Chapter 185: Legendary Treasure Chest Upgrade Task, A 75 Million Euro Offer from Barcelona?

Tang Ye had always planned to rely on 18 assists to obtain the Star Treasure Chest, which directly caused him to neglect the goal-scoring task.

For a midfielder to actually need goal counts to earn task rewards.

What kind of nonsense is that!

However...

Well, getting it is good regardless.

Walking along the sideline, overcome with emotion, Tang Ye roared at the away team's substitute bench.

"Vamos!"

"Clap, clap, clap!"

Escrivá approached while clapping, then quickly reached out with his right hand to ruffle Tang Ye's hair: "Well done, well done!"

The second half of the match was about to begin.

Considering that the Piggy Bank upgrade task might require meeting certain goal or assist thresholds, Tang Ye stuffed the Star Treasure Chest he had just obtained into the Piggy Bank before Deportivo La Coruña even kicked off the next ball.

【You have placed the French Treasure Chest·Star into the Piggy Bank; the Wealth Management Task has begun】

【Wealth Management Objective: French Treasure Chest·Star → French Treasure Chest·Legend】

【Task: Create 18 personal attacking opportunities in a single match (including La Liga, Copa del Rey knockout stages, and Europa League knockout stages; if the La Liga opponent is ranked 12th or lower in the standings, 22 attacking opportunities must be created to complete the task)】

"..."

Eighteen attacking opportunities in one match?

The corner of Tang Ye's mouth twitched; just as he was pondering how to complete this task, the referee blew the whistle.

The match resumed!

With a 3:0 lead, Villarreal played very comfortably over the next few minutes.

Because they faced little pressure.

Leading by three goals in the 65th minute, unless the home team suddenly exploded with power or the away team collectively started sleepwalking, Deportivo La Coruña could be said to have absolutely no chance.

The outcome was decided, yet at this moment, the CCTV broadcast booth did not quiet down; instead, it became even more lively.

【Damn, look at the news!】

【Awesome, Barcelona is really ruthless】

【75 million euros? Barcelona still has money】

【What news, what news?】

【Check Dongqiu Di, check Dongqiu Di!】

75 million euros?

Barcelona?

Fans watching the live broadcast saw these comments and immediately had their attention drawn away.

What did Barcelona do now that requires spending 75 million euros?

Hurry and open Dongqiu Di to take a look!

Barcelona beat reporter Msiar: Barcelona has submitted a bid worth 75 million euros targeting Tang to Utrecht.

According to the reporter's understanding, on the third day after Tang confirmed winning the Golden Boy Award, Barcelona submitted a bid worth 60 million euros to Utrecht; this is also the reason Utrecht rejected Villarreal's 55 million euro transfer fee.

After learning the details, reporter Msiar stated that Utrecht was very satisfied with this 75 million euro offer, but Barcelona hoped Utrecht would sign a contract with them half a season early so that Tang could transfer directly to Barcelona once the Piggy Xia Chuang opens.

Barcelona's contractual requirements disappointed Utrecht; they believed Tang's market value would continue to rise over the next half season.

"Although the offer provided by Barcelona is already quite suitable, they are still waiting on the sidelines."

【To summarize simply: Villarreal wants to buy out Tang Tang Qiuwang, but Barcelona intervened and raised the price】

【75 million euros to buy a 17-year-old player; Barcelona is truly f***ing rich...】

【Dembele also received an offer from Barcelona, 60 million!】

【How old is Dembele, how old is Tang Ye? Don't compare a little genius with a great genius】

News of Barcelona bidding 75 million euros for a Chinese player shot straight to the Dongqiu Di homepage within ten minutes of breaking.

Its popularity even completely overshadowed the live match reports between Villarreal and Deportivo La Coruña.

Villarreal's previous 50 million euro offer for Tang Ye was already outrageous enough.

Now Barcelona is playing even more ruthlessly!

Right now, what Chinese fans have in mind is for Utrecht to agree to this deal immediately.

A Chinese player joining Barcelona!

What kind of glory is that!

Unfortunately, Barcelona is very cunning; they are demanding a contract be signed half a year in advance.

Utrecht would definitely not agree to that!

Why earn 75 million when you could earn 100 million?

Moreover, Utrecht's rejection was very artistic; they said they were "not considering it for now," and after a series of maneuvers, they essentially kept Barcelona on the hook in their fish pond.

After the news broke, many fans lost interest in watching the match, while reporters were already restless in the press room.

However, they still had to wait for Tang Ye to finish the match.

In the 91st minute of stoppage time, Tang Ye's set-piece cross hit a Deportivo La Coruña defender in the face, causing his team to lose possession.

Glancing back to check his teammates' positioning, Tang Ye, having made his judgment, directly reached out and pulled down the charging Luisinho, earning his first yellow card in La Liga.

"Damn it..."

Tang Ye had nothing to say about this yellow card; he reached out to help the fallen Luisinho up, then ran back toward his own half.

"Beep, beep-beep—!!!"

