Chapter 760: Regardless of Whether Tom Wins the Ballon d'Or, Our Entire Team Will

"I said it! I did say it!"

Dembélé pointed his finger at Tang Ye's nose and shouted, "Didn't I say we would win both?"

He spread his hands: "It's not that I'm putting pressure on FIFA; I just knew the result all along."

"Holy... hiss... fuck!"

Ten Hag raised both hands to his head.

At this moment, the Manchester United manager had completely forgotten what he had intended to do just moments before.

Together with Rodri, he approached Tang Ye: "Two, you mean two? Is it two?"

"..."

Surrounded by his coach and teammates, Tang Ye looked somewhat awkward, unconsciously shuffling his hips backward: "I already made the hand gesture; how could it not be two?"

"Haha! Fuck!"

Rodri pulled Tang Ye into a massive embrace.

The two were so close that Tang Ye's ear could even feel the hot breath emanating from Rodri's nose.

"Eon! Shit!"

The locker room was filled with the exclamations of Manchester United players.

One could only say that Tang Ye's journey thus far had indeed been far too difficult.

The Ballon d'Or unjustly revoked in 2020 had now, in turn, propelled this mere 22-year-old Asian youth to greatness.

"Make way, make way!"

De Jong casually picked up an empty mineral water bottle from the floor and handed it to Tang Ye like a microphone: "Winning both the 2020 and 2021 Ballon d'Or trophies simultaneously, your total number of Ballon d'Or trophies has now reached three. Mr. Tom, do you have anything to say about this?"

"Haha!"

"Wow!!!"

Hiss...

Tang Ye took a deep breath, looking as though he had steeled his resolve.

He brought his mouth close to the mineral water bottle.

He desperately wanted to say something, but after thinking for a long time, Tang Ye still couldn't come up with a suitable remark: "Um... I don't know."

"Haha!"

"Wow!!!"

Click click!

During the post-match interview segment, as the MVP of the game, Dembélé naturally returned to the pitch to accept the cheers from the Manchester United fans.

There was also a portion of boos.

This segment of the crowd consisted mainly of neutral fans and supporters of the opposing team.

There were two reasons for the boos.

First, Manchester United had been somewhat too brutal, giving the weaker team no chance whatsoever.

Then there was Dembélé.

Previously, during an interview, he had stated that if Tang Ye did not win the Ballon d'Or, then the entire Manchester United squad would not attend the award ceremony.

It sounded like words spoken in anger, but this was simply too disrespectful!

"Just as you said earlier, um, those things I said before were merely spoken in a moment of impulse. They do not represent the team's viewpoint."

"But you are a player within the Manchester United squad; you need to take responsibility for the words you speak," the reporter reminded.

"Yes, of course."

Dembélé nodded: "But impulse is very normal for people; many fans cannot comprehend our feelings from last year. As you know, in 2020 we suddenly received news that the Ballon d'Or had been cancelled; I feel that was an even more disrespectful act, because by that year, who would win the Ballon d'Or was almost already certain."

The reporter did not speak, but his facial expressions and body language conveyed his approval of Dembélé's statement.

"With only four days remaining until the Ballon d'Or award ceremony, have you received any news?"

"No, not yet."

Dembélé shook his head with a smile: "It would be too early to receive news right now."

"Um... then if Tom truly fails to secure the two Ballon d'Or awards he desires, will you refuse to attend the award ceremony as previously stated? Haha!"

The reporter forced a smile, speaking in a joking manner.

Dembélé had just said that not attending the award ceremony was merely words spoken in anger, a joke.

But how many sincere words are spoken in the form of a joke?

The reporter also made a joke, with the aim of figuring out exactly what the Manchester United players' attitude toward the Ballon d'Or ceremony really was.

"Well... everything before was just a joke."

Dembélé reiterated the joking nature of his previous remarks: "As professional athletes, we respect FIFA's choices."

