Arrogance: I Don't Want to Go to Real Madrid or Barcelona to Help Ronaldo and Messi

Chapter 89 Arrogance: I Don't Want to Go to Real Madrid or Barcelona to Help Ronaldo and Messi

The headline of the Gazzetta dello Sport was: "The Death of Italy".

The headline in the Italian sports newspaper *La Gazzetta dello Sport* was: "A humiliating exit."

The headline in Tuttosport was: "Goodbye, champions."

The arrogant interview video was dug up.

"Italian will most likely follow France's lead and fail to advance from the group stage." This statement was met with fierce criticism from the Italian media at the time.

It's come true now.

Italian fans went on a frenzy searching for Zhang Kuang's name online.

"Who is this Chinese man? How did he know Italy would be eliminated?"

"I remember him! He said it a month ago! Everyone's criticizing him, but he's right!"

"Does he have the ability to foresee the future?"

"Impossible, he just knows football."

-

"He knows football? He knows football so much that he can predict Italy's elimination in the group stage? That's insane."

Meanwhile, European betting companies began to get nervous.

They discovered that recently, a large amount of betting has flowed in one direction—the direction of wild predictions.

France eliminated in the group stage, Italy eliminated in the group stage, England in the round of 16, Brazil in the quarterfinals, Argentina in the quarterfinals —

Although the individual bets were not large, the sheer number of them was astonishing.

Moreover, the bettors were spread across accounts throughout France, Italy, and even Asia.

The risk control department of Bet365, the world's largest online gambling company, held an emergency meeting.

"These bets were all based on that Chinese player's prediction."

Should we adjust the odds?

"We have to adjust our plans. If all his predictions come true, we'll lose a lot of money."

"But not all of his predictions have come true yet. Adjusting the odds now is tantamount to admitting that his predictions were correct."

"Admitting it is better than losing money."

As a result, the odds for the teams that Zhang had predicted were significantly lowered.

In particular, the odds for Spain to win the championship have been adjusted down from the initial 4.0.

The media went even crazier.

They're searching everywhere for Zhang Kuang, hoping to interview him.

A TV station offered 500,000 euros to have Zhang Kuang appear on their show just once, for an hour.

Jonathan conveyed the invitation.

The arrogant reply was: "I'm not going."

"Why? Five hundred thousand euros for an hour, it's a great deal."

"I'm not short of money right now," Zhang said arrogantly. "And I don't want to be exploited by the media. Everything will become clear after the World Cup."

He hung up the phone and continued his cultivation.

I'm just 18 points away from getting enough Qi and Blood.

almost.

On June 26, Zhang Kuang sat cross-legged on his bed in his Paris apartment bedroom.

He was the only one in the room.

Women? Not today.

He has important business to attend to today.

He closed his eyes, looking at the system panel in his mind. The center of the panel displayed: Upgrade Card x2, Health Points:

1000, you have met the requirements for upgrading your cultivation realm. Do you want to consume an upgrade card and upgrade with 1000 health points?

"Yes, upgrade."

As Zhang Kuang issued his command, a progress bar popped up, and his health points were rapidly consumed. The progress bar surged forward and then stopped when it reached 99.9%.

At that moment, an upgrade card flew out and exploded with a "bang," transforming into a colorful torrent that rushed towards the final level.

Zhang Kuang seemed to hear a "pop" sound inside his body, as if something had been broken open.

The system panel displayed: "Congratulations, host, on breaking through to the mid-stage of the first level of Qi Refining! You have gained two strands of spiritual energy, and your physical attributes have increased by 20%."

Zhang Kuang immediately checked his dantian and indeed found three strands of mana. He then checked the system panel:

Strength increased by 20%.

The speed increased by 20%.

Endurance increased by 20%.

Defense has increased by 20%.

Recovery ability improved by 20%.

Agility increased by 20%.

Zhang Kuang opened his eyes and took a deep breath.

I finally broke through! Haha—I broke through! I broke through! I finally broke through!

His body is also changing.

Zhang Kuang jumped off the bed and stood in front of the dressing mirror.

His muscle definition became more pronounced, but not in the exaggerated way that comes from working out in the gym; rather, it was a lean, smooth, and explosive kind of muscle definition.

He clenched his fist.

The knuckles were cracking.

He went to the living room, picked up an apple, and gently squeezed it—the apple broke.

Juice spilled all over my hand.

Zhang Kuang was stunned for a moment.

He only meant to squeeze it, but he didn't expect it to crush.

He walked to the middle of the villa's courtyard, took a deep breath, and then jumped up on the spot.

How high did he jump?

He didn't have a ruler to measure.

But he felt he could dunk from the free-throw line.

No, not from the free throw line.

It's from the three-point line.

