Chapter 560: 2019 FIFA Ballon d'Or Winner: Tang Ye

The Times—Ballon d'Or guests have successively arrived in Paris and checked into hotels near the award ceremony venue.

L'Équipe Ballon d'Or Column—Manchester United players were photographed strolling through the streets of Paris.

While all fans focused their attention on Manchester United and Barcelona, L'Équipe's news undoubtedly captured the fans' interest.

On the first page of the news, the newspaper even published photos of the Manchester United players taking a walk.

One could see Tang Ye and Rodri walking side by side, in good spirits.

"ty bought a bottle of Coca-Cola at the supermarket, while Rodri bought two bottles of mineral water."

【Hahaha】

【I remember Tang Ye's sponsor is Pepsi, the same sponsor as Messi's.】

【So brothers, Coca-Cola beats Pepsi; the King of Balls has already told us what to buy.】

【Is ggbond going to be fined? Are there any fans on the scene? Go catch him quickly.】

It is now the early morning of December 2nd in China time; the Ballon d'Or award ceremony will take place late tonight.

At this moment, it is still December 1st in Paris, and the five Manchester United players attending the awards are walking very happily.

"Wait, wait!"

De Ligt grabbed Tang Ye.

"What's wrong?"

"I remember seeing an advertisement during last year's World Cup; didn't you film a Pepsi commercial with Messi?"

De Ligt's words plunged Tang Ye into thought, though honestly, no thought was needed, as he remembered that incident very vividly.

That was a cola commercial filmed together with Messi and James!

Before Tang Ye could react, Rodri had already figured it out; the Manchester United defensive midfielder took a large stride forward, using his body to block the smartphone cameras of fans on the street.

"What's going on, Rod?"

Tang Ye twisted open the bottle cap.

Pfft!

"Isn't your sponsor Pepsi? Then what is this you're drinking?"

"Coca-Col..."

"Uh..."

Realizing his mistake, Tang Ye screwed the cap back on, then handed the cola to De Ligt.

Glug glug!

De Ligt gulped down several mouthfuls, then held the cola in his hand, implying that this bottle of cola was bought by Tang Ye for him and had nothing to do with Tang Ye himself.

Click click!

"ty!"

"ty!"

Voices came from all around; Tang Ye and his teammates quickened their pace forward.

"Damn it, that store didn't have any Pepsi, so I could only buy Coca-Cola; then what should I drink now?"

Tang Ye spread his hands, and De Ligt handed him a green beverage.

"What is this?"

"Grape juice, 100%."

One hundred percent fruit juice sounded unpalatable, but there was no other choice.

"Hey ty!"

The fans shouted loudly, and more and more people gathered around; Tang Ye signaled for everyone to follow him, and they arrived at a fan shop.

This was a Paris Saint-Germain jersey specialty store, but it also carried jerseys from other clubs.

"ty!"

The owner ran out and embraced Tang Ye.

"Wait a moment, wait a moment!"

Tang Ye signaled for the fans to wait outside the store while he and Rodri walked inside.

"Do you have any Manchester United jerseys here? Manchester United or Villarreal ones will also work."

"We have them all, we have them all."

The owner was very happy: "If you are going to buy... if possible, could I ask for one signed jersey?"

The owner meant that he could give Tang Ye ten Manchester United jerseys, but in return, Tang Ye needed to give him one Manchester United jersey with an autograph.

"That's fine; how many do you have in total here? Both pre-printed and blank ones are acceptable."

"Hmm..."

This question stumped the owner; he needed to find a staff member to confirm.

The answer received was forty pieces.

"Since we are a Saint-Germain specialty store, we don't have many Manchester United jerseys, but we do have a few Villarreal ones, probably five or six."

"I'll take them all, I'll take them all."

Tang Ye placed his bank card on the table and turned to Rodri beside him: "Over forty pieces in total; that's too easy, we each only need to sign..."

Forty-five pieces, with five people in total, meant that on average each person needed to sign...

Nine pieces!

Tang Ye quickly completed the calculation.

Because this was not difficult at all.

Manchester Evening News front-page headline: Only one day remains until the official Ballon d'Or rankings are announced; what are the newspaper experts' opinions?

The Manchester Evening News special program featured four experts in attendance.

This newspaper leans toward Manchester United, so the experts' views also favor Manchester United somewhat.

Two believe Tang Ye will win the award, one favors Messi, and another expert expressed support for Cristiano Ronaldo.

But at this juncture, no expert opinion matters anymore; fans just want to wait for the official results the next day.

The Sun: A Manchester United fan organization issued a statement declaring that if Messi ultimately wins the Ballon d'Or, they will file a complaint against France Football.

