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

Chapter 886 Progress Comes from Reflection, $5 Million Annual Salary
Korean Air Magazine – Qatar World Cup Quarter-Finals: China, Asia's Sole Representative, Faces Traditional Powerhouse Netherlands.

Manchester Evening News front page headline – The real winner? There are a total of 10 Manchester United players in this World Cup quarter-final, including: TY, Rashford, Dembele, De Jong, De Ligt, Varane, etc.

The Manchester Evening News's news is completely superfluous.

Everyone says Manchester United is the greatest club right now, and of course, they have the most players in top-level tournaments like the World Cup. Real Madrid, Barcelona, ​​Manchester City, and Liverpool all have to be put aside!
The Netherlands team also has two Manchester United players, Frenkie de Jong and Matthijs de Ligt, and both of them are key players in their respective squads.

The Round of 16 is a battle between the older and younger brothers.

Now the quarterfinals have become a battle between the older and younger players.

The knockout stage group stage rules for the Qatar World Cup were absolutely disgusting, forcing Manchester United's players to turn against each other.

……

Click, click, click!

After concluding all matches of this World Cup, the Japanese team players and head coach Hajime Moriyasu bid farewell to the fans at the airport.

Although they failed to advance to the quarterfinals, Japanese fans were quite satisfied with their team's performance, so there were no obvious shouts of abuse at the stadium.

"Come on, let's make it to the quarterfinals in the next World Cup!"

"Go, Moriyasu-san!"

"Minamino-san!"

Click, click, click!

Moriyasu bowed to the camera.

"Mr. Moriyasu, you've successfully made it to the knockout stage of this World Cup, which is a great achievement for any Asian team..."

"Hmm...that's good, but I don't think it has yet reached our goal."

Moriyasu's tone was tinged with resentment: "China made it to the quarterfinals, and we hoped to do the same, but we didn't."

"Compared to Tang Sang and his team, we still have many shortcomings. This World Cup has made us deeply aware of these mistakes. In the next few years, we will also reflect deeply and correct our mistakes."

Moriyasu nodded to the reporters: "The Japanese team will become stronger in the future, and our goal will not change. We want to win the World Cup in 2030."

The reporter also mentioned the Asian Cup next June, which is a very difficult question to answer.

It seems that the Chinese team is incredibly strong in Asia right now. The 2023 Asian Cup will even be played on Chinese soil. What can Hajime Moriyasu say about that?

"There is still a significant gap between us and China. Six months of reflection may not be enough, but we will do our best and challenge the Chinese team in next year's Asian Cup."

Even if they are a World Cup quarter-finalist team?

"Yes, even if they are a World Cup quarter-finalist team."

Hajime Moriyasu and the Japanese team bowed 90 degrees to the fans who came to see them off at the airport, and made a promise: Japan will at least reach the final of the Asian Cup starting in June 2023, and if possible, they will challenge the Chinese team again.

……

In an interview with Nikkan Sports, Moriyasu said: There is still a big gap between Japanese and Chinese football; it is very difficult to cultivate a player like Moriyasu, and even China cannot do it again; the team will conduct a deep reflection, and the Asian Cup in June will be an opportunity for revenge.

[Such arrogance? They think they can beat the Chinese national football team on home soil?]

[Stop criticizing. Moriyasu seems determined. Japanese football has made some progress in recent years.]

Japanese football is just so-so. For truly high-level competition, you have to look at our national team. Tang, the "King of Football," ran 16km in 2 hours—that's real high-level football!

[It's so frustrating! Why the hell is the Netherlands in the quarterfinals? Wouldn't it have been better if they played Portugal or Switzerland, and bullied my Ronaldo a bit?]

[Play Portugal? You really think Portugal is a pushover? None of the quarterfinalists are easy to beat. Just accept it, what else can you do?]

"Come on, come on!"

"Holy crap, give it to me!"

Tang Ye bumped into Zhang Xizhe and got the ball.

Find opportunities through skillful maneuvering.

Snapped!
Pass the ball to Elkeson in front.

Smash the door!

The ball went in!
"Wow!"

Clap clap clap!

Applause erupted on the training field, while Feng Xiaoting spread his hands towards Wang Dalei on the ground: "Dalei, your reaction was too slow!"

Wang Dalei shook his head and got up from the ground: "I feel like I'm not in the zone..."

"Holy crap, don't talk about that."

Zhang Yuning called out to the two of them, "Let's not talk about this now, or we'll be in trouble if we're not feeling well later."

"Ugh."

Wang Dalei was also helpless.

His performance in the knockout stage was noticeably inferior to that in the group stage.

However, having already progressed this far, the team cannot suddenly replace Yan Junling as the starting goalkeeper.

As long as Wang Dalei's form doesn't deteriorate too much, he will be the starter in any of the remaining games.

Top teams generally don't change their starting goalkeepers, let alone a super-top team like the Chinese national team that reached the quarterfinals of the World Cup.

"Beep!"

"Gather together!"