He tested his strength again, walked to the 600-kilogram sandbag placed in the yard, and punched it hard. With a "bang", the sandbag broke.

Gee!

I don't even want to think about what would happen if that punch landed on someone.

Zhang Kuang stood in the courtyard, looking at the Parisian sky, and the corners of his mouth slowly curled up.

With his current physical abilities, if he were to be ranked among the world's most physically gifted, he would definitely be in the top 50.

If you play football—

Faster, more agile, stronger in combat, and with greater force.

Besides football skills such as dribbling finesse, passing accuracy, and ball control, which still require practice, other aspects also need to be honed.

In other respects—he's no worse than any football king.

Of course, whether someone is a football king or not isn't determined by their physical attributes.

But Zhang Kuang knew that he was one step closer to that goal.

After his upgrade, Zhang Kuang practiced even harder.

Absorb nine points of Qi and Blood every day, without wasting a single minute.

His current goal is to accumulate the next thousand points and advance to the advanced stage of Qi Refining Level 1.

However, a thousand Qi and Blood Points is difficult. The system stipulates that before reaching the fourth level of Qi Refining, the maximum number of Qi and Blood Points that can be cultivated each day is only 9. This means that he can only use time to exchange for space.

However, he's almost at the top level of football now; all he needs to do is score goals like crazy.

No rush, no rush, no rush at all.

And the results of the World Cup are slowly proving his predictions correct.

On June 27, England will face Germany.

England lost 1-4 to Germany.

They were eliminated in the round of 16.

His arrogant prediction has come true once again.

"Shit! Zhang's prediction from China came true again! Good heavens, England really did get eliminated in the round of 16. Did Zhang know the script? What's going on?"

"Ah, even the betting companies have lowered the odds on Zhang's predictions for the Chinese matches, which means his predictions are very likely to be extremely accurate."

"Then what's the point of watching this World Cup? Everything is going according to Zhang's predictions. It's all scripted."

"But how did Zhang from China know the script? Is he someone at FIFA?"

"You wouldn't dare to talk nonsense. Even the president of FIFA couldn't possibly have such precise control over the odds, could he?"

"Yeah, does FIFA actually control the French team's locker room? Did they instigate a conflict there?"

"The most crucial question is, even if all of this was a script written by FIFA, how did Zhang from China know about it? And Zhang revealed it a month before the World Cup started. Doesn't FIFA change the script?"

"Hiss, the more we analyze this, the more mysterious it becomes. Zhang from China must be a prophet; he can know what will happen in the future."

"Yes, then Zhang from China is terrifying, but if he has this ability, why does he still need to be a football player?"

"this----"

On June 28, Argentina defeated Mexico 3-1 to advance to the quarterfinals. This was within his predictions; he didn't say Argentina would be eliminated in the group stage, but rather that Argentina would reach the quarterfinals at most.

On June 29, Brazil defeated Chile 3-0 to advance to the quarterfinals. This was also within his prediction.

The real test will come in the quarterfinals.

But that happened in July.

Just as July was beginning, something significant was happening in the football world.

April 7st morning.

Manchester.

Carrington Training Base.

When Zhang Kuang first walked into this place, he was greeted by walls covered with history.

Busby Baby.

Charlton.

Best.

labor.

Robson.

Cantona.

Keane.

Beckham.

Cristiano Ronaldo.

These names are all legends in football history.

With the World Cup still underway, Manchester United kept the welcoming ceremony simple. There was no large event at Old Trafford; just a brief press conference in Carrington's press room.

The press conference hall wasn't large, but it was packed with reporters. Long lenses and short microphones—the red dots of the cameras looked like a dense swarm of fireflies.

As Zhang Kuang walked into the press room amidst the enthusiastic introduction by the Manchester United press officer, the flashbulbs started going off like crazy.

He was wearing a dark blue suit, a white shirt, and no tie.

Guided by staff, he arrived at the signing table, first shaking hands with Manchester United CEO David, then the two sat down and began signing documents. After signing, they exchanged contracts and signed again, finally taking a photo together with the contracts in hand.

The flashes went off non-stop. Then, Zhang Kuang and David took a picture together holding up the number 33 jersey. Finally, he took a picture holding up the number 33 jersey by himself.

Finally, he and David were led to the stage for the media Q&A session, with Ferguson to his left and David to his right.

Manchester United press officer: "I am delighted to announce that Raul has officially become a member of Manchester United. This is a very important signing, one that Sir Alex Ferguson strongly advocated for."

Zhang Kuang is one of the most talented young strikers we've ever seen, and he's already proven himself in Ligue 1. I believe he can prove himself at Manchester United and in the Premier League as well.

Now we will officially move on to the media Q&A session. Friends from the media, please feel free to ask us any questions you may have about our new player, number 33, Zhang Kuang, as well as head coach Sir Alex Ferguson and CEO David.

