Chapter 436: Three decisive battles, three championships (Part 2)——The undefeated new king!!!
500 million euros, paid in installments over 10 years, of which 400 million is a fixed transfer fee, plus various additional terms. This is the second time Real Madrid has made an offer to Manchester United.
Florentino, who is about to turn 78, has been elected president of Real Madrid six times. He still wants to seek re-election in 2025.
Although Real Madrid has not performed well in the past two seasons, Florentino does not have any threatening competitors thanks to his previous brilliant performance, and there is a high probability that he will be the only candidate by then.
After all, not everyone can be elected as the president of Real Madrid. Candidates must pay a deposit in advance equivalent to 15% of the club's annual budget. This figure was 124 million euros when he ran for election last time. This is also set by the Spanish Ministry of Sports and the Football Association to prevent candidates from acting recklessly after being elected.
Although it is a deposit, it requires a one-time payment of 124 million euros in cash, which will keep 99.99% of people out of the door.
But this successful businessman and club chairman still wants to lead Real Madrid back to glory, rather than being suppressed by a resurgent Barcelona in the league and being eliminated by Premier League teams in the Champions League.
After the European Super League's appeal was rejected by the European Court of Justice and the plan completely failed from a legal perspective, restarting the Galacticos and attracting American investment became the best way to significantly increase Real Madrid's financial revenue.
With Mbappe already "secretly deciding to spend his life" and set to join the club for free at the end of this season, Haaland, whose position conflicts slightly with his opponent's, is no longer a target. Instead, Chen Xiaoliang, who has explosive assists and goal-scoring abilities, has become Real Madrid's top priority.
But what makes Manchester United fans feel fortunate is that the club’s current owner is called Jassim, not Glazer.
If the latter was still there, he would definitely put Chen Xiaoliang into a courier box immediately and send him to Madrid by rocket, for fear that Florentino would go back on his word.
Jasim did not communicate with the transfer team and the coaching team because Van der Sar was still in the hospital and he, who was temporarily serving as CEO, directly rejected the offer.
However, Real Madrid never gives up on buying players, and the club began a publicity campaign from top to bottom.
Florentino told the media that "the best players should join the best clubs", and Zidane, who returned to Real Madrid for the third time, believed that Real Madrid's platform could help Chen Xiaoliang establish a historic status in football.
Modric, who is considering retiring in the summer, also used his own example of moving from the Premier League to La Liga to encourage Chen Xiaoliang to take this great step, and compared Chen Xiaoliang to an unprecedented midfielder.
The reason why this is different from the cold treatment after the last offer is that the kick between Chen Xiaoliang and Barrera in the FA Cup final made Florentino determined to do his best to win Chen Xiaoliang.
They had the same concerns as Klopp before, believing that a player under the age of 20 had played more than 50 games at full capacity for several consecutive seasons, and his playing style was very physically demanding, which would definitely leave hidden dangers to his health.
But in the two seasons at Roma, Chen Xiaoliang was fine. When he came to Manchester United, he played 36 league games, 12 Champions League games, 3 FA Cup games, 4 League Cup games, a total of 55 games in a season, and he was still fine. This gradually shook the outside world's previous judgment.
Until the last game when he confronted Barrera, Barrera, who had a tough style of play and a strong body, broke his leg, while Chen Xiaoliang was not hurt at all, which completely stunned Florentino, Klopp and others. The red Chinese man in front of them was not injured at all, but an iron man.
However, compared to Real Madrid's full-throttle performance, Manchester United seemed to be completely calm. Faced with an astronomical transfer offer, many reporters waited outside the Carrington base trying to find an opportunity to interview Chen Xiaoliang, but Chen Xiaoliang always said, "The club has already rejected it, and I have nothing to respond to. Now all my energy is focused on the last two games."
But he didn't respond, someone responded on his behalf.
The French Ligue 1 has ended. Mourinho, who won the double championship, once again displayed the same arrogant and domineering movements and expressions at the Parc des Princes in Paris that he had when he eliminated Barcelona.
As Chen Xiaoliang's former head coach and also Real Madrid's former head coach, Mourinho was inevitably asked by reporters during an interview whether he thought Chen Xiaoliang would go to Real Madrid.
