Chapter 527: Chapter 526: The King Joins, A Courteous Invitation to Come Out of Retirement
Deng Kai politely declined Figo, "I understand the intricacies, and in fact, this aligns with my plans, so there’s no need for you to apologize."
"As a return for your kindness in bringing me to experience this World Cup, in four years, I can bring you to experience one!"
Figo was stunned.
What riddle was Deng Kai speaking in?
Four years later?
He would bring me?
Experience what?
Too many questions went unasked.
Figo thought of some possibilities, but he found them far-fetched, and at the same time, he was unwilling to accept them.
Despite having lost to this young man in the Champions League, Figo was determined to show Deng Kai during this World Cup who was the one and only king of Portugal!
The greatest outcome of this phone call was informing Figo and Deng Kai of each other’s friendly attitude, so they wouldn’t become enemies over this issue.
After all, all the players were innocent in this incident.
But Figo could never have imagined that the next day, Deng Kai would tear a hole in the sky of Portuguese football!
...
"Stunning report from Football Emperor! The King of Alvalade ’returns to his roots,’ Deng Kai officially announces on social media his switch back to Chinese nationality!"
"European Treble-winner Deng Kai, under the legal witness of a top Wall Street law firm, completes his nationality choice ahead of schedule! This time, it’s China!"
"China Football Association makes an emergency amendment to the national team’s World Cup squad, Champions League winner Deng Kai selected!"
"Strongest boost for the national team! Eight-time champion in two years leads Team China to strive for the World Cup title!"
"Joining of a king! Deng Kai to lead Chinese football into a new era!"
"After Maxa, now the heavens align—Deng Kai’s joining is even more significant! It’s clear, Maxa’s reason for coaching Team China makes sense at last! He was waiting here for Deng Kai!"
"Reunion of the holy Saint and the royal Emperor at Maxa’s court, writing a new Chapter for the national team! We have every reason to expect a remarkable performance from Team China in this World Cup!"
"You take half, and I’ll take half, Deng Kai and Cristiano are good partners! You take half, and I’ll take half, Maxa is the other half of Trigella! With two saints supporting two emperors, who is the true hero?"
?
!!!
Madness!
Everyone thought Deng Kai had lost his mind.
European media simply couldn’t understand Deng Kai’s actions.
This was tantamount to career suicide!
But after reviewing the Chinese players’ international stage performances, they somehow found it made sense.
For meaningless national team friendlies and training matches, Chinese players would actually give up crucial club competitions.
If they had to choose between a national team friendly and a club’s Champions League final, they might even opt for the former.
Even if they were reluctant to choose that way, the outcome would ultimately be the same.
France Football deeply analyzed the strong sense of belonging to the country and race among Asian players, explaining why they valued national team friendlies more.
This was praise, these behaviors and traits could indeed allow these countries to develop rapidly as a whole.
However, from the perspective of the individual player, the cons of such choices far outweighed the pros.
This also made European clubs somewhat wary and fearful of Asian players.
Similarly, in Portugal, the fans were in tumult.
Everyone could accept Deng Kai not being in this World Cup.
But they couldn’t accept the Portuguese team being without Deng Kai forever!
This was undoubtedly Portugal’s greatest loss.
And only upon losing, do people often realize the value of what they had.
At this moment, if Portuguese fans had to vote between the Golden Generation and CD, they would undoubtedly choose CD without hesitation!
Because the Golden Generation didn’t have much time left.
Two years or three?
But what about Deng Kai and Cristiano?
Thirteen years were guaranteed, and twenty wouldn’t be a surprise!
Betting the cornerstone of the next twenty years on this World Cup... not worth it!
Both Figo and Rui Costa felt that knowing this, they would rather have included Cristiano and Deng Kai in the squad from the start.
Now... it was all irretrievable.
And the usually off-beat The Sun Newspaper, for once, neatly summarized the reactions from all quarters following the incident:
"Football fans outside Europe: Who is Deng Kai?"
"European non-Portugal football fans: Doesn’t matter, doesn’t affect watching the league, looking forward to Deng Kai’s performance in the new season."
"Portugal football fans: The football federation can go to hell!"
"European clubs: Must consider the impact of Deng Kai being frequently and excessively used in national team warm-up matches; his attendance rate, injury rate, and form fluctuations are all worrying. Consequently, Deng Kai’s value has shrunk by at least thirty percent! This will be reflected in his contract salary!"
