From Arsenal to the Ball God

He glanced at the time; it was already past eleven in the morning, five hours until departure.

”Buzz buzz...” The phone suddenly rang, vibrating in his pants pocket. Upon checking, he saw it was Pepeño calling.

”Have you set off?” Pepeño’s voice carried a mix of joy and urgency, ”The landlord happened to be in London today and asked if you could complete all the signing procedures now, as he will soon return to Asia.”

”Right now?”

Ma’el’s expression shifted, contemplating that purchasing this house before leaving was indeed a good idea, saving a few weeks’ rent. ”Can we confirm the signing now? Are all procedures complete?”

They had been handling this matter recently, and Pepeño also helped evaluate the property’s value, finding the market price between 12.5 million and 14.5 million pounds.

Purchasing at 12 million pounds was absolutely a very cost-effective transaction.

”Definitely can complete it,” Pepeño replied with a smile, ”All procedures are complete; I’ve negotiated everything with his agent.”

”Additionally, I should mention, the house owner has connections to the football industry; he is the owner of Brighton, but is currently mainly operating gambling-related industries in Asia.”

”Haha...” Ma’el’s mouth curved into a smile. He knew who this person was; London’s great ’mathematician’ Tony Bloom... what a curious fate.

He made the decision promptly, ”Let’s sign now, it needs to be quick; my flight is at four in the afternoon.”

”Alright.”

Half an hour later, Ma’el arrived at a restaurant to complete the signing with the landlord’s agent, then went to the bank to transfer the funds.

Pepeño assisted him in handling the stamp duty and land certificate registration... In the United Kingdom, buying a house doesn’t come with a title deed; completing the registration is sufficient.

”Ding...!”

The moment the payment was completed, Ma’el’s mind went blank, yet his heart felt much more secure, and his face quickly showed a few traces of joy.

Starting today, he truly has a place to establish himself, a home of his own!

This was something he couldn’t even dare imagine in his past life and didn’t dare think about when he just crossed over.

Borrowing a half-sentence from his uncle Clément, buying such a grand mansion in Central London with full payment was something he had only seen on television and in the news, never truly comprehending.

Returning home, gazing from afar at his house, he suddenly felt a sense of unfamiliarity, just like the first time he saw it.

But soon, his mind was surrounded by a sense of accomplishment and security. From now on, not only is this house his, but everything around him is too.

He not only owns the permanent rights to this house but also the surrounding gardens of over two thousand square meters!

”All kicked out one step at a time.” Ma’el smiled brightly, walked into the room, lay down on the sofa, and closed his eyes to enjoy for a while.

He really wondered, relying on his own feet, what else he could kick out.

After getting up, he checked the time, asked Safina to prepare one last afternoon tea, and then officially prepared to set out.

”Cheers!”

During afternoon tea, the family briefly celebrated Ma’el acquiring the house and also sent blessings for his first continental tournament, hoping his journey would be smoother.

At three in the afternoon, Peter and Amelia also arrived, and the group took two business cars to the airport’s underground parking lot, saying their farewells here.

”Ma’el!”

Jose seemed to have something prepared; he smiled and pulled out a banner reading ’King of Europe,’ ”I believe in you! Go for it! Hope you play all 6 matches in the European Cup!”

”I will secure tickets for the finals in advance and bring my family to watch.”

”Haha...!”

Davis laughed, also taking out a golden crescent necklace he prepared, ”If possible, please wrap it around your foot; in Portugal, it symbolizes luck.”

”I will.”

Ma’el smiled, stepped forward to accept the necklace, then took out his phone and took a photo with Jose holding the banner, subsequently heading to the elevator, waving goodbye to the two before the door closed.

European Cup, here he comes!

...

”Oh...eieiei...!”

”Yeah...eieiei...!”

At night, Ma’el and his party dragged their luggage out of Warsaw Okęcie International Airport; as soon as they stepped out, they felt a gust of warm wind and heard songs with a strong football theme playing in their ears.

He quickly recognized it as the 2012 European Cup theme song sung by Oceana, looping on the airport’s speakers.

Turning around to look at the surroundings, he saw the team logos of all 16 European Cup participating teams and large posters of each team’s star players.

In the France team section, he noticed his outfit photo from the last photoshoot appearing in the middle, flanked by Evra and Nasri.

This made him feel a bit strange because the relationship between the three of them was the most strained...maybe it’s due to their fame.

”Endless summer...!”

”Endless summer...!”

The cheerful rhythm continued to echo in his ears, with his vision filled with football elements everywhere.

Ma’el’s emotions were quickly drawn into the passionate European Cup summer; he could sense how exciting the upcoming matches would be, how many fans would come here, and how much attention would be focused on them.

European Cup, this might be the competition with the highest level of overall confrontation besides the Champions League!

Although it doesn’t feature the few strong teams from North and South America and doesn’t have as high a level of attention or prestige as the World Cup...but neither does it feature some of Asia’s weaker teams; overall, the standard is robust.

It’s known that the comprehensive strength of European football is very strong; they often occupy 15 of the top 20 positions in world football, and 32 of the top 40 positions.