Chapter 733 - 658: Dance of the Devils

Chapter 733: Chapter 658: Dance of the Devils

"Pandemonium?"

Chen Yu paused for a moment, then chuckled. "You know, that’s a pretty accurate description."

’And it seems I’m the one who started it all. It’s all connected to me.’

For instance, Crespo, who was invited by Guo’an, had his deal negotiated by Chen Yu.

Two games for 500,000 euros.

For Crespo, that was a pretty good deal.

His current annual salary was 4,500,000 euros, with Chelsea paying 2 million and AC Milan footing the other 2.5 million.

In the recently concluded 2004–2005 season, he played 38 rounds in Serie A, averaging about 110,000 euros per match.

Now, at 250,000 euros per game, his rate had more than doubled.

Of course, the doubled pay was secondary. South American players grinding it out in the Five Major Leagues might have a money-first mentality, but a star of his caliber wasn’t going to lose sleep over one or two hundred thousand euros.

The real reasons he went to Guo’an were, first, as a favor to Chen Yu, and second, because he’d been sweet-talked by him.

Chen Yu had told him, "You have a huge fanbase in China. You can expand your influence there."

"Even I’m investing in a Chinese team. It’s a commercial market with enormous potential."

That point won Crespo over.

And he wasn’t the first.

With both Shen Hua and Guo’an making moves, how could Shide, the top team in the league, not follow suit?

If they didn’t make a move, their own fans would be up in arms. When they got into arguments in the stands with fans from other teams and heard taunts like, "We had Vieri," or "We had Crespo," what could they say in response?

"Reply that you only had them for one game?"

Then the others would just retort, "One game is still having them. You never even had the chance."

So, as the strongest and wealthiest team in the Chinese Super League, Shide felt they had no choice but to act.

And they couldn’t be cheap about it like Huanghe Tower and Guo’an. If they were going to make a move, it had to be big, like Pioneer and Shen Hua—signing a player for an entire season.

Even though they had the youngest lineup in the CSL this season and were a formidable force, they theoretically didn’t need to change their roster just to sell tickets.

They had a new manager this year, Fuladu Peterlovic, and were playing a 4-3-2-1 formation with Zou Jie as the lone striker. If they brought in another forward, they couldn’t just bench him, which would mean readjusting the entire lineup.

But the trend had arrived, like a whirlwind of opportunities sweeping across China. On an impulse, the Shide club contacted Chen Yu.

And they were direct: no average stars. It had to be a huge, famous name.

Chen Yu didn’t beat around the bush. He went straight to Lin Lefeng and asked, "Is the captain of both Spain and Real Madrid a big enough name for you?"

He was talking about Yela.

Now 37, he had left Real Madrid in ’03, moved by the cash-waving tycoons of Qatar, and went to play for Laiyang in Qatar for a year. Then, last year, he was already planning his retirement.

But before retiring, he said that after spending his whole life in La Liga, he had yet to experience what the "meat grinder" of the Premier League felt like.

So, he joined Bolton in the Premier League, signing a one-year contract.

And so Chen Yu’s pitch went: if you want to experience the Premier League and get a taste of different countries’ leagues, then why not try the Chinese Super League?

In China, with Real Madrid’s explosion in popularity, Yela also had a huge fanbase.

In short, Yela was convinced.

Shide immediately announced that they had signed Yela until the end of the season.

And there was no shortage of other teams with the same idea.

As mentioned before, the trend had started. It didn’t matter if it would all end in a complete mess; if you didn’t follow, you were already falling behind.

Most importantly, there were plenty of options.

Take "The Lone Wolf" Romario, for example. He was likely the pioneer who started the trend of stars coming to Asia to cash in. As early as 2003, he went to Qatar for three months and walked away with 1.5 million US dollars.

No, wait, he only played three matches, and only one of them for the full 90 minutes.

That meant he earned 500,000 US dollars per game.

He didn’t have to train excessively and was treated like a king by the team. In his own words, it was "happy football."

It certainly was happy. He brought his family, lived in a huge villa, and enjoyed the beautiful scenery of the Persian Gulf. Anyone who didn’t know better would think he was on vacation.

If he could enjoy the beauty of the Persian Gulf, didn’t China have beautiful scenery too?

Batty had recently told Chen Yu that he had fallen in love with the landscapes of Guangdong Province and was planning to bring his wife and kids over to stay for a couple more years.