Mourinho's answer was very much in keeping with his personality:
"I can't think of any reason why he would go to Real Madrid. He can get everything he gets at Real Madrid that he gets at Manchester United."
"He got the money, the fame, the platform, including the trophies and honors."
"Moreover, the level of attention paid to La Liga nowadays cannot be compared with that of the Premier League. For some fans who don't watch football very often, they may not be able to name the other teams in La Liga except for those two teams, or even if they can name them, they don't know the players playing on the field."
"Of course, this also has its advantages. The competition in La Liga is not that fierce, and maybe the data will look better, but isn't Chen's current data good enough?"
"53 goals, 39 assists, these two numbers add up to 91... oh no, it's 92, and the season is not over for him yet. If he can still play two or three national team games, with his strength, it is not difficult to score 100 goals in a single season."
"More importantly, he has a huge fan base in Asia, especially in his home country. In the Premier League, fans in his hometown can watch his games at 9 or 10 p.m. every weekend, while in Spain, they have to get up in the middle of the night to watch the game."
"Finally, he now has a club owner who trusts him, supports him and protects him, and he went to Real Madrid..."
Mourinho paused, then chuckled, and added: "I have an agreement not to comment directly on Real Madrid, but have you forgotten how Ronaldo left Real Madrid?"
Mourinho's remarks did not cause any impact in England, but caused an uproar among Real Madrid fans. Countless Real Madrid fans went to Paris Saint-Germain's social accounts to leave messages, criticizing Paris Saint-Germain as the worst club and saying that Mourinho was not worthy of supporting Ancelotti, Zidane and others.
The criticism even reached the end and affected Mbappe, who is going to join Real Madrid next season. Some fans also scolded him, saying that Real Madrid does not need a single blade of grass from Paris Saint-Germain. In the end, Florentino had to come off the field again to calm the storm.
At the same time, Mourinho also told the media that this will be his last season coaching the club at the age of 61 and with great success. After the end of this season, he will choose not to renew the 1+1 contract he signed with Paris Saint-Germain, but instead switch to national team competitions.
Coincidentally, like Ancelotti, who has already coached the Brazilian team, Guardiola also stated at the press conference of the last league game that he will leave Manchester City after his contract expires on June 30, 2025. He did not say where his next stop will be, but the media generally believes that he will coach the Spanish team and lead the team to the 2026 World Cup.
If this is true, then we will see the three famous coaches fighting each other at the national team level.
But that is still in the future, the most important thing right now is the last round of the league.
The battle for the top four has come to an end as Chelsea and Arsenal fell 4 points behind Newcastle and were completely eliminated. There are only two remaining suspense, but they are intertwined.
That is which of the two Manchester City clubs will win the championship, and which of Sheffield United, Bournemouth and Leeds United ranked 17th to 19th will be relegated.
Sheffield United, with 29 points, will face Manchester United, who are at the top of the table, at home. If Manchester United want to win the championship, they must win. If they fail, they can only hope that Manchester City loses to Brighton at home.
If Sheffield United wants to avoid relegation, the safest way is to win. Otherwise, it depends on whether Bournemouth, who has 27 points, will lose to Brighton.
But Bournemouth and Leeds United, who have 26 points, also hope that Manchester United can beat Sheffield United so that they both still have a chance of successfully avoiding relegation.
Needless to say, Manchester City dreams of Manchester United's downfall, but even Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea, which have nothing to do with winning the championship, would rather give the Premier League title to Manchester City than see their old rival Manchester United rise again.
Manchester City, which has won the league five times in six years, is already in trouble. If there is another Manchester United, how will they survive in the future?
In this way, a match that affected the whole of England and even fans from all over the world started on May 19, and all other matches in the final round of the Premier League also started at the same time.
In the last FA Cup victory, Chen Xiaoliang scored a goal, and Rashford won the best player of the match with two assists. Chen Xiaoliang got 7 skill points (19→26), 4 breakthrough points (66→70), and drew a balloon card in the [Big Club Mission]...
In a Premier League match on October 18, 2009, a shot by Sunderland player Darren Bent inexplicably hit a balloon with the Liverpool team logo on it that had fallen into the field, causing it to refract and roll into the net. It was later confirmed that it was thrown into the field by a young Liverpool player, and Liverpool inexplicably lost the game...
