Chapter 662: Chapter 83: The Final Battle (Part 2)
But now, Real Madrid’s football legacy, yes, compared to the tradition of La Masia, Castilla now has their own football legacy. Raul passed the banner to Chen Zhong, and the story of Raul letting Chen Zhong take the penalty, and Chen Zhong letting Raul take the penalty, also became a topic of delight among the fans.
The youth players of Real Madrid are no longer lost kids without a path forward. They now have a clear and bright channel for advancement and a clear goal, which is Raul, which is Chen Zhong.
It was once said that while Real Madrid was waving checks, Barcelona was nurturing its own La Masia youth training camp.
Catalonia media even repeatedly mocked that in these 10 years, Florentino has confirmed that money cannot buy happiness; his failed philosophy indirectly propelled Barcelona to create the "Golden Era" of Camp Nou.
And now, almost all of those mockeries are about to declare bankruptcy.
Only one thing remains.
That’s the renowned superstar, who after putting on the Real Madrid jersey, cannot win the European Golden Ball Award.
There are even fans who jokingly say, "Real Madrid used their checks to buy all the players who could win the Ballon d’Or, causing them to lose the award at Real Madrid, creating opportunities for Barcelona’s players to win it."
Unfortunately, such remarks seem not to have as solid a foundation as they did before.
Villarreal, the Yellow Submarine.
This team, which once sang songs and shouted to sink the Galaxy Battleship, now no longer sings when facing Real Madrid.
And at the pre-match press conference, during this final battle, Real Madrid’s president, Florentino, also accepted an interview.
When a reporter asked whether Real Madrid would make moves during this season’s winter window and if they would bring in a center forward, Florentino glanced at the reporter not far away and ended the soap opera about whether to bring in a center forward with three Spanish words.
"No signing!" This concise statement wasn’t only said at this press conference. In fact, Florentino also said this to club board members while leading the team to face Levante in Valencia.
This sentence was very clear, leaving no room for speculation, following Florentino’s declaration.
The hearts hanging in suspense in various newspapers finally settled.
Marca believes that unless Benzema encounters something unexpected this month, Higuain and Negredo are out for the season, and Morata is also unable to play for various reasons, then any discussion about Real Madrid needing a center forward is meaningless.
Not far away, as Mourinho heard Florentino’s firm words, his small hopes finally died.
Florentino’s intention is not to make signings in the winter transfer market.
Facing the reporters, Florentino reiterated his stance: "There are no good forwards in the winter transfer market."
This statement also caused quite a stir and, if interpreted excessively, could mean that neither Fernando Llorente nor Milito, or someone like Dzeko, reached Florentino’s standards.
Simply put,
I understand Mourinho’s difficulties, but I am not impressed by the forwards currently on the market.
This also means that Mourinho’s previous practice of addressing forward questions, regardless of whether the journalists were asking about defensive midfielders, Barcelona, or climate, has become completely useless or a joke.
At the same time, Mourinho finally understood the "meaning" of the top clubs.
If he had come to Real Madrid initially, Drogba’s transfer would have been questionable.
After all, Real Madrid has a technical department, and they might conclude that the transfer market can only provide short-term solutions, and the players who can be brought in now are not better than the players already in the team.
Many reporters immediately turned to look at Mourinho, eager to see his expression, but Mourinho’s expression remained the same.
Because before this press conference, Real Madrid had anticipated such a situation, and both the technical department and Florentino had already told Mourinho that they wouldn’t make signings in the winter transfer market.
In fact, Mourinho had talked to Florentino many times, and before this press conference, Mourinho no longer expected the club to bring in players for him.
However, Mourinho was given assurance that in the next transfer window, he would have a say in who to bring in and who to clear out.
After Florentino finished speaking, it was Mourinho’s turn. Mourinho initially thought reporters would ask about Chen Zhong or the Ballon d’Or, but instead, they brought up Cristiano Ronaldo.
A reporter asked, "Are you aware of Sir Alex Ferguson’s recent comments?"
"If C. Ronaldo stayed with me, he would still be Mr. Ballon d’Or." According to the Spanish Football Mr. magazine website, Manchester United’s manager Ferguson recently stated, and he also believes that "Chicharito" Hernandez will be the next Ballon d’Or winner.
The Football Mr. magazine website reported that Ferguson would seize any chance to irritate Portuguese fans. With two major victories recently, Manchester United became the Premier League leader, and for this Ferguson was very satisfied. He told his assistants, "Chicharito is getting better and better, and within two years he will become a Ballon d’Or winner; if he doesn’t leave Manchester United, he could win the Ballon d’Or many times."
Clearly, for Ferguson, Cristiano Ronaldo’s insistence on leaving Manchester United to join Real Madrid was a mistake, and he apparently held a grudge over this matter.
And recently, as the Ballon d’Or result is about to be announced, seeing Cristiano Ronaldo’s situation at Real Madrid, Lord Ferguson warned the media, "If he were still with me, he would not only have many championship trophies but would also be going to Zurich next week to receive the Ballon d’Or trophy."
Ferguson has always held a grudge against Real Madrid, previously stating mercilessly, "I wouldn’t even sell them a virus."
Of course, during that period, the president of Real Madrid was not Florentino, but Calderon.
However, during Florentino’s tenure at Real Madrid, the Beckham transaction was something Ferguson was satisfied with. It’s just that Calderon used too many little tricks, making Lord Ferguson feel "disgusted."
However, it should be noted that Football Mr. is a Catalonia Region media outlet that almost daily explodes some negative news about Real Madrid, often not citing sources, and similar news often only appears on their website, not in print, so its credibility could sometimes be questionable.
Mourinho looked at the reporter and said, "I don’t know if the source you’re talking about is correct, but Real Madrid is on the right track. He is enjoying life here, and his relationship with Chen is very good."
"However, I admit."
"Leaving Manchester United to join Real Madrid was a huge challenge for him, but he was willing to take risks, which reflects his insatiable ambition."
"I admire that."
After Mourinho finished speaking, he also left the site, and the match officially entered the countdown phase.
As they walked through the tunnel, even before reaching their positions, they could already hear the chants from the entire stadium.
"Ballon d’Or, Ballon d’Or, Ballon d’Or!"
"Chen, Chen, Chen."
"Mr. Ballon d’Or, Chen!"