The implication was that he wanted Chen Yu to extend his contract for another year.

And there were many such options. Rivaldo, Effenberg, Basler, Leboeuf—they had all cashed in in Qatar before. If they did it once, they could do it a second time.

Under these circumstances, wasn’t it just as Su Jun had said? Pandemonium.

Sitting in the dining area of the TD Waterhouse Center, Su Jun said with a wry smile, "The main thing is, many people are worried this will ruin the Chinese Super League. They think it’s outrageous."

"What happened to honor? What happened to the competitive spirit?"

"With everything being about money, and all these tricks to pry cash from the fans’ hands, isn’t it all just a bit too shameless?"

Even more people were worried that after this superficial boom, all that would be left was a mess.

"What’s so outrageous about it?" Chen Yu countered. "As long as the fans are buying it, that’s all that matters. People call it competitive sports, but it’s really professional sports. At the end of the day, they’re playing for the fans. So, whatever the fans want, you give it to them. I don’t see a problem with that."

Su Jun thought to himself, ’Of course *you* don’t see a problem. You were the first one to do this, and you’re an American. If the investment fails, you can just go back to the United States and continue being a miracle doctor. But what about China? It could be left with nothing but a mess.’

Su Jun had these worries, but Yuan Weimin didn’t seem to care much.

The fact that he never publicly stated whether Huanghe Tower’s actions were problematic was the clearest signal.

Instead, the two troublemakers, Bartel and Zhang Yuning, were the first to be dealt with as an example.

Li Yuanwei held a press conference and directly expelled Bartel from the National Team.

Yan Shiduo was even more ruthless. He didn’t even hold a press conference, simply issuing a notice stating that Zhang Yuning did not meet the requirements of the National Team and was unfit to serve.

It didn’t say he was expelled or would never be called up again, but he had clearly been cast aside.

Even Shen Hua announced that all of Zhang Yuning’s statements were his personal views and did not represent the club. They stated directly that they would not be renewing his contract next season.

This punishment was the real deal. It immediately silenced all the domestic players who had been thinking of jumping on the bandwagon and causing trouble. No one dared to stick their neck out anymore.

"Alright, we’ll see if it works out or not after the season ends," Chen Yu said, putting down his coffee cup with a smile. "I’m already starting to look forward to the July 2nd match."

July 2nd marked the eleventh round of the Chinese Super League.

Pioneer would be challenging Guo’an in an away game.

Some fans, eager to stir the pot, were already calling it the Argentina National Team derby.

Crespo against Batty and Cannigia—all teammates on the national team. The thought alone was incredible.

"I’m heading out."

Chen Yu stood up. The fans were already starting to return to their seats.

「June 21st, Game 6 of the Finals.」

The Magic versus the Lakers.

The Magic were leading the series 3-2.

The championship trophy had already been delivered to Orlando, and the entire city had erupted with incredible enthusiasm, ready to welcome their team’s first-ever championship trophy.

Quite a few stars and legends had also shown up to join in the excitement.

For example, there was Russell, who was there to present the Finals MVP Trophy, as well as Jordan and O’Neal. O’Neal hadn’t sold his house in Orlando yet and still made time every year to bring his family back for vacation.

Hardaway was also there to support his protégé, Tracy McGrady.

Logically, Skiles should have been there too, as he was one of the Magic’s first-generation stars.

The Magic only joined the league in ’89; their history was incredibly short.

When Chen Yu returned, O’Neal and Hardaway were sitting and chatting with Pat Williams, the first general manager and co-founder of the Magic.

Phoenix fans always said Chen Yu was lucky, but this guy’s luck was on another level compared to Chen Yu’s.

He had brought the Magic three number-one draft picks.

O’Neal, Weber—he was the one who drew the lots for them.

During last year’s draft lottery, the Magic had specially invited him, hoping some of his good luck would rub off on them. As it turned out, his luck was still strong, and the Magic smoothly secured the number-one pick.

However, in contrast to the relaxed atmosphere among the crowd of stars, the Magic players were anything but.

As halftime ended, both Hill and Tracy McGrady wore serious expressions as they walked onto the court.

At the half, the Magic were trailing 43 to 45, down by two points.

Kobe had exploded for 21 points in the first half, clearly unwilling to go down without a fight.