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

Chapter 844 A mouse was on the cat's back, so it could do anything it wanted.

《法国足球》公告：2022年金球奖评选中球员表现参考的表现时间段为2021年8月-2022年7月。卡塔尔世界杯（2022年11月21日至12月18日）将被纳入2023年金球奖的评选范围。另外，2022年金球奖30人候选名单的预计公布时间为当年8月。

Match report: In the European qualifiers play-off semi-final, Ukraine defeated Scotland 3-1 to advance to the final, where they will compete with Wales for the last World Cup final spot in Group C.

Ukraine and Wales, one of these two teams will be China's opponent in this year's World Cup.

With only six months left until the start of the World Cup, these two teams should theoretically be attracting the attention of Chinese fans.

But perhaps because fans were completely disappointed with the draw results, surprisingly few people watched the Ukraine vs. Scotland match. Many fans only glanced at the match report and turned it off after learning the outcome.

That's true. Whether it's Ukraine, Scotland, or Wales, if the Chinese team can't defeat Argentina and Germany, then advancing to the knockout stage is a complete pipe dream.

June 6th, London time, marked the start of the UEFA Nations League A matches this season, and many Manchester United players returned to their respective countries.

Tang Ye, being an Asian player, had some free time at the time, and he accepted the Premier League Player of the Season award in London.

“Since the 2015-16 season in the Eredivisie, you have won the league's best player award every season, almost every season, Tom. This is enough to prove your consistency on the field. Do you have any secrets to teach the younger generation of players?”

Click, click, click!

Tang Ye is only 23 years old, so educating the "younger generation" of players should not be his responsibility.

But you can understand it from another perspective: the "young generation" that the reporter mentioned should refer to all players who have not yet made a name for themselves. If you include that group, there are many more people to talk about.

"Stay focused, that's important."

"Um……"

He stopped abruptly as he began to speak, because Tang Ye was thinking of Cristiano Ronaldo when answering the question.

The Portuguese manager is about to make some comments that are detrimental to Ten Hag or the team, so should he say something good about Ronaldo at this time...?

After thinking about it, Tang Ye felt that the two things were unrelated.

"I think Ronaldo is a suitable role model for any young player. Hard work and dedication are always important in football."

"So you mean... Ronaldo is more suited to be an idol than you?"

"Ha ha!"

Tang Ye leaned back: "From the perspective of a role model, that's true. Ronaldo did a great job in some aspects."

"For example?"

As soon as the reporter finished speaking, Tang Ye picked up a bottle of Pepsi from the table: "I can't control myself from drinking cola, but he can, so I think he's amazing."

"Oh, that's a pretty straightforward reason."

"Ronaldo has not yet officially announced a contract extension with the team. Do you have any inside information? Will he activate the +1 year clause in his contract?"

"Well... I don't know about that. He performed well last season, I think he was good enough, but whether he should stay with the team depends on many factors, so I can't give an absolute answer here."

Next up are some matters concerning the national teams.

Next month, in July, the Chinese team will begin their East Asian Cup season.

Tang Ye would normally not participate in the East Asian Cup, but due to the World Cup, the schedule and significance of this East Asian Cup have changed.

The national team matches during the off-season can be regarded as warm-up matches before the World Cup, so most reporters concluded that Tang Ye would return to the team to participate.

The reporter also asked Tang Ye which fourth-tier team he would prefer to face: "Which would you prefer, Ukraine or Wales?"

"Well... actually, I think there's no need to discuss this issue right now. Our (referring to the Chinese team) group is too awkward. All we can do now is try to improve the team's strength. Studying our opponents is actually... well, at least for now, useless, because there's still a lot of time."

The reporter nodded, then glanced at the iPhone's notes app.

"Riyadh Victory has offered you a top-salary contract. If you are willing to go to the Saudi league, you can get a job with an annual salary of over $3 million, plus a signing bonus of $5 million."

Click, click, click!

Are you interested in this new job?

"Wow, a $3 million annual salary is a lot; anyone would be interested."

Tang Ye shook his head and said, "But... all I can say is that my contract with Manchester United hasn't ended yet, and as I just answered the question, I will compete for this year's Ballon d'Or. Since I want to compete for the Ballon d'Or, I definitely can't go to Saudi Arabia."

……

Dongqiudi Match Report: In the UEFA Nations League Group A match, Portugal defeated Switzerland 4-0, with Dalot scoring twice, and Felix and Ronaldo also finding the net.

Reprinted from an ESPN reporter's interview: I haven't played in the East Asian Cup yet, but I used to watch it on TV when I was a kid. It would be great to be able to participate.

Tang Ye responded directly to the $3 million annual salary offer: anyone would be interested in that, but his contract with Manchester United has not yet ended.

The Sun – Cristiano Ronaldo has recently been in close contact with Morgan, and the Portuguese star appears to be looking to participate in a radio program.

