Chapter 640
Real Madrid's 8-game winning streak, Guangzhou Evergrande's proactive contact
With the arrival of October, the league's packed schedule has temporarily come to an end.
However, with the start of the Copa del Rey, Real Madrid will officially enter a three-front campaign this month.
Even for top clubs, competing on multiple fronts remains a huge challenge.
If the team's rotation is not done well, or a key player in a certain position gets injured, the team may collapse under the pressure of competing on multiple fronts.
Why does Arsenal, known for their top-four finishes, always seem to collapse in the second half of the season?
It's because as we entered the second half of the season, the schedule became much more intense with multiple competitions, and we were facing strong opponents.
The packed schedule, coupled with the intensity of multiple competitions, was like switching from normal difficulty to hellish difficulty for a team like Arsenal that relies on young players and lacks sufficient squad depth. It's no wonder they collapsed.
Real Madrid's squad depth is much greater than Arsenal's, but they also face more formidable opponents.
Therefore, rotation remains very important even for Real Madrid.
This is why Mourinho decided to rotate key players like Lin Feng and Cristiano Ronaldo in this match.
If we don't let the key players rest more now while the pressure of achieving results isn't too great, it will be much harder to give them a break once the grueling schedule begins.
On October 1st, Real Madrid hosted their Champions League group stage opponent at home.
This was a match where the two teams were vastly different in strength, but what was even more disparate was the market value of the players.
According to the latest market value statistics from Transfermarkt, Real Madrid's total squad value is as high as 7.5 million euros.
Their opponents, Marseille, have a total squad value of only 100 million euros, which is less than Lin Feng's individual value.
Such a huge difference in transfer fees proves that these are not even in the same league.
As predicted, Real Madrid won 3-0 at home.
Poor Marseille managed only three shots on goal the entire match, none of which were on target, performing worse than Zurich in their previous game.
Real Madrid's star duo continued their excellent form in this match, both scoring goals.
Lin Feng contributed 2 assists and 1 goal, earning him the MVP award for the match. Meanwhile, Cristiano Ronaldo scored a header in the second half, bringing his Champions League goal tally for the season to 2!
Both players have scored in every match they have played for Real Madrid this season, an astonishingly high efficiency!
If last season Real Madrid's opponents only needed to consider how to limit Lin Feng's performance, this season they have another headache.
These two are already very strong individually, and when they team up, they create a chemical reaction that exponentially increases the difficulty of defense.
How to simultaneously contain Real Madrid's two stars has become a major challenge in modern football.
"Your team is truly freakish! We're a title contender in Ligue 1, but here we feel like we don't know how to play football at all. We're completely overwhelmed!"
After the match, Lin Feng, as the host, treated Cui Peng, who had traveled from afar, to a meal.
Cui Peng started the game and directly felt the huge gap between the two teams, which made him quite emotional.
"Hehe, if your boss is willing to spend money, spending one or two hundred million in the transfer market every year for five or six years, maybe he can reach our level."
Cui Peng was astonished. 2 million euros a year, that's 100 billion euros in five years, which is close to 10 billion yuan.
Why waste so much money on football when there are so many other things to do?
Football is a very low-profit sport; even the most commercially successful clubs like Real Madrid and Manchester United don't earn much money in a year.
Real Madrid would have collapsed long ago without subsidies from the Spanish government and donations from hundreds of thousands of loyal members.
"We don't have such wealthy bosses, let's just live our ordinary lives honestly!"
Cui Peng knows his own situation well; his abilities are limited, and he really wouldn't be able to establish himself in a wealthy family.
So although he longs for a top club, he doesn't want Marseille to become a club like Real Madrid, because he would lose his job!
"By the way, have you received any transfer offers from domestic clubs?"
As they were about to part ways, Cui Peng suddenly mentioned something that had just happened.
"I haven't paid attention to it, probably not. After all, with my transfer fee, domestic clubs probably can't afford me!"
After a bubble burst in the football transfer window during the summer transfer window, the market value of players in the top five European leagues has generally increased significantly.
Two years ago, Real Madrid signed Lin Feng for 100 million euros. Now, other teams wanting to sign him will find it impossible for less than 150 million euros!
