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"Madrid! I'm back!"
Lance stepped off the plane with his suitcase and got into the Rolls-Royce Phantom driven by his agent's assistant, Harry Kane. The car moved quietly through the congested expressways of Madrid.
The familiar streetscape made Lance feel deeply nostalgic.
Compared to the relatively quiet town of Bayer Leverkusen, Madrid, an ancient yet modern, noisy metropolis, felt somewhat like home. After all, it was in Madrid that he had first become a homeowner, first owning his own property in his life.
"Did you have a good time back home, sir?"
Harry Kane sounded exactly like the stereotypical British butler, chatting in a standard London accent.
"You know it, I'm exhausted."
Lance's face was filled with fatigue.
Traveling with the young girl Chloe was certainly fun. The two not only visited famous sites like the Forbidden City and the Great Wall but also squeezed in a trip to the seaside.
But even counting everything, it was only a two-week vacation.
It also included filming for Tianxia Football and promotional activities for brands like Anta, Huawei, and Coca-Cola. Many organizations, including LeSports, Weibo, CCTV, local satellite TV stations, and Sports Weekly, all wanted to invite Lance for events.
The messy commercial activities gave Lance a headache.
Plus, Atlético Madrid had already started preseason training. As a European Cup champion, Lance had the privilege of returning late, but he couldn't be too late. So Lance simply let his agent, Mendes, play the bad guy. Once the European super-agent Mendes spoke up to decline, many domestic organizations found it inconvenient to pester him further.
"There's really never enough time."
Lance slumped in the back seat of the Rolls-Royce, letting the comfortable Scandinavian bull leather wrap around him. Harry Kane was very considerate. He deliberately closed the privacy partition between the back and front seats and played soothing music so Lance could take a short nap in the back.
For some reason, this time returning to Madrid, facing the upcoming 2016-2017 season, Lance felt a sense of fatigue from the very beginning.
"Could this be some kind of ominous sign?"
"Forget it, my eyelids are so heavy. Let me sleep for a while before thinking about it..."
As Lance returned to Madrid and gradually began adjusting his body to the new season, European football was not idle at all. The aftershocks of Belgium winning the European Cup had not yet dissipated when several shocking pieces of news rocked the football world.
Ibrahimović transferred from Paris Saint-Germain to Manchester United on a free transfer. Champions League winner, Juventus' absolute core midfielder, and French National Team core Pogba returned to Manchester United with a sky-high price tag of 105 million euros.
Back then, Sir Alex Ferguson felt Pogba's attitude was lazy and unmanageable, so even though his talent was high, Ferguson was determined to clear him out. Who would have thought that four years later, Pogba would stage a triumphant return, becoming the apple of Manchester United's eye.
Manchester United, who hadn't even made the Premier League top four last season, saw Van Gaal unable to sit still, transforming into a big spender and starting a money-spraying mode.
Seeing this news, Lance, holding his phone, had an expression just like the classic bewildered-onlooker meme.
"Manchester United has embarked on their fated path again."
Meanwhile, their cross-town rival Manchester City, relying on the financial power of their oil tycoon owner, also joined the arms race. Guardiola officially took charge of Manchester City, with an annual salary of 15 million pounds, almost on par with the annual salaries of superstars like Cristiano Ronaldo, Messi, and Lance.
Seeing this news, Lance couldn't help but call De Bruyne to congratulate him.
"Kevin, are you happy?"
"Of course. Guardiola added me as a friend not long ago, and we talk on the phone almost every day about next season."
"You're that close?"
"Of course. Guardiola is indeed a good coach. I hope you don't run into us next year, otherwise, you're going to be in trouble."
"Hope to see you in the final."
"Exactly, see you at the Champions League final!"
Hanging up the phone, Lance's expression didn't lighten. Instead, it became serious.
Atlético Madrid's treble last season had created an extreme sense of crisis among the major European giants, who all rushed to sign superstars for sky-high prices. The new season was destined to be even tougher. Perhaps in the end, Manchester City really would be the biggest rival.
Besides Guardiola, Manchester City also signed Stones for 55 million and Leroy Sané for 50 million. Besides that, Chelsea signed Premier League champion defensive midfielder Kanté and David Luiz, Liverpool signed Mané, and Klopp was starting an era of Liverpool's revival.
Serie A wasn't worth mentioning for now. In the last two years, apart from Juventus, other teams basically couldn't stir up any trouble.
In the Bundesliga, Bayern Munich and Dortmund were both reinforcing their squads, while Bayer Leverkusen was suffering from a serious brain drain, making it very difficult to replicate the glory of their back-to-back championships from before. So much so that even now, some Bayer Leverkusen fans missed Lance and the fleeting peak lineup of the 2014-2015 season.
In La Liga, Neymar had been the subject of transfer rumors for two years and finally headed to Paris Saint-Germain. He had originally intended to retire after gaining enough honors at Barcelona, then go to Paris Saint-Germain to cash in.
But last season belonged to Lance, belonged to Atlético Madrid. The glorious posture of the treble made La Liga's traditional giants Real Madrid and Barcelona lose face. The MSN trio didn't get any honors at all, ending the season empty-handed.
Neymar was still a bit unconvinced last season and intended to stay and go head-to-head with Lance. After being toyed with by Lance for an entire season, four matches, zero wins, Neymar was completely disheartened. Rather than chasing elusive championships, it was better to take the money. Moreover, he could still win championships at Paris Saint-Germain and be the absolute core of the team.
In a television interview, Neymar, on camera, apologized to Barcelona fans with a face full of regret.
"I had a very happy time in Barcelona. I loved playing with teammates like Messi, Suárez, and Iniesta. It's just that I wanted to change environments and try something new. It's a pity that I couldn't bring a championship to the fans last season. I want to say sorry to the Barcelona fans here."
Neymar's televised speech left Barcelona fans feeling depressed for several days, but fortunately, Barcelona president Bartomeu personally promised that he would bring in absolute superstars in the summer to form a new, luxurious trident. Barcelona fans quickly became arrogant again.
"Scared yet? You bottom-tier team with no foundation, you're destined to fall next season."
"The MSN trio wasn't in good form last season. The new lineup next season will definitely crush you!"
Atlético Madrid fans just smiled and said nothing. Only one sentence was needed to make the opponents shut up.
"We are the treble winners, you have zero titles."
Real Madrid fans watched Barcelona and Atlético Madrid fans bickering. At first, they were just watching for fun, but soon they couldn't laugh either. Losing the Champions League final 4-0, who could they reason with?
Just as the summer transfer window intensified, with the Premier League investing over one billion euros and La Liga and Bundesliga giants finding ways to revive, Lance also returned to Atlético Madrid's training ground.
But on the very first day he returned to the team, he received terrible news.
"What? You want to be a traitor?"
In the locker room, looking at Antoine Griezmann carrying his gym bag, Lance was filled with confusion.
"Sorry, Lance."
Griezmann didn't quite dare to look Lance in the eyes. His smile carried a hint of awkwardness.