The path to becoming a football legend began with being ousted from Carrington by Manchester United.

The Middle Eastern tycoons' money didn't come from thin air; they earned it by lying at home and working hard to watch oil wells gushing oil. Naturally, they wouldn't agree to Lin Yi's unreasonable demands and throw tens of millions of pounds into the water to make a splash.

The matter of renewing the contract was settled very quickly. Before the start of the fourth round of the Premier League, Manchester City chairman Mubarak presented Lin Yi with a new contract.

The contract term was changed from a short-term contract to a five-year term, and the weekly salary also skyrocketed from a base salary of £8000 to £6.5.

While not on par with top stars like Yaya Toure, David Silva, and Sergio Aguero who earn over £20 a week, Lin Yi's salary is a full £3 higher than that of their city rivals, Manchester United's 19-year-old Danny Welbeck.

To encourage Lin Yi, the contract listed a large number of individual honors and bonuses, including the Premier League Golden Boot, Premier League Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year, European Golden Boy Award, Champions League Golden Boot, etc. The goal bonus is second only to Aguero, slightly higher than Dzeko and Balotelli, which is very much in line with Lin Yi's current status in the team.

In addition, Lin Yi received a signing fee of £150 million, paid in two installments.

Emma won't have to pay for hotel rooms anymore, which makes me so happy.

Having grown accustomed to a life of poverty, Lin Yi immediately began to think about which bonuses he could strive for.

Based on current trends, the winner of this season's Premier League Young Player of the Year award is practically a sure thing, while the Premier League Player of the Year award will likely depend on the race for the Premier League Golden Boot.

If Lin Yi leads Manchester City to the title as the Premier League's top scorer, then theoretically he will be qualified to compete for the best player award.

Lin Yi and Aguero were leading the top scorers list, but now another competitor has suddenly emerged.

While Lin Yi scored two league goals in Manchester City's victory over Tottenham in the last round of the league, another key match, Manchester United vs. Arsenal, surprised the world.

Manchester United thrashed Arsenal 8-2 at Old Trafford, with Ferguson serving his old rival Wenger a bottle of 82 Lafite, getting the professor completely drunk.

Rooney scored a hat-trick in the match, bringing his league goal tally to 5, surpassing Aguero's 4 goals and tying with Lin Yi for first place.

As the saying goes, good news makes people feel refreshed. In the fourth round of the Premier League, which has resumed, Lin Yi scored a goal midway through the game, marking his fourth consecutive league match with a goal, and helping his team to a 3-0 victory over Wigan Athletic.

His opponent, Aguero, may have been affected by the international break. Having traveled halfway around the world, Aguero failed to score in this match, with his goal tally remaining at 4.

A few hours later, the results of other matches were released one after another. Manchester United won 5-0 away against Bolton. Rooney was in hot form and scored twice in the game, temporarily surpassing Lin Yi to take the lead in the top scorer list.

Major European bookmakers have listed Rooney, Lin Yi, and Aguero as the top favorites for the Premier League top scorer title this season, and these three have already far surpassed others in the odds after just four games.

However, the competition among these three for the league's Golden Boot will have to come to a temporary end, as the 2011-12 UEFA Champions League season will officially kick off this week.

This marks Manchester City's return to the UEFA Champions League after 43 years. The last time they participated in the Champions League, Armstrong had not yet landed on the moon with humanity.

That was back in the distant 1968-69 season, when it was still called the European Cup. Manchester City was eliminated in the first round by Turkish powerhouse Fenerbahce, losing 2-1 on aggregate. That remains Manchester City's only appearance in the Champions League to date.

Due to their short period of rise and insufficient European competition points in recent years, Manchester City, upon returning to the Champions League, was placed in Pot 3 during the draw and unfortunately fell into the group of death.

Also in Group A are Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich, La Liga's Villarreal, and Napoli, the strongest team in the fourth tier of Serie A.

On September 14, 2011, the area around the Etihad Stadium was filled with elderly people with white hair, most of whom had witnessed Manchester City's last Champions League campaign.

These die-hard Manchester City fans have gone from being young and spirited to having gray hair.

Through the seasons, through the cycle of growth and decay, we become a part of time ourselves in the process of waiting.

Now they have finally waited a lifetime for their beloved team's second Champions League match.

Albert Paris, now 73, is a Manchester City season ticket holder. He buys a Manchester City season ticket as soon as the season starts each year, but in fact, it has been many years since he last attended a game in person.

On this special day, Paris returned to Etihad accompanied by his family.

The old man's trembling hands clutched a yellowed photograph. The photo showed Maine Road Stadium in 1968, with a handsome blond young man holding aloft a banner that read: "The Pinnacle of Europe, Manchester City is here!"

"It's a pity we were eliminated in the first round," Paris said with a hint of regret to a chubby boy next to him.

His great-grandson, Colin Paris, confidently replied, "Don't worry, great-grandfather, we have so many outstanding players now, we'll definitely beat Napoli easily."

What Colin said is also the common wish of the vast majority of Manchester City fans.

However, the greatest charm of football lies in the fact that it is always full of unknowns.

Amid the anticipation of over 50,000 fans at the Etihad Stadium, Manchester City launched a relentless offensive from the outset.

Lin Yi, Aguero, Nasri, David Silva and others all had good shooting opportunities, but none of them were able to get past the veteran Italian goalkeeper De Sanctis.

On the contrary, Napoli took the lead in the 36th minute when Uruguayan striker Cavani broke the deadlock amidst a chorus of boos, giving his team a 1-0 lead.

After conceding a goal, Manchester City launched a furious counterattack, and in the final stages of the first half, Napoli's goal was under constant threat.

However, De Sanctis, like a god descending to earth, made brilliant saves, repeatedly thwarting Manchester City's attacks.

Manchester City failed to equalize until the referee blew the whistle to end the first half, and they had to go into halftime trailing by one goal.

As the Manchester City players returned to the tunnel, almost everyone kept their heads down because they dared not make eye contact with the fans in the stands; no one could look the older fans in the eye.

Even though the fans didn't blame them, they still enthusiastically applauded and chanted the players' names.

All of this made the Manchester City players feel even more ashamed, and they all ran away as fast as they could.

Only Lin Yi walked at the back at a leisurely pace, occasionally raising his hand to applaud in response to the fans' cheers.

It makes one wonder if this grandson is simply stupid or heartless.

Even Mansour, who was present at the scene, couldn't resist taking out his phone to call the anti-fraud center hotline.

Help! Someone's scamming me!

Little Colin Paris, chubby as a child, bounced from the high stands to the closest spot to the players' tunnel, pushing his way through the adults around him, and asked in a childish voice, "Lin! We'll win! Right?"

Lin Yi stopped and looked up, letting the sunlight shine on his bright smiling face.

"Absolutely!"