The full-time whistle blew; Tang Ye checked his system.

【Mission Objective: Create 18 scoring opportunities in a single match】

【Completion: 3/18】

"..."

He remembered starting the treasure chest upgrade mission in the 65th minute.

This meant that in the remaining 25 minutes or so, Tang Ye had created a total of three scoring opportunities.

Doing a quick calculation, that amounted to roughly 10 times per 90 minutes.

For a midfielder, creating 18 scoring opportunities in a top-five league match was already incredibly extraordinary.

But if he wanted to upgrade the treasure chest, this was still far from enough!

Tang Ye remembered that when he previously used the Money Jar to upgrade a High-Level Treasure Chest to a Superstar Treasure Chest, it only required one goal plus one victory.

However, the Legendary Treasure Chest and the Superstar Treasure Chest were indeed not on the same level, so it made perfect sense for the upgrade mission to be slightly more difficult.

Click click!

Just as he walked to the front of the player tunnel to shake hands with the opposing head coach, the photographer beside him started snapping away furiously at him.

This made Tang Ye realize something.

"First, collect the MVP trophy, then come with me to the press room later."

Escrivá pushed Tang Ye toward the inside of the tunnel.

Although Tang Ye often stumbled during reporter interviews, he still looked forward to them.

Back when he was with the Utrecht reserve team, Tang Ye always hid in the back, watching his teammates chat with reporters.

At that time, Tang Ye already knew that reporter interviews were often a privilege granted to players who performed outstandingly.

He had played well in today's match, so of course the reporters wanted to interview him!

Check Dongqiu Di Top Post: Barcelona's 75 million euro offer for Tang Ye has been confirmed; if Utrecht is willing to sign a pre-contract, Barcelona is even willing to raise the price to 80 million euros.

Check Dongqiu Di Match Report: Villarreal defeats Deportivo La Coruña 3-0 away to secure their first league victory after Christmas; Tang Ye records two assists and one goal while receiving the first yellow card of his La Liga career for a tactical foul.

... Click!

Click click!

Amid the familiar sound of camera shutters, Tang Ye followed closely behind Escrivá.

With experience, things went much smoother; this time, Tang Ye did not sit directly in the middle seat but waited until Escrivá sat down before taking his own seat.

These were all tricks Bruno had taught him.

Very practical life hacks!

After settling in, he glanced at the audience below; today, roughly 40 reporters had shown up on site.

What a huge turnout!

Today's reporters were relatively patient; they didn't rush to ask about the Barcelona offer immediately but first discussed the team's tactics for today's match with Escrivá.

Regarding this question from the reporter, Escrivá expressed himself very clearly.

"As I said during a previous interview, I am gradually searching for a suitable tactic for the team to adapt to the players within the squad..."

"Are you referring specifically to a certain player?"

"No, of course not; my tactics need to adapt to the team as a whole, not to any particular player."

!

Escrivá dodged the reporter's provocation: "And this tactic is being slowly explored; that is precisely why our results have been improving over the past few months. Although we were just overtaken by Real Madrid and dropped to third place in the standings, I believe that as long as we maintain this form, we have a chance to overtake Real Madrid again."

"Overtake Barcelona? I think that is also worth attempting."

It sounded a bit like showing off, but one could not deny the words Escrivá had spoken.

If every match could be played like today, then Villarreal eliminating Real Madrid and Barcelona from the top of the standings would truly just be a matter of time!

"Alright."

The reporter nodded, silently noting down Escrivá's previous answer: "Then can we talk about Barcelona?"

Upon hearing the word "Barcelona," Escrivá's expression turned serious: "Go ahead."

"In November, you submitted an offer of 50 million euros, or perhaps 55 million euros, to Utrecht; we are unclear on the exact amount but can confirm it falls within that range. Back then, you nearly completed the transaction but failed to do so because you encountered obstruction from Barcelona. Will failing to fully buy out Tom affect the team's tactical arrangements moving forward?"

"..."

After a brief silence: "I admit this will have an impact, but it is a solvable problem."

"Solvable—does that mean you intend to submit another offer?"

The eyes of the reporters in the audience all began to glow.

Although Villarreal gave the impression of having little money, the club had just secured tens of millions of euros in sponsorship this year through the renaming of their stadium.

Competing with Barcelona for Tom might not be impossible.

"I cannot elaborate further on this."

It seemed nothing useful could be squeezed out of Escrivá.

The reporters' attention shifted to Tang Ye.

"Tom, regarding Barcelona's offer, do you have anything to say?"

"Uh, I don't really know what to say about this, but I feel it is a form of recognition for me, and I am very grateful to Barcelona."

"..."

This...

How was this slightly different from what they had expected?

"So you believe Barcelona's 75 million euro offer is a form of recognition for you; do you have anything else to say besides that?"

"I am very grateful to them."

Tang Ye emphasized this point.

"Besides acknowledgment and gratitude, is there anything else you'd like to say? For instance, what are your feelings about Barcelona?"