"As you know, they are always able to select the most outstanding and perfect player to receive the most important trophy, without any controversy."

"Therefore, regardless of whether Tom ultimately receives the Ballon d'Or trophy, the entire Manchester United squad will attend the award ceremony; this is out of respect for FIFA and the organizers."

Click click!

Dembélé: Not attending the award ceremony was a joke; regardless of the outcome, the entire Manchester United squad will arrive at the scene.

The change of face was quick, but from another perspective, it was also quite timely.

Although he had made a mistake earlier, Dembélé quickly admitted his error and, under the reporters' cameras, re-emphasized the authority of FIFA.

Many fans viewed this as Dembélé compromising with FIFA, implying that the Manchester United forward had been pressured by "upper-level forces," which ultimately caused him to change his mind.

But regardless of the reason, from the perspective of competitive sports, Dembélé's approach was clearly appropriate.

Admit mistakes and always maintain respect for other athletes!

Regardless of whether Tang Ye receives the Ballon d'Or trophy, the Manchester United players will not be absent!

This is the professional spirit of the Manchester United players!

Li Li Laoba, a famous Check Dongqiu Di on Bilibili: In my opinion, Tang Ye has already loaned this year's two Ballon d'Or awards.

Manchester Evening News front-page headline — The 2021 and 2020 Ballon d'Or award ceremonies will be held in Paris; will Tom's ultimate coronation happen right now?

Diario Sport front-page headline — Reliable sources indicate that Messi still does not know whether he has won the award.

Check Dongqiu Di match report: Felix scored, Atletico Madrid defeated Manchester United 2-0, handing them their first loss of the season; ultimately, their goal difference was inferior to Manchester United's, placing them second in the group. (242,932 comments)

Atletico Madrid took down Manchester United!

And it was 2-0!

This was obviously extremely explosive news; the moment fans saw the match report, many regarded this Spanish team as heroes, heroes who defeated the devil.

But upon clicking in, they discovered a problem.

Manchester United's starting lineup included very many substitute players, including Greenwood, McTominay, and Ale; furthermore, before the first half even ended, Ten Hag made another large-scale substitution, and by the second half, he even substituted De Gea out.

Good heavens, so after securing the group's first place early, Manchester United simply gave up.

Was this simply to conserve stamina?

Or was there another motive?

"May I ask if you are preparing for tomorrow's Ballon d'Or ceremony?"

The reporter asked Ten Hag.

"We cannot say that; we actually made a great deal of effort in this match. Although the final result was not very good, if you watched the entire match, you should have discovered that 0-2 was not the final score of this game. We lost some opportunities we should not have lost, and ultimately our opponent took advantage of the opening..."

Ten Hag's post-match interview remained bizarre; many fans still do not understand it to this day.

At this moment, grasping the key point was very important.

You only need to know that Ten Hag said so much just to reverse the scoreline.

He wanted to help the team salvage some face after the match ended; grasping this starting point, then you can understand what Ten Hag said.

"Has Tom already received the news?"

"It is not clear at present."

Ten Hag shook his head: "If we received the news, we would not mind revealing it to you, but we have not yet received the news."

"However, this does not affect us; our players will attend tomorrow's award ceremony."

"Even if Tom does not win the Ballon d'Or, will you still attend?"

"Yes, our players have already stated before that regardless of the result, attending the award ceremony is our duty; this is respect for the winner."

Ten Hag's expression was firm.

"Regardless of whether Tang wins the Ballon d'Or, the entire Manchester United team will attend the award ceremony."

Click-clack!

First Dembele's apology, now Ten Hag's promise.

"Regardless of whether Tang wins the Ballon d'Or, the entire Manchester United team will attend the award ceremony"; from this sentence, one can also see that Manchester United was indeed very magnanimous.

Regardless of whether Tang Ye wins the award, Manchester United...

Hmm...

Wait.

Regardless of whether Tang wins the Ballon d'Or, the entire Manchester United team will attend the award ceremony...

No.