The function of this card is naturally to make the user's shot more likely to be refracted and then score a goal...
On that day, a large number of fans wearing Manchester United jerseys unexpectedly flocked to Sheffield United's home stadium, Bramall Lane. Although Sheffield United fans, who had no major rivalry with Manchester United, tried their best to see their local team create a miracle, fans of all skin colors and nationalities tried their best to get tickets and gathered here from all directions to witness Manchester United regain the Premier League.
Ten Hag did not hold back at all and fielded the strongest lineup he could:
goalkeeper David de Gea;
The back four: Wan-Bissaka, Timber, Lima and Luke Shaw;
Double defensive midfielders: Bruno Fernandes and Casemiro, and central midfielder: Chen Xiaoliang;
Left winger Kwa, center forward Cesco, right winger Rashford.
As for Sheffield United, the main players including McBurnie and Ndiaye on the forward line, Oliver Norwood and Sander Borg on the midfield line, and Ahmed Odejic and Egan on the back line all took to the field.
From the first minute of the game, Manchester United, who took the lead away from home and had a large number of fans cheering for them, launched a rhythmic and continuous offensive under the leadership of Chen Xiaoliang, while Sheffield United could only look for opportunities to counterattack due to the huge gap in strength.
But this team, whose total value is only 180 million euros, was disarmed before it could resist for long. Just like their weak performance throughout the season, their weak defense could not withstand Chen Xiaoliang's back and forth tearing in the midfield and frontcourt.
The Premier League officials also anticipated that there might not be much suspense in the game. They had already transported the Premier League championship trophy to the scene before the game and prepared all the procedures for the award ceremony.
But after all, the football is round, so a replica of the championship trophy has been prepared in advance at the Etihad Stadium. Once Manchester United capsizes, Manchester City can hold the championship ceremony.
In the end, it was Chen Xiaoliang who ended the suspense.
In the 17th minute, Rashford walked forward along the right side of the rib in a counterattack, and after receiving a long pass from Kwa from the left, he ran all the way. Facing the double-team of Sheffield United midfielder Norwood and defender Egan, he caught up with the ball, then turned around to take the ball that bounced off the ground and flew high, and then passed it back to Chen Xiaoliang who was following behind him.
After passing the ball, Rashford immediately ran to the right side of the penalty area. His run forced Norwood, who was most likely to defend Chen Xiaoliang, to choose to defend him to prevent Chen Xiaoliang from passing the ball back and Rashford, who was unguarded, from getting a one-on-one chance.
But it was this one move that allowed Chen Xiaoliang to take two steps to the left and when he reached the top of the penalty area, there was not even anyone defending him!
As long as there is no one in front of you, you are within the shooting range!
It was not until Chen Xiaoliang chose to shoot with his left foot that defender Egan rushed up and fell to the ground to block the shot. However, Chen Xiaoliang's shot had already aimed at the left side of the goal and flew into the goal past the fingertips of Sheffield United goalkeeper Fordlingham!
Zhan Jun: "Champion point! Xiaoliang! This ball goes in!"
“It could be the goal that ends the suspense of the Premier League title!”
Zhang Lu: "Sheffield United's defense, hehe, it's not unfair for them to be relegated."
Zhan Jun: "Yes, facing a player of Xiaoliang's level, there was no one defending him when he retreated in the penalty area. It seems that the gap in strength is still too big."
Zhang Lu: "There is no suspense in this game. We can't attack and we can't defend. The gap is really too big."
"From today's lineup, although Bruno Fernandes was written as a defensive midfielder before the game, in fact his position was further forward than Xiaoliang's. It was obvious that Ten Hag not only wanted to win, but also wanted to win beautifully."
Before the commentator finished speaking, Casemiro also made a powerful shot.
In the 19th minute, Chen Xiaoliang and Cesco entered the penalty area. Wan Bissaka made a forward move on the right and received a through ball from B Fee. He chose to cross the ball, but the ball was not passed well and was headed out of the penalty area by Sheffield United center back Egan.
However, Sheffield United midfielder Berger outside the penalty area did not speed up and control the flying ball in the first place. Casemiro, who came in from behind at high speed, rushed to the ball first and shot it directly into the air!