Interview with former Villarreal captain Bruno: "I played in La Liga, so I know how strong Messi is; but because I was teammates with TY, I know even better that TY is the most suitable candidate for the Ballon d'Or."

China Football News front page: Tang Ye vs. Messi vs. Fan Daike! Can a Chinese player challenge for the first Ballon d'Or trophy in history?

London Evening Post: According to reports, the ultimate Ballon d'Or winner has been notified by phone by the newspaper, but it remains unclear who the final recipient is.

……

Time quickly arrived at the second day.

Today, the streets of Paris were extremely lively; fans gathered around the award ceremony venue, and even some onlookers came just to watch the spectacle.

A black limousine arrived at the theater's main entrance, which was the very front position of the red carpet.

Click-click!

The car door opened; the first to step out was Tang Ye, followed by Rodri.

Manchester United had five nominees in total, so why did only two emerge?

Because the other three were in the car behind.

"TY, TY!"

Tang Ye walked toward the theater together with his agent.

Soon, Cristiano Ronaldo's car arrived; Jorge gestured for Tang Ye to hurry inside and avoid direct contact with Cristiano Ronaldo.

But Tang Ye figured they would have to sit together eventually anyway, so he simply stayed on the red carpet a while longer, specifically waiting for Cristiano Ronaldo.

"Cristiano."

Tang Ye shook hands and embraced Cristiano Ronaldo.

It was somewhat unexpected, because Tang Ye discovered that Cristiano Ronaldo was in quite a good mood today.

Was this because he hadn't won the Ballon d'Or, so he felt relieved?

Tang Ye did not know.

Standing beside Cristiano Ronaldo, Tang Ye had originally intended to wait a bit longer for Messi, but a reporter reminded him that Messi had already gone inside, so they continued walking inward.

Zhou Ye placed her hand on Tang Ye's arm; the two of them arrived at the mixed interview zone.

Behind them was a large red backdrop, where Tang Ye and the other person underwent some photography by reporters.

"You've been holding my arm the whole time; I'm not quite used to it,"

Tang Ye said softly.

"Ah, should I let go then?"

"Don't let go; everyone does this. We should be a bit more professional."

"Oh, oh, okay."

Click!

Click-click!

"Wait, do I really have to give a speech? I've prepared a script, but I feel like I probably won't need to speak."

Zhou Ye felt somewhat awkward, because after all, she indeed had no direct connection to the field of football.

"You probably will; they told me you have to. Just go up and say a few words. Cristiano Ronaldo's girlfriend spoke up there before; I was on-site at that time. It'll absolutely be fine."

Tang Ye and Zhou Ye finished the photoshoot, then proceeded inside the theater.

"Hiss..."

Taking a deep breath, this kind of situation was a bit too terrifying for Zhou Ye.

"So, should I speak in English?"

"You know English?"

Tang Ye paused for a moment.

"Of course; I'm a college student... But my speaking definitely isn't as good as yours. If the host asks me questions, it'll probably be a disaster; my English listening comprehension isn't great. Plus, I can only read from the script."

"Then just speak Chinese."

Tang Ye shrugged: "Anyway, they'll definitely have translators."

"That's good then..."

……

The ceremony venue was filled entirely with football stars. Tang Ye led Zhou Ye straight to the first row and sat down in the seat next to Cristiano Ronaldo.

The seating arrangement on-site was very meticulously designed; Tang Ye, Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Fan Daike were all arranged in the first row, besides which were only the bosses of the award ceremony's sponsors.

There were still a few minutes before the award presentation officially began; Tang Ye leaned back against the soft cushion behind him, when suddenly Cristiano Ronaldo beside him reached out his hand.

Tang Ye shook hands with Cristiano Ronaldo.

"Congratulations."

Hm?

Tang Ye paused for a moment, then after realizing, he nodded toward Cristiano Ronaldo again.

"You don't seem very sad, Cristiano?"

"Haha."

Cristiano Ronaldo turned his head away and, like Tang Ye, leaned back against the chair: "The gap is too big this year; last year was the hardest to accept. Actually, I think my ranking last year should have been higher than yours."

"Or rather... I should have won the award last year."

"Haha."

《Check Dongqiu Di Pinned Post》—The Ballon d'Or award ceremony is being broadcast live; the winner of the 2019 Kopa Trophy is about to be announced.

Kopa Trophy (Best U21 Player in Football) Candidate List:

1. Vinicius, Real Madrid.

2. Matthijs de Ligt, Manchester United....

7. Sancho, Borussia Dortmund.

8. Felix, Benfica.

"China Media Group! Here we are, broadcasting live from the scene of the 2019 European Football Ballon d'Or award ceremony!"