Even traditional powerhouses like Shandong Luneng, Beijing Guoan, and Shanghai Shenhua in the Chinese Super League have combined assets that are hard to say whether they even have 10 billion yuan. They simply cannot come up with the massive 15 billion yuan to buy Lin Feng.
Besides, even if I bought it, I wouldn't be able to afford to use it!
Lin Feng's current annual salary at Real Madrid is 650 million euros after tax. If he were to return to China to play football, it would probably be at least double that.
With an annual after-tax salary of nearly 2000 million euros, that's 4000 million euros before tax, which is almost 4 million yuan!
Which good team can afford such expensive players?
Let alone the current Chinese Super League, even during the most extravagant period of money-driven football from 15 to 18, few teams in the Chinese Super League could afford his transfer fee and annual salary!
"What's wrong? Has a club in China contacted you? Is it Beijing Guoan or Shandong Luneng? It can't be Shanghai Shenhua, can it?"
Cui Peng is a product of Shandong Luneng's youth academy. If he were to return to China, he would most likely go to Shandong Luneng.
"No, it's a team from the China League One."
"Ok?"
Lin Feng began to doubt his ears. A Chinese League One team dared to poach players from the top five European leagues?
What team is so arrogant?
Could it be...?
"Although they are still in League One this season, they have already been promoted to the Chinese Super League, so they are making a big splash in the Super League next year and creating a Chinese version of the Kaiserslautern miracle."
What's meant to happen will happen eventually. Although Cui Peng didn't reveal the team's name, Lin Feng already guessed who it was.
I just didn't expect them to enter the game a year in advance.
If Evergrande is truly a deep-pocketed powerhouse, then spending heavily to poach players from European leagues and build a Chinese Super League version of the Galacticos is indeed their style.
Without asking, Lin Feng could guess that Evergrande must have offered Cui Peng a very high salary and promised him a starting position.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have been moved.
"The level of the Chinese Super League is still far behind that of Europe. If you really choose to go back to develop your career, your future potential will probably be limited."
And don't be fooled by their high salaries now; the opportunities for promotion and salary increases are far less than here.
You've finally made it in Marseille; if you go back now, it'll be much harder to come back later. So think carefully before you make a decision.
For professional athletes, the lure of money is immense.
With a professional career spanning only about ten years, if you don't make as much money as you can while you're young, it will be difficult to earn money when you get old and can't play anymore.
So it's normal that Cui Peng was tempted. After all, given Evergrande's style, they are very willing to pay for national team players who have Chinese citizenship and have proven themselves in the top five European leagues.
He could probably earn more in a year playing for Guangzhou Evergrande than he would in three years playing in Europe. Returning to China would not only mean being closer to home, but also greater convenience in terms of food, culture, and lifestyle, plus three times the money. Who wouldn't be tempted?
Lin Feng couldn't interfere in this matter; he could only analyze the pros and cons and leave the choice to the other party.
"I understand, thank you, Brother Lin. I'll discuss it with my family when I get back."
After seeing Cui Peng off, Lin Feng felt that this was probably not an isolated case.
Evergrande might have sent invitations to all their players playing abroad, so he asked in the group chat.
As expected, everyone received an invitation.
The different players reacted differently to Evergrande's invitation:
"Go back? Although Boss Xu offered me an annual salary of 1200 million, my current annual salary at Dortmund is already 80 euros. After the contract is renewed next year, it will be easy to increase to 120 million or even 150 million!"
Besides, I'm a man destined to win the Golden Boot, how could I possibly be bought off by such a paltry sum?
Gao Lin, who has already secured a starting position at Borussia Dortmund, speaks with confidence.
Last season, their team got a new head coach. Although the new head coach is young, he is really capable. He not only helped the team rise back to sixth place in the league, but also led them to a stunning upset victory over the invincible Bayern Munich in the Super Cup and win the Super Cup title!
Seeing the team gradually recover and on the verge of returning to the Champions League after a long absence.
How could Gao Lin, who has long dreamed of winning the Champions League, possibly leave the team at this critical juncture?
"Although I'm not quite used to the food and culture overseas, the football here is definitely much more professional than in China. I want to keep training. Maybe when I get old and can't play anymore, I'll consider going back to China to retire?"