The news reported by The Sun initially garnered some attention from fans, but it was quickly overshadowed by other transfer window news.

What Ronaldo and Morgan are up to is not important. What is important is that when Ten Hag gave his season summary as head coach to ESPN, he specifically mentioned Eskeriva and Ronaldo.

Ten Hag was clever; he didn't point out why Ronaldo came to Manchester United, thus avoiding the possibility of offending the management. When commenting on Ronaldo, he focused on the two elements of attitude and discipline, and harshly criticized the player.

"Cristiano is a good player, a legend, and he had his own legendary era. But you know, everyone knows, times are always changing. If you can't keep up with the times, you'll be eliminated. That's the truth, and that truth will never change."

Besides Cristiano Ronaldo, Erik ten Hag, who won his second treble, also turned his attention to Eskeriwa.

In an interview, the Manchester United manager emphasized the gap between himself and Escoriva: Ten Hag has two trebles, while Escoriva only has one.

Although not much was devoted to Eskrima, the interview video immediately caught the attention of the Chinese team's head coach.

Eskeriva is quite a character; he posted a "clown" image in the comments section of the news article and then contacted Sports Weekly for an interview the next day.

“I had previously said that I would invite Eric to dinner and that I would beat him up during dinner, but Manchester United was still in the Champions League at the time, so I didn’t do it.”

The Spanish coach said that now that the Champions League schedule is over, Ten Hag has free time, so dinner should be on the agenda.

The off-season has just begun, and Ten Hag and Eskriwa are already at odds again.

However, their way of fighting was very unique. Instead of exchanging insults over the phone, they had football reporters relay their opinions to each other. This not only satisfied the reporters' desire for performance, but also provided a lot of juicy gossip for bored fans.

……

Transfer window press conference.

The first two questions Ten Hag was asked were about Cristiano Ronaldo and Harry Kane.

The third one is Escriva.

"Ferland has invited you to dinner. Would you accept?"

"Of course, there are some misunderstandings between us. If we can sit down and have dinner together, I think those misunderstandings can be resolved."

"But he said he would make a move on you during dinner. Would you still accept the invitation under such circumstances?"

"..."

Click, click, click!

Ten Hach's arm twitched.

He was clearly scared, but Eric wasn't the type to back down in front of the camera.

"Sure, it's no problem. I've said before that if we really fight, he might not be my match."

"No, it's not uncertain, it's highly probable. I think he's the one who will lose."

Click, click, click!

The flashing lights and the admiring glances from reporters made Ten Hach somewhat proud.

The next second, a reporter from China for Titan Sports stepped forward and handed an envelope to Ten Hag.

"what is this?"

"This is Ferran's invitation to have dinner with you."

"..."

Ten Hach's pupils dilated instantly, and he squatted motionless on the chair.

and so……

Ferran wasn't just talking nonsense.

Is he serious?
"This……"

Click, click, click!

*Crack!* Ten Hach certainly didn't want to fight Eskeriva hand-to-hand; that wasn't something a civilized person should do.

but!

He has already made that statement.

"...If you have an invitation, you should give it to me first before I answer the questions."

Ten Hach criticized, then took a deep breath and took the invitation.

"Really sorry."

The Chinese reporter clasped his hands together and said, "It was my oversight, but it's enough that I've delivered the invitation to you."

Would you accept the invitation?

"Oh, of course I will, otherwise I wouldn't have accepted this invitation."

Ten Hah planned to fool the reporters first.

"That's great! We've already contacted Eskeriva and will be broadcasting the entire dinner live!"

"..."

Just as Ten Hah was about to stuff the invitation into the inside pocket of his suit, he froze again after hearing the reporter's words.

"..."

Click, click, click!

Click, click, click!

The constant flashes of light from the audience made Eric realize something.

He made a mistake in answering the question today.

It was wrong from the very beginning!
……

Dongqiudi (a Chinese sports betting website) is buzzing with discussion: A brutal, closed-door thrashing? Ten Hag accepted Eskeriva's dinner invitation and told reporters he "would definitely attend."

"No, how could I, Eric, accept an invitation? Eric really hits people, I'm not kidding."

[I, Teng Sheng, got carried away after winning the Champions League. I thought fighting was as simple as winning the Champions League. Little did I know that a fight wouldn't happen without me, King Tang, by my side.]

Damn, this reporter is too clever and smart, he's a genius!

[Did anyone say which restaurant it is? I'm going to stake out this fight movie, guys!]

[Forget watching boxing, hurry up and go to Leisu next door, Ronaldo is streaming live!]

I don't know who posted the comment first, but it definitely attracted a lot of fans to the pirated website.

I only realized after watching that, to be precise, it wasn't Cristiano Ronaldo who was broadcasting live.

The person broadcasting the live stream was Piers Morgan; Cristiano Ronaldo only appeared as a guest.

