Chapter 684: The King of Football’s Counterattack

At the end of August every year, the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco becomes the focus of media and fans around the world.

This year is no exception.

Unlike last season, this year more Bayern players were invited to participate in the award ceremony and draw ceremony.

Of course Su Dong is on the list, Neuer is shortlisted for the best goalkeeper, Lucio and Lahm are shortlisted for the best defender, Modric and Ribery are both shortlisted for the best midfielder, and Su Dong is shortlisted for the best forward.

Anyone can see that Bayern's performance last season was very dominant, and the overall strength of the players in the team has been recognized, and they deserved to be shortlisted for the UEFA award.

Not only in the UEFA awards, but also in the selection of the FIFA World Player of the Year and the European Ballon d'Or, I believe that Bayern's players will have greatly improved and will never again encounter the embarrassment of last season.

…

Su Dong is already a veteran. After he entered the venue with his teammates, he immediately attracted the attention of the whole audience.

It's not because he's tall, nor because he's handsome, but because he's Su Dong! In fact, this annual event is no longer just about drawing lots and awarding prizes, but also a platform for the major European Champions League teams to openly interact with each other.

When Su Dong and others entered the stadium, Chelsea's CEO was talking with UEFA President Platini in a corner not far from the door. It was unknown what secrets they were talking about, but after seeing Su Dong and others enter the stadium, Platini apologized and walked towards the Bayern players.

"Hey, Frank!"

Platini is French, so he is naturally more familiar and closer to Ribery. The two even hugged each other to show their closeness.

Afterwards, Platini met with Su Dong and other Bayern players and exchanged a few polite greetings. He then invited Su Dong to an empty corner, making it feel a bit mysterious.

"I will go on stage to present the UEFA Special Contribution Award. Originally, Infantino was scheduled to present the Best Player award, but I felt that it was not grand enough, so it was decided that I would present the award together with him."

Gianni Infantino, the UEFA Secretary General appointed by Platini, has just taken office. This is his first time to manage such a large-scale event, so his weight is indeed a bit inadequate. However, Platini's remarks clearly show that he wants to do Su Dong a favor.

Su Dong was used to this kind of thing.

Although Platini's title as UEFA President is very famous, in fact, if Su Dong and others do not buy his account, he will be very embarrassed. Even the top teams can go against him as long as it does not violate UEFA regulations.

And everyone knows that the rules are there and there are a lot of loopholes to exploit.

Whether it's a team or a player, if they really want to find a loophole, no one can stop them.

When it comes to a superstar of Su Dong's level, the promotion of the Champions League revolves around him as the core protagonist, with others standing together in groups. Many of Su Dong's promotional posters only show him alone, and even if he stands with others, he is definitely the C position.

Such a star, let alone UEFA, even FIFA has to treat him with caution.

Platini did this favor because he wanted to establish good relations with the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe.

…

"By the way, I heard that you are considering joining Manchester City?" After selling his favor, Platini asked with a smile.

This is a test.

UEFA also needs to have a clear grasp of the trends. After all, whether the Soviet Union or the Eastern Conference is present will still have an impact on the Champions League.

"Where did the news come from?" Su Dong asked with a smile.

Platini smiled mysteriously and did not answer.

In fact, everyone in European football knows that it is only a matter of time before Su Dong leaves the Bundesliga, because the Bundesliga is too unchallenging for him.

It’s not that the level of Bundesliga teams is poor, but Bayern’s advantage in the Bundesliga is too obvious, especially in the past two years, the gap has been getting bigger and bigger. If Su Dong really leaves, Bayern’s advantage will be greatly weakened, and the Bundesliga may still have some suspense.

But with Su Dong here, there is really no suspense at all.

He scored nine goals in four rounds. Who can stop such a striker?

"David Silva went to Manchester City. In the media, he also said that he hoped you could go to Manchester City. In addition, there are reports that Manchester City also wants to get Pepe, Marcelo, Modric and other stars."

These players have one thing in common, that is, they have a very good relationship with Su Dong, and they basically meet Guardiola's requirements. They all have excellent ball handling and personal abilities.

This is also where the outside world started to discuss.

Manchester City's signings are more like plundering Su Dong's circle of friends. From Iniesta to David Silva, and later Pepe, Marcelo and Modric, all are on Manchester City's signing list.

In addition to Soriano and Begiristain before, and after Su Dong met with Guardiola in the Middle East, the latter immediately became the new head coach of Manchester City. This made everyone feel that Manchester City did this for Su Dong.

Otherwise, how do you explain that Manchester City invested 500 million euros a year but gave it to a rookie who has never even coached the first team?

