From Arsenal to the Ball God

Andy Cole looked at Alan Shearer, hoping he would speak first. The latter hesitated for a while before taking a deep breath.

He pondered for a moment and said, ”I think, given how things have progressed, it’s become a small probability event if a player doesn’t break our record.”

Andy Cole nodded heavily on the side, only to be immediately cued by Alan Shearer, ”What about you? Any thoughts? You know, unlike me, you’re a product of Arsenal’s youth academy and have played for the team.”

”Ah?”

Andy Cole chuckled, glanced at Reinke, and realized he couldn’t evade it. He raised an eyebrow and said, ”What should I say? Congratulations to Wenger? Hope people don’t forget us?

”Haha...maybe, Alan Shearer, if this record is broken, you and I can only hope Ma’el performs even better in the future.

”Because only if he’s more outstanding, more people will pay attention to him, and more people will see—Ma’el broke Andy Cole and Alan Shearer’s Premier League goal record in the 11-12 season.

”This way, we can be remembered, and perhaps remembered longer.”

”Haha...!” The humor of the black man indeed brought laughter to Alan Shearer and Reinke.

The big screen displayed Ma’el’s photo, capturing his signature quirky dance celebration, which has become a trademark of the player.

The three of them looked over, their faces slowly filled with reflection as they watched.

So young, so impressive... If people can’t feel Ma’el’s extraordinary talent at this moment, it’s likely that they’ll feel it when they look back in the future.

When people go through many things, they are often numb and confused at the time, and only upon reflection can they have a clearer understanding.

...

On the night of the ”BBC” program’s airing, Transfermarkt updated its latest player value rankings.

This time, unlike before, both media and fans unanimously searched for Ma’el’s name first.

It’s not that his attention has surpassed Messi and Ronaldo, nowhere near... Mainly, Messi and Ronaldo holding the first and second positions should be no surprise, and the increase shouldn’t be much.

But Ma’el is different. Since the last value update, he has consecutively won the Golden Boy Award, Puskas, Premier League and Champions League goals over 30+, and been in the top ten of the Golden Ball Award.

With such a wealth of important honors and the approval of experts from various award agencies, his value is bound to soar.

Everyone was eager to see how much the authoritative Transfermarkt would raise Ma’el’s value this time.

London, bar street.

Inside Jones Tavern, a large crowd of people was scrolling through their phones, and someone soon saw it first.

Like the gold rush to America, the first person seeing the Statue of Liberty, he raised his hand high, shouting excitedly, ”70 million Euro! The player’s value is now 70 million Euro!”

”Wow...!” The tavern was abuzz, and many who had already drunk a bit were further excited by this shocking news, their hands trembling.

Such tremors quickly spread throughout their bodies, making them shake as if they themselves were valued at 70 million Euro.

”Another 25m increase!”

”That’s amazing!”

”Isn’t this the biggest increase this time? I don’t believe the top two increased by more than 20m.”

”Of course, they’ve already broken a billion. Another 20 increase is just excessive. Is anyone going to have a value exceeding 150 million?”

”Messi ranks first this time with 135m, Cristiano Ronaldo is second with 110m... Iniesta is third with 80m, Rooney fourth with 80m, and Ma’el is fifth with 70m!”

”Fifth!”

”Incredible!!”

”To be the world’s fifth in value, it certainly gives young players respect! By the next update, I think he’ll surpass Rooney!”

”...”

After a wave of heated discussions, the star of the tavern, Jones, spoke up, filled with excitement, ”Breaking a billion isn’t far off, and for someone so young and in the Golden Ball top 10, not breaking a billion doesn’t make sense.

”How much is Neymar? Does he have 50 million Euro? He was 19 years old and 11th in the Golden Ball, should be pretty good, right?”

”Nope.” Someone shook their head and replied, ”The highest Brazilian player for this term is Hulk from Zenit, with 45 million Euro.

”Neymar has been average since returning to Santos, maybe he’s preparing for Europe and resting... his value is only 40 million Euro.”

Jones nodded, happily waving his hand, ”With this wave, I’m even more confident he’ll win the Premier League Golden Boot, and today everyone drinks on me!”

”Not betting more?”

”Bet on what, the odds are no more than 3.5 now, who would bother, I got in at 50+!”

”Haha...!”

”Hey, is this the highest value for players under 20 in the world?”

”Let me check.”

Someone looked through their phone and soon found an official report from Transfermarkt.

”The highest valued player under 21 in history! Ma’el set a record, and if he wins the Premier League, he could likely be the only player in the current Premier League valued over a billion!” — Transfermarkt official

The person looked up, nodding heavily and smiling widely.

...

”World fifth! Since entering the top fifty in the Transfermarkt rankings this season, Ma’el has been unstoppable and has just cracked into the top five in the newest value update!” — Football Record

”Is the Premier League about to welcome a player with an official value over a billion from Transfermarkt? Ma’el is only 18 years old, and his immense potential has sent his value soaring, with an increase of 50m so far this season!” — The Times

”70 million Euro! Only Rooney ahead! Votes show that Ma’el has already become the most anticipated player in the current European Cup for the France team!” — French magazine Football