Football expert Dongqiudi (a Chinese sports forum) is buzzing about Morgan's interview with Ronaldo: "Before I came to Manchester United, I thought it would be completely different, but actually not much has changed. Everything is pretty much the same as I remember." (Breaking News)
Interview with Cristiano Ronaldo: Manchester United is very strong right now; we won the Champions League, and I would never deny that. But things aren't as good inside Manchester United as fans naively believe. (Breaking News)
The live stream had only been going on for 3 minutes when the number of viewers exceeded 5 million. The staff of Dongqiudi immediately summarized two key points.

???

Upon opening the app and seeing these two news items, fans were filled with questions.

"The situation inside Manchester United is not as good as fans naively believe."

Not buddy.

Aren't you a Manchester United player?

Why criticize your own club?

Are you planning to retire on the spot?

"Is things not as good inside Manchester United as we thought?"

Sitting on the sofa, Morgan looked very surprised: "Could you explain that statement in more detail? As Champions League winners, Manchester United shouldn't have any serious problems inside."

"I don't know what the team's management is doing. When I returned to the Carrington training ground, I was surprised to find that the gym equipment was all old and no different from when I left."

"That means many of these fitness equipment pieces have been in use for over 10 years, while Manchester United only won the Champions League title the previous season. It's hard to imagine that this is a Champions League-winning club."

"You mean the club management is unwilling to spend too much money on the team?"

Morgan nodded slightly: "Professional clubs do require a lot of investment, but I think if it's just a management issue, it's not so bad. The most important thing in football is the players and coaches."

"This is an even worse place."

“Eric is not like a professional coach at all. He often does things that I can’t understand. I don’t get a starting position when I should be starting.”

"Ohohoh!"

"Stop! Stop! Stop!"

Morgan stood up immediately: "Respect your coach, sir!"

“No, I can respect anyone, but I will not respect Eric, because he has never respected me.”

"..."

Morgan calmed down a bit and sat back down on the sofa.

"He's never respected you? Is it because he often doesn't let you start?"

"It's not just about the starting lineup, but also the team's tactical setup."

Wearing a portable microphone, Cristiano Ronaldo scoffed, "Eric always reuses players he likes, even if they don't perform well."

Is Cristiano Ronaldo specifically mentioning Haller and De Ligt?
However, we can't be sure yet, let's listen to it for a while.

"But for some players he doesn't like, Eric always does things that are, well... like I just said, very disrespectful."

“In the game against West Ham United, Eric brought me on in the last three minutes. In the last three minutes, it was an insult to me, and I could very clearly feel that he did it to humiliate me. At that point, we didn’t need to make any substitutions at all.”

“Oh… Ronnie, you should think carefully before you say these things, as you might not be able to renew your contract with the club because of them.”

"..."

Dongqiudi (a Chinese sports betting platform) is abuzz with Morgan's interview with Cristiano Ronaldo: "I will not activate the +1 year clause in his contract. Ten Hag's coaching philosophy is too extreme and foolish, and I cannot tolerate it any longer, even if Manchester United may win more league and Champions League titles."

"Teng Hag put me on the field in the final moments, taking away my skills, which was actually his way of telling me to leave. So there was no need for me to stay."

“It’s not just this matter, there are other things too. It’s not just the coach, but also some other people. I feel like they don’t want me to stay here, not just this year, but last year as well.”

"Who are the other people you're referring to...?"

Morgan suspects that Ronaldo wants to attack Tang Ye, which would be a very big deal.

After all, Tang Ye and Ten Hah are often considered to be in cahoots.

"Fans, or... well, some people at the training facility, but none of those people matter."

"Ok."

Morgan expressed his disappointment: "So you're dissatisfied with the way Ten Hach dictates tactics, and you don't approve of the TY-centric tactical approach?"

"The problem is that TY is the core; TY has never been the problem. The problem is Eric, but many people haven't realized it."

"If you ask me, Eric is a rat."

Cristiano Ronaldo's surprising remark almost startled Morgan off the sofa again.

"Nobody likes mice because they cause trouble; they'll sneak up and eat the breakfast you've prepared for tomorrow. But everyone likes cats because they're gentle and considered suitable pets."

"At this moment, a mouse climbed onto the cat's back. The mouse and the cat became friends. Fortunately, the cat had a good personality and was willing to live with his friend on his back, even if it would bring him some trouble."

"So the mouse just stayed on the cat's back."

Cristiano Ronaldo placed his left hand on top of his right.

"At this point, no one will bother to kill the rat, because the first thing they see is not the disgusting rat, but the good-looking cat."

"Even if you want to hit him, it's useless, because you'll be worried about accidentally hurting the cat. So this mouse can live on the cat's back forever. He doesn't have to worry about being caught like other mice, no matter how many wrong things he does or how much breakfast he steals."

Cristiano Ronaldo shrugs.

……

(End of this chapter)