn 37.

With his career nearing its end, Cristiano Ronaldo can't afford to waste a whole year.

"that……"

Cristiano Ronaldo gave a wry smile: "I was thinking... could you help me arrange a dinner with Eric? I'd like to invite the two of you to dinner together. I think that would be a great idea."

"Ok?"

Rhodes raised an eyebrow: "You want to have dinner with Eric? Then you can just contact him on WhatsApp, or send him a message."

"This is different. I want you to help me make a date, and then the three of us... or even one more person is fine, we can have dinner together. What do you think?"

Cristiano Ronaldo looked at Rodri with a slightly expectant gaze.

What he said was a bit puzzling, but it was relatively easy for Rodri to figure it out.

The relationship between Cristiano Ronaldo and Ten Hag is so awkward that it requires one or even more people to step forward and help.

The ice was too hard; one person couldn't break it.

We need to find someone with a pickaxe to help!

"Oh, this..."

Rodri stroked his chin, while Ronaldo maintained his expectant expression.

Ok……

Thinking about it carefully, helping Ronaldo isn't a big problem for Rodri, after all, he's not some villain who would stand by and watch someone die.

The problem is... Ronaldo's desire to help might harm Tang Ye's interests.

Cristiano Ronaldo is currently being held back by Donny and Ten Hag.

If Rodri helps Ronaldo break through the iceberg that is Ten Hag, it would certainly be a good thing for the Portuguese.

But what about Tang Ye?
If Ronaldo regains his starting position and challenges Tang Ye for the captain's armband... considering Ronaldo's personality, Rodri believes this is possible, and the likelihood is increasing.

If Ronaldo really challenges Tang Ye for the captain's armband, wouldn't Rodri be letting down his Chinese brother whom he has known for many years?
Quickly clearing his mind, Rodri coughed twice.

"This... I think it's better not to." "Why?"

Cristiano Ronaldo got impatient, took a step forward, and pressed for an answer.

Rodri touched his nose: "Actually, my relationship with Eric isn't as good as you think. It's also awkward for me to text him."

"But you've known him for at least a long time..."

Before Ronaldo could finish speaking, Rodri immediately started backing away: "You can find other people to help you; there are many people more suitable to help you than I am!"

"..."

As Rodri walked away, Ronaldo helplessly shook his head.

……

That evening, they went to see Dembele.

“Oh, well… haha, Eric and I have been having a cold war lately, you just haven’t noticed. Well, my situation with Ten Hag is pretty bad right now because I didn’t do what he asked of me in the last two games.”

Dembele said helplessly, "If you want me to speak on your behalf, that's definitely not going to happen, at least not for the next few weeks. Eric is probably cursing me in his heart. You can try to find someone else to help. Rodri and Marcus shouldn't be having a falling out with Eric; their relationship is relatively stable."

While speaking, Dembele kept looking Ronaldo up and down.

Naive Cristiano!
Want me to help you get Tom?

How can it be!

Are you treating me like a fool?
Teammates are teammates, and brothers are brothers.

Even though you're my teammate, if you try to mess with my brother, don't blame the Ottomans for being ruthless!
……

After both Rodri and Dembele failed to score, Ronaldo lay in bed for a long time that night, deep in thought.

With his time at the club, captain's armband, and consistently high-level performance, Tang Ye's dominance at Manchester United was even more exaggerated than he had imagined, and could even be described as terrifying.

Many outsiders believe that Manchester United's success is solely due to its strong squad, a view previously held by Cristiano Ronaldo.

Until he actually returned to Manchester United.

Damn it!
Tang Ye is no different from an emperor. He seems to be laughing and joking all day long, but in reality, he has already established a mature centralized system in the team.

Why is Manchester United's performance so consistent?
If the players don't play well, Emperor Tang Ye will scold them, and then the two eunuchs, Dembele and Rodri, will repeat the imperial edict, and all the other minor officials will have to kneel down and kowtow.

With such terrifying centralization, Ronaldo cannot turn to Tang Ye and Ten Hag's cronies if he wants to break the deadlock.

He wants to find someone who truly belongs to Manchester United, someone who has been trained at Manchester United since childhood. Such crown prince players often take the legend Cristiano Ronaldo as their role model!

With that in mind, Ronaldo already had a suitable candidate in mind.

The next day at noon, Ronaldo found Greenwood during his break and made the same request as before.

"This this……"

After hearing what kind of help Ronaldo wanted from him, Greenwood immediately took a step back.

“I can’t do that. As for me and Ten Hach… I can invite Ten Hach, but…”

"That's fine!"

Cristiano Ronaldo interrupted Greenwood: "You just need to invite him out, we'll have dinner together, the three of us, and of course I'll pay."

"This isn't about who pays the bill..."

For Premier League players, the cost of a meal is obviously not something they need to consider.

"It's just me and Ten Hach..."

"Don't tell me you and Eric don't get along. I feel like you two can still talk a lot!"

At Greenwood, Ronaldo suddenly became the one in charge.

"This, okay..."

"So you agreed?"

"No, no, no! This still won't work!"

Greenwood shook his head quickly.

"Why not!?"

“Well… okay, Ronnie, finding Eric for you isn’t a problem, but… I can’t do that.”

Greenwood's awkwardness annoyed Ronaldo.

"Stop beating around the bush, just tell me why it's not okay!"

"..."

Greenwood took a step back.

Take one more step back.

Her hands were in front of her, and her cheeks were slightly flushed.

"I……"

"I'm afraid Tom will scold me."

"..."

"Fuck!"

"Fuck!"

"Fuck!"

Cristiano Ronaldo shouted three times and then kicked the wall.

boom!
The noise was so loud that Tang Ye, who was playing cards next door, heard it.

"Wait, what's going on with Ronaldo?"

Tang Ye could recognize that it was Cristiano Ronaldo's voice.

"do not know."

Rodri shook his head: "I guess something's happened."

"This……"

Tang Ye sighed: "I bet 10 pounds, he must have had a fight with Eric."

"Actually, Eric did not do some things very well, and it's perfectly normal for Ronaldo to get angry given his personality."

Tang Ye nodded slightly, squinting his eyes as he pondered intently.

“If I were Cristiano, I would definitely ask someone to help me and have someone talk to Eric.”

"Who are you looking for?"

Tang Ye shrugged, his gaze fixed on Rodri, who had asked the question: "Of course I'd look for you!"

"Or the Ottomans would also be fine."

Then look at Dembele next to him.

"Haha, Tom, are you so sure I'll help you if you run into trouble? You're overthinking it!"

Dembele directly mocked Tang Ye.

"..."

"Go to hell, Ottoman. It's not like we necessarily need to find you."

“If neither you nor Rodri are in the team, then I’ll ask Mason for help. He’ll definitely help me. Mason is the crown prince of Manchester United, and Cristiano is a Manchester United legend.”

"If Mason doesn't help me, I'll just do a handstand on the court!"

This……

Rodri and Dembele suddenly tensed up.

Yup!

What if Greenwood actually helps Ronaldo?
After all, that kid came from Manchester United's youth academy, so he might just help his senior, Ronaldo.

Thinking of this, Rodri's expression wasn't good. He opened his phone and contacted Greenwood via WhatsApp.

I need to talk to you about something.

Please reply to this message.

……

(End of this chapter)