Five days later, after Monaco's final match, the head coach and players lifted the Ligue 1 league trophy together on the awards stage.
Lei Ming celebrated with everyone with a big smile, holding a small Ligue 1 championship trophy in his hand.
To be precise, the French Ligue 1 championship trophy is not a cup, but rather resembles a salad plate from the Bundesliga. However, it is not exactly the same. A hexagonal shape is deliberately cut out in the center of the plate, with a small soccer ball placed in the middle.
Even so, the trophy is still quite heavy.
At the moment of taking the individual championship photo, Lei Ming also held the trophy up and kissed it in front of the camera. The moment the spotlight flashed, it also captured the image of Lei Ming and the trophy in the photo.
When the Monaco players returned to the city with the championship trophy, they were greeted with the usual championship ceremony: a parade of the championship bus.
To celebrate the Ligue 1 title, almost all of Monaco's fans took to the streets to cheer for this wonderful moment.
Flowers, beer, applause, cheers—sitting on the bus watching the enthusiastic fans, Lei Ming felt his eyes welling up with tears. Recalling what Paul had told him a few days ago, he leaned over the edge and waved to the fans who loved him, a gesture that felt more like a farewell than a goodbye.
Not only him, but he also saw others with the same emotions in their eyes.
Mbappe, Bernardo Silva, Bakayoko, Lemar, Gemerson, Fabinho...
Although no one said anything, they all understood each other implicitly.
A day later, after the team finished all its matches for the season, head coach Jardim officially announced his leave. During this time, Jardim reminded the players who would be playing for their national team in the World Cup qualifiers to be realistic about their abilities and not to let their national team affect their careers.
There are already countless examples of lessons learned from the past, so he hardly needs to go into detail; the players already know what to do.
Soon, as soon as the head coach announced the disbandment, the players scattered like birds and beasts.
Yaldin unexpectedly came to Lei Ming's side, put his arm around his shoulder and said, "Lei, if you're not in a hurry, how about we go to the restaurant for a drink together?"
"Of course, it's my honor."
At this moment, apart from the staff, only the two of them remained in the restaurant. Together, they took some food and beer and stood in front of the large French windows, watching the players drive away one by one, their hearts filled with mixed feelings.
Just as the head coach just reminded everyone, even if you go to the national team, you must take good care of yourself. But the key point is that, so far, he has still not been called up by the Portuguese national team head coach Fernando Santos.
This really puzzled him. After all, his performance in Monaco was not bad, and now he even had a championship trophy in hand. He couldn't understand why they hadn't called him yet.
Moutinho had previously said that the old man was a bit stubborn, and told Lei Ming to just wait quietly while they tried to persuade him.
Lei Ming was also quite curious, not quite sure which aspect Moutinho was referring to when he said the old man was stubborn.
Jardim watched the players drive out of the club one by one, then let out a heavy sigh.
“Ray, you know, being a head coach can be quite frustrating sometimes. I remember it was only a year ago that I last experienced something like this.”
Last year, Jardim watched as his key players were sold off one by one. It would be a lie to say he wasn't angry, but what could he do? He still had to work. If he gave up Monaco, who would invite him?
At the time, he was just a newly debuted coach with no notable achievements. Faced with the decision of Monaco's management, he ultimately had no choice but to compromise.
To his utter surprise, this compromise led him to his first championship trophy.
"Coach, what is the club's current stance?"
Although Monaco's management always publicly states that he and Mbappe are not for sale, everyone knows that it's only because the price isn't right yet.
Jardim gave a wry smile: "Monaco has never been a team with ideals, which is inseparable from their mindset. If you leave, you don't need to worry. According to the information I got from the director, there are quite a few clubs that want you: Manchester City, Tottenham, Chelsea, Arsenal, PSG, Real Madrid, etc. After your performance in the Champions League, you have successfully attracted them with your strength."
Lei Ming had learned some of this from Paul, but to be honest, he was still somewhat resistant to the idea of a transfer.
He didn't know if he could still have such a stable starting position if he really went to a top club.
The goalkeeper position is very special; the chances of getting injured are extremely low. This also means that there will be fewer opportunities for the second goalkeeper. If they don't get to start, it basically means their job is over.
"Sir, do you have any suggestions?"
"I once heard a famous saying from the East: Gold shines wherever it is, and you are precisely that piece of gold."
"To be honest, during the 13th round of the league against Lorient, I thought we might be relegated this season because without Subasic, I didn't know who the team could rely on for goalkeeper!"
"It wasn't until you came along that I truly felt the team had jumped from the edge of a cliff to heaven."
"I want to apologize to you here. It was stupid of me to only give you a chance after such a long time since your transfer!"
Yardin clinked his wine glass against Lei Ming's, and then chuckled to himself.
"Hehe, how could that be? Even with your wisdom and might, you still found me later!" Lei Ming laughed.
"Yes, and after that, our team's performance became more stable than before, and I have to thank you for that."
"Choosing a team is actually very simple. You just need to find out how the other head coach views you and whether they have offered you a high enough transfer fee. Who would want to be a sucker and spend money to buy a substitute?"
"If I had to choose, I would recommend the Premier League. Real Madrid is also a top club and a place many people aspire to, but it's unrealistic to expect to be a starter right away there. There are almost four people competing for each position, so if you go there, you can only climb up from the substitute's substitute."
"And because of the frequent matches in the Premier League, the exposure is high enough that you might get unexpected results if you go there."
With Jardim's professional explanation, Lei Ming gained a general understanding of these clubs.
In short, you can't blindly choose a club. Just because a club is big doesn't mean it's good. As a player, you should look at whether you have a starting position.
However, sometimes, where a player goes is not entirely up to them; the club's approval is also required.
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