The reporters raised their hands, and the first one called out by the press officer was a BBC reporter.

The first question was posed to Zhang Kuang.

"Zhang, why did you choose Manchester United? As far as I know, Juventus was initially the closest to a partnership with you. Was it just a meeting between you and Sir Alex Ferguson? What did you discuss? What did he promise? Why was Juventus your first choice instead of Manchester United from the beginning?"

Zhang Kuang looked at the reporter and thought for a moment.

"Hmm, you're very well-informed. Did you bribe my agent? How do you know so much detail? Jonathan, you got paid, you owe me some of the information fee."

Zhang Kuang turned to Jonathan, who was standing to the side, and said something.

"Hahaha————" The reporters at the scene burst into laughter, not expecting Zhang Kuang to be so humorous.

Zhang Kuang continued, "Well, this question is actually easy to answer. The reason I considered Juventus first is because Juventus needs to rebuild, and they need a core player."

Given Serie A's recent decline, if I went to Juventus, I could become a key player and potentially win the Serie A title for years to come. I want to join a team that can consistently win championships, so I chose Juventus.

Looking at the current top five leagues, excluding Ligue 1, there are not many teams that can consistently win the championship in the other four leagues. Apart from Real Madrid and Barcelona in La Liga, the only other team is Manchester United.

But Real Madrid and Barcelona are not on my radar, because they have Ronaldo and Messi there. Would I go and play second fiddle to them? Impossible. I don't dream of playing for Real Madrid or Barcelona, ​​and I don't necessarily have to go to Real Madrid or Barcelona.

So, theoretically, at that time I only had the three northern giants of Serie A, Manchester United and Chelsea of ​​the Premier League, and Bayern Munich of the Bundesliga to choose from.

Bayern Munich, as everyone knows, also needs to rebuild. When they will be able to finish rebuilding is unknown, and the salaries in the Bundesliga are not high.

As for the Premier League, my first choice would naturally be Manchester United, but at the time I heard that Sir Alex Ferguson was retiring, so the Premier League was no longer an option for me. I couldn't imagine what Manchester United would be like without Ferguson, so I wouldn't join them.

However, Sir Alex Ferguson later came to Lyon to talk to me personally. I told him my concerns. After I told him that I didn't choose Manchester United because he was retiring, he said that he would continue to manage Manchester United for at least three more years.

So, since the Jazz will be at Manchester United for another three years, I'll definitely choose Manchester United. That's why I signed with Manchester United.

At this point, a second reporter asked, "There are a few points in what you just said. First, you mentioned that Sir Alex Ferguson said he would manage for at least three more years before you came. What if he retires midway through? Will you stay at Manchester United? Or will you leave? Do you really have no faith in Manchester United without Sir Alex?"

Zhang Kuang: "I know what you really mean. You're saying that I only came to Manchester United because of Jazz, not because of Manchester United, and that I might even consider leaving if Jazz stops coaching. That's a bit disloyal—or disrespectful to Manchester United, right?"

I understand your thinking, but don't you think it's a bit much to impose such morality on a foreign professional player like me?

Only players who came through Manchester United's youth academy, or players for whom Manchester United paid a huge price, need to be morally blackmailed.

If we were to morally blackmail every professional player, we might as well not even bother opening the transfer market, because any player who leaves on a transfer would be considered disloyal or disrespectful to their original club.

In my opinion, I can't imagine Manchester United without Jazz, so if that were to happen, I can't guarantee anything.

This is my honest statement: as a player, I only care about winning and competing for championships. Once a player loses the drive to win and compete for championships, I will no longer stay with this team, because my football career is finite.

Zhang Kuang's words were a bit too utilitarian and lacked human touch, but the reporters had no reason to criticize him.

The next reporter: "Zhang, you said you don't dream of playing for Real Madrid or Barcelona, ​​you just want to go to a team with the ability to compete for the title. Wouldn't it be better to just go to Real Madrid or Barcelona and win the championship effortlessly?"

Zhang Kuang: "Perhaps you didn't understand what I meant. Those two teams have Ronaldo and Messi. If they don't let me be the core player and score goals, and instead make me play a supporting role, I'll feel uncomfortable."

Reporter: "What's wrong with that? It doesn't matter who scores, right? Do you really think you're better than either of them?"

Zhang Kuang: "I don't know if I'm stronger than those two, since we've never faced each other head-on. I just don't want to play support."

"Pfft, hahaha————"

Ferguson and David looked at each other, then sighed and rubbed their foreheads in disbelief. Well, here comes a super topic of conversation.

At this moment, a reporter from The Sun in the audience had already quickly written a headline: "Arrogant: I don't want to go to Real Madrid or Barcelona to play an auxiliary role to Ronaldo and Messi."