Chapter 44: Chapter 44: What’s the Point of Betting If You Know the Outcome? (Extra)
About the information disparity between football scouts and fans, there’s a classic example.
That is Mbappé.
Before he became famous at Monaco, even before the 2018 World Cup, how many fans knew about Mbappé?
Very few!
Even if they did, what about before Mbappé transferred to Monaco?
But in reality, insiders knew of a genius young player named Mbappé when he was not even ten years old.
When Mbappé tried out for Chelsea at fourteen, Chelsea was undecided, hoping he would try out again.
Mbappé’s mother was furious, resolutely stating that this was impossible, saying it was an insult to them, and claimed that even if Chelsea offered fifty million in five years’ time, they wouldn’t come.
After learning about this incident, many people said that Mbappé’s mother was overbearing!
Her son had not yet become famous, and she already acted like a superstar, which was off-putting.
But is that really the case?
Of course not.
Because Chelsea’s request was indeed an insult to the talented Mbappé at that time.
Chelsea, because they already had two genius players, Dominic Solanke and Tammy Abraham, didn’t really want the highly talented but also demanding Mbappé.
If they acceded to Mbappé’s demands, how would they then treat Solanke and Abraham?
Wouldn’t they also have to raise their treatment?
This is the same principle as not giving out top salaries easily or not raising them without a good reason.
The so-called indecision and second trial were just excuses to discourage Mbappé.
And yet, even though insiders placed such high value on Mbappé, everyone still underestimated him, including his mother who knew him best.
Because five years later, Mbappé’s transfer fee wasn’t fifty million, but... two hundred million!
From this perspective, Mbappé’s mother really wasn’t being arrogant, because when she made those tough remarks, she even gave a 60% discount!
...
"So it was me, I hurt my brother?" Ronaldo realized.
This was absurd, but it could very well be the truth.
Deng Kai nodded, indicating you’ve finally spotted the crucial point.
He then analyzed for Ronaldo, "If someone around you is in trouble, you should distance yourself from him immediately, never to contact him again, because it will only bring you trouble."
"But if this person is someone you can’t let go of, then you need to take the initiative to help resolve the problems he faces."
"This isn’t about doing others a favor, it’s for your own good."
"You are brothers, family. If in the future he accrues a huge debt, contracts a fatal virus, or gets kidnapped and dismembered, you bear the responsibility and sorrow that comes after."
"You indulging your brother now is being irresponsible to yourself, your parents, your sister, and your entire family!"
"How can you sweep the world clean if you cannot even sweep your own house?"
"Letting him suffer a small loss now, letting him see the true colors of those fair-weather friends around him, and letting him return from his wayward path sooner is the real way to solve the problem."
Ronaldo nodded, agreeing with Deng Kai’s approach.
But he still found it hard to accept, "I don’t really care about the one thousand five, but if he owes a lot of money this time, our family simply can’t afford to pay it back... How about we bet on ourselves to win? To earn back the money my brother has lost?"
"I promise not to make extra, I..."
Deng Kai immediately stopped Ronaldo, "Hold on! Professional football players absolutely cannot get involved in fixing matches, even if you are confident in yourself. You are destined to become a football superstar in the future, and you can’t have this stain."
"Don’t forget why we initially tried to prevent your brother from gambling on football. Wasn’t it so that you wouldn’t have such a dark history in the future?"
Ronaldo was completely at a loss.
He knew that perhaps a debt of over ten thousand might not mean much to him in the future.
But within the next two or three years, he definitely couldn’t come up with that amount of money.
And for a poor family from Madeira, this sum meant... utter ruin!
"Take this." Deng Kai took out a pair of bulky socks from his room.
Ronaldo opened it to find it stuffed with money, totaling twenty thousand US dollars!
"You!" Ronaldo was baffled.
How did Deng Kai have so much money?
This was a huge sum!
"Betting on football requires insight. This summer, before I even joined Sporting Lisbon’s youth team and became a player, I bought some sports lottery tickets, which was completely reasonable," Deng Kai spread his arms, "Kiddo, listen to your uncle’s advice—these waters are too deep for you to navigate!"
"Damn! You bet on France to win?" Ronaldo was shocked.
Deng Kai shook his head, "France was already one of the favorites; the odds weren’t that high. I bet on Croatia to take third place in the World Cup."
WTF!
Ronaldo was greatly shaken.
Is that even possible?
Before the World Cup started this year, the common belief was that Croatia would have a hard time even getting out of the group stage!
However, Croatia did indeed take third place in this World Cup, creating another impressive record after reaching the quarterfinals in their first-ever European Championship!
Grabbing the money, Ronaldo said, "I think, you should quit gambling more than my brother should. Your behavior is just too crazy. At least he bets on events he understands, on matches his own brother is directly involved in."
"And you’re betting on a World Cup you know nothing about!"
Deng Kai smiled without a word.
Is it gambling if you know the outcome?
A World Cup you know nothing about?
Do you know about Zidane’s headbutt?
Have you seen Suárez’s biting incident?
How ludicrous was the South Korean team’s dark version of kung fu football?
Can you believe Spain’s dynasty established by their European Championship, World Cup, and another European Championship wins?
You probably wouldn’t even dare to dream that Portugal heroically won the European Championship and made history!
Deng Kai knew the World Cup all too well.
Not just the World Cup.
European Championships, the Champions League—he knew them all inside out.
"Enough of that, Ronaldo," Deng Kai got serious, "now we have a reason we absolutely must win the next game."
"To save your brother, to pull him back onto the right path!"
"Right," Ronaldo nodded and turned away.
His eyes were red.
Deng Kai had done too much for him.
Deng Kai saw Ronaldo’s emotion and deflected, "Hey, it’s nothing, we’re brothers."
"If you really feel bad about it, just pass me the ball more often!"
This time, Ronaldo nodded vigorously, taking the words "pass the ball" seriously and engraving them into his DNA.
"By the way, Kai, do your aunt and uncle know about this much money?"
Deng Kai, "Getting rich overnight isn’t always a good thing. I’ll find a way to get them used to it gradually."
Ronaldo, "So the last time Aunt made soup for Uncle, she really did put ginseng in it, not radish?"
Deng Kai, "Keep it low-key, low-key."
Ronaldo, "I was wondering why I was drawing maps in my sleep; aren’t you way too over-nourished?"
Deng Kai, "Look at me, I’m fine. You’re just too frail to handle the nourishment!"
Ronaldo, "Now that you’re so rich, why do you still play football?"
Deng Kai, "Is this a lot? This isn’t even as much as a football superstar’s weekly salary. You need to broaden your perspective."
Ronaldo, "Uh, so will you start a business or something?"
Deng Kai, "I won’t sell underwear! I won’t open a hair transplant clinic!"
Ronaldo, ???
