From Arsenal to the Ball God

”We probably won’t be able to get into the inner area,” Harry said with a smile, ”but just being outside and watching is good enough, I imagine it’s better than the treatment the fans get.”

”Of course.”

Safina came to Ma’el’s side and high-fived, ”Our boss has a lot of power.”

”Haha...!”

Everyone laughed together, making Ma’el feel a bit embarrassed, waving his hand and saying, ”Alright, stop praising me, you’ll jinx me sooner or later.”

...

That afternoon, at the Korni Training Base, in Wenger’s office.

”Real Madrid’s offer has arrived, an astonishing 48 million pounds, even Old Buddha has expressed interest in talking with you.”

Philip came over with some fax documents, which seemed to be the norm during transfer periods, happening twice a year.

And ever since Ma’el started to stand out, they received offers regarding him every period, the only difference being the price... it’s quite stable, always increasing, never decreasing.

”48 million pounds.”

Seeing Wenger taking the fax, Philip couldn’t help but smile with worry, ”Florentino is seriously preparing, I wonder how he’d feel if he knew Mendes was playing him.”

Wenger looked at the fax from Real Madrid, frowning, ”With his shrewdness and experience, he should know what game Mendes is playing.

”But he’s in a honeymoon phase with Mendes, so he probably wouldn’t blame him for this... Plus, knowing that Real Madrid’s offer would become Mendes’s bargaining chip, yet still making an offer, shows his determination.

”Is he trying to intimidate us? Is he implying that the player’s future is destined for Real Madrid?”

At this point, he saw the last sentence of the fax, a truly touching line — ’If not meeting Arsenal’s expectations, please do not close negotiations, Madrid is still open for discussion.’

This also implicitly stated that this wasn’t their upper limit offer, and if there’s an intention to list the player for sale, negotiations can continue.

Wenger put down the offer, even though he knew Ma’el’s current performance would attract many buyers, even though he knew Ma’el wouldn’t leave for now.

But seeing these offers still gave him an uncomfortable feeling... or rather, a sense of anxiety would be more fitting.

More and more excellent teams wanted to buy him, and the bids were far beyond the club’s historical transfer records.

”It’s here!”

At this moment, an assistant coach came in with an awkward expression, ”Paris Saint-Germain, the team bought by the Qatar Consortium last year, has expressed interest in Ma’el.

”After attracting many strong players, they hope to acquire a superstar to boost the club’s various values.

”They directly contacted Kroenke through a French banker, bypassing us and starting discussions with the club’s major shareholders, I’ve heard they are thinking of a nine-figure Euro deal.”

Nine figures, Euro.

Wenger chuckled wryly, how distant these terms were from Arsenal at the moment.

He felt a sense of powerlessness, even the thought of expressing anger toward Paris Saint-Germain and Kroenke faded significantly.

”The only certainty is that Ma’el has no intention of leaving for now, which is our only bargaining chip.”

He sat down at a nearby table, ”Whatever we can give, give it to the player, as much as possible, doesn’t he have a newspaper? Fully cooperate with his program column.

”He’s brought championship hopes to Arsenal, if we want to rely on him to get the championship, then we have to let him have more.

”Don’t even mention being a guest once or twice, doing a program, even ten times or three programs, I’d agree.

”Discuss other matters with Mendes, let the player know our intentions, have him contact Kyle Walker after the match with Liverpool ends.”

After saying these, he paced around for a moment, suddenly switched the topic, ”Who is that French banker?”

”I heard it’s someone from the Rothschild Family, seems to be called... Emmanuel, quite similar to Ma’el.”

...

January 13, Liverpool City.

In the evening, a bus slowly departed from a hotel in the city center, heading towards the famous Anfield Stadium.

On this day, the first leg of the English League Cup semifinals was about to kick off, with Arsenal facing Dalglish’s Liverpool Team away.

They had met in the Premier League before, but that was at Arsenal’s home ground.

Playing against teams like Liverpool and Manchester United, home and away are two completely different feelings and difficulties.

Anfield and Old Trafford come with inherent buffs, slowing down the visiting team and boosting the home team’s morale.

Ma’el sat on the bus with the window open, curious and yearning for this place where the Anfield Miracle took place, one of the most famous devil stadiums in the United Kingdom.

As the game was taking place at night, he could see it from afar before reaching the stadium.

From a distance, Anfield Stadium was illuminated by brilliant fireworks, the lights even radiating from the stadium, forming a dazzling glow.

A dense crowd surrounded him, with many player banners hanging side by side outside the stadium.

”You’ll Never Walk Alone... You’ll Never Walk Alone...!”

Getting closer, he could vaguely hear the singing from the stadium, the content was that world-renowned anthem ’You’ll Never Walk Alone’.

This is the totem of the Liverpool Team; under this song, they have performed countless miracles and won countless honors, representing their spirit.

”A tough battle.”

Listening to the song, watching the imposing Liverpool fans along the street, Ma’el already had a basic guess about this match.