The force of the ball rolling back, coupled with the power of the volley after the sprint, made it impossible to even see the afterimage of the ball shot by Casemiro, and it went straight into the left side of the goal!
Zhan Jun: "Wow! Two consecutive powerful long shots from outside the penalty area in 2 minutes, both successful!"
"Manchester United leads Sheffield United by 2 goals away from home, the championship is no longer in doubt!"
Zhang Lu: "Here comes the camera from Manchester City. Hehe, Manchester City fans are all shaking their heads in the stands."
Zhan Jun: "The city's mortal enemy has risen again, and the Manchester sky has turned red again. This should be the most unacceptable thing for Manchester City's diehard fans!"
Guardiola's team also learned the news one after another, and everyone on the field or on the sidelines became more and more depressed as the game went on.
This team has won the Premier League five times in six years, the League Cup five times in seven years, the FA Cup twice in the last four years, and the Community Shield twice. It is the new overlord of the Premier League who has won so many championships, but unexpectedly, this season, they have won nothing in any of the four major titles!
This made the club unbearable from top to bottom.
Many people put the blame on Guardiola's poor signings in the summer, as he only bought Bellingham, Kovacic, and two young midfielders Perrone and Vega who were of no use at critical moments.
This also prompted Guardiola to announce that he would leave during the contract period. At the same time, Kyle Walker, B Silva and others who were forced to stay for a year also announced that they would not renew their contracts at the end of the season and would leave. With their abilities, it is not too difficult for them to get a big contract in a big team in the top five leagues. Even if there is no satisfactory choice, they can also join the Saudi League or the Major League Soccer and simply retire and make money.
Although they were feeling depressed over there, Manchester United were getting more and more excited as the game went on.
It is not difficult to understand. Just like running a marathon, you have now reached the last the long and tiring season, the championship is about to be won, and the excitement and excitement are indescribable.
In the 38th minute, the team played a super smooth team play.
Wan Bissaka made a forward move and received the ball on the right flank about 15 meters away from the penalty area. He passed the ball to B Fee who moved to the right.
There were two defenders in front of B Fee, Chen Xiaoliang came over to receive the ball, and B Fee passed the ball to Chen Xiaoliang. Sheffield United midfielder Fleck followed Chen Xiaoliang all the way behind, and the small space was not conducive to turning around, so Chen Xiaoliang pushed the ball back to B Fee.
B Fee passed the ball back to Wan Bissaka, then immediately switched positions with Chen Xiaoliang and headed straight into the penalty area.
Wan Bissaka received the ball again and passed it to the center of the penalty area. Casemiro had already arrived there and received the ball with his back.
At this time, B Fee ran towards the penalty area and Casemiro passed the ball to him. B Fee dribbled the ball horizontally one step inside the penalty area line from the right side to the left side of the penalty area. The left wingback Marcos Lowe and midfielder Norwood who were defending him were chasing him closely.
B Fee pushed the ball to Kva who had been waiting for a long time on the left. Kva did not stop the ball and passed it directly to the small penalty area with his left foot!
Rashford came to the middle of the penalty area from the right side, took a step forward, received the ball and shot it without being offside, easily scoring the goal!
Zhan Jun: "0-3, less than 40 minutes into the first half, Manchester United were already leading by 3 goals!"
"There were about 9 or 10 consecutive passes in the frontcourt, and finally Rashford scored a perfect goal!"
Zhang Lu: "Rashford is in good shape after returning from injury. I remember he scored in several games. Now it depends on how Mourinho defends in the next Champions League final."
Soon, at halftime, the score of 0-3 prompted the Premier League to begin preparing for the post-match awards ceremony.
Manchester United also had friendly negotiations with Sheffield United in this game, invited some mysterious guests, and had a friendly interaction at the award ceremony after the game.
Although they might be relegated, being able to witness the birth of the Premier League champion at their home stadium would also attract traffic and attention. The owner of Sheffield United, Abdullah bin Musad bin Abdul Aziz al-Saud, one of the countless princes of Saudi Arabia, naturally agreed to the deal.
