Chapter 580: All the Power of the Golden Ball Enters My Body: An Ordinary 2.4 Billion Euros

Professional Footballers' Association of England, January Premier League Player of the Month nominees:

1. Tang Ye, Manchester United.

2. Dembélé, Manchester United.

3. Sterling, Mancheng.

4. Salah, Liwupu.

5. Vardy, Leicester City.

On February 2nd, the day of the match between Manchester United and Wolves, Villa released a promotional poster for the EFL Cup final, even though a full month remained before the final officially kicked off.

The final is against Manchester United; do Villa's fans and staff seem a bit too excited?

Villa is eagerly anticipating the final against Manchester United, yet Manchester United's side remains relatively indifferent; after playing Mancheng, many fans' attention has gradually shifted away from the EFL Cup.

Compared to the EFL Cup final against a weaker opponent, Manchester United fans are more focused on the league.

And, of course, the upcoming Champions League!

"Roar!!!"

Dembélé let out his first roar of February at Old Trafford, with the score on the pitch now at 3:2.

After falling behind by one goal, Manchester United completed a comeback against Wolves.

"A goal from Dembélé!"

"Hmm, that's Tang Ye's second assist today."

"Yeah, over the past two matches, Tang Ye's assist count has already reached five..."

Dembélé jumped onto Tang Ye, who carried Ousmane all the way to the base of the stands.

"TY! TY! TY!"

Manchester United fans are now split into two groups: one mocking the Wolves players, the other shouting GGbond's real name.

In response, Tang Ye raised his left hand in a "shush" gesture, then lifted Dembélé's arm.

"Hey, come on!"

Dembélé showed some reluctance, but under Tang Ye's persistence, the Frenchman ultimately did not pull his arm back.

"Dembélé!"

Boom! Boom!

"Dembélé!"

Boom! Boom!

It now appears that Manchester United's transfer investment of over 110 million euros was entirely worthwhile.

In the current football landscape, trying to find a right winger more formidable than Dembélé, or simply more suitable for Manchester United, is honestly very difficult.

As the driving force behind the Piggy Xia Chuang transfer, Ten Hag has once again become a favorite among Manchester United fans.

"Looking at it now... haha, the initial doubts Manchester United fans had about Ten Hag were probably mistaken."

"We'd say that regardless of how you look at it, Dembélé's current performance absolutely justifies the 110 million euro price tag."

"Hey, no arguments there!"

PINNED: Unstoppable! Manchester United secures their first league victory in February, continuing to lead the standings.

Attached: 2019-2020 Premier League Standings (as of the end of Round 25):

1. Manchester United, 67 points.

2. Liwupu, 64 points.

3. Mancheng, 55 points.

4. Chelsea, 47 points.

5. Tottenham, 42 points.

Click-clack!

"Manchester United has only four matches this month, which should be relatively easy for you, yet your February opponents include Chelsea and Real Madrid."

"Hmm... I believe that currently, neither Real Madrid nor Chelsea is in their best form."

Facing Ten Hag's response, a reporter quickly pointed out the fact of Rodri's injury.

"Yes, I know, of course I know; we all have injured players, and even under these circumstances, Manchester United will remain at an advantage; we already have excellent tactical responses in place."

Click!

After this match, Manchester United will face a two-week gap period, meaning there will not be a single match throughout those entire two weeks.

Reporters therefore asked Ten Hag whether he would impose any special training requirements on the team's players during these two weeks.

Ten Hag's response to this was very simple: he and his coaching staff had already made preparations.

As for what those preparations were.

Don't ask, because even if you did, he wouldn't say.

The camera turned to Tang Ye nearby.

So far this season, Tang Ye has already recorded 15 assists, despite having missed the first few rounds of matches.

An incredibly exaggerated statistic, yet the English reporters in the audience have grown accustomed to it; they didn't even bother asking Tang Ye how he felt about achieving these assists.

"Since last month, a severe viral outbreak has erupted in China; we've even seen news reports that your hometown, Guangdong, has been affected?"

"I don't really want to answer this question, but it seems unavoidable."

Tang Ye shrugged.

Even if he didn't answer now, this group of reporters would surely pursue the question later.