"China football fans: Over the moon!"
"China Football Association: Doesn’t seem excited? Since the incident, they haven’t even tagged and welcomed Deng Kai! That notice to add Deng Kai looked involuntary!"
"Additionally, Wu Xudong’s omission is surprising! There is no better fullback or even winger in China than Wu Xudong! Even if not considering the cooperation between Deng Kai and Wu Xudong, Wu Xudong’s hard strength alone should have earned him a selection!"
You know, The Sun Newspaper really got it right this time.
Indeed... the China Football Association is not welcoming Deng Kai.
The omission of Wu Xudong is just one manifestation of this.
Not to mention what many fans said previously about bringing on Hao Junmin, Shao Jiawei, Yu Shihao, Chen Tao, and several other "homegrown talents."
...
In a KTV private room.
A few people shooed away the hostesses and started a secretive conversation.
"Has Deng Kai lost his mind? Why insist on coming back?"
"He’s a total idiot, who actually got out and being born and bred Portuguese, wants a slice of patriotic sentiment, what a dumbass!"
"So what do we do now?"
"What can we do? Of course, we screw him over!"
"Should we test his mettle first?"
"Test my ass! UEFA’s Best Player! Played over Zidane! Scoring, assisting, organizing, even defending and taking penalties, he does it all! This guy’s a football Superman! If we don’t take him down, we’re all screwed!"
"What excuse should we use? Disharmony within the team? Can’t cooperate with teammates? Unacclimatized? Bad temper, hard to manage?"
"It’s impractical. A player of this caliber comes along, no matter the excuse, it’s impossible not to let him play. Once he’s on the pitch, the game’s out of our control!"
"Hey, the nationality change was so smooth this time? Didn’t anyone from above give a heads up?"
"No, I checked thoroughly, it’s all done by the book."
"Overseas Chinese, after reaching 18 years old, can choose to return to Chinese nationality. He’s spent a lot of money in Europe for famous lawyers to make it official, meaning that although he’s only 16, he can make decisions as an 18-year-old. It’s got nothing to do with the domestic side."
"That’s good, as long as it’s unrelated... That dumbass! My business worth tens of billions got messed up because of this..."
"Heh, maybe not. What was originally a hundred billion business, with his arrival, might have just... increased the size of the pond!"
"You mean..."
"To the whole world, it’s the World Cup every four years. But for us, once in a hundred years isn’t an overstatement. Make a fortune now, and it’s enough for dozens of generations to live in comfort! It’s all about whether the brothers have the balls to go for it!"
"Oh? So we should thank that kid?"
"Hahaha, come on, a toast to Deng Kai!"
"Cheers, cheers!"
...
At the same time, Jiang Yunzhu rarely returned home for a meal.
"The situation you described should be impossible," said Jiang Yunzhu’s father, who was also rare at home.
As Jiang Yunzhu ate, she said, "So we’ll just continue to watch, the World Cup every four years... the retour of the annual Best Midfielder in Europe, the pool’s expanded by more than ten or twenty times!"
"Just wait and see, all sorts of demons and monsters will pop up."
"This is not just about the fans’ money. You don’t know how many undercurrents will take the opportunity to surface, sneaking out..."
Jiang Yunzhu’s father looked quite stern, with an air of authority: "I’ll keep an eye on it!"
...
Madeira Island.
The impact of Deng Kai joining the China team was too severe for the Portugal Football Federation.
Even the third-party political forces in Portugal, who hoped to facilitate immigration policies through managing Deco, have temporarily set aside that matter and started targeting the higher-ups behind the Golden Generation.
They plan to overturn this political wave before the World Cup, and then fight for power based on merit with the backers of the Diamond Generation.
To alleviate pressure, the political group behind the Golden Generation had to make the first move to stabilize the situation.
Bola newspaper: "On the first day of national team training medical check-up, the player from... was found to have a hidden injury and withdrew from the national team at the last minute. The national team has called up Cristiano Ronaldo to the roster!"
Record Report: "Defying convention! Cristiano Ronaldo refuses to join the national team and has already returned to Madeira Island!"
Madeira Daily: "Portugal Football Federation officials urgently visit Madeira Island overnight, begging Cristiano Ronaldo to make a comeback!"
