The road to godhood starting from Ligue 1

Chapter 264 Point Lane
Gaio's appearance was completely unexpected by everyone.

Simultaneously,

The reporters were probably aware of why Gaio had made an exception and appeared here this time.

Hagi Begic first allowed reporters to ask questions as usual, answering some questions about the match. Some reporters who were originally going to ask Hagi Begic no longer needed to ask him.

Therefore,
A strange situation arose: after only a few questions, no reporters asked Haji Begitch anymore; all eyes were on Gaio, who was sitting upright next to him.

Haji Begitch shrugged and laughed, “Looks like nobody cares what this old man thinks, so let’s leave the time to Gaio.”

clap clap clap!
The reporters below applauded, and each one was eager to ask a question.

however,
Gaio did not give them a chance to ask questions.

"Hello everyone, I know what questions you want to ask, so there's no need to ask. I'm here today to answer these questions."

As you all know, there have been some rumors circulating recently, which have begun to affect my training and matches.

This compels me to be here and to honestly address everyone's concerns.

Aha?

The reporters below were slightly surprised, but as long as Gaio could answer the question, nothing else mattered.

Please continue listening.

Gaio briefly mentioned the current rumors linking him to Paris Saint-Germain, and then said, "The invitation from Paris Saint-Germain is a high recognition of me. Their grand vision is extremely attractive to any player, so Paris has gathered the best players in the entire Ligue 1."

but,

I examined myself carefully and meticulously, as if watching a replay of a match.

I asked myself, why am I getting this kind of attention?
Why are the fans' expectations falling on me?

Is it because of my talent?

As Gaio spoke, his gaze swept over the reporters, making eye contact with some of them, some of whom nodded slightly.

Gaio shook his head and continued, "No, it's not because of my talent, but because of the performance I put on in the game."

If I were simply blindly believing in talent, I wouldn't be standing here, nor would I be facing these things. I believe those who know me are aware of my past, so I won't go into details here.

It is precisely because of this kind of thinking that I am convinced that fans like me and have expectations for me not because of my talent, but because of my performance.

At this point, Gaio paused for a moment.

This pause made the reporters' hearts skip a beat; they knew that what followed was the real topic.

really,

Then Gaio slowly said, "So, my next stop will not be any stadium in France."

Wow!
This statement surprised everyone.

When Gaio said this, he looked calm, while Haji Begichi beside him wore a gratified smile.

A reporter reached out, wanting to ask a question.

Clearly, Gaio's decision will leave reporters with many questions.

But Gaio hadn't finished speaking.

He waved to the reporters and continued, "I made this decision partly for competitive reasons, and partly because I didn't want to face Bastia on the field, which is my beloved team."

Some people say I should stay in Ligue 1.

But I believe that the way to truly love French football is not to hide under its protection.

If I can't prove myself in a more competitive league, how can I be qualified to represent France in the World Cup in the future?

I left so that I could return stronger.

Just like Zidane left Ligue 1 and eventually helped France lift the World Cup!
At last,
Because some of the 'concern' has gone beyond the realm of football and affected my family and friends.

This forces me to make my position clearer: those who are trying to exert pressure through my family, including my father, mother, and even club staff, please stop immediately.

From this moment on, this topic ends here; my battle will only take place on the court.

Thank you all, life goes on.

After Gaio finished speaking.

He didn't give the reporters a chance to ask questions before muting his microphone. Haji Begitch naturally took over, said a few words, and the press conference ended just like that.

When he walked back to the sidelines, Haji Begic told Gaio, "I told my wife yesterday that you turned down a fortune that you could never spend in several lifetimes."

Gaio shook his head slightly. "I just don't want to stay in Ligue 1 at the age when I need to improve my skills the most. If I were 38 years old now, I would definitely sign this contract."

That reason is sufficient.

The deeper reason for Gaio's situation is that it's really difficult to rack up winning points if he stays in Ligue 1.

So far, he only has 35 win points, and in the match against Evian, he only gained 3 win points.

He couldn't rack up any winning points at Bastia, so if he really goes to PSG, he might only be able to rack up points in the few Champions League matches each season.

"Haha." Hagi Bejic laughed. Tonight's win, coupled with Gaio's choice, made him very happy. "Anyway, I wish you all the best for the future, but now, we probably need to think carefully about how to play Tottenham in the game a few days from now."

At this point, Haji Begitch shook his head again, "I'm afraid people will continue to talk about your comments for a while, but just focus on your training. Chatham and I will shield you from these storms and won't let them affect you."

"Thank you."

Gaio expressed his sincere gratitude.

He was able to reject such a contract because Gaio was confident he could earn more money, but it was really not easy for Bastia to follow him in rejecting PSG.

Paris Saint-Germain offered 100 million euros!
One hundred million—if Bastia continued operating in the same way as before, it could last them twenty years!

After saying goodbye to Hagi Begic, Gaio returned to the training base.

Then he saw a lot of missed calls and text messages on his phone.

He didn't answer the phone; he just glanced at the text message.

Those who knew him well expressed their support.

Gaio chose to reply to the more important people, and ignored the others for the time being.

Then I turned off my phone, went back to my dorm to wash up and go to sleep.

Regardless of wind or rain.

This night,
The entire Bastia region, and indeed the entire French football community, saw the news pushed out by media outlets on social media. It instantly ignited the entire French football world.

The discussion among fans intensified.

"He was willing to turn down a contract with an annual salary of over 20 million euros. Regardless of whether Gaio performs well or poorly in the future, I will absolutely respect him! He's a ruthless guy!"

“That’s good. Young people have ambition. Although I’m French, sometimes I don’t watch anything except Marseille’s games because they’re really not interesting. I support Gaio going to other leagues.”