"I will provide whatever help I can; as for the specific methods of assistance, my agent and I are currently discussing them; I am very grateful to Marcus, as he will support me in this matter."

"Facing the midfield trio again in the ceremony, what are your thoughts? Back in La Liga, Barcelona fans called you the 'Real Madrid Bulldozer,' meaning you could establish midfield dominance against Real Madrid."

"..."

"To be honest, I didn't even know I had that title, but, haha, thanks."

Tang Ye shrugged: "I can't say much right now, but I can confirm that Casemiro and the others are excellent players."

"Then I wish you success, Tom, and I wish your hometown success as well."

"Mm, thanks, it certainly will be."

Romano: Manchester United is the only Premier League team that hasn't spent a penny during the winter window; currently, the club still owes 35 million euros in unpaid installments for Dembélé's transfer.

Tottenham beat reporter: B. Fernandes' transfer has fallen through due to price issues; Mourinho believes the player isn't worth a transfer fee exceeding 70 million euros.

Daily Mail front-page headline—Manchester United will hold a large-scale charity event at Old Trafford on January 6th, aiming to raise funds for virus-stricken areas including China, South Korea, and Iran.

"Insiders within Manchester United leaked to the newspaper in advance that the club is very confident this charity event will succeed, because players like TY, including star players from other Premier League teams and Manchester United legends, will all be present."

Regarding donations for the virus-stricken areas, this event is divided into two parts.

The first part is on-site fundraising, attended by local British entrepreneurs and professional players, so-called social elites. This portion is jointly organized by Manchester United officially and the Charity Association.

The second part is online fundraising, planned and proposed by Rashford, a well-known charity player within the Manchester United squad.

Coming from the suggestion of the Charity Rat, this proposal received Tang Ye's full support the moment it was put forward.

The Sun front-page headline—After careful consideration, TY and his agent team are very likely to provide a quite exaggerated donation to set an example during the on-site charity event.

"Faster, faster!"

Ten Hag shouted loudly as Tang Ye and Haller sprinted past the marker cones together.

"Damn!"

Tang Ye yelled out, then plopped down onto the ground.

At this moment, the grass of the training pitch was already covered with lying Manchester United players.

"Huff, huff-huff, I knew it; there should have been more matches in February. With fewer games, this happens. Huff, huff, Osman, I calculated it all."

Tang Ye placed his hand on his stomach, resting his head on De Jong's arm.

Speed training and endurance training; any drill related to running is a nightmare for professional players.

Compared to passing and shooting drills where one can slack off, running exercises are absolutely the most unbearable.

"Yue..."

A sudden commotion came from nearby, and Tang Ye quickly rolled over.

He saw De Jong stand up from the grass, run to the sideline, prop his hands on his knees, and immediately vomit up what he had eaten for lunch.

"Are you okay? Sigh..."

Fan Fan Dejiahe sighed.

De Jong, Rodri, and Tang Ye—these three midfielders were absolutely the most pitiful within the Manchester United squad.

Not only did they have high appearance frequencies, but the intensity of their endurance training was also 20% higher than that of other players.

The reason was simple: the Manchester United manager wanted his midfield to possess superior endurance levels, thereby crushing opponents with midfield dominance during matches.

Ten Hag walked slowly toward Tang Ye; the latter sensed something was wrong, propped his hands on the grass, and displayed a tense expression on his face.

"Did you slack off?"

Ten Hag's first question left Tang Ye speechless.

"I reached the finish line together with Seba."

Tang Ye pointed at Haller; the Manchester United striker was also nearing collapse now, though his situation wasn't as dire as De Jong's.

"Then why didn't you vomit?"

"..."

"Does one necessarily have to vomit?"

"You can still speak to me normally."

Ten Hag shrugged his shoulders, found the fitness coach nearby who was still recording data, and asked: "Can TY continue with more?"

"Yes."

The fitness coach answered directly without even looking up.

"Hey!"

Tang Ye shouted: "We're getting off work soon!" "Captain, contribute a bit more to the team!"

Dembélé laughed heartily, but soon he too was singled out by Ten Hag: "Come on, Osman, you go with him; today you two will race, and the one who arrives late will do an extra ten 50-meter sprints."

"..."

"Damn!"

Tang Ye now felt extremely uncomfortable all over his body.

