Likewise, the Americans realized that Beckham was very unlikely to renew his contract with Real Madrid. Since they were already positioned to be his best possible destination, there was naturally no reason for them to continue raising their offer.
As a result, they refused to include the condition of granting Beckham "MLS entry qualifications."
Of course, they also made it clear that if Beckham were willing to spend three hundred million dollars in the future to purchase entry rights, then there might still be room for discussion.
Compared to Beckham's demand of one hundred million dollars for three entry qualifications, that figure was nearly ten times higher.
Negotiations collapsed on the spot.
November 21st, Champions League Matchday Five.
This was a crucial battle.
If Real Madrid won, they would take first place in the group from Lyon.
However, Lyon put in an outstanding performance and grabbed a last-minute equalizer.
As a result, unless Real Madrid win the final match while Lyon lose theirs, Lyon will finish top of the group for the second consecutive year and advance to the Champions League knockout stage ahead of Real Madrid.
That is an extremely impressive achievement.
In fact, Benzema could have stood at the Ballon d'Or ceremony, thumping his chest and saying to Su Hang or Zidane, "You ruled world football over the past year, but I ruled over you," recreating Su Hang's famous moment against Ronaldinho—
if Benzema had actually received an invitation to the Ballon d'Or ceremony.
Unfortunately, as far as Su Hang knows… he didn't.
France Football: Didn't you call us and ask that no new French stars be invited this year?
Benzema: What the hell???
November 26th, La Liga Matchday Twelve.
Real Madrid defeated Valencia 3–1 away from home.
They continued charging forward on an unstoppable winning run.
Their league position rose to third place in La Liga.
The bad news, however, was that Barcelona—after being dragged down by Real Madrid and despite missing their key player Messi—continued to improve their results and reclaimed first place in the league.
Sevilla followed closely behind, sitting temporarily in second.
After the match, Valencia forward David Villa exchanged shirts with Su Hang.
Valencia's right midfielder Joaquín leaned toward Su Hang and told the media, "Losing is frustrating, but when you think that we lost to the Ballon d'Or winner, it somehow becomes easier to accept."
Baraja, Ayala, Albiol, Cañizares, and other Valencia players also stepped forward to wish Su Hang complete success.
Amid a barrage of camera flashes, Real Madrid boarded a chartered flight to Paris, France, to attend the upcoming Ballon d'Or ceremony.
...
This year's Ballon d'Or ceremony featured the largest number of broadcasting partners in recent years.
On the one hand, European football's economy was entering a period of recovery.
On the other hand, the final showdown between football king Zidane and "Emperor Su" Su Hang was about to unfold.
Would the strongest top ten live up to their reputation, or would the strongest nine prove even more dominant? Everyone was eagerly awaiting the result.
In addition, the intense attention from overseas media pleasantly surprised European football circles.
It signaled that vast emerging markets abroad were beginning to open up to them.
These markets represented a dazzling sea of opportunity.
Other global sports leagues had already begun to reap rewards in those regions.
Even without relying on broadcast fees alone, their brand value and the commercial value of their stars had risen sharply thanks to overseas exposure.
Major sponsors such as Nike and Adidas saw their international sales hit new records year after year.
All of this made European football deeply envious.
They had even heard some insider information.
Rumor had it that several emerging professional leagues around the world would follow Europe's mainstream path in the coming years and enter an era of massive financial investment.
What an enormous piece of meat that would be.
Just a single deal with them would be enough to sustain many clubs for several years.
Paris, France—outside the Théâtre du Châtelet.
The red carpet had already been laid out.
Invited guests and football stars began to arrive one after another.
The first to appear on camera was a newcomer.
David Villa arrived with his family, glowing with confidence.
This was his first official inclusion on the Ballon d'Or shortlist, a recognition inseparable from his outstanding performances at this year's World Cup.
It was rumored that Manchester United, Chelsea, Real Madrid, Liverpool, Arsenal, Barcelona, and several other giants were all interested in him.
A rising superstar was clearly taking shape.
Walking behind Villa was Kahn.
As tides rise and fall, this marked the final time Kahn—who had once finished second in the Ballon d'Or—appeared on the shortlist.
He had already begun serving as Lehmann's understudy in the German national team.
After this World Cup, he announced his retirement from international football, signaling that his career was nearing its end.
That said, he might later enter Bayern Munich's management and become one of the potential successors to Bayern's future leadership.
He would also go on to serve as a visiting professor at a major international sports university in 2019.
Ranked twenty-eighth was Barcelona's newly signed flying wing, Zambrotta—an honor he fully deserved.
Twenty-seventh place went to Italian striker Luca Toni.
He was the most fouled player at this World Cup. Despite failing to score early on, Lippi consistently trusted him as an undisputed starter, even deploying him as the lone striker in the semifinal against France.
A classic target man—though his future fame would not be especially high.
Twenty-sixth place belonged to Premier League defender Terry.
In recent years, Terry had steadily grown into one of the league's best center backs, with his main rival being Manchester United's Ferdinand.
Twenty-fifth was Brazil's free-kick specialist Juninho, who also delivered an excellent performance at this World Cup.
Twenty-fourth was German forward Lukas Podolski, Germany's biggest discovery at the tournament and one of the most impressive center forwards of the World Cup.
Twenty-third was Chelsea midfield star Frank Lampard.
Compared to last year's ranking, Lampard had suffered a steep drop, largely due to England's poor World Cup results with him as the team's core.
Twenty-second was French defensive midfield anchor Patrick Vieira.
This ranking accurately reflected his performances over the past year, though it would be difficult for him to climb higher in the future as age began to catch up.
Twenty-first was the future Argentine superstar and current Barcelona mainstay—young Messi.
This was Messi's first time appearing on the Ballon d'Or shortlist.
However, he had recently been embroiled in accusations of "malicious fouls," causing a sharp decline in public perception.
As he walked the red carpet, his pace was noticeably quick, clearly unwilling to be entangled by camera flashes or reporters.
Because the moment someone opened their mouth, the question was always the same:
"Messi, did you slide in from behind on Su Hang to help Ronaldinho win the Ballon d'Or?"
Messi truly had no idea how to deal with that.
Twentieth place went to Italian midfielder—the butcher—Gattuso.
His midfield partnership with Pirlo did not disappoint the world, and they came close to defeating Zidane.
Nineteenth place belonged to France's scar-faced warrior, Ribéry.
France's run to the World Cup final owed a great deal to him—his contribution easily ranked among the top five.
On many occasions, he even flew down the flanks in tandem with Henry.