Chapter 733: Ronaldo, You Seem to Have Revealed Yourself a Bit Too Early

"Did Tang Ye waive his endorsement fee for Pro Evolution Soccer, just like he did with CS before?"

"Probably not; it's likely a pure commercial endorsement. Since he's already an endorser, shouldn't they boost my Tang Tang Qiuwang's attributes higher? The more people play, the more awesome it becomes."

"It's ridiculous that Messi and Ronaldo can still reach above 90; please, give Deng Zi a 93, I beg you."

"What is this 101 nonsense? Wasn't my GGBond supposed to be free from overpowered glitches? Why are they starting to pull stunts like this!"

"Who cares about attributes? I'm under immense pressure right now; we're playing Japan in ten days, and it feels precarious."

"What's there to fear? My Manchester United... oh, wait, no."

Currently, Chinese football fans are divided into two groups.

One group is immersed in present joy, as Manchester United's continuous winning streak shows no sign of halting.

The attack is simply so potent that it perfectly conceals the team's defensive weaknesses on the flanks.

The other group, when analyzing issues, always prefers to extend the timeline, meaning they look further ahead than other fans.

In October, the Chinese national team has two Asian qualifiers to play, against Saudi Arabia and Japan respectively, with each opponent stronger than the last.

According to Zhang Lu, these two matches in October will determine the ceiling for China's ranking in this round of the Asian Qualifiers' final twelve.

In other words, if China wants to rank in the top two of the group and directly secure a spot in the World Cup finals, they must perform exceptionally well in these two October matches!

October 2nd.

Manchester United defeated Everton 3-0 at home, securing their first victory of October.

"The Chinese national team will host Saudi Arabia on October 7th, which means TY will return to China after today's match concludes."

In the press room at Old Trafford, a reporter slowly stated, "We noticed that you let TY play the full 93 minutes of this match; from the perspective of some Manchester United fans, this might be inappropriate, as we know the upcoming matches for the Chinese national team are extremely important, and long-haul flights along with jet lag adjustments could cause trouble for TY..."

"Oh, I understand what you mean."

Ten Hag interrupted the reporter: "Your meaning is that when the score had already reached 3-0 in the second half, I should have substituted Tang off early, thereby helping the Chinese national team; is that what you mean?"

"Um, yes. But considering that Escrivá did not do so in early September, therefore..."

"Oh, no, no, no! I am different from Escrivá."

European football journalists greatly enjoy comparing Ten Hag with Escrivá, which the Manchester United manager finds highly inappropriate.

"To speak honestly, um... from a certain perspective, I believe Escrivá's approach was inappropriate, because in the match against Vietnam, the Chinese national team had gained a significant advantage. If I were the coach of the Chinese national team, considering the players' upcoming Premier League and Champions League schedules, I would have substituted him off early to rest."

"Escrivá did not do this, which is clearly inappropriate."

Ten Hag spread his hands: "Of course, this doesn't matter; I will not retaliate against him for this, as retaliation is something only petty people do."

"So..."

The reporter's eyes widened, awaiting Ten Hag's response.

"Therefore, it is inappropriate for you to compare me with Escrivá; his actions will not influence mine. The fact is, even when other coaches make inappropriate decisions or act detrimentally toward Manchester United, I will still remain as objective as possible."

Click, click!

The Manchester United manager wore a smile.

However, the reporter quickly pointed out an issue: "But we saw that today you also did not substitute TY off early; isn't that a form of retaliation?"

"No, no, no! Of course not."

"These two matters are independent; I did not substitute Tang off early because I have great respect for Everton's capabilities; I believe they have the ability to launch a counterattack against us."

Ten Hag looked at the reporter: "Even unprofessional Manchester United fans know Tang's importance to us; if we had substituted Tang off early, we might have paid a price, as has been verified over the past few seasons. I am unwilling to make the same mistake too many times."

"Therefore, today's substitution plan has nothing to do with Ferran; my decision was not retaliation, but the most suitable choice based on the actual circumstances of the match."

"You must understand, Everton is a Premier League team, which is different from Vietnam; Everton possesses a certain capacity to resist."

Ten Hag emphasized the independence of the "substitution incident" twice, while subtly mocking Escrivá in the process.

He manages Manchester United, and the opponent is Everton from the Premier League.

But what about Escrivá?

He manages the Chinese national team, and the opponent was merely an ordinary Vietnamese team!

"Um... if I were managing the Chinese national team, I would have substituted Tang off when China was leading Vietnam 4-0."