Chen Tao has played in the Chinese Super League and knows how murky the situation is. He was almost ruined by a club using a dual contract, so he would not easily choose to return to China to develop his career.
Moreover, his annual salary was second only to Lin Feng's among everyone present.
If I go back to China, domestic clubs might not be able to offer me that much.
Besides Chen Tao, Feng Xiaoting, Hao Junmin, Zhou Haibin, and others also expressed their unwillingness to return.
They are still young and want to continue to explore opportunities abroad.
If you really can't make a name for yourself, it's not too late to go back.
Seeing his teammates' reactions, Lin Feng breathed a sigh of relief.
Currently, besides Cui Peng, only Zhao Xuri has this intention.
Manchester City has undergone a major overhaul in recent years, bringing in a large number of high-caliber players, which has squeezed out his position and made it difficult for him to establish himself.
It's normal to want to return to China to develop one's career when feeling disheartened.
However, Lin Feng felt that he didn't need to put all his eggs in one basket with Manchester City; with his ability, it would be difficult for him to establish himself in the Premier League.
However, if you lower your expectations and go to play in a lower-tier league, finding a stable job is not difficult.
Just like Huang Bowen, who was introduced to play in the German second division by Lin Feng after last year's Olympics, his performance in Mainz was very impressive, and it is said that he has attracted the attention of some Bundesliga teams.
When Zhao Xuri was loaned to the Austrian Super League, his performance was quite commendable.
This shows that he has the ability, but he just can't get over the psychological hurdle.
"Brother Lin, although your net worth is dozens of times higher than ours, I think with Boss Xu's wealth, it's possible that he might have extended an invitation to you as well. Why don't you ask your agent about it?"
When asked this question, Lin Feng himself became a little curious:
Did Evergrande really make an offer to them?
"There haven't been any offers, but I have been contacted by people from the Chinese Super League,"
On the other end of the phone, Mendes' answer startled Lin Feng:
Dude, are you serious?
Evergrande is actually interested in me! If they successfully sign me, the sensation they'll create will probably be dozens of times greater than the record-breaking $1000 million transfer of Conca in the Chinese Super League!
Mr. Xu's plan is too shrewd, it's just a pity that Lin Feng has no interest in going to Evergrande.
……
On October 3, La Liga played its last league match before the FIFA international break.
Perhaps influenced by the midweek Champions League matches, the form of several participating teams, including Real Madrid, was generally poor.
Barcelona, who started the match first, struggled to break through the mid-to-lower table team Almeria at home.
It wasn't until the final stages of the match that Ibrahimovic scored the winning goal, helping Barcelona narrowly secure 3 points.
Barcelona's victory was hard-fought, and Real Madrid's situation wasn't easy either.
Real Madrid's opponent this round is Sevilla, which is much tougher than Barcelona's match!
To make matters worse, Real Madrid is playing away from home.
Sevilla, fresh off a 4-1 victory over Rangers in the Champions League, were in excellent form, taking the lead in the first half and putting Real Madrid in dire straits.
Unfortunately, like Real Madrid, they were also affected by competing on two fronts.
Sevilla, whose squad depth is far inferior to Real Madrid's, began to show signs of fatigue in the second half.
With their physical condition declining, Sevilla's defensive quality dropped significantly, and they were no longer able to contain Real Madrid's star duo.
In the short span of five minutes between the 70th and 75th minutes, Lin Feng and Cristiano Ronaldo scored in succession, helping the team to reverse the game with a score of 2-1.
Despite the impact of the Champions League, both players are still in exceptionally good form.
Aside from games where they rotated out of the competition, they scored at least one goal in every game they played.
With those two on the pitch, Real Madrid has no problem with attacking.
Real Madrid fans have never realized that winning the game could be so easy, because just seeing these two players on the field fills them with a sense of security, and they have no worries no matter who they face!
After the sixth round of the league, the FIFA international match day begins.
The Real Madrid national team players packed their bags, boarded planes, and left the club to return to their own countries, including Lin Feng.
Although there are no official matches, the Chinese team will play two friendly matches during this international break.
Moreover, both of these friendly matches were played against very strong opponents: one against England and the other against Argentina.
Facing such an opponent, even in a friendly match, the Chinese team intends to go all out.
This is the best way for them to test their fighting strength before the World Cup begins. (End of Chapter)