So far, three rounds of the Premier League have been played, with Manchester City winning one and losing two. In the first round, they lost to Blackburn away, and then lost to Everton at home. It was not until the third round that they won a narrow one-goal victory over Wolves at home.

Only one goal was scored in three games, and this record is not satisfactory in any way.

If it were any other head coach, Guardiola would have been sacked long ago!

"Guardiola is a very capable head coach. I believe he can lead Manchester City well. His criteria for selecting players certainly have nothing to do with me. I have never had any agreement with Manchester City. I belong to Bayern and I will continue to fulfill my contract with Bayern. If one day in the future, I decide to leave, I will definitely leave in a fair and honest manner." Su Dong explained.

Platini understood what Su Dong meant.

Manchester City is pursuing him, but he has not agreed yet, or rather, he is still observing.

"Then I feel relieved. Manchester City still lacks a little foundation, a bit like Naples back then."

Platini's unintentional remarks attracted the attention of the Soviet Union.

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The Naples of that time must be referring to the Naples of the 1980s, during the Maradona era.

The media had hyped this up before, saying that after leaving Bayern, Su Dong would go to Manchester City and repeat the feat that Maradona did in Naples, leading a mid-to-lower-level team to win the league championship or even the Champions League.

If Platini hadn't mentioned it, the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe would have really forgotten that Platini and Maradona were actually contemporaries in history.

It is reported that the reason why Maradona went to Naples was partly due to restrictions on foreign players. At that time, Juventus had Platini and had no interest in Maradona.

"Michelle, actually I have always had a question." Su Dong suddenly spoke.

Platini was a little surprised and smiled: "You say."

"Why did Maradona choose Naples?"

There is no need to say more about how famous Maradona is. He is definitely a superstar.

Why did such a superstar transfer to Naples instead of a wealthy club? Everyone talks about Maradona leading Naples to the championship, but as a professional player, Su Dong knows better than anyone that football is a team sport. No matter how amazing a player is, he can't stand the poor performance of his teammates.

Platini was obviously not surprised that Su Dong would have such doubts, because the media and fans nowadays always talk about how amazing Maradona is, and it seems like they have deified him.

"Actually, it's the same as many star transfers now. Maradona was in Barcelona at the time... How should I put it?"

Platini smiled awkwardly, as if he was struggling with how to put it in a more tactful way. "When he transferred to Barcelona, ​​his transfer fee was $9 million. You know, Rummenigge, who won the European Ballon d'Or twice, had a transfer fee of $2 million. Over a million was the price of a superstar at the time, and Maradona's transfer fee was $9 million, which is equivalent to about... more than 200 million euros now."

"Maradona's performance at Barcelona was indeed good, but he had such a strong personality that he seemed a little different both on and off the field and even in the locker room. He could even decide who would be the head coach of Barcelona. In addition, there were incidents such as a broken leg and a group fight, as well as media reports that he was taking drugs, so not many top clubs were willing to accept him at the time."

"Just at this time, Napoli's president, Lacodo Fellaino, was determined to lead the team to achieve results, so he promised Maradona a huge transfer bonus and annual salary, and even gave him 50% of the team's advertising revenue, and successfully bought him from Barcelona for $7.5 million."

"It is reported that Maradona's financial situation was very bad at the time, and his agent had conflicts with Barcelona. It is said that when Maradona transferred to Barcelona, ​​President Nunez promised to give the agent a commission, but did not fulfill it, so he encouraged Maradona to transfer to Naples."

Su Dong was a little surprised when he heard this.

Isn't this the most common drama in professional player transfers nowadays? If 9 million US dollars is equivalent to more than 200 million euros now, how much is 7.5 million US dollars equivalent to?

That’s almost enough to buy two Cristiano Ronaldos, right?

This can no longer be considered a gamble, it can be said to be a desperate move!

"Italy was a small World Cup at the time. Napoli's finances were not very good. They didn't have that much money. The money to buy Maradona was all raised. But with Maradona's joining, Napoli gradually increased its investment and its performance improved greatly. That's how the Napoli legend that everyone is familiar with came into being."

Platini was playing for Juventus at the time, and like Maradona, he was one of the top stars in the world. His words may not be the truth, but they are still of great reference value. After all, only Maradona and others know the inside story.

But judging from Platini's remarks, if there had not been the legend that followed, what Maradona had done before would have been no different from what some fallen stars are doing today.

But the King of Football is the King of Football, and the great pen is the great pen. He just fought back in Naples! Whatever! Anyway, he is the great pen in the end!

(End of this chapter)