Anyone with eyes could see it: the reporter simply wanted to ask Tang Ye if he wanted to transfer to Barcelona.

Young man, do you harbor a childhood dream of playing for Barça?

"Barcelona is very strong; I played against them once, and they really are quite formidable."

Tang Ye carefully recalled the match.

Less than ten days had passed since the game against Barcelona, and Tang Ye's mind was still filled with images of Messi and Neymar dribbling past defenders.

He remembered it clearly; he could even distinctly recall the positioning of Musacchio, Ruiz, and goalkeeper Asenjo when Neymar made his moves.

"So, do you want to transfer to Barcelona?"

"I have thought about it; when I was young, I imagined playing for Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern, and Manchester United, but the situation now is different from when I was a child."

Tang Ye spoke slowly: "Now that I'm playing in La Liga, I can feel that the team needs me very much; this gives me a sense of, hmm... mission, so for the time being, I won't be thinking about other things."

"What about the summer window? Your loan contract with Yellow Submarine is about to expire."

Tang Ye laughed: "Don't rush; the summer window is still far away, and there is still a huge points gap between us and Barcelona right now."

"I'm back! Wow!"

Holding the MVP trophy in his left hand, Tang Ye shoved the locker room door open with his right and dashed inside; Bruno was standing by the door chatting with Musacchio, so Tang Ye immediately went up to fist-bump the captain.

"Bruno!"

Bruno burst into laughter and took the MVP trophy from Tang Ye's hand.

Ever since Tang Ye became the team's core, the frequency with which other players won the MVP trophy had decreased steadily.

Tang Ye and Aleix, those two great fellows who came from Utrecht, had jointly swept up more than eighty percent of Yellow Submarine's MVP trophies.

Of course, the other players on Yellow Submarine were certainly not anxious over a few MVP trophies.

What comparison could the MVP trophy possibly have with the current league standings!

Right now, Yellow Submarine was pressing both Atlético Madrid and Sevilla beneath its feet!

"Don't rush, don't rush."

Escrivá walked into the locker room.

He had come out of the press room together with Tang Ye, but since Tang Ye had run back to the locker room, his speed was much faster.

After closing the door, Escrivá encouraged all the starting and substitute players from today's match, then proceeded to point out the problems that had arisen during the game.

At first, Tang Ye listened very attentively, because Escrivá had spent a full three minutes praising Tang Ye's series of maneuvers during the match, making Tang Ye grow increasingly excited.

But this excitement was short-lived; later on, Tang Ye's attention gradually drifted away, listening to one sentence from Escrivá and then touching his mobile phone.

Escrivá noticed all of this, but he did not single it out for comment.

"Creak—"

Escrivá pulled the tactical board to the center and quickly wrote on it with a marker pen.

"This is our fourth match this month; the schedule is indeed dense, but I must remind you that we still have four more matches to play."

Because they defeated Real Sociedad in the Copa del Rey to advance to the quarterfinals, Yellow Submarine, which originally had only six matches this month, suddenly had two additional games added.

Escrivá was now glad that he had not insisted on making Tang Ye play in the Segunda División B to protect his status as a youth-trained player.

With eight matches in a single month, this young player Tang Ye simply had no energy left to deal with youth team matters, alright!

Escrivá's voice suddenly grew louder; Tang Ye, whose heart was panicking, secretly slipped his mobile phone back into the locker before looking up to see what Escrivá had written.

January 18: Yellow Submarine vs. Alavés (Copa del Rey Quarterfinal First Leg)

January 21: Yellow Submarine vs. Valencia (La Liga Round 19)

January 24: Alavés vs. Yellow Submarine (Copa del Rey Quarterfinal Second Leg)

January 28: Yellow Submarine vs. Granada (La Liga Round 20)

There were four matches remaining in January, three at home and one away; the Yellow Submarine players would not need to spend too much time traveling, which was good news.

But regardless, a schedule of four matches in twelve days was absolutely a challenge for the players!

Spain's Channel Six: Barcelona wants to choose one player between Dembélé and Tom, as the team's current financial budget cannot support buying both.

PS: The reaction has been intense, so let me respond: losing to Barcelona was a plot arrangement; in this book, I will not blacken any player, and if I am going to praise anyone, it will be both Messi and Ronaldo together.

As for why a match that was originally a draw ended in a loss after Tang Ye joined, my point is that after Tang Ye joined, Yellow Submarine's style of play became somewhat open and expansive; this style can be somewhat ineffective against traditional powerhouses like Real Madrid and Barcelona.

Moreover, this is La Liga; Yellow Submarine's such obvious and direct tactics will inevitably be studied by other teams in the same league, and if no adjustments are made, the win rate will naturally decline.

Therefore, Yellow Submarine's win rate from the beginning of the season to the midpoint follows a sharp curve: low at first, then high, and then declining (before rising again after adjustments).

I believe this is appropriate. Of course, the readers are the ultimate judge.

(End of Chapter)