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Hamburger SV's home stadium, Volksparkstadion.
Thomas Müller ran past the opposing center-back, received a cross from Franck Ribéry in front of the goal, and tapped the ball in.
"Goooooal!! Thomas Müller!! Extending the lead!!"
"Hamburger SV 1-4 Bayern Munich! With only 3 minutes left in the match, Bayern has already secured the 3 points."
1-4, away team Bayern Munich was significantly ahead.
After scoring, Thomas Müller simply high-fived Franck Ribéry, who assisted, and gave a light hug to Toni Kroos, who came to celebrate. Then Müller was substituted off to rest.
When he came to the sidelines, Pep Guardiola actively reached out and high-fived Müller. Guardiola quite appreciated Thomas Müller, a forward who excels at making runs and has a clear tactical role in the attacking third.
Müller couldn't help but ask one more question:
"Coach, how's it going over there?"
"Emmm…"
Guardiola's face had been full of smiles, but Müller's question instantly froze his smile.
"Oh, no."
Thomas Müller knew at a glance that he had asked an unnecessary question. Returning to the bench, Müller couldn't help but pull an earphone from the assistant coach's ear.
Bayer Leverkusen's match was slightly earlier than Bayern Munich's, and it was probably over by now. Sure enough, the sound in the earphone was very harsh.
"...The match is over!! Thanks to Lance's brace, Bayer Leverkusen defeated strong opponents Borussia Dortmund! They still lead by 1 point! There is only 1 final Bundesliga match left. As long as Bayer Leverkusen wins this last match, they will win the club's first Bundesliga title..."
Hearing this, Müller returned the earphone to the assistant coach and leaned back on the bench seat, lost in thought, feeling disheartened.
It was hard to imagine that Lance, the young man who had left the youth academy in disarray last year with nowhere to go and was forced to stay at his house, would become his biggest obstacle on the path to winning the Bundesliga title today. What exactly happened in less than a year?
Seeing Lance's rise, Thomas Müller was naturally happy for his younger brother. But thinking of Bayern Munich, the treble winner last season, working hard for a whole season only to end up with nothing...
Müller couldn't be happy at all. Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich are separated by 1 point, and the initiative is always with the opponent.
"Damn it!"
Thomas Müller didn't know whether to curse the coach, his teammates, or himself. But on second thought, Bayern Munich, apart from being defeated twice by Bayer Leverkusen, basically won most of their matches.
They at least performed at their normal level in the Bundesliga this season. It can only be said that Lance is too overpowered!
To be able to lead a team like Bayer Leverkusen to the Bundesliga title? Müller couldn't even imagine what kind of monster Lance would become if he were given a few years to grow.
...
Kevin: "Congratulations, winning the title in your first season."
Lance: "There's still one match left, it's hard to say."
Kevin: "If you can't even beat SV Werder Bremen, I'll look down on you."
Lance: "You're right, I'm the champion. Do you want to come over next season and work hard together in the Champions League?"
Kevin: "..."
Kevin De Bruyne was speechless. To be honest, he was a little tempted.
This season, he was loaned from Chelsea to VfL Wolfsburg, seemingly escaping José Mourinho and coming to a relatively relaxed environment. But VfL Wolfsburg's squad is at best a mid-table Bundesliga team, unable to even make it into the top 4.
If he continues to stay here next season, he can only play in the Europa League. Looking at his younger brother Lance, he is already a hero who defeated Arsenal, FC Barcelona, and fought Real Madrid until the last moment.
He is playing against the highest-level players in the world, and his opponents are Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo! On the other hand, his opponents are Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and Jefferson Farfán!!
Is that reasonable? De Bruyne originally had no thoughts.
After this season, whether he stayed at Chelsea or was bought out by VfL Wolfsburg for the new season, his fate seemed not to be in his own hands. Lance's words made De Bruyne a little moved.
Playing with Lance was one thing, but the key was the Champions League! He could directly participate in the Champions League group stage next season!
Thinking of this, De Bruyne hesitated repeatedly before calling his agent.
"Patrick."