"The venue for this award ceremony is the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, France. Compared to the Eiffel Tower in 2017 and the Grand Palais in 2018, one can see that this year's Ballon d'Or venue is more spacious and can accommodate more guests and journalists."

The stage lights were dim, then brightened again to reveal people standing there.

Dressed in a blue suit was "The Beast" Drogba, a guest at this award ceremony, and standing beside him was today's host, Sandy.

【tropheekopa】

A line of French text appeared on the large screen, meaning Kopa Trophy.

"The Kopa Trophy was established to honor Raymond Kopa, France's first Ballon d'Or winner. The purpose of this award is to reward the most outstanding player under the age of 21 for the year..."

The CCTV commentator slowly explained: "The Kopa Trophy was established in 2018, and the inaugural winner was Tang Ye of Manchester United and the Chinese national team."

Speaking of Tang Ye, the on-site camera sought the figure of the Manchester United midfielder, only to find a seat in the front row empty; one could even see Tang Ye's name written on the back of the chair.

Ggbond was gone!

Holding the microphone, Sandy welcomed the guests present today and also introduced the awards that would be presented next.

"The 2019 French Football Kopa Trophy!"

Sandy pointed to the large screen behind him, where photos of candidate players like Sancho, Felix, and Vinicius were displayed in sequence.

Check Dongqiu Di Pinned Post: The winner of the 2019 Kopa Trophy is Matthijs de Ligt.

Clap clap clap clap!

Applause erupted in the venue; seated in the third row, De Ligt rose from his seat under the tracking camera and slowly walked toward the stage.

"Wow!"

Amidst applause and embraces, De Ligt arrived on stage and accepted the host's interview.

At this moment, the camera cut to the far end, where Tang Ye was walking up from backstage carrying the golden Kopa Trophy.

"Tang Ye!"

"Many people don't know that as the inaugural winner of the Kopa Trophy, Tang Ye needs to present the trophy to De Ligt."

De Ligt winning the Kopa Trophy also meant that Manchester United had swept this award.

A new Manchester United player wins the award, and the Manchester United captain presents it to him.

This is a coincidence, but it also illustrates from another angle the unstoppable momentum of Manchester United's resurgence in recent seasons.

So many geniuses!

"Matthijs."

Holding the trophy in his left hand, Tang Ye shook hands with De Ligt, finally placing the Kopa Trophy into the hands of the Manchester United defender.

【2019 Kopa Trophy Winner: Matthijs de Ligt (Manchester United, Netherlands)】

Clap clap clap!

After the conclusion of the Kopa Trophy and the Women's Ballon d'Or awards, the most anticipated Men's Ballon d'Or was finally about to begin.

Check Dongqiu Di Pinned Post: The 2019 Ballon d'Or award ceremony is underway; 30th place: Felix.

【Damn, here it comes, here it comes, brothers!】

【Why release them one by one? Won't this take half an hour?】

【Last year we waited half an hour, only to find out Tang Ye was second. Actually, if the ranking is high, I think waiting a while is still worth it.】

【Begging Messi and Ronaldo not to steal my Ggbond's Ballon d'Or, please, I beg you!】

【Brothers, feels like Rodri is a lock for the top 10, what do you say?】

26th place: Benzema (Real Madrid, France).

25th place: Koulibaly (Napoli, Senegal).

"And then, 20th place, Arnold! An English full-back from the Premier League giants Liwupu!"

The commentator introduced.

Now that the top 20 had been reached, not a single one of Manchester United's five candidate players had appeared yet.

The logic was simple: all five of Manchester United's players were in the top 20!

19th place: Rashford (Manchester United, England).

OK, now one has finally appeared.

Manchester United's Crown Prince Rashford; this was his first time entering the Ballon d'Or candidate list, and he directly achieved 19th place.

Judging from the Check Dongqiu Di comment section, Rashford's ranking was quite controversial, because compared to several strikers ranked around 20th or lower, Rashford created chances on his own relatively few times.

Precisely for this reason, some fans felt that Rashford's 19th place ranking was fed to him by several of Manchester United's midfielders.

As for whether it was truly fed to him or not, there was no need to discuss it; after all, 19th place is not 1st place.

Check Dongqiu Di Pinned Post: The announcement of the 2019 Ballon d'Or rankings is underway; 16th place Aguero.

15th place: De Ligt (Manchester United, Netherlands).

14th place: De Bruyne (Mancheng, Belgium).

……

10th place: Bernardo Silva (Mancheng, Portugal).

