Chapter 193: Advancing to the King's Cup Semifinals, Tang Ye's Latest Market Value!

"Vamos!"

Escrivá rushed out from the substitute bench with the Yellow Submarine players, and the away team's players and fans directly took over Alavés's home stadium.

"Haha!"

Tang Ye spread his arms wide and embraced Escrivá tightly, feeling an indescribable joy.

After the previous match against Alavés ended, the team's locker room atmosphere had been terrible; both Sebastián and Bruno were in very bad moods.

This was the inevitable result of losing a match.

But today would not be like that again!

Tang Ye had led the team to victory with his world-class strike.

Although they had not yet returned to the locker room, Tang Ye could already imagine the joyful atmosphere that would soon fill it.

That was the inevitable result of winning a match!

"Tom!"

Bruno jogged over to high-five Tang Ye; Tang Ye pointed at the silent fans in the home stands and whispered to Bruno beside him, "Look, Bruno, they can't be arrogant anymore!"

"Haha!"

Bruno patted Tang Ye on the back, then Rodri ran over; Tang Ye placed his left hand on Bruno's shoulder and his right hand on Rodri's shoulder.

He now felt a sense of security unlike anything he had ever experienced before!

"Tom!"

Suddenly, a commotion arose from the away fans' section; Tang Ye spotted numerous Yellow Submarine supporters shouting his name, so he walked over.

Happening to have brought a bit too much chewing gum today, Tang Ye took out the two remaining pieces from his pocket and handed them over the railing to the two fans at the very front who were wearing his number 99 jersey.

Although it was only two pieces of chewing gum, both fans who received the gifts were extremely excited.

This was Tom's chewing gum!

Under the gaze of the cameras, the Yellow Submarine players disappeared around the corner of the player tunnel.

At that moment, Tang Ye suddenly jumped out, shouted "Vamos!" loudly, and then quickly ran away.

"Haha!"

Dongqiu Di Match Report: Villarreal won the second leg 3-2, advancing to the King's Cup semifinals with an aggregate score of 4-4 thanks to the away goals rule; their semifinal opponent will be Celta Vigo.

VS Alavés, Yellow Submarine players' post-match ratings: Aleix and Rodri 8.9, Bakambu 7.9, Bruno 7.8, Tang Ye highest at 9.4.

【No wonder everyone said to stay up late watching the live broadcast; watching live is indeed different from watching a replay.】

【Wait, was Tang Ye not in good form today?】

【Tang Tang Qiuwang not in good form? Are you joking about him scoring twice?】

【But when I watched the highlights, Tang Ye seemed far stronger than this...】

【Tang Tang Qiuwang, the number one highlights player in football, right? His highlight level is greater than the sum of Messi and Ronaldo.】

Tang Ye had attracted a large batch of people who never watched football to start watching matches.

Bilibili was full of Tang Tang Qiuwang's highlights (aside from football elements); as soon as anyone watched Tang Tang Qiuwang's highlights, that gorgeous first-touch passing combined with perfect big-picture awareness would immediately turn people who never watched football into fans.

This was Tang Ye's charm!

Meanwhile, on Tang Ye's side.

The Yellow Submarine players in the away locker room formed a circle, walking around the tactical board in the center; Tang Ye placed his hand on Rodri's shoulder, and Aleix placed his hand on Tang Ye's shoulder.

The circle slowly rotated little by little.

"In the town where I was born~ (In the small town where I was born)"

"Lived a man who sailed to sea~"

"And he told us of his life~ (He told us of his life)"

"In the land of submarines~~~ (The things that happened inside that submarine)"

"Yellow submarine! (Yellow Sub)"

"Yellow Submarine!"

"..."

Click click!

In the press conference room, Escrivá's entire demeanor was extremely relaxed after winning the match.

Every time he accepted interviews from reporters in the press room, it was a bout between head coach Escrivá and Spanish football journalists.

And if they could win the match, Escrivá would hold an absolute advantage before the bout even began.

This was his current situation!

"Yes, I made adjustments to the team's tactics. Although the team's original tactics were already excellent enough, I had to make improvements because, as you can see, many teams in the same league have started studying us."

"In a top-tier league like La Liga, if you perform extremely well, you will be studied by other teams in the same league. This is why our win rate has declined recently; we need to make some appropriate improvements to our tactics."

The reporters below lowered their heads, quickly recording what Escrivá had just said.

