"Now, let's welcome our draw guests, Wesley Sneijder and Petr Čech!"
With the host's announcement, the draw ceremony officially began.
The Champions League anthem played softly as staff carried a glass podium to the center of the stage.
After the UEFA president's lengthy and tedious speech finally ended, the now slightly fat Sneijder stepped forward, holding a small ball in his hand.
"Manchester United, Group E!"
At that moment, the head coaches of all the second-, third-, and fourth-pot teams in attendance silently prayed to the goddess of fortune, hoping desperately to avoid Manchester United.
Everyone knew United's goal this season was to complete a historic Champions League three-peat.
Although Pogba, Lingard, Rashford, and others had left the club, as long as the most crucial player, Ling, remained in the squad, Manchester United would still possess terrifying competitiveness.
Moreover, Havertz and Bruno Fernandes had been performing very well in recent matches.
"Ajax, Group E!"
Ten Hag nearly fainted when the slip appeared on the screen.
The European "black-market" club had just sold several key players: De Ligt in defense, Frenkie de Jong in midfield, and others across the squad.
It could be said that Ajax had lost their entire spine.
Although reinforcements had been brought in, the overall strength of the team had undoubtedly declined.
Ten Hag had been hoping to reach the Champions League knockout stages to regain some momentum, but now, as luck would have it, they had been drawn against Manchester United.
Rubbing his bald head, Ten Hag sighed deeply.
Still, it was not all bad news.
Matches against Manchester United always generated massive attention, and that attention attracted the eyes of many top clubs.
If, by chance, another one of his players caught the eye of a giant club...
Ten Hag thought of the Brazilian winger he had recently signed.
His dribbling skills were reminiscent of Jeremy Ling, and he had the potential to become the Eredivisie's dribbling king this season.
Ten Hag believed Antony's future transfer value could easily exceed €100 million!
Fifteen minutes later, Sneijder drew the remaining two teams in Group E.
"Red Bull Salzburg, Group E!"
"Genk, Group E!"
From the back rows, Sancho chuckled, "Erling, why so quiet? Don't tell me you're afraid to face Ling?"
"At least I'll get to compete against Ling on the same pitch," Haaland said, flicking his golden hair. "If Dortmund fail to get out of the group, you'll have to wait until next season."
He saw this as an opportunity to measure the gap between himself and Ling.
Only by clearly understanding that gap could he truly recognize his own level and better pursue his goal.
Meanwhile, in the coaches' section, many managers quietly breathed sighs of relief.
Before long, Sneijder and Čech completed the draw.
"Group A: Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid, Club Brugge, Galatasaray."
"..."
"Group H: Chelsea, Napoli, Valencia, Lille."
Some were overjoyed, while others were filled with worry.
Zidane rubbed his head and looked up at the sky in resignation.
Why did they have to draw PSG?
This season, PSG's attacking trio of Di María, Neymar, and Mbappé had a combined market value approaching €450 million.
Although Real Madrid had signed Hazard...
Who could have predicted that he would get injured almost immediately and then sneak burgers instead of focusing on recovery?
Zidane could not even bring himself to complain.
Allegri glanced at Simeone, then at Cristiano Ronaldo in the distance.
Everyone knew Ronaldo was Atlético Madrid's nemesis.
Did that not mean Juventus would cruise through?
In the players' section, Mbappé eagerly said, "Ling, I'll be waiting for you in the final."
Ling fell silent.
Shouldn't he be the one saying that?
...
📰 UEFA: Manchester United Draw Ajax, Salzburg and Genk in Group E
📰 Sky Sports: United Begin Three-Peat Bid Against Ajