Chapter 521: Ashley Young Denies Eating Shit, Manchester City Announces Full Push for Premier League Two-Peat

The Premier League officially announced: The Premier League's February Player of the Month is Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford.

Over the past two seasons, Tang Ye has been the only Manchester United player to win the Premier League Monthly Player of the Month award. Rashford has now broken Tang Ye's monopoly with his outstanding performance last month.

This is certainly good news for Manchester United; the moment Tang Ye saw the news, he immediately retweeted the Premier League's official post.

The Cat and Mouse duo interacted in the comments section.

【Tang Ye: The best forward】

【Rashford: Thank you, Master, for the passes】

It wasn't until Dongquedi retweeted this news that Chinese fans realized Tang Ye's nickname had already spread across Europe.

Manchester United will travel to the Emirates Stadium for their Premier League match against Arsenal in three days; after the game, the Premier League will award Rashford.

Before that, Sky Sports interviewed the Manchester United forward via video call.

"This is my first time winning Premier League Player of the Month—I still feel great about it, because over the past two seasons, the Player of the Month has basically been monopolized by a few exceptional players… like De Bruyne, Aguero, Salah, and Tom."

Considering Rashford is a superstar forward worth 90 million euros, winning this award is fairly normal for a top-tier league.

But you need to think about this from another angle.

Rashford took the Player of the Month award away from De Bruyne, Salah, and Tang Ye.

That makes its value far from ordinary!

"But I think this might be my last chance this season."

Rashford joked: "Because Tom and his teammates' performances in the Premier League are truly incomparable."

"Your market value has now reached 90 million euros—do you think you'll become Manchester United's second billionaire player?"

"Billionaire player isn't easy to become—I think I should just take it one step at a time."

Rashford is very young, yet he always displays maturity beyond his years.

Fans familiar with Manchester United should be able to see the difference between Rashford and Tang Ye.

Both exhibit a noticeable sense of laziness in their play.

But Tang Ye's heart is warm; Rashford's heart is a calm, cool stillness—so their ways of answering questions differ too.

Speaking of Tang Ye, the reporter suddenly brought up another question about this Manchester United midfielder…

"During the winter transfer window, reports claimed at least two top-five-league clubs showed interest in Tom. Given Manchester United's inability to build a suitable attack, do you think he might choose to leave?"

In the video, Rashford's pupils dilated noticeably—he was clearly surprised by the reporter's question.

"Hmm…"

"He hasn't mentioned any transfer talks to us; I believe he has no intention of leaving."

Rashford shrugged: "A top player like Tom will always seek higher goals. But I think we can provide him with all the support he wants."

…

Popular YouTube psychology blogger: After the Champions League Round of 16, Ronaldo's micro-expressions revealed dissatisfaction with his club teammates.

"From the video footage, Ronaldo's expression after the loss showed disappointment and frustration, with disappointment dominating," said the YouTube blogger.

Displaying disappointment toward teammates on camera is, of course, inappropriate.

But given Ronaldo's intensely competitive nature, such behavior is understandable.

After all, the Portuguese is not skilled at controlling his emotions.

What caught fans' attention was the latter half of the video.

It was halftime of the second leg, when Ronaldo and Tang Ye were captured on camera by field reporters sharing a 3- to 4-second stare in the player tunnel.

The blogger detected clear hostility in Ronaldo's eyes.

Hostility toward Tang Ye!

【Is the Pig War about to begin?】

【Holy shit, if Tang Ye had been born three years earlier, we'd have had a Messi-Ronaldo-Tang Ye showdown】

【This is my dad Zhengxiong's fault—he waited too long to breed】

【Tang Zhengxiong: It's my fault?】

【Everyone get out of the way—let my Master win a Premier League title first and crush Ronaldo】

In Dongquedi's comment section, Chinese fans fantasized about a future rivalry between Tang Ye and Ronaldo.

But some fans pointed out that the contest between Tang Ye and Ronaldo had already ended when the final whistle blew yesterday.

…

The UAE Advanced News: The AFC is urging Tang Ye to pay the fine for his violation in the Asian Cup final; if he fails to pay the full fine by the end of March, he may face additional suspension.

China Sports Daily: Judging from the current situation, Tang Ye has likely forgotten to pay the fine. Notably, the AFC's suspension may be meaningless to him, as he is unlikely to participate in the first two stages of the Asian qualifiers anyway.

Dongquedi match preview: March 11, 00:30, Manchester United away vs. Arsenal. The Red Devils aim for a perfect March league record to chase the Premier League top spot.

…

Two days remain before Manchester United's league match against Arsenal.

At Paul's strong insistence, Tang Ye met his agent at a local Chinese restaurant in Manchester.

The moment they met, Paul asked Tang Ye the same question again: whether he had any other clubs in mind.

"Tom, you must feel that besides midfield, every position at Manchester United has serious problems—and these issues won't be fixed overnight."

Although he'd said it once before, Paul felt this matter was too important to repeat.

"My point, Tom, is that Manchester United may not be able to give you what you want."

Paul looked into Tang Ye's eyes; the latter was thinking.

Tang Ye clearly understood the problems Paul mentioned—he understood them even better than Paul did.

But in Tang Ye's world, winning glory alongside friends he'd known for years was a matter bigger than heaven itself.

"Paul… I think we should just leave it for now."

"Tom, I know you're incredibly talented—you're better than any player I've ever known. But you can't carry the whole team to titles forever. I want to tell you…"

"Cough, cough."

Realizing he'd overstepped, Paul swallowed the rest of his words.

"Then I guess the second thing I had to tell you isn't necessary anymore."

"Tell me anyway, Paul."

Tang Ye looked up.

If Paul had flown all the way from Spain, it couldn't be a trivial matter.

"Hmm…"

Paul shook his head slightly: "The day after you played Juventus, they contacted me."

"Of course, your transfer fee is too high—even Juventus can't afford it. But they offered an alternative idea."

Paul's eyes gleamed: "Ronaldo plus 80 million euros."

"They want you, Tom."

"…."

Tang Ye wrapped both hands around his steaming cup of milk, blinked rapidly, and remained silent.

Paul narrowed his eyes, observing the subtle changes in Tang Ye's expression.

A few years ago, faced with this question, the kid would have unhesitatingly said no—he'd stay with his friends.

But now… Paul noticed Tang Ye's perspective had shifted slightly.

"Of course, Juventus isn't a top-tier team anymore—but I spoke with them, and if you go, they'll strengthen key positions. Then Juventus will truly be capable of competing for the Champions League!"

"Uh… let's not talk about that now, Paul."

Tang Ye stood up and bid Paul farewell.

"We have crucial matches this month—we're chasing the Premier League top spot. Let's put this aside for now."

Tang Ye patted Paul on the shoulder.

"You can't keep avoiding the issue!"

Paul spread his hands, but Tang Ye said nothing more.

…

"Yesterday, during my video interview, the reporter asked about your transfer."

Light rain fell over the training ground as Manchester United players warmed up together; Rashford told Tang Ye about his encounter the day before.

"I don't even know why he asked that."

Rashford smiled: "He said reporters mentioned transfer rumors during the winter window, but I've never seen that news."

Valencia turned around and ran backward: "He's just trying to get you to slip up—can't you see that?"

"Of course I know that—but why focus on this? No one has ever said anything about Tom transferring."

Rodri elbowed Tang Ye: "Reporters guess. Didn't they keep saying for years that Ronaldo and Messi were going to leave?"

"Yeah, all fake."

Ziyech ran ahead: "That's how reporters make money."

He looked at Rashford: "If you say the wrong thing, they can write a whole newspaper article and make a fortune—that's just how reporters operate."

Manchester United players seem to hold a bias against English reporters.

But that's unavoidable—newspapers like The Sun and a few other tabloids have truly disgusting reporters; not just Manchester United, but several other Premier League clubs also despise The Sun.

"Won't fans see through fake news?"

Tang Ye suddenly said.

"Any news has someone who believes it—if someone believes it, they make money."

Ashley Yang pointed out the problem: Tang Ye was still too young.

"You can tell the reporters you're transferring, scare them a bit. I feel they could write a whole book about it."

Ashley Yang said with a laugh.

"Hah!"

"Hey Yang, that's not good—what if the fans believe it?"

"What can I do? Fans believe anything. Because of that video online, everyone thinks I ate bird droppings on the pitch."

Ashley Yang shrugged and suddenly brought up an incident from years ago.

Tang Ye's eyes lit up—he knew exactly what Ashley Yang meant.

Before Tang Ye joined Manchester United, during a match, a white sticky substance suddenly fell from the sky and landed right in Ashley Yang's open mouth.

The video went viral among fans, so popular that Tang Ye, thousands of miles away in another country, had heard of it.

Netizens unanimously believed Ashley Yang had swallowed bird droppings.

Tang Ye thought so too.

"Hah, Yang, you ate bird droppings—so what? Why does it matter if fans believe it? There's video proof."

"No no no!!!"

Ashley Yang suddenly shouted: "It's not that the video is fake—I don't even know how to explain it. I don't know what happened with that video, but I can tell you, Tom, it's fake. I 100% did not eat bird droppings."

"Wow, Yang, you ate shit and still won't admit it!"

Tang Ye pointed at Ashley Yang, like reprimanding a child who had lied.

"Hey hey, Captain Yang, lying is wrong!"

"I really didn't eat shit—believe me, Tom? Where's the trust between teammates?"

"Really or not?"

Tang Ye scanned Ashley Yang's body up and down.

He turned to Mata: "Is he lying?"

"Well… I asked him the same question before. He told me he really didn't eat shit."

Tang Ye nodded slightly: "Then did you believe him, Mata?"

All Manchester United players turned their eyes toward Mata; Ashley Yang waited eagerly for his answer.

Mata slowly opened his mouth: "I definitely don't believe him."

"Hahahaha!"

"Ha!"

"Yang, just admit you ate shit. Why deny it? I won't tell the reporters."

…

The Manchester Evening News, front page headline: Home 0:2 Defeat, Manchester City Eliminated from Champions League. Guardiola said: "We've been crushed by our league schedule—we played seven matches in February; we couldn't keep every player in peak condition."

Manchester City, stunned by defeat, have officially ended their Champions League campaign this season.

This placed immense pressure on Manchester United, for if City were eliminated, they would pour all their energy into the Premier League.

It's said Manchester City's raw strength is inferior to Manchester United's.

But compared to United, who must divide attention between the Champions League and the league, does City now appear more competitive in the league?

All factors are unfavorable for Manchester United to win the Premier League title, but the players must still try.

"We regret City's elimination, because in my view, they had the ability to reach the quarterfinals—they are an outstanding team."

In Premier League Matchday 20, Manchester United traveled to face Arsenal. Ten Hag gave a press conference.

"As for the challenge City's Champions League exit brings us, I must admit that a City side focused solely on the Premier League will put great pressure on us."

"But since last season, Manchester United has lived under pressure, so I think we can accept this."

In January, Ten Hag kept a low profile because Tang Ye was playing in the Asian Cup in the UAE.

Now that Tang Ye has returned, Ten Hag has no reason to stay low-key.

"Even if City is determined to win the Premier League title, we will stop them—because this season's Premier League title belongs to us."

…

"China Central Television! Dear viewers, good evening—this is live coverage…"

"The referee is checking his watch!"

"And here we go—the match begins. Let me introduce the starting lineups. First, the home team, Arsenal—one of the Premier League's six giants."

Just after Manchester City announced their full focus on the Premier League title, Manchester United faced Arsenal, another giant, in the next round.

This match drew the full attention of every Premier League fan.

Can Arsenal help City stop the Red Devils?

…

(End of Chapter)