Although he is also a prince, and the combined wealth of the Abdullah family is estimated to be around 10 trillion pounds, he has no control over these properties. His personal wealth is only "a mere" 198 million pounds, ranking fifth from the bottom among all the bosses in the Premier League this season...
Therefore, Sheffield United fans also joked that their team encountered a fake chief and fake oil dad...
As long as the team stays in the league, Sheffield United's financial situation will further improve as they can continue to share the 120 million pounds of broadcasting fees this season. Coupled with the operation of Saudi state capital in Newcastle, the "poor" prince is ready to sell the team after the team stays in the league.
The next buyer has also been found. Doz Mombusi, a wealthy Nigerian businessman with a net worth of approximately 6 billion pounds, has made a clear offer.
At this moment, Prince Abdullah in the box had no intention of watching the game in front of him. What did Chen Xiaoliang, Manchester United, the Golden Ball, and the Premier League championship have to do with me?
His eyes were focused on two TVs, one showing Arsenal's 2-0 victory over Leeds United, and the other showing Bournemouth's temporary 1-1 draw with Brentford at home.
At halftime, Ten Hag saw that the time was right and replaced De Gea and Rashford with veteran Joe Hart and young Ibragimov, allowing them to have an appearance record and also feel the atmosphere of the championship game.
According to Premier League rules, at the end of the season the Premier League will give a total of 40 championship medals to the winning teams. Clubs can decide how to distribute them, but priority must be given to players who have made five appearances in the league. The rest can be given to remaining players and coaches.
Due to De Gea's mid-season injury, Livakovic has played more than five times, so Joe Hart, the backup goalkeeper, will also get another Premier League championship medal from his city neighbors after leaving Manchester City.
Club owner Jassim has also promised that all players, including those who are on loan but have appearance records in various seasons this season, will be given custom-made championship medals. The coaching staff and all staff will also receive them.
In the second half, Sheffield United only resisted for 15 minutes before the goal was lost again.
In the 60th minute, young player Ibrahimov received a pass from Chen Xiaoliang in a counterattack, took two steps and immediately passed the ball forward. Benzema received the ball after being offside and had a one-on-one opportunity. Facing goalkeeper Fordlingham, he calmly shot into the near corner and changed the score to 0-4.
The 16-year-old young genius assisted the 36-year-old Ballon d'Or veteran. In his celebration after the goal, Benzema pointed to the camera in the corner area at Ibragimov who passed the ball to him, and shouted "This is a genius!"
At the end of the game, Sheffield United tried to throw the ball into the penalty area with a powerful hand throw from the right. Tinbell cleared the ball immediately. McTominay, who came on as a substitute, passed the ball to Kwa, who made a long pass to Chen Xiaoliang. Chen Xiaoliang had a physical confrontation with the opponent's central defender and captain Egan on his way to sprinting to receive the ball. He jumped forward with his right foot to receive the ball, knocked Egan to the ground while receiving the ball, then broke into the penalty area and shot with his right foot into the far corner on the left to score!
5 goals to win!
Barrage:
[I think Chen Xiaoliang's football skills are still a little bit lacking. There are obviously three small problems with this goal, the most important of which is that he didn't seem to sweat much]
[37 goals in the league, 55 goals in the season, you tell me this is a midfielder? ]
[Don’t miss the 39 assists in the front]
[37 goals in the league, but he’s not even the top scorer. How can you explain this to me…]
[Isn't it a bit abnormal to be both the top scorer and the top assists at the same time? 】
[Win another Champions League and win the treble, and step on Mbappe and Haaland to ascend to the throne. Then you can rightfully call yourself the best player in the world]
…
In the last few minutes, fans were lively discussing the Champions League final in seven days and Chen Xiaoliang's explosive performance this season in the comment section and barrage.
The referee Anthony Taylor blew the final whistle in the 91st minute. Chen Xiaoliang raised his hands above his head and cheered loudly, then looked towards the VIP stand area, where Helena, Erica and David had already stood up and cheered, and Riise was also clapping happily on the side.
Afterwards, the staff quickly set up the championship podium in the center of the venue, and a team of people walked out of the box, went up the steps and appeared on the sidelines through the player tunnel.
They are the guests specially invited by Manchester United to witness the team regaining the league title after 11 years.
They were the starting players when Manchester United won the championship twice in 1999 and 2008.
