Starting with saving Manchester United

Chapter 77 Payday and the First Pot of Gold

Many people predicted that Manchester United would get off to a strong start at Old Trafford.

But absolutely no one could have predicted that Manchester United would get off to a very good start in this match.

They scored three goals in less than 20 minutes, completely stunning Barcelona.

Many people also predicted that Barcelona would seize an overwhelming advantage in possession, just like in the first leg.

But few could have predicted that, despite having such a huge advantage, Barcelona failed to create many threatening attacks.

Manchester United's defense was like a solid fortress, preventing Barcelona's passes from penetrating their territory.

It's even more solid than it was a week ago at Camp Nou.

During the match, Barcelona was forced to frequently resort to crossing from the flanks.

Without a tall center forward, relying on Fabregas, Messi, and Neymar to receive crosses in the middle, it's easy to imagine how much threat such crosses from the wings can create.

Many people have probably guessed that with Barcelona's key players aging and their running ability declining, especially their long-standing problem of not being good at playing away games, Barcelona cannot rule out the possibility of losing their qualification chance away from home.

But absolutely no one could have imagined that Barcelona's performance would be this bad.

Manchester United's starting lineup and three substitutes combined covered 113 kilometers throughout the match.

Barcelona's distance is only 103 kilometers, a full 10 kilometers less than Manchester United's.

One person is missing!

What's even more surprising is that Messi seemed to disappear throughout the entire match.

The running distance of less than 6.5 kilometers left everyone speechless.

Cleverley, who covered the most distance for Manchester United throughout the match, reached an astonishing 12.3 kilometers, almost twice that of Messi.

More importantly, Messi seemed to have completely lost his accuracy tonight.

They only had four shots on goal throughout the entire match, all of which went wide.

Their passing accuracy was also as low as 6%, making them the worst team in the game.

Moreover, he never regained possession of the ball.

Throughout the entire match, apart from the two goalkeepers, among all the players, including those who came on as substitutes, only Messi regained possession zero times.

In the second half, especially after the 70th minute, after failing to break through Manchester United's defensive formation, Barcelona quickly became like a deflated football, unable to play at all.

Everyone lost their fighting spirit early on.

The most typical example is the scene in the 72nd minute.

At that moment, Barcelona was organizing an attack, and Busquets received the ball near the 30-meter zone. The three midfielders were surrounded and blocked by the Manchester United midfielders.

Normally, Barcelona's attacking trident should drop back to support the midfielders who are unable to get the ball out.

Neymar, Fabregas, and Messi all possess this ability.

However, all three players squeezed into the penalty area.

Surprisingly, not a single person chose to retreat and provide support.

In this situation, unable to pass forward from the center, the ball was forced to shift back to the wing, resulting in a cross from Alves.

Fabregas is a striker, marking Vidic in the middle.

Messi is inside the penalty area, standing in front of Smalling.

What about Neymar?

The Brazilian actually chose to physically challenge Phil Jones, positioning himself and raising his hand to call for the ball.

It looks like a standard center with his back to the goal, waiting for the ball.

The question is, Neymar, are you sure you can compete with Phil Jones physically?

The televised commentator's probing questions should also be the probing questions for the Barcelona players.

Later, Iniesta also lost interest.

Busquets continued his cross-field passes, and Xavi continued his unremarkable running and passing game —

The last 20 minutes seemed to become a waste of time.

Even the Sky Sports commentators couldn't help but say after 85 minutes, "This is the most demoralized game I've ever seen on the losing side."

"Barcelona doesn't even have the desire to create a shot on goal anymore."

Perhaps Messi is indeed out of form.

Perhaps the Barcelona players were indeed too exhausted.

Perhaps their possession-based tactics were indeed countered, forcing Barcelona to resort to endless crossing, crossing, and more crossing.

"At Old Trafford, against Manchester United's impenetrable defense, Barcelona were reduced to a team that only knew how to cross the ball."

"But Martino, you don't have Fellaini!"

After Manchester United took a 3-0 lead, they still managed a few decent attacks and counter-attacks in the first half.

So, the second half can only be described as lackluster.

Manchester United gained a significant advantage and focused primarily on defense, with counter-attacks as a secondary strategy.

Barcelona lacked fighting spirit and focused on possession.

As one Sky Sports commentator put it, "By the end of the game, there probably wouldn't even be enough highlights to make a proper replay of the entire second half!"

No one expected that Barcelona would give up the game so early.

They wouldn't even go through the motions.

So, even before Eriksson blew the final whistle, and before the game even went into extra time, Manchester United fans in the stands at Old Trafford had already started celebrating.

The celebratory drums thundered, and the cheers of the fans were like a tidal wave.

Even the final whistle was faintly drowned out by the drumbeats and cheers.

The game was decided early on, so neither Yang Fan nor the Manchester United players celebrated wildly after the match.

At the very least, they didn't seem to have the excitement and exhilaration expected from advancing to the semifinals.

"Congratulations, you guys definitely performed better!"

At the end of the match, Yang Fan went to the away team's bench and shook hands with Martino again.

Martino enjoys making sarcastic remarks about his opponents during press conferences.

But at this moment, he seemed both helpless and somewhat convinced.

There's no way to argue with that now!

"Thank you, you've done your best!" Yang Fan said politely.

Did you really try your best?

Who knows?

Martino's Champions League campaign is now completely over!

Just like Yang Fan, Martino will also step down from his position as Barcelona manager at the end of this season.

The only advantage Barcelona has over Yang Fan is that they haven't decided yet who will take over Martino's job.

"Back in the summer and winter break last year, I kept giving feedback that the team was short of a center, but the management always told me that they felt the current roster was sufficient."