"Of course, the Premier League and World Cup qualifiers are different. Even if you made me choose again today, I would not have substituted Tang off early."

Everton Manager: Ten Hag's approval leaves me flattered.

Brazilian Football Journalist: TY has received an offer from the Saudi League, with an annual salary potentially exceeding 200 million USD.

【Mission Objective: Keep a clean sheet in 3 consecutive matches (including national team and club)】

Current Progress: 2/3

"..."

Tang Ye blew a bubble with his chewing gum.

Pop!

After playing Everton, Manchester United's next match would be in over ten days, whereas Tang Ye's next match would arrive in five days.

On October 7th, in the third round of the Asian Qualifiers in Shanghai, the opponent would be Saudi Arabia.

To be honest, Tang Ye did not feel that defeating Saudi Arabia would be difficult.

But achieving a clean sheet? That indeed presented significant difficulty.

"Tom."

Hmm?

Hearing the voice, Tang Ye turned his head to the right.

Sitting alongside Dalot, Cristiano Ronaldo was looking in his direction: "When are you returning to China?"

"Tomorrow afternoon, probably."

Tang Ye briefly outlined his arrangements: "I feel leaving tomorrow afternoon should be about right; the return date can be decided later, since I don't know when I'll be back."

"Haha!"

Cristiano Ronaldo laughed and shook his head: "There's a problem with your arrangement. Do you always prepare this late every time you return to the national team?"

Cristiano Ronaldo appeared somewhat surprised; this was the first time he had learned about Tang Ye's pattern for returning home.

"I have a European Championship qualifier in a week, but I have to leave tomorrow morning."

"And I'm still in Europe, not far from here."

Cristiano Ronaldo added.

"I think your schedule is the more appropriate one; normally, one should indeed prepare for over a week. Rodri and Osman usually take about ten days, and they are leaving soon too."

Tang Ye said: "My situation is rather special; I basically leave only four or five days before the match starts."

"Wow, won't your football association come after you then? Shouldn't you be training together?"

In Cristiano Ronaldo's impression, the Chinese team's strength was not particularly good.

Of course, this 'not good' was determined by comparison with European national teams.

As for how strong the Chinese team was within Asia, that fell squarely within the Portuguese player's blind spot of knowledge.

"Actually..."

Tang Ye shrugged: "As long as I can participate in the matches normally, that should be fine; I also hope to play a few more games for the club."

Tang Ye turned to look at Dembélé in front of him: "If I returned at the normal time, I wouldn't be able to play in today's match. So I'm going back later, which allows me to play one more club match. Osman, you really should learn from me; stop playing video games. We are professional players."

"Haha!"

Dembélé flipped Tang Ye the middle finger: "You were the one playing with me last night."

Dembélé raised both hands, reporting to some Manchester United players nearby: "Last night, Tom and I played until one o'clock; I'm making a formal accusation with my real name."

"Hey!"

Tang Ye hadn't expected Dembélé to act this way: "Fuck, you're even willing to expose yourself just to get me, aren't you!"

"Haha! Just say whether you played or not."

"Okay, okay!"

Tang Ye shook his head and sighed.

Osman was too ruthless; the master was no match for him.

"But you truly are a model worker."

Dembélé patted Tang Ye on the shoulder, then used his dark hand to give a thumbs-up: "Manchester United's model worker. An idol!"

"Oh! Thanks, Osman! You're too polite."

Tang Ye waved his hand.

After hearing the exchange between the two, Rodri gently elbowed Dembélé: "Since he's an idol now, you really should learn from him. Go back to China with him tomorrow afternoon."

"What! Fuck you!"

Dembélé elbowed him back.

Before the French striker could speak, De Jong spoke up first from the side: "Haha, Rodri, you're the one who wants to go to China to play matches, aren't you? You say this every time during the Asian qualifiers, and you said it during the World Cup too."

"Exactly!"

Dembélé realized it immediately and promptly expressed agreement with De Jong: "He just wants to go himself, then says it to make me go."

"Oh!"

"Rodri!"

Having interjected and now becoming the target of attack, Rodri felt innocent yet didn't know what to do.

"Seriously, you two could really form a team together."

This was somewhat unexpected, as the words came from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Both De Jong and Rodri paused for a moment.

They remembered this was the first time the Portuguese player had joined the GG gang's chat.

"The midfield is indeed very important; with one attacking midfielder and one defensive midfielder, the Chinese team would lack for nothing."