1999 Triple Crown:
goalkeeper Schmeichel;
Right-back Gary Neville, left-back Denis Irwin, centre-backs Stam and Ronnie Johnson;
Because Keane and Scholes were suspended, Beckham and Nicky Butt played as central midfielders, and Blomqvist and Giggs played as wingers. However, Giggs had not appeared for a long time due to a personal scandal. Tonight, like Keane, who had a grudge with Ferguson, he did not come to the scene.
The forwards were the Black Wind Duo Yorke and Andy Cole. It is worth mentioning that Solskjaer and Shelingham, who scored two winning goals in stoppage time, also came to the scene.
2008 Double Champion:
Goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar, who is still recovering in hospital, also failed to appear tonight;
Right back Wes Brown, left back Evra, centre backs Vidic and Ferdinand;
The three midfielders are Scholes, Hargreaves and Carrick;
The three forwards are Rooney, Tevez and Ronaldo.
In addition to Tevez, who later moved to Manchester City and criticized Manchester United, who was not invited, and Carrick, who was leading the team in the last round of the league, also failed to attend. Ronaldo was also unable to come to the scene because of personal grudges with Ten Hag and was recovering from injury in Portugal.
Finally, of course, there is Sir Alex Ferguson, the head coach for two generations of players.
Although it was an away game, Sheffield United's management and fans generously and happily handed over the stadium to Manchester United because they also received good news. Arsenal defeated Leeds United 5-0, while Bournemouth was defeated 1-2 by Brentford. The two teams were relegated together with Burnley at the bottom of the league, while Sheffield United successfully retained their position as the 17th in the league.
Even more tragic than relegation is our neighbor Manchester City.
31 wins, 7 draws, 102 goals scored, 21 goals conceded, 100 points, unbeaten season, a great record no matter how you look at it, but in the end they finished second in the league...
Because in front of them is this championship team with 32 wins, 6 draws, 103 goals scored, 22 goals conceded, 102 points, and the same undefeated season.
Both teams had a goal difference of 81. Manchester City with 100 points met Manchester United with a record-breaking 102 points. This was a more tragic runner-up record after Liverpool's 97 points against Manchester City's 98 points in the 2018-19 season...
What is more worth mentioning is that this season, the 20 Premier League teams have scored a total of 1,142 goals, surpassing last season's 1,084 goals and becoming a historical high. The previous record was 1,072 goals in the 2018-19 season.
On the personal level, Haaland scored 50 league goals, far more than the 36 goals last season, and won the league Golden Boot again and successfully defended the European Golden Boot.
At the same time, this number also tied Messi's single-season record of 50 goals in the 2011-12 season, a record since the concept of the five major leagues was established.
Even if we count the ancient football era, the last time there were more than 50 league goals was in the 1948-49 season, when Ferenc DEak of the Hungarian Ferencvaros team scored 59 goals.
Chen Xiaoliang ranks second in the league with 37 goals, and Osimhen ranks third with 27 goals.
The 37 goals also put him third in the European Golden Boot rankings behind Haaland and Mbappe with 41 goals.
Chen Xiaoliang, who had 26 assists, further broke the Premier League single-season assist record and was named assist king. Behind him was De Bruyne with 23 assists. Including today's two assists, Kvaratskhelia ranked third with 15 assists.
In other aspects, Chen Xiaoliang ranked first with 148 steals and 4.11 steals per 90 minutes, surpassing Fulham's last season's Premier League steals leader Pariani's 145 steals;
At the same time, he also ranked first in the interception list with 64 interceptions, surpassing Rice with 63 and Caicedo with 61.
On the sidelines, Jassim, Ten Hag and Chen Xiaoliang presented special commemorative medals to the veterans who won the Champions League twice. Then, amid the applause of the veterans, the players walked up to the podium in the center of the venue and received medals from Premier League Chairman Ally Sunbritton.
Finally, Chen Xiaoliang received the championship trophy for the second time in a week, but this time it was the huge Premier League trophy, which he held high while standing in the middle of the team!
The photo of him raising his glass was also taken by reporters from various countries and quickly spread across the Internet around the world.
Almost all media outlets used the same headline as Sky Sports in different languages:
The Undefeated New King!!!