Martino's words seem somewhat like an attempt to force an explanation for himself.

It may be true, or it may not be.

It doesn't matter anymore.

Yang Fan listened quietly with a polite smile.

The Barcelona management's questionable moves have only just begun; the next few years will be even more exciting.

As for Martino, does he have no problems?

Teams in the later stages of a dynasty often reveal a great deal of problems.

This is the rule!

Just like in 2010, if Mourinho hadn't left Inter Milan, he might have faced complete disgrace.

Perhaps if Ferguson hadn't left Manchester United last summer, he would have faced a disgraceful end to his career.

Who knows?

That's just how some things are.

There are always some smart people, like Zidane, who leave at the best time.

As for his second entry into the palace—

Well, Yang Fan couldn't understand why he came back either.

Yang Fan once again won applause at Old Trafford!

When the players finished their thank-you ceremony and walked into the players' tunnel, Yang Fan stood at the entrance of the tunnel, hugged each player individually, and escorted them into the locker room.

As he was about to walk into the players' tunnel, many fans on the west and south stands were excitedly chanting Yang Fan's name.

Seeing this, Woodward, who was sitting in the VIP box, also felt a sense of pride.

"He's finally won over the fans!"

The Glazer brothers were also in a good mood.

Most importantly, the team reached the Champions League semi-finals, which is a huge source of revenue for Manchester United.

"Come on, Ed, let's go to the locker room again and meet the players," Avram Glazer suggested.

Woodward, of course, had no objection and immediately stood up.

"Sir, are you coming with us?" Woodward asked, as if he had just suddenly thought of it.

"Yeah, Alex, let's go together. You haven't been to the locker room in a while, have you?" Joel Glazer invited with a smile.

Ferguson remained seated, a smile on his face, but shook his head. "No, I have to hurry home after the game. It's too late, and my wife is definitely waiting for me."

His reason for retiring was to spend time with his wife.

Now that they've brought up the wife as an excuse, no one can say anything more.

After the Glazer brothers and Woodward's group left, Ferguson's smile vanished instantly.

For some reason, he felt increasingly empty.

It's like something that originally belonged to you has been taken away by someone else.

He actually really wanted to visit the Manchester United dressing room and meet up with his former protégés.

However, Yang Fan never extended an invitation to him!

He is a director of Manchester United, an advisor to the chairman, and now a core member of Manchester United's transfer team, but Yang Fan has never contacted him, sought his advice, let alone invited him to Carrington or the dressing room.

If it's just a matter of not inviting, then that's fine.

Most importantly, Ferguson had heard a rumor.

Yang Fan once said something in Carrington.

"The best ex should be like they're dead!"

Perhaps he was just referring to Moyes.

But Ferguson dared not guess, nor was he willing or inclined to touch such a thing.

When the Glazer brothers met with the players in the Manchester United dressing room, they basically used the same old rhetoric.

The team's performance was affirmed, and the players were encouraged to continue their efforts.

Pay up?

Don't even think about it!

Bonuses are all paid according to the contract; whatever amount is due will be paid.

Yang Fan has now fully experienced how stingy Americans are.

The team has eliminated Barcelona and advanced to the semi-finals. Shouldn't they push the team harder, offer more rewards, boost player morale, and prepare for the semi-finals?

The Glazer brothers' current approach, to put it nicely, is simply following the contract.

To put it bluntly, they're incredibly stingy.

On the contrary, it was Woodward.

As Yang Fan headed to the press conference, Woodward accompanied him and talked at length about his upcoming interview with CCTV the following day.

It was also mentioned that the bonus would be distributed tomorrow.

This was Yang Fan's first time dealing with the club's salary payment process.

In the Premier League, when the media reports player salaries, they are usually in weekly increments. In reality, salaries are paid monthly, with the last day of each month being the payday.

Except for December.

Why?

Because it is a tradition to receive a salary before Christmas.

Therefore, December salaries are usually paid around the 19th.

Yang Fan received £53,000 in salary in March.

Why £5.3?

When the club pays salaries, it deducts 45% for personal income tax, plus about 2% for national insurance, bringing the total to less than 47%.

Woodward raised Yang Fan's salary to £100,000 per month in March, which would amount to more than £53,000 after deductions.

But bonuses are different from salaries.

Salary is paid at a fixed time, while bonuses are paid at irregular times.

Once the contract terms are triggered, the club will usually pay the money the following day.

Sometimes it's even sent out on the same day.

Of course, some clubs are in financial straits and need to be "reminded" by their agents before they can release the funds.

As for overdue payments—well, that's quite common too.

The bonus Woodward was referring to was the bonus for Manchester United advancing to the semi-finals.

Yang Fan pondered for a moment before suddenly remembering.

According to the contract he signed, he would receive a £100 million bonus if Manchester United advanced to the Champions League semi-finals.

This is incredibly generous!

It's estimated to be higher than most players' rewards!

Woodward knew Yang Fan had figured it out as soon as he saw his expression, and immediately laughed.

"Yang, I personally handled your contract back then. Don't be fooled by the low salary; the bonuses were all set according to the standards of top coaches."

"I understand, thank you for taking care of me, Ed." Yang Fan accepted the favor.

The will of the Americans cannot be defied, so the only option is to make appropriate compromises during implementation.

The bonus might be a bit high, but Manchester United won't lose out!

Without Yang Fan, we wouldn't have even made it to the top 8.

Yang Fan figured that the 100 million pound bonus would probably only amount to about 53 pounds, plus his previous salary.

This money won't earn much interest if left in the bank; we need to make good use of it.

Strive to earn your first pot of gold!

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