To tell the truth, he indeed still had the stamina to run, but he didn't feel he needed to put too much effort into endurance.

How many matches last 120 minutes? Being able to play 90 minutes is already sufficient!

"Beep!"

Faster, faster!

The two brothers, Tom and Osman, started running on the field again.

Ten 50-meter shuttle runs; it looked like only 500 meters.

In reality, it was indeed only 500 meters.

But it wasn't as simple as 500 meters, because the requirement for this drill wasn't jogging, but sprinting, sudden stopping, then sprinting again, repeating this cycle; before even finishing, one would feel as if their calves had been filled with lead.

Ten Hag paired Tang Ye with Dembélé; the faster Dembélé held the advantage at the start.

But just as they reached the 300-meter mark, Dembélé was overtaken by Tang Ye, who possessed superior endurance.

No joke—with Red Bull's boost, Tang Ye's endurance sits at a 90+ level.

Let alone Dembélé; even against high-level players like Rodri or De Jong, Tang Ye would have the strength to compete!

"Tom! Wow!!!"

On the sidelines, teammates were heckling; the duel between Tang Ye and Dembélé had reached its critical moment.

"The loser adds ten!"

Ten Hag issued a reminder, and both Tang Ye and Dembélé immediately increased their pace.

When they passed the 400-meter mark, Tang Ye glanced to the side, then gradually slowed down.

?

It seemed Tang Ye could no longer hold on, and this deceleration caused him to lose the race.

Fan Fan Dejiahe and Ten Hag exchanged glances.

Fan Fan Dejiahe hoped Ten Hag would say something, but the Manchester United manager merely shrugged: "Hao De Xiang Fa, but a loss is a loss."

"Tom, you have five minutes; you still have one more set!"

After crossing the finish line, Tang Ye squatted on the ground, reaching out to touch the turf before him.

"Damn, damn..."

Thump-thump!

He could hear his own heartbeat clearly.

He was already near his limit; running another lap might truly make him vomit.

【Endurance: 80→81】

"Can't do it, can't do it."

Several hours later, Tang Ye lay on a bed in the physiotherapy room receiving a massage.

Running had been miserable, but now that it was over, his mood was excellent.

Because his sense of accomplishment was maxed out!

"Why did you let up?"

As soon as Ten Hag left, Dembélé's first act was to question Tang Ye.

He knew he had lost, yet Tang Ye was the one facing punishment.

Who the hell could stand that?

Lying face down on the pillow, Tang Ye replied, "Otherwise what? This race happened because of me; Erik told me to run, and you only joined because you butted in. I was going to run anyway."

"Then you essentially ran an extra lap now."

Dembélé was somewhat unhappy; although he indeed hadn't run the second lap, he currently felt worse than if he had.

"It's all the same; let's talk next time."

Tang Ye wanted to gloss over the matter.

He had only thought about preventing Ousmane from running the second lap, failing to consider that his friend might get angry over this.

"No, no, no, it's not the same. I lost, so I should be the one running. You can't let up just to let me win; I'm the one who lost."

Dembélé stepped in front of Tang Ye: "You can't do this!"

"Okay, okay, my fault, Ousmane, my fault, I know."

Tang Ye patted Dembélé's hand; through the temperature of his arm, he could sense Dembélé's current mood.

"Next time, if I'm going to win, I definitely have to let up for Tom; this must be returned, and you can't stop me then."

With Dembélé's attitude firmly set, Tang Ye had no choice.

"My fault, Ousmane, sorry!"

Dembélé placed his hand on his head.

Until the next time he lets Tang Ye win, he estimated he would spend the interim drowning in guilt.

Big mistake, Tom!

Manchester Evening News front-page headline: The Manchester Derby rivals jointly donate 350,000 euros; coupled with the Premier League official's 150,000 euro donation, a total of 500,000 euros was raised to support epidemic-stricken areas in China.

Mancheng Official: We unite!

Mancheng Official's post quickly received a reply from Manchester United Official.

Manchester United's reply was simple, using no words, just three "hug" emojis.

Here lies a detail: because three identical emojis were used consecutively, some fans speculated that Tang Ye was controlling Manchester United's official account this time.

Of course, whether it was actually Tang Ye managing it remains impossible to verify.