"Then what about the upcoming semifinals? After advancing from the quarterfinals, you will face Celta Vigo in the final; compared to Real Madrid, Celta is clearly an easier opponent to deal with. Your luck has been very good."

"I do not wish to discuss the issue of luck."

Escrivá pondered.

"We only know that our next opponent is Celta, so we need to devise specific strategies against Celta's tactics. As for not meeting Real Madrid... I do not care about that; I only know that we need to do our utmost to win the upcoming matches. You know, we cannot decide who our opponent is, nor can we decide how strong our opponent will be."

Click click!

"Then... can we discuss Tom?"

The reporter suddenly shifted the focus onto Tang Ye, which made Escrivá, sitting in his chair, somewhat nervous.

Winning a match would give him a dominant position when facing reporters; this was undisputed, indeed.

But the problem is that Tang Ye's issue is unique.

"You once said you devised a special tactic for the team without Tom, but we haven't seen this so-called 'second tactic'."

The reporter stared into Escrivá's eyes.

"On the contrary, Tom's influence on the team has grown larger—he helped you win today's match with a world-class goal."

"…"

This question really needs serious thought.

"Hmm…"

Escrivá lifted his head and looked at the camera before him: "We'll discuss this later."

"Later?"

The reporter widened his eyes.

Brother, you didn't say it like this before!

"Yes, later. We're facing too many special circumstances right now. Under these special circumstances, it's not appropriate to discuss this issue. I'd love to explain to you, but it involves the team's secrets—I can't reveal our tactics."

Click-click-click!

…

*Diario Sport* front page headline—Tactical Adjustment Secures Victory? In-depth Analysis of Villarreal's Tactical Shift in the Second Leg: Is Tom Transitioning from Offensive Core to Playmaking Core?

*AS* front page headline—Barcelona Defeats Real Sociedad, Advances to Semifinals; Barcelona to Face Atlético in Semifinals. Is It Too Late to Abandon the King's Cup and League?

*AS*'s report revealed Barcelona's current awkward position.

When playing Real Sociedad, Barcelona did not abandon the King's Cup outright.

Now that they've reached the semifinals, abandoning it is certainly unrealistic.

Coincidentally, Barcelona now faces Atlético directly in the semifinals.

With Atlético as the opponent, Barcelona must devote full effort in both legs—this will inevitably affect their league performance.

Real Madrid, which abandoned the King's Cup long ago, is now waiting behind, ready to take their place!

Of course, besides Barcelona, Villarreal is now facing a similar problem.

Originally, Villarreal had six matches in February (League + Europa League Round of 16), but after advancing to the semifinals, they suddenly gained two more matches.

Eight matches in one month—the intensity is maxed out!

Of course, set that issue aside for now; Villarreal Club still needs to handle a massive piece of news.

One day after Villarreal's match against Alavés, the German transfer market released the latest valuations for players in La Liga, Bundesliga, and Premier League in the new season/phase.

At this moment, if you open the official Transfermarkt, the first thing you see is Tang Ye's photo.

The photo is clear—Tang Ye has a white object in his mouth.

Fans who don't understand football keep asking around; those who do recognize it at a glance.

It's Tom's gum.

It has appeared on the Transfermarkt cover alongside Tom!

*Villarreal Times* front page headline—Villarreal's loaned midfielder Tang Ye's Transfermarkt valuation surpasses 50 million euros, becoming the highest-valued player in club history.

The bold words "loaned midfielder" and "50 million euros" together strike deep into the hearts of fans reading the news.

Fans' thoughts are unknown, but when Escrivá saw this news at home, he knew reporters would once again use Tang Ye to pressure him in the next interview.

"Ferran, your loaned midfielder's valuation has surpassed 50 million euros. What do you have to say about it?"

"Ferran, your team has a 17-year-old genius worth 50 million euros—but he's on loan."

"…"

Something like that—Escrivá, lying on the sofa, was pondering how to handle these reporter questions when Chairman Roig called.

"Ferran, I need to talk to you—yes, about Tom."

…

*China Football Daily* front page headline—Villarreal's 17-year-old Guangdong prodigy Tang Ye's valuation surges to 50 million euros; half-season increase of 32 million euros ranks first among the five major leagues.

A 50-million-euro valuation is certainly at the level of a starting player for a European giant.

But whether he could start for any European giant aside, let's first compare back home.

