Chapter 587: Chapter 586: Deng Kai: I, Ronaldo, have been too low-profile
In the year of the World Cup, the World Cup is the main theme.
Even the Champions League takes a back seat to the Hercules Cup.
On the night that the Golden Ball award was announced.
Kai’s fans went to war!
"Why the hell is he second? Damn! The Golden Ball is so stupid!"
"It’s infuriating! Ronaldo is indeed amazing, but didn’t my boy Kai break records in every category last season?"
"The youngest ever Champions League top scorer, assist leader, best player, all-star team... a treble winner! A grand slam of best player awards..."
"Just looking at the first half of this year, my Kai also outperformed Ronaldo, okay?"
Ronaldo’s fans naturally weren’t happy and immediately retaliated.
"How did your Kai outperform Ronnie? Real Madrid is currently first in La Liga, where’s Kai’s Manchester City? Twelfth! How does that compare?"
"Exactly, does the Premier League even match La Liga in quality? La Liga is currently the world’s number one league!"
"Jia De’er racks up stats in the Portuguese league, aren’t you Kai just a stat padder too? Take away those stats and what’s he got?"
"Being second in the Golden Ball is already too high, this shooting star hasn’t lasted several years, who knows if he’ll burn out!"
"He’s just a celebrity player, the next Beckham, that’s all! How can his sheer talent compare to Ronaldo’s?"
"Deng Kai and the Premier League, all about hype and fame."
"If he’s really as good as gold, why doesn’t he come to La Liga?"
Feng Te with an alt account: "La Liga? Who doesn’t know about La Liga’s special influence on awards? Trust me, if my Kai came to La Liga this year, he’d win the Golden Ball for sure."
"Premier League, twelfth? Let Ronaldo come to Manchester City and lead those players, see if he can even make it to twelfth?"
"Likewise, if my Kai went to Real Madrid, they would have already widened the gap with Real Sociedad and Deportivo La Coruña by now."
You know, with Feng Te saying this, indeed many bystanders felt that Deng Kai really was unfortunate this year.
"Yeah, with teammates like Feng Te... Deng Kai hasn’t had it easy."
Feng Te: ???
Feng Te: Damn it, I’m getting the blame without even playing?
After Ronaldo gave his acceptance speech, the host, following tradition, invited Deng Kai to the stage: "Deng Kai, your status is different this year."
"How does it feel to come so close to lifting the Golden Ball?"
Deng Kai smiled and said, "It’s okay, it’s still progress."
"Actually, I’m very lucky. In my first year in contention for the Golden Ball I was tenth. In my second year, I jumped to second place; it’s already a miracle."
Ronaldo’s expression darkened.
Who is he mocking?
Being thirtieth in the first year and ninth in the second year is bad?
Damn!
"Award judgments are always a regretful art; most years, there will be players who feel disappointed," Deng Kai stated. "I don’t think it’s an issue with the awardee."
"I personally prefer to see it as... it’s only natural that Ronaldo wins. If Deng Kai wins, that would be fine too..."
A rustling sound!
Loud applause erupted from the audience.
Many players’ hands turned red from clapping.
Deng Kai spoke their minds.
Perhaps fans only want one number one in the world.
But these players know that there can be many number ones in the world at many times.
Awarding anyone isn’t that straightforward.
As a runner-up for the Golden Ball, Deng Kai’s mindset was truly enlightened and worthy of respect.
The host said, "We all know you and Ronaldo have a good relationship, and he mentioned on the red carpet that your goal is to win the Golden Ball at least once in your careers, right?"
Deng Kai shook his head: "How could that be? Sorry, don’t jinx me like that, Ronaldo!"
The camera panned to Ronaldo, who was full of question marks.
"Are you fucking with me?"
Deng Kai smiled and said, "I know this is Ronaldo’s second time winning the Golden Ball. Before this, Johann Cruyff, Platini, and van Basten had won it three times."
"That’s the most anyone has gotten."
"But I feel I can win it more times."
"That’s why I’m not frustrated with finishing second place for the Golden Ball. Even if I don’t get it next year or the year after that, it’s fine."
"I hope that, before I win the Golden Ball, footballers around the world who haven’t realized their dreams yet will try harder to win the Golden Ball."
"That includes you, Ronaldo!"
"Because once I start lifting this trophy, I won’t let go."
"By then, the football world will enter a new era, and I’ve even thought of the headline for the media for that day... The first day of the first month of the first year of the Kai Calendar, the football world enters the era of Emperor Kai!"
This...
All the players at the scene were dumbfounded.
How arrogant can one get?
If Ronaldo is considered arrogant.
Then what about Deng Kai?
He must be delusional!
This kid is seriously sick.
Down below, Zidane furrowed his brows: "This feels so familiar."
Figo nodded: "At the 1998 Golden Ball award ceremony, when you lifted the Golden Ball, there was a U15 trainee named Deng Kai who said he and his friend would stand on this stage one day."
"Back then, everybody thought that kid was crazy."
"But after all, he was just a child."
Rivaldo sighed: "This scene, what’s the difference from back then?"
Ronaldo patted his forehead: "Such a bold declaration, how come I never thought of it? Starting this year, I’ll rule the football world!"
"I will win the Golden Ball three more years in a row!"
...
The next day, the whole world was discussing Deng Kai’s talk.
Even the glory of Ronaldo returning to his throne was dimmed by it.
The media could not stop talking about it.
"Ronaldo says outright he must win the Golden Ball in his life!"
"Thought Ronaldo was arrogant enough, but Deng Kai turns out to be the real man of ambition!"
"No wonder they are brothers! Ronaldo wants to dominate football for a year, Deng Kai wants to dominate an era! One is more audacious than the other!"
"Deng Kai’s controversial speech after the second place in the Golden Ball, is it his true thoughts or just being a sore loser?"
"Ronaldo winning the Golden Ball again is controversial, Deng Kai follows Figo as the biggest snub of the Golden Ball!"
"Are Portuguese players unlucky, or just not favored by the Golden Ball? First, Figo defeated by Zidane, now Deng Kai slightly inferior to Ronaldo!"
"The Kai Calendar in football! Do you believe in the arrival of the Kai Era?"
"One year? Two years? Three years? Deng Kai’s time left to impact the football world is not much!"
"Deng Kai issues a terrifying prediction, there will be at most three more Golden Ball recipients before he monopolizes them all!"
"Claiming an era! This is the most grandiose and ridiculous goal in the history of football!"
"Deng Kai is too complacent! He thinks he’ll always have smooth sailing, not considering the various accidents that can affect a player!"
"Does anyone believe? Manchester City fans state Manchester is already in the Kai Era! The Kai Calendar in football is very likely!"
"Kicker": "Eighty percent of the fans believe that if Deng Kai joins a top club this summer, he will overshadow Ronaldo to win the Golden Ball! It’s more likely for Ronaldo to be named FIFA World Player of the Year!"
"Kicker": "As we know, indeed some strong contenders for the Golden Ball are worried about Deng Kai dominating the award, so they hope to win it in the next two years!"
