[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-football-at-16-let-me-retire-and-come-back":3,"chapter-football-at-16-let-me-retire-and-come-back-football-at-16-let-me-retire-and-come-back-chapter-916":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Football: At 16, Let Me Retire and Come Back?",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2300886,4499,"Chapter 916: The Decline of Manchester United's Dynasty, Guangdong Hengsheng","football-at-16-let-me-retire-and-come-back-chapter-916",916,"\u003Cp>\"Although I won the 2024 Ballon d'Or, I truly feel that United's performance this season (24-25) has been very disappointing. I was happy when I first won the award—that's genuine—but since then, I haven't felt comfortable. This season, we not only missed the Champions League, but we're also falling further behind in the Premier League title race.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Said Manchester United captain Luo De, last year's Ballon d'Or winner, in an interview.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just after losing the Champions League semifinal, the atmosphere at Old Trafford was abysmal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It's not a big deal that we didn't reach the Champions League final, because you can't expect a team to win the Champions League every season—that's unrealistic.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But United's dominance in the Premier League is now facing increasingly severe threats, something all United fans refuse to accept.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Grizzle out!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Get out!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The Grizzle family must leave United entirely!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No sooner had Luo De finished speaking than the fans in the stands erupted. Unsurprisingly, a protest against the Grizzle family would soon take place outside the stadium.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I'm sorry for United's situation this season.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Grizzle family are the owners; as a player, Luo De could say nothing, so he only vaguely brushed it off.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dongqiu Di report: After failing to win the Premier League, United were brutally eliminated by Liverpool in the Champions League quarterfinals, sparking fierce reactions from fans. (Comments: 563,262)\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Angry United fans interviewed outside the stadium said: \"Last season we were just four points away from the Premier League title—we lost to City, we understand that. Mistakes happen, we can accept letting City take the league title for one season.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But why did we lose the league title again this season? And, and!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"And we're falling even further behind! Last season it was four points; this season it's six!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Being eliminated from the Champions League broke the last straw for United fans. The interviewee was so furious he even stammered while speaking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Grizzle family, get out!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That 550 million euros from TY wasn't meant for you!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Give the money back to United! Give it back to us!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>United's poor tactical performance has put Ten Hag in the spotlight, but the real pressure falls hardest on the Grizzle family.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tang Ye's transfer to New Moon brought United 550 million euros in liquidity, paid in a single lump sum.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone expected United to use this money to sign more top players, to maintain their dominance after Tang Ye's departure—Ten Hag even said so at the press conference.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the Grizzle family pulled a slick move: using shell companies and leverage, they legally transferred their personal debt onto United, triggering accusations of violating Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>UEFA requires clubs not to exceed a certain loss threshold for three consecutive years. The Grizzle family's debt transfer caused United to lose 500 million euros in a single season, leaving them unable to sign players even when they had the money.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the past several transfer windows, United haven't made a single signing over 100 million euros!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Sports Weekly front page headline—Wang Yudong delivered a perfect goal and assist, scoring both goals as RB Leipzig defeated Stuttgart 3-1, keeping their chance alive for European qualification. (Comments: 475,332)\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Sun front page headline—\"Grizzle Out!\" United fans launched a massive protest demanding the Grizzle family return assets siphoned from the club.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Manchester Evening News editor: Although we only won the FA Cup, given the outstanding performances of Dembele and Luo De, I still believe this year's Ballon d'Or will be decided between these two players. The World Club Cup in June in the U.S. will be crucial—its new format will greatly impact Ballon d'Or voting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>April 26: Guangdong Hengsheng, from the Chinese Super League, were eliminated in the AFC Champions League Elite quarterfinals, failing to advance to the next round.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This news was truly terrible, because if Guangdong Hengsheng had reached the AFC Champions League Elite final, they would have faced their own owner—Tang Ye.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chinese fans had hoped Guangdong Hengsheng could defeat their own boss, but now it's clear Guangzhou still has a significant gap compared to Asia's top teams.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for the development of Guangdong Hengsheng, it's truly fascinating.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thanks to their strong performance in the China Champion League, Guangzhou FC returned to the Chinese Super League for the 2024 season—but their financial situation was already dire: they couldn't pay player salaries, and even match-travel tickets had to be put on credit—absurd beyond belief.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this point, Pao Bao Bang did something clever: to avoid taking on Guangzhou FC's massive debt—billions of RMB—he founded a professional club in Guangdong and began attracting investment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After confirming Guangzhou FC's debt crisis made it impossible to sustain the 2024 season, Pao Bao Bang's Guangzhou Pao team (China Champion League) bought all Guangzhou FC's players, after which Guangzhou FC announced its dissolution and withdrew from the 2024 Chinese Super League.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thanks to their \"second\" outstanding performance in the 2024 China Champion League, Guangzhou Pao officially announced promotion to the Chinese Super League in November 2024, then changed its name to \"Guangdong Hengsheng\" after receiving sponsorship and equity investment from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, Guangdong Hengsheng replaced Guangzhou FC. Although Baidu Baike lists Guangdong Hengsheng's founding year as 2023 instead of 1954, because they acquired the original squad and coaching staff (and Pao Bao Bang owns 100% of Evergrande Football School), former Guangzhou FC fans naturally became Guangdong Hengsheng supporters.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although Guangzhou FC's crest—the club's shell—is gone, Guangzhou FC's soul lives on!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After promotion, as a pilot club for money-driven football, Guangdong Hengsheng went on a spending spree, used their Chinese FA Cup title to enter the AFC Champions League Elite, and pushed all the way to the quarterfinals.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But sadly, at the quarterfinal stage, Guangdong Hengsheng ran out of steam and lost the chance to face their owner.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I still think it's a pity.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tang Ye rubbed his hair: \"If Guangdong had reached the semifinals or final, I'd say it was a huge success. But reaching the quarterfinals isn't bad either. The new AFC Champions League (Elite) is a bit stronger now, and there are many strong teams in the Middle East. I'm satisfied with this result. I hope the team gives Guangdong Hengsheng a bit more patience.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tang Ye added in a video interview with Zhan Jun: \"I've said before—Coach Zhan was probably there too. Buying players from other leagues to boost results isn't the right way to do money-driven football. But we have to do it now, because first we need to make the CSL strong. In my view, we must do this first.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Because youth development takes a very long time. Although we've sent over 200 players to Europe and Japan-Korea, they're all too young to bring excitement to the league.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As a professional player, Tang Ye has always held the view that sports events must be exciting enough to attract audiences—that's the direct reason the new Guangzhou team was born.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What about your child?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhan Jun mentioned Tang Rui: \"Have you considered letting your son play football?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Haha, he's too young. But even if he grows up, I probably wouldn't want him to play football—he could try studying, learn economics or management. That's the advice I got.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I really don't want him to play football.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Hmm.\"\u003C\u002Fp>",1217,"2026-06-20T06:50:12.695Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","debdc5248e38afac98c59f2edbad7d3c251b8cbcf94897d31139cc6c9366c5dd","football-at-16-let-me-retire-and-come-back-chapter-917","football-at-16-let-me-retire-and-come-back-chapter-915",918,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Ffootball-at-16-let-me-retire-and-come-back-cover.jpg"]