"Hey! My dear Kevin, so, have you thought about it? Why don't you just stay at VfL Wolfsburg next season, I see you quite like it here..."
Agent Patrick Schotter had persuaded De Bruyne many times and lobbied both Chelsea and VfL Wolfsburg clubs. Since Mourinho's plans had no place for De Bruyne, it would be better to transfer directly to VfL Wolfsburg.
VfL Wolfsburg had already agreed to pay a record transfer fee of 21 million euros to buy out the Belgian rising star. Chelsea was also happy to facilitate this deal.
They only spent 6.7 million pounds to sign De Bruyne from KRC Genk, and now, without much effort, they made a profit of over 10 million pounds, which was fantastic! Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich did not know the future, how could he know De Bruyne's future achievements?
Now he could only listen to Mourinho's one-sided story. The deal seemed almost finalized; as long as De Bruyne signed the new contract, he would officially join VfL Wolfsburg next season.
The agent could extract nearly 2 million euros in commission from it! Unexpectedly, De Bruyne suddenly blurted out:
"Patrick, I don't want to stay in VfL Wolfsburg anymore."
"Wait? Calm down, Kevin..."
"I am calm."
"What I mean is, it doesn't make sense. The deal is profitable from all aspects... Do you want to continue sitting on the bench and endure Mourinho's disdain?"
"No, I'm not going back to Chelsea either."
"Then where are you going?"
The agent was confused. At this point, De Bruyne could only be said to have gained some reputation in the Bundesliga; he hadn't yet reached his peak, and other major clubs were mostly watching, temporarily unwilling to take a real risk.
Upon hearing a transfer fee of 20 million pounds, Bundesliga clubs were mostly scared off, and it was difficult for Premier League and La Liga clubs to notice this person. Who else could take over?
"Can you help me contact Bayer Leverkusen and see if they are willing to make an offer."
"Okay, I'll help you contact them, and I'll also help you contact Real Madrid and FC Barcelona to try to get a big contract with an annual salary of ten million."
"Really?"
"Really my foot! You're joking first, Bayer Leverkusen? Are you kidding me?"
"Patrick, I'm serious. If you can't do it, I don't mind asking someone else..."
De Bruyne seemed honest and simple, but he wasn't a big pushover who let others bully him. He also had his own stubbornness.
The agent heard De Bruyne's anger and quickly softened:
"Alright, alright, you're my biggest client, you're His Majesty the King, I'll go ask for you, okay!"
...
Bayer Leverkusen training ground.
Lance, as always, was diligently training with his teammates. During a brief 10-minute break, Lance temporarily blocked the system and simply used his own ball sense to try penalty kicks, wanting to see his true level without relying on cheats.
As a result, he had barely juggled the ball twice when he almost kicked Sami Hyypiä.
"Lance, there's something I'd like your advice on."
"Oh? What is it?"
"I know you've trained with the Belgium National Team and played with Kevin De Bruyne since you were young. What do you think of him, and what is his true ability? If he came to our team, could he perform?"
"Wait, De Bruyne?"
"Yes, as you know, reaching the Champions League semi-finals earned the club a lot. At the same time, the higher-ups are no longer satisfied with just playing around in the Champions League; they want to achieve results in the Champions League next season. So they want to strengthen the squad. Our attacking combination in the front and our defense both need strengthening, and De Bruyne is one of the target names. You're quite familiar with him, so I just wanted to ask for your thoughts."
The coaching staff and the club management responsible for transfers had their own decision-making system. Lance and De Bruyne had a very good relationship, and furthermore, the tactics for the new season needed to be built around star player Lance, so it was reasonable for them to ask for Lance's advice.
Lance was completely stunned. When he sent the text message a few days ago, Lance was just joking with his good friend.
He didn't expect that there would really be a chance to bring him over next season! It's not impossible...
Lance smiled faintly:
"Let me put it this way, in the next few years, he will quickly become the best midfielder in the Bundesliga, and one of the best midfielders in the world."
"Hiss..."
Now it was Hyypiä's turn to be stunned. Such high praise?