Chapter 241: What Did Barcelona Buy for 150 Million? (Transitional Chapter)

Van Gaal is very annoyed.

The Dutch renowned coach is being interviewed by the Telegraph.

After being sacked by Manchester United, he turned down a astronomical 3‑year, £45 million deal from the China national team.

For this renowned coach who has won titles in La Liga, the Eredivisie, the Bundesliga…, his Manchester United stint was like a dream, yet he still won an FA Cup trophy.

The female host merely threw out a question.

Old Van then began firing off rapid‑fire remarks.

"Arsenal spent 5 million euros to sign Maguire? Damn it, the Hull City boss eager to cash out has no clue about his worth."

"That friendly match against Korea! Wenger must have eavesdropped on my conversation with Li."

"I said back then, if Li played as a holding midfielder, his partnership with Maguire could shut down Europe's strongest attacking firepower, and they wouldn't even need much time to gel! Looking back at their respective defensive traits in past matches, they're practically the perfect duo!"

"Wenger has changed; he no longer deliberately pursues beautiful, sexy football, but instead focuses his tactics tightly around Li."

"Champions League group stage first round..."

"Barcelona's overall strength and value are much greater; just Neymar's valuation alone might already be close to Li's... most of the opposing players' abilities surpass those of Arsenal."

"Messi and Enrique have had disagreements, with tactical differences as well; the problems in Barcelona's midfield and defense are extremely serious, and he has too much to do in matches—maybe next time he lifts the Champions League trophy… he'll be representing another club!"

"I'm more optimistic about Li! He has the ability to decide matches."

"Exactly, exactly, exactly—I personally improved Barcelona's number‑4 position twice back then; Li is the most perfect, outstanding work I left for La Masia."

Van Gaal's face flushed, his spirits high.

The female host immediately followed up: "In six days, Arsenal will face your old club, Manchester United..."

The Dutch renowned coach ticked off his fingers:

"Arsenal will endure a tough battle at Camp Nou in two days, play the League Cup in four days, and face Manchester United in six days..."

"I'm more optimistic about Manchester United."

"Mourinho has more tricks up his sleeve; he's very good at dealing with a tired Wenger."

The grudge match between Barcelona and Arsenal, alongside the Earth Defense War, is set aside for now.

What fans are more excitedly talking about is the 'poaching' incident.

The Gunners these days give the impression… as if the cosmic team keeps putting green hats on them.

Fabregas, while with the national team, was half‑coerced into wearing a Barcelona jersey, and eventually paid his own way to join Barcelona.

Hleb cried and pleaded, playing the emotion card hard, strongly demanding Wenger let him join Barcelona at a low price.

Alexander Song...

Vermaelen...

They're all 'not violating the player's will' cheap sales...

Not a single one could be sold at market value.

Let alone talk about loans for building the stadium.

Even earlier, the relationship between the two sets of fans wasn't so bad.

For example, when Van Gaal coached Barcelona, he at least let Arsenal earn 40 million pounds from the 1990s.

However.

Now the La Masia crown prince has descended upon the Arsenal, completely tossing away the green hats of the past decade‑plus!

With the Champions League group stage about to kick off,

The unrelated Marca… ignited the war of words between La Liga and Premier League media.

The front‑page headline used a cartoon illustration:

A black‑haired little boy sets up a red‑and‑white cannon, aiming at a bunch of big‑headed, big‑eared… middle‑aged men in Barcelona jerseys!

Fans worldwide went crazy.

Online media outlets all quoted the picture on their homepages.

"Arsenal's Revenge Chronicle!"

Comment counts, likes, and shares surged wildly.

-【Broken engagement plot.】

-【The weather forecast said that on match day, Camp Nou would have bright moonlight for miles, no rain, no clouds.】

-【Peak dream four dynasties kick off!】

-【Following the usual script: Barcelona beats Arsenal at Camp Nou, then secretly sends people to lure and contact Little Li, transfers him cheaply, and finally fulfills the crown prince's homecoming plot… several stars have joined Barcelona via this route.】

-【Overthinking it—who will subdue whom isn't certain.】

-【Given Barcelona's midfield‑defense setup, Little Li might just carry out a massacre.】

Gamper Training Base.

Barcelona assistant coach Wensue, brow furrowed: "Little Dennis and Andre still don't grasp space deeply enough; I suggest the team stick to counter‑attack..."

Enrique immediately retorted:

"You need to take a good look—their short‑passing technique at close range is even better than Li's."

"I am laying the foundation stone for Barcelona's midfield for the next ten years."

"Their duties are nowhere near as heavy as Xavi's, and they don't need 200 million! Just give the ball to Messi and Neymar at the right moment and that's enough!"

"We already have the capital to play possession football!"

On the green pitch.

Yinniesita and Busquets are correcting Little Dennis's habit.

"Slow the tempo a bit."

"Even slower!"

""When you get home, don't just watch Harvey's videos; you also need to watch Li Kang's videos.""

""See how the two of them use rhythm and space...""

""Pique looked at Umtiti with disdain.""

""It's not to say that the French little black egg's ability is bad.""

""But the two individuals' defensive thinking never lines up.""

""Boss, I think pairing Mathieu with me as center-back would be more suitable.""

""Mathieu?""

""Hasn't he been kicked out yet?""

""Enrique realized he hadn't spoken to him in nearly a year.""

""Barcelona's coaching staff's consistent approach is to use cold violence on players outside the plan.""

""There are also problems in the front line.""

""André Gomes simply cannot develop chemistry with his forward teammates.""

""He's more like a clueless block of wood behind the South American trident.""

""Neymar has a slight headache: this kid is clueless, always needing to hear his own shout before he'll pass.""

""In the distance.""

""Messi is undergoing rehabilitation training under the accompaniment of the medical team.""

""His recovery is going quite well.""

""It's just that his mood is a bit unhappy.""

""Look at the performance of the new teammates... one can roughly guess that Barcelona's 150 million euro investment in this summer window has gone to waste.""

""It would be better to save a few billion and buy Li Kang back.""

""You guys should send more messages to check on Li Kang regularly.""

""Tell him, Barcelona is a club full of human warmth.""

""La Masia will always be his home.""

""Keerni Training Base.""

""Two teams are conducting a group scrimmage.""

""Maguire suddenly clashed with Mustafi.""

""The two butted heads, and teammates couldn't pull them apart.""

""Ceich helplessly shouted: 'You two guys love pushing forward and joining the attack so much... who's going to defend?'"

""Wenger shook his head and quickly had the assistant coach step in to break it up.""

""In his mind, he began lining up new center-back pairings.""

""As well as defensive midfielder pairings.""

""Arsenal's coaching staff subconsciously does not want Li Kang to play as a defensive midfielder.""

""Having bought him for two hundred million, they deploy tactics according to the 'almost ball king' style.""

""They even don't want Li Kang to run back to the backfield to do any dirty work.""

""They think this is not conducive to the team's counterattack.""

""But in the match at Camp Nou, they have to face the South American trident, one of the most terrifying forward line combinations in football history..."