What does Tang Ye's 50-million-euro valuation mean?

【Guangzhou Evergrande's total team valuation is 36.88 million euros; Tang Tang Qiuwang, representing Foshan, single-handedly outvalues Guangzhou—50 million > 36.88 million】

Guangzhou, home to Guangdong's only two CSL teams, is unquestionably the football hegemon of Guangdong's prefecture-level cities.

Result!

The combined valuation of Guangzhou Evergrande and Guangzhou R&F is 46.88 million euros.

46.88 million euros < 50 million euros.

Guangzhou loses!

Damn it!

Tom has led Foshan to reverse Guangzhou's dominance! 【Any Foshan people here? I'm planning a trip to Tang Tang Qiuwang's hometown for the New Year—any tips?】

【Is Foshan famous for chewing gum?】

【Guangzhou fans' world has collapsed, holy shit】

【Tang Tang Qiuwang, I'm crying—I didn't just help Villarreal beat Alavés, you're also helping Foshan beat Guangzhou】

【They've raided the home, guys】

…

"Oh, so many!"

【At 39, your Transfermarkt valuation surpasses 50 million euros, breaking the record for highest-valued Chinese player—a small comfort for Guangdong, which currently has no CSL team at all】

【You have received a bonus: Counterattack Points * 1000】

Tang Ye, who was currently at home, received a message from the system while he was on a voice call with Neymar and Dembele playing games.

!

No CSL teams at all?

I remember Guangdong definitely had two CSL teams, right?

Evergrande is the six-time CSL champion!

I remember they also won the AFC Champions League twice?

It shouldn't... be relegated, right?

Hmm...

Forget it, Tang Ye can't figure out the system's timeline anyway; let's ignore this for now.

"When was this updated? Damn, I'm already worth 50 million now."

Holding the phone with both hands, his upper body curled forward, Tang Ye's eyes widened: "This much? How is this value assessed? Isn't this a bit too high?"

Besides checking his own value, Tang Ye also scrolled down to see the changes in his teammates' values.

Ale rose from 15 million euros to 30 million euros, and Sansone rose from 16 million euros to 22 million euros.

Oh right, there's also Rodri!

Tang Ye continued scrolling down.

Rodri's value had also increased.

Last August, Rodri's value on Transfermarkt was 500,000 euros; now it has skyrocketed directly to 8 million euros.

A full 16-fold increase!

"Your team's results over the last half-season have been too good; the entire squad's value must have risen together."

Neymar reminded him, and Tang Ye briefly checked.

Sure enough, none of the 25 players in Villarreal's first team had a decreased value.

Even though Bruno is already old, his latest value remained unchanged at 5 million euros.

And the total value of Villarreal's starting lineup broke the 150 million euro barrier after this value update.

Among them, ggbond accounted for one-third!

"Tom, let me tell you,"

Neymar's voice came through the headset; the guy spoke Spanish with a slight accent. The beginner Dembele couldn't understand, but it was no problem for Tang Ye.

"If you maintain your form from the first half of the season, you can reach about 80 million euros by the end of this season. Your age is a huge advantage."

Just as Neymar said, Tang Ye's age was his greatest asset right now.

Maintaining his current stats until the end of the second half of the season, breaking the 80 million euro mark at 18 years old was not an impossible feat.

On the contrary, the probability of achieving it was quite high!

"I've increased a bit too."

Dembele whispered in his poor Spanish.

Tang Ye typed Dembele's name into the website's search box.

"16 million euros..."

"No, no."

Tang Ye made a mistake; he was looking at Dembele from Tottenham.

His good friend wasn't Dembele from Tottenham, but Dembele from Dortmund.

Let's check again.

"18 million to 28 million, haha, Ousmane, you've also increased by 10 million."

"But not as much as me!"

"Hey, damn, I didn't buy a gun, I didn't buy a gun, throw me one, damn, I have no gun, no armor!"

The excitement over the skyrocketing value passed quickly, and Tang Ye was now fully focused on the game with Neymar and Dembele.

Since the opportunity to meet up with Neymar and Dembele for a game was rare, Tang Ye had to concentrate to perform at his highest e-sports level!

Since childhood, Tang Ye had understood one principle: the mood while playing games is closely related to winning or losing.

As the biggest dark horse of this La Liga season, Villarreal gained significant benefits from this Transfermarkt value update.