The translator urged him on, while Eskeriva clapped his hands beside him, saying, "Hurry up, hurry up (in Chinese)."

Having spent so much time with the Chinese national team, Escriva still knows quite a bit of Chinese. For example, he can readily use words like "damn it" and "fuck" because these are so popular on the Chinese team's training ground.

"Go for it, Da Lei, just play your normal game."

Marty comforted Wang Dalei, who was taking off his gloves, while Eskeriva began his speech.

“The Netherlands have been playing with a three-defender formation since the group stage. I feel that they will most likely play with a three-defender formation against us as well, probably around 95%. They probably don’t have any other good formations to use. Their tactics are rather monotonous.”

"However... well, actually our tactics are quite monotonous."

As he spoke, Escriva touched his hair.

"But you need to pull yourself together, or rather, I feel you need to be more focused right now."

Escriva looked at the players in front of him: "I know that the quarterfinals are a good result, but what I mean is that since we finally get to play in the quarterfinals, we still have to show our best performance no matter what."

"I hope you can participate in the game with the mindset of wanting to win, even if we will most likely lose in the end."

"..."

"That's about it. Everyone, get some rest."

"Beep!"

After Escriva left, the previously high-spirited national team players calmed down considerably.

Eskeriva is right. Although we have already exceeded our targets, we still need to increase the pressure.

You can't play competitive sports without pressure; you'd have absolutely no chance of winning.

"But how do we find pressure..."

Zhang Yuning shook his head: "I can't figure out why I'm under so much pressure right now."

"Indeed it is……"

Wang Shenchao expressed his support, while Tang Ye and Wei Shihao were doing something else on the side.

"Tang Ye".

"Tang Ye!"

"Hmm, oh."

Tang Ye turned his head and saw Feng Xiaoting looking at him.

“My brother Hao said he felt like he couldn’t exert any strength in his thighs, and Brother Chao (Wang Shenchao) also told me he felt the same way in the car earlier.”

"Well, okay, I feel like I am a little bit too."

Feng Xiaoting sighed: "A 120-minute match, all of which was high-intensity, how can I recover from that?"

"This World Cup is being held in winter, and the schedule is much tighter than in previous editions," Wu Lei added.

"We were caught off guard, it was the first time we'd ever reached the quarterfinals."

"Haha, that makes sense."

The players were helpless.

With such a high intensity of competition and less than a week between matches, it's really tough. Five days seems like a lot, considering that Premier League matches are usually only spaced about four or five days apart.

However, in reality, if several consecutive matches are of extremely high intensity, five days of rest is not enough.

Like the Chinese national football team in this year's World Cup, facing Argentina, Germany, and Spain, they played with their lives on the line in every match. For Chinese Super League players who are used to a more relaxed schedule, this is indeed not an acceptable thing.

"Actually, I am a little bit too."

Tang Ye shook his leg: "But there are still two days left in the competition, and things might change later. I'll get a good massage tonight."

"Haha, but I feel that sleeping is more effective than massage. Your brother Chao once told me that sleeping is equivalent to twice the massage."

"It's all the same, I need both massage and sleep, let's go, let's go."

Editor-in-Chief of Hochi Shimbun: While Japanese football is reflecting on its practices, Chinese football has already made its mark on the world stage. If Moriyasu Hajime thinks that reflection can solve all problems, then I would say he is wrong.

……

OBSports: Saudi Arabian league team Al-Hilal has offered TY £3.5 million, including a tax-free annual salary of $3 million, due to their impressive performance at the World Cup.

"Previously, Paris Saint-Germain's €2 million offer for TY and Al Jeddah's €3 million offer for TY were both rejected, but it now seems that the Saudi team has not given up on pursuing TY."

Tang Ye's net worth of 3 million euros seems exaggerated, but if you put it on the market, you'll find that there are actually quite a few people willing to pay that price.

It has to be said that the venue for the 2022 World Cup was truly excellent. The matches were held in Qatar, which gave many Middle Eastern oil tycoons the experience of watching the games live.

You might think Tang Ye is just so-so when watching Manchester United's games, but that's because Manchester United is strong overall, so Tang Ye just stands out a little.

But look at the Chinese team's matches, it's different. They fought their way from the first round of the group stage all the way to the quarterfinals. That's a complete disaster!
Manchester United beat reporter: Al-Hilal's offer has been sent out of the fax machine at Manchester United's training ground, and the Saudi club's board expects a response from Manchester United by January.

The news about the offer didn't attract much attention; instead, it was this report from a Manchester United beat reporter that went viral.

If you look closely enough, you can see the problem in this report: Manchester United didn't crack the fax immediately as usual.

Ten Hag is not currently with the club, which is one of the reasons.

The bigger reason lies in this price list.

£3.5 million, nearly €4 million!
This price is really not low!
The Sun reports that Al-Riyadh is one of the traditional powerhouses of the Saudi league and even the AFC Champions League, with the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) as its main shareholder.