"Manchester Evening Post"—Ballon d'Or rankings announced; Manchester United has three players in the top 10.

It was not until the day of the Ballon d'Or ceremony that many fans realized just how terrifying the revived Manchester United had become.

As for Tang Ye, there was no need to mention him.

Rodri and De Jong had not yet appeared; they were still waiting in their seats.

8th place: De Jong (Manchester United, Netherlands).

7th place: Lewandowski (Bayern, Poland).

Upon seeing De Jong's name, Tang Ye turned his head and waved to his teammates.

In truth, Tang Ye was not surprised by this ranking; he even felt De Jong could have climbed a few spots higher.

It was still a pity; De Jong's main issue lay in last season's Champions League.

If De Jong had performed slightly better during the Champions League, he would certainly not be stuck at 8th place now.

Upon entering the top 10, the interval time between announcing each player grew significantly longer.

"France Football" could be said to have precisely grasped the psychology of both fans and players.

5th place: Rodri (Manchester United, Spain).

"Wow!"

Clap clap clap clap!

When Rodri's name appeared, it marked the loudest round of applause from the audience so far.

A defensive midfielder, yet ranked 5th for the Ballon d'Or—just ask yourself, isn't that terrifying!

Soon, the 4th place arrived.

4th place: C. Ronaldo (Juventus, Portugal).

【C. Ronaldo 4th? No, why? Isn't Salah better than C. Ronaldo?】

【I feel there is a serious problem with this Ballon d'Or.】

【If it really relies on journalists stacking votes, then my GG Bond is done for.】

【Case closed, brothers. Only those who have won the Ballon d'Or once can win it a second time; otherwise, they won't give it to you. The loop is closed.】

When C. Ronaldo appeared in 4th place, the fans realized something was off.

Everyone says the Ballon d'Or mainly depends on a player's comprehensive performance over the past year, but when it comes to the actual voting, many journalists and national team captains actually harbor their own little schemes.

Asking a journalist who likes C. Ronaldo to vote for Messi is very difficult; conversely, it is equally hard for a journalist who likes Messi to give their first-place vote to C. Ronaldo.

The large screen suddenly shifted from Juventus's black to Liwupu's red.

3rd place: Fan Daike (Liwupu, Netherlands).

Clap clap clap clap!

Fan Daike stood up, politely accepting the applause from the guests present.

His facial expression was fine, but to say Fan Daike was extremely satisfied with this ranking would not be entirely accurate.

After the applause faded, the theater fell silent once again.

Now only the final two remained...

Tang Ye, Messi.

The ultimate winner of this year's Ballon d'Or would be decided between these two players!

"Huff, huff huff..."

A panting sound came from CCTV-5, originating from the commentator.

The fans were nervous, and naturally, the commentator was too.

"Um, dear viewers in the live stream, we are about to announce the final winner..."

"Haha, I suggest that some fans in the live stream with weak psychological endurance turn off their TVs first and watch tomorrow morning. Of course, if you do that, I believe many people won't be able to sleep."

Fan Daike's personal poster on the display screen slowly disappeared.

"Dear viewers in the live stream, what you are about to see could be a historic moment for Chinese football, but similarly... our expectations over the past year might come to... nothing."

After the red vanished, the LCD screen was covered in blue and white.

2nd place: Messi (Barcelona, Argentina).

!!!!!

"Messi!"

"The second place winner of this year's Ballon d'Or is Messi!"

Realizing he had become too excited, the commentator quickly adjusted his mindset: "The Argentine star! Leo Messi from Barcelona! This is the 2nd place winner of this year's Ballon d'Or!"

Clap clap clap clap!

Messi stood up to accept the applause.

He had already learned via phone call that he had not won the award.

The camera cut to Tang Ye sitting next to C. Ronaldo; the Manchester United midfielder's facial muscles tensed, as if he were biting down on something.

"Dear viewers in the live stream, you are about to witness a historic moment for Chinese football!"

"The winner of the 2019 Ballon d'Or has been born!"

Messi's photo disappeared from the screen.

After a period of darkness, the LCD screen on the stage suddenly erupted in raging flames.

On the left was the Manchester United Little Devils crest, and on the right was the Five-Star Red Flag representing China.

The crest and the red flag, one on the left and one on the right, were slowly drawn out, gradually converging in the center.

The flames were terrifyingly realistic; Drogba and the host standing on the stage even felt as though they could reach out and touch them.

"Wow!"

Roar!

As the sound erupted, a great fire engulfed both the crest and the red flag entirely.

【2019 FIFA Ballon d'Or Winner: Tang Ye】

……

(End of Chapter)