The fact is this: the higher the team's win rate and the higher their ranking on the standings, the greater the increase in the players' values within the squad.

On the first day of training resuming after the King's Cup ended, a guest arrived at the office on the second floor of the training base.

Club President Fernando Roig!

In the previous few months, the club's high management and head coach Escrivá had been troubled by the matter of Tang Ye.

And this refresh of Transfermarkt values gave the high management new ideas.

"We can probably give up; this is a player we can't afford. You should look at the bright side: although we don't own him, we once did..."

Roig sat on the sofa and briefly recounted the results of his discussion with the club's high management to Escrivá.

"Giving up already?"

Escrivá stood up immediately: "There's still a chance in the summer window, right? We should have new sponsorship fees. Mr. Fernando, listen to me, even if it's 80 million euros, we should still sign him."

"Ferran, I know, I know, but calm down first."

Roig pulled Escrivá back onto the sofa: "I know, negotiations regarding Tom have been ongoing. I know what you mean; we won't easily let him go. I came to see you this time to tell you the club's latest stance."

"You've seen it too; because of the good results in the league and the King's Cup, the value of our entire team has skyrocketed this season. Rodri is an example; he went from 500,000 to 8 million! A 16-fold increase!"

Roig's voice gradually became more excited.

"As long as we maintain our current results until the end of the season and keep this momentum of rising market values, our entire squad's value will double within a single season."

Roig spoke slowly: "By then, we can generate substantial funds by selling players, Ferran, so the next season, which we have always worried about, will no longer be a problem."

A heaven-defying season, a one-fold increase in player market values!

Yellow Submarine will secure a considerable transfer fee by selling players during the 2017 summer window, using it to purchase many powerful players from other leagues.

This could directly cause a qualitative transformation in the team!

"..."

Escrivá remained silent.

The reason he had not previously established Tang Ye as the core was due to obstruction from the club's upper management.

The club's upper management had assigned Martí to monitor him!

They did not want Yellow Submarine to suddenly become a mediocre team after this season ended!

That was unacceptable!

But now the situation was different!

The update of Transfermarkt market values had given the upper management a new line of thinking.

They would go all out for just this one season!

Use results to boost the market values of the players within the squad.

And then!

Earn a huge sum of money!

"But..."

Facing Roig, Escrivá stammered, unable to get out a single complete sentence.

"I, I still want Tom..."

"..."

Roig leaned his upper body back, his expression terrifyingly serious: "Ferran, I know your thoughts, but rest assured, if a transfer is possible, we will definitely make it happen."

Escrivá knew how important Tang Ye was to Yellow Submarine, and of course, Roig knew it too.

Having received assurance from Roig's mouth, Escrivá's tense mood relaxed considerably.

The current intention of the club's upper management was to burn their vital essence to complete this season's explosive breakthrough.

If that was the case...

Just as he was about to leave, Roig thought of something and suddenly turned around: "Ferran, regarding the matter of two squads. There is no need to create a lineup without Tom; just confirm his position as the core directly. We are going all out this season."

"..."

After Roig finished speaking, Escrivá sat motionless in his chair.

"Mr. Fernando..."

Escrivá touched his nose: "Actually, there is no such thing as two squads; I was deceiving them."

Roig whipped his head around sharply.

"So... from beginning to end, you have been playing with Tom as the core? You didn't listen to what Karl and the others said?"

"Although it's a bit embarrassing, that is indeed the case."

Escrivá also stood up from the sofa: "I only know that one lineup; do you really think I am Saint Escrivá?"

Formulating a variant possession tactic based on a 4-2-3-1 formation for Tang Ye, and now making a series of adjustments to the tactic based on the situations of other teams, was all that Escrivá could do.

Running two tactics in a single season is achievable for some powerhouse teams.

But Yellow Submarine's situation was special.

Without Tom this season, Yellow Submarine would merely be a mid-table team in La Liga.

Escrivá was no fool; he could not possibly truly avoid using Tang Ye as the core.

As for the dual squads?

That was merely rhetoric used to comfort the reporters and the club's upper management.

Did they exist?

They did not exist!

Roig walked over, placed his hand on Escrivá's shoulder, and patted it heavily several times: "This is your first season at Yellow Submarine, and it is also the most important season for Yellow Submarine in recent decades, even more important than the season we fought our way from the Segunda División to La Liga."

"Mm... do your best, Ferran."

(End of Chapter)