"Oh my god! As a true Bastia fan, I'm so happy at this moment! I can tell you with certainty that Gaio is definitely a very, very special player!"

If you really follow him, you'll know that he had many opportunities to join a big team during last summer's transfer window, but he didn't leave and chose to stay in Bastia.

To this day, next to our Terra-Vecchia center building in Bastia, there's a message dedicated to Gaio: "The day you chose Bastia, Bastia embraced football." That's our attitude towards Gaio. He stayed for a season, and this time, we have no complaints about his departure. But he chose a place with higher aspirations, not Ligue 1. I knew Gaio was the most special one!

Besides French fans, fans abroad are also discussing it, such as the Premier League.

"Kid, come back to Chelsea. With your ability, you can definitely be a starter at Chelsea now."

"I've already said that anyone with ambition wouldn't go to a place like Ligue 1. Look at Hazard and Lloris, these players have all left their teams for the Premier League. Now Gaio will be next. I just don't know which Premier League club has a chance to sign him. He's definitely a top-tier player. Most importantly, he's young, only eighteen years old. I feel that his current ability is definitely not the ceiling, and he still has potential to be developed."

Gaio's sudden response this time.

It's not just the fans who are affected; all the clubs are also impacted.

Paris Saint-Germain is naturally the biggest loser.

A series of tweets, and even the involvement of many people to exert influence, ultimately turned him into a complete clown.

Because anyone with a discerning eye knows that Gaio wasn't referring to any French team; in fact, it was only Paris Saint-Germain.

Given Gaio's current market value and performance, if he were to enter the market, only Paris Saint-Germain in Ligue 1 could afford to acquire him.

By rejecting Ligue 1, Gaião is essentially rejecting Paris Saint-Germain.

It only left a little room for maneuver.

Even when media reports of "moral blackmail" regarding French football and Ligue 1 were presented, Gaio defused the issue with a very simple reason.

He becomes stronger, and French football becomes stronger.

This can be seen as giving the French Football Federation a way out.

Teams in other leagues, however, are more confident about signing Gaio.

Although Gaio didn't explicitly say which team he would join in his remarks.

However, Gaio has expressed that what he pursues is competition, self-improvement, and even honor.

Therefore, Gaio will only consider teams that are ambitious and have a certain level of strength.

According to information uncovered by the English newspaper The Sun, Gaio began learning English last year.

This made England's club managers feel as if they were smelling a shark's blood.

Especially for Manchester City, the first thing Soriano did after arriving at work the next day was to find Begiristain and talk to him about Gaião's response to the transfer rumors.

"Good! Bastia is playing Tottenham in the Europa League in a couple of days, right? Let's go and watch it live. At the same time, it would be best to use this time to personally contact Gaio and see what he thinks. His father is always going around in circles with us, without making any real progress."

“I believe no one can refuse us. We are different from Paris; we can give Gaio a future tailored to his needs!”

Both of them seemed very confident.

When they worked at Barcelona, ​​it was similar to how they are now at Manchester City. If they saw a player they liked and made contact with him, they would be interested if they heard that Barcelona needed him.

Although some players were ultimately not signed because Barcelona could not offer them better salary terms or guarantee their place in the team.

Now that we're in Manchester, it's basically the same.

Manchester City have demonstrated the ambition of a rising team, and their sufficient financial resources make it easier for them to buy players.

Bastia.

The players arrived at the training base one after another to prepare for today's training.

The moment they saw Gaio, they all gave him a thumbs up.

And then add, "Trop fort!"

In French, it's roughly equivalent to "awesome".

They all knew about Gaio's response last night, and honestly, they certainly couldn't have been as calm as Gaio.

Many people even believe that going to Paris is the best choice.

Few tasks, high pay, and close to home.

Why go abroad and suffer those hardships?
Therefore,
Gaio and his team truly thought it was brilliant that Gaio made this decision.

De Bruyne had already guessed Gaio's thoughts, so he didn't bring it up again today. Instead, he asked, "Back to London again, to beat Tottenham?"

De Bruyne, Lukaku, and Gaião are all players who have disappointed Chelsea.

Previously, the English media even referred to the match between Bastia and Tottenham as "Chelsea's second team" vs. Tottenham.

Chelsea's official media also chimed in, posting, "Come on, young team! Three points are nothing to fear!"

"Three-point lane" has always been a term Chelsea used to mock Tottenham.

Upon hearing De Bruyne's words, Gaio laughed and said, "We must win!"

The day.

The coaching staff gave the players a Tottenham Hotspur profile, which included the current style and characteristics of the Tottenham players, some targeted strategies, and some tactical styles of Tottenham manager Villas-Boas.

"Boas was heavily influenced by Mourinho in his early years, with a firm high defensive line and pressing style of play. As you can see from the match videos, Tottenham's defensive line was positioned very high up, close to the midfield line."

Their defense starts from the forwards; as soon as the forwards lose possession in the midfield or backfield, they immediately apply high-intensity pressure, trying to regain possession and launch a quick counter-attack.

Therefore, they will have a greater preference for creating offside traps and for some very fast defenders.”

Hagi Begic not only showed the players the data, but also explained it to them personally.

"His favorite formation is 4-3-3, which emphasizes utilizing the flanks and quick transitions. You should pay special attention to Bale's position. After Villas-Boas transformed Bale from a striker into an attacking midfielder, or rather a free-roaming player, he completely unleashed Bale's attacking potential. He is our biggest threat in defense."

Actually, when I saw Villas-Boas's modifications to Bell...

Hagi Begitch was also wondering if he could follow Bell's example in how he used Gaio in the future?

However, he immediately dismissed his own ideas. After all, he was a coach who came from a defensive background and was best at defense. How could he train offensive players?

(End of this chapter)