From Arsenal to the Ball God

Chapter 789: Chapter 6: Shift in Public Opinion! Premier League’s Highest Salary? Chelsea Showdown at Wembley! The Beatles’ Song at Wembley

“In the goalkeeper position, it’s still Cech, with the central defense being a pair of David Luiz and captain Terry, Ashley Cole at left-back, and Ivanovic at right-back.

“In midfield, Fabregas partners with Mata, with Hazard on their left and Ribery on the right side.

“In the forward position, the powerful new signing Benzema partners with Torres!”

“…..”

“As for Arsenal, today they still choose a 4-3-3 formation, which is basically the same as their formation and starting lineup in the warm-up matches, except Lori replaces Szczeny on the goal line.

“The central defense is…..”

As soon as the introduction ended, Zhang Lu couldn’t help but quip with a laugh, “It’s noticeable that multiple players from both teams have been selected for the national teams that played in the European Cup finals this summer.

“However, two former French internationals from the Chelsea Team have now permanently withdrawn from the France team.

“Their Spanish internationals remain quite genuine, but it seems that one of them also permanently quit the national team after the European Cup finals.”

“Haha…..” Zhan Jun burst into laughter, understanding Zhang Lu’s joke, “So, this counts as a familiar yet alternative Franco-Spanish duel!

“This is also one of the reasons why the match is interesting, the tension between them must be intense.

“Besides that, another highlight is that a total of eight players from both sides have to complete their debuts for their respective teams!

“David Luiz and Thiago Silva, these two Brazilian national team central defenders and good partners, will also meet head-to-head on the England field for the first time!

The camera at this moment panned to Ma’el wearing the captain’s armband, the sunlight casting a glow on his right cheek, adding a few touches of radiance.

“Oh dear.”

Zhang Lu, using his distinctive tone, said, “The double captain of the France team and Arsenal Team, returning with the honor of the European Cup title, is about to start the new season!

“He is a key figure in this team, I guess Chelsea won’t find it easy to defend against him.

“Although Ivanovic is a popular target for various teams in the transfer market, he appears somewhat… well, somewhat fragile in front of him.”

Meanwhile, players from both teams have lined up on the pitch for the handshake session.

Ma’el led Arsenal’s players toward the Chelsea Team’s lineup, first smiling and high-fiving with Terry, then with Cech, Ivanovic, Hazard, and others.

As he approached the last few Chelsea players, he glanced toward the end of the opposing lineup with his peripheral vision and saw the three players labeled by the media as the Avengers Alliance lined up neatly in the last three positions.

He didn’t need to think to know what they were planning… Ma’el smirked slightly, and after shaking hands with the fourth-to-last Ashley Cole, he lowered his hand and walked straight past them.

Indeed, as he anticipated, none of the three intended to shake hands with him, their gaze fixed on Lori behind him as they extended their hands in that direction.

Ma’el glanced back at Lori, didn’t say much, trusting that Lori, as a France team player, knew the score.

After raising and lowering his slightly stiff right hand twice, Lori finally decided to pull back his hand firmly and walked on with Ma’el.

No handshake either!

Counter-strike!

This instantly embarrassed Benzema, Ribery, and Fabregas, as the Arsenal players following also mimicked them, with none planning to shake hands with the trio.

The more mild-mannered Cazorla intended to shake hands out of courtesy but was dragged away by Van Persie, who put an arm around his shoulders.

“Boo, boo, boo…!”

Amidst the mixed booing of the fans from both teams, the three Avengers stood awkwardly in place, disconcerted in the wind, like they shot themselves in the foot.

The cameras on site clearly captured their expressions, also catching Ma’el’s gloating backward glance through the lens… the three appeared much like the Three Idiots of Blue Bridge, while Ma’el carried a bit of playful arrogance.

“Na, na, na… na, na, na, na… na, na, na, na… na…..!”

“Beep!!”

Not long after, all the fans in the stadium began singing the chorus of “Hey Jude” by The Beatles, the greatest band in the United Kingdom, in unison, marking the official kick-off of the Community Shield Cup final at Wembley Stadium!

Ma’el sprinted towards Chelsea’s backfield, though he had some disdain for certain players on this team, this didn’t mean he would underestimate them.

He still had quite a distance to cover before he became invincible, and Chelsea, now strengthened, were unprecedentedly powerful.

Faced with such an opponent, underestimating them would surely lead to losing the match.

He must go all out to strive for victory and aim for a beautiful start to the new season!

…

In a box on the field, Mendes and the heavily armed Real Madrid president Florentino were seated, watching the match together.

“You should be aware of the situation between Bell and Arsenal, right?” Florentino asked, eyes fixed on the field, “To what extent has it developed?”

Mendes shook his head without hesitation, “I really don’t know about this, so I can’t provide an answer.”

“Then… what would you advise me to do?” Florentino asked, probing for Mendes’s opinion on whether to persist in pursuing Ma’el or to start negotiating more aggressively with Bell.

Mendes’s fist clenched under the table, apparently undecided, yet his expression was unchanged, “Mr. Florentino is an expert in this aspect, I only deal with agent affairs, no suggestions here.”

Seeing that Mendes was unwilling to speak, Florentino shook his head slightly and asked no more.

Their trip to London was for a discreet meeting opportunity with Ma’el.

Coincidentally, the player had a match at Wembley Stadium, so Florentino came to watch… If it were at the Emirates Stadium, he would not have acted so rashly during this sensitive period.

“Mendes.”

After a while, Florentino turned back, sternly staring at Mendes, “Do you truly not want Ma’el and Ronaldo to play together? They could achieve many honors together.”

“Honestly, not really.” Mendes answered without much hesitation, looking serious, “Old Buddha, I am the closest person to these two superstars, no one has ever known them both so well; I have my judgments.

“Ronaldo and Ma’el cannot be teammates, especially while both are at their peaks.

“They both have special pursuits, and these pursuits will most likely have only one victor, so they are bound to be adversaries.”

Florentino’s hawk-like eyes stayed fixed on Mendes, speechless.

Mendes looked back at him, guessing he might want to hint at offloading Ronaldo to make room for Ma’el, yet struggled to say it outright.

Feigning ignorance, Mendes turned his gaze to the field instead.

“And what about you?” Florentino shifted topics, squinting, “The two are bound to be adversaries, what will you do caught in the middle?”

“I don’t know.”

Mendes shook his head, genuinely uncertain, “Ma’el has just reached a high position, the opposition hasn’t happened yet… but honestly, it’s imminent.”

Smiling, he raised an eyebrow and joked, “Maybe I can somehow avoid any conflicts between the two? Maybe they’ll both be magnanimous and never put me in a position where I have to choose?”

“Or maybe you’ll mess it up? Maybe you won’t be able to retain either of them?”

“…” Mendes went silent, awkward laughter escaping him before he left the box temporarily with an excuse.

He didn’t go far, instead heading down a level to the area with smaller boxes.

“Hi, my friend.”

Soon, he entered A14, seeing Guardiola and several data analysts from Bayern Munich sitting by the table with their laptops.

“Hi.” Guardiola turned back, with a courteous smile, “Why so late? I thought you’d bail on the appointment.”

“How could I?”

Mendes quickly changed his demeanor, adjusting his state well, looking as if he had just rushed in from outside.

Seeing the oblivious Guardiola, and thinking of the equally unknowing Florentino upstairs… he felt as if he were a playboy dating two girlfriends in the same school.

If this goes south, it could turn into a real mess, yet the thrill of it gave him a tangible taste of being deceitful without any moral degradation.