“Mohammed José, a board member of the Saudi Referendum Fund, said at a board meeting, ‘Retiring stars may not have the necessary appeal. We need to attract top players from other regions at any cost. This is a key step in our Middle East football strategy.’”

A Manchester United beat reporter added in a tweet: Manchester United will hold a press conference to address fans' questions about the Saudi club's offer, and the Glazer family, the club's shareholders, may attend.

……

December 8, Bayfield Stadium, away team locker room.

"I feel this stadium is quite comfortable, the grass is very new."

Tang Ye was chatting with his teammates when Eskeriva suddenly came over, whispered a few words in Tang Ye's ear, and then left.

"what happened?"

Zhang Yuning had no idea what Eskeriva wanted to tell him in secret.

"They told me to stay for a bit, but I don't know what's going on."

Tang Ye shrugged and joked, "Maybe some reporters want to interview me. You know I'm a top student."

"Haha, damn, that works!"

Zhang Yuning punched Tang Ye in the chest, then took the things and walked away first.

Tang Ye sat in the locker room waiting; now only he and Wu Lei were in the room.

dong dong!

A knock sounded on the door, and a man in a suit pushed it open and greeted Wu Lei and Tang Ye in Chinese.

Wu Lei noticed that the visitor's target was Tang Ye, so he quickly tidied himself up and left.

"Hello Mr. Tang, this is Mr. Mohammed José, a member of the Saudi royal family and a director of PIF (Saudi Referendum Fund). I am your interpreter for today. (in Chinese)"

Judging from his appearance, the translator was probably a local from the Middle East, but his Chinese was indeed quite good.

"Good morning sir."

Tang Ye shook hands with José.

He didn't ask what PIF was, but he clearly knew.

The moment Tang Ye saw the white cloth above José's head, he knew what the newcomer was for.

They wanted to use the World Cup as an opportunity to bypass agents and clubs and contact Tang Ye directly.

"Um... this should not be in accordance with the rules."

Tang Ye shrugged: "You should contact my agent."

"Oh, Mr. Tang, it's like this, we're not in a hurry to sign a contract with you. We just want to get to know each other better and let you know our determination."

“You should know what we want to do,” Mr. José said, “you can name your terms.”

The translator said, "Any conditions are acceptable."

"..."

Tang Ye took a step back: "Maybe I didn't explain it clearly on the phone? I've already refused. I've talked to my agent about it."

"I know, but if the annual salary isn't enough to satisfy you, we can discuss it further."

The translator glanced at Mohammed José, who spoke something in a language Tang Ye couldn't understand.

"A $4 million annual salary, and no taxes to pay."

"No, it's not about the annual salary, listen to me first..."

“$5 million is not a problem, and it's also tax-free. You don't need to pay taxes on any income you earn in Saudi Arabia. We will also provide you with housing and transportation. Do you have a preferred plane?”

"..."

Tang Ye turned his head to look at other places, then looked at Mohammed José in front of him: "I don't quite understand (in English)."

"Oh, that's not hard to understand (in English), sir."

Tang Ye's eyes lit up when he saw that the person on the other end of the line understood English. It would be much more comfortable if he could communicate without needing a translator.

"Here's the thing, TY, we'd like to sign a contract with you. You can choose the length of the contract—two, three, or four years, it's all fine. We can offer you an annual salary of $500 million. If the contract expires, we won't force you to renew it."

Jose spread his hands: "If you sign a two-year contract with us, and after two years you want to leave for another team, okay, no problem, we won't force you to stay. Then... we will pay your release clause to Manchester United, and at the same time offer you a salary of $5 million."

"……I."

Seeing that Tang Ye was still a little hesitant, Jose said with a smile, "If you need it, we can pay your salary in one lump sum, $1 billion immediately after the contract is signed. Of course, that is, the premise is that you sign a two-year contract with us."

“If you sign a three-year or longer contract, we can only pay you $1 billion after the contract is signed. The remaining salary will be paid when the contract is halfway through.”

"..."

After Jose finished speaking, the locker room became somewhat quiet.

"Well... the World Cup isn't over yet, and we have a match tomorrow, so I feel it's a bit impolite of you to say that..."

"Are you unhappy with your salary? We can talk again, but I can't speak for the board. What I can promise you is a $5 million annual salary. If you want more, I can pass your request on to the board."

Jose, holding his phone in one hand and smiling, said, "We always appreciate talent, as long as your demands aren't excessive. Of course, we might have to pay for anything over $5 million in stock."

"..."

Tang Ye fell silent.

"me……"

"I've remembered what you said. Thank you, thank you so much for your recognition."

"However, we need to discuss this in detail after the World Cup, okay?"

"Of course!"

José nodded, shook hands with Tang Ye again, and prepared to leave.

"By the way, if you need anything else, you can just contact me through that phone number."

"Okay, okay, I know, I know."

Jose walked out of the locker room, but still seemed a little reluctant: "It's time to rest. Professional athletes get tired too!"

"Okay, okay, I understand!"

"You don't need to pay taxes!"

"..."

……

(End of this chapter)