Manchester United Official released a promotional poster for the Old Trafford major charity event: United as One!

"..."

Time quickly arrived at February 10th; at this point, a full week remained until Manchester United's next match.

Having a week to prepare for one match might seem like ample time.

In reality, the situation Manchester United faced was more complicated than imagined.

On the 17th, they play Chelsea in the league; on the 21st, they face Real Madrid in the Champions League.

Superficially, they are preparing for one match, but in reality, they are preparing for two, and the most frustrating part is that both matches are equally important.

Real Madrid beat reporter: Asensio cannot play in the Champions League match against Manchester United; Hazard is highly unlikely to play, as the Belgian winger's injury does not support him participating in high-level matches.

Hazard has been injured since the start of the season and still hasn't recovered after half a year.

Manchester United was already hard to play against, and now they're missing another strong winger — this is really painful.

Some Real Madrid fans expressed their dissatisfaction with Hazard in the comments section.

But there's nothing that can be done about it — even the most badass athletes can only feel helpless when faced with injuries.

As for the fans saying "Hazard's value will drop below 100 million," this view that first appeared back in December was finally confirmed this February.

On February 13rd, the transfer value update fans had been waiting for finally arrived!

Hazard (Real Madrid, Belgium): 90 million euros (↓30 million euros).

Hazard dropped 30 million euros — the biggest value decline of any player in the entire La Liga, bar none.

But it's not a big problem. Hazard's ability speaks for itself; once he comes back from injury, fans believe he can return to his peak.

Hazard is a talking point, but the biggest talking point is actually Tang Ye and Mbappé.

These two players with a value of 200 million euros!

Ligue 1's value stayed at the November 9th version with no update — Mbappé is still 200 million euros, unchanged.

But the Premier League updated!

"Munich Times" front-page headline — History broken! The new season/phase Transfermarkt value rankings, ty at 240 million euros sets a new historical record.

"Manchester Evening News" front-page headline — Surging 40 million euros, the most expensive player in football history arrives!

"China Football News" cover headline — The new season/phase Transfermarkt value: Tang Ye 240 million euros alone at first, French supernova Mbappé 200 million euros in second.

World Rankings (2020.2.14):

1. Tang Ye (Manchester United, China), 240 million euros.

2. Mbappé (Paris, France), 200 million euros.

3. Rodri (Manchester United, Spain), 140 million euros.

4. De Bruyne (Mancheng, Belgium), 130 million euros.

5. Sterling (Mancheng, England), 130 million euros.

Up to here there's nothing much, but when we get to 120 million euros it gets really interesting.

6. Messi (Barcelona, Argentina), 120 million euros.

6. Salah...

6. Mané...

Messi, Salah, Mané, De Jong, Rashford, Dembélé, Kane, Sancho — there are a total of 8 players with a value of 120 million euros.

【Fun fact: Tang Ye's value = 2 Messis】

【When did Boss Messi become a unit? Then where did your Ronaldo go? Does he even have 100 million euros?】

【Here we go again, here we go again — Tang Ye fans watching the show from the highest point, go go go】

【Three of the top five are midfielders — I've watched football for so many years and this is the first time I've seen something like this. Wait, Rashford and Salah are the same price? Is the England passport that badass?】

【Current state of fans: Sterling's 130 million is inflation, Tang Ye's 240 million is hard as real gold】

【Stop the slander, stop the slander (crying) (crying)】

Sky Sports commentator Jensen: After ty and Mbappé there's a clear gap — they're not athletes from this planet.

Manchester United legend Ferdinand: I suggested before that Manchester United buy Mbappé — he's better than Dembélé.

Countless Monday-morning quarterbacks, but after looking around for a while I found that most people's attention was on the 120-million-euro Messi and the 200-million-euro Mbappé, and hardly anyone was discussing Tang Ye.

The reason for this is that fans have become somewhat numb to Tang Ye's value rising.

From the initial 800,000 euros to 240 million euros, Tang Ye only stalled for half a year at the 200-million stage — the rest of the time it was a steady climb.

And combined with inflation and the 2019 Ballon d'Or, Tang Ye jumped two 20-million-euro stages in a row, reaching that place no one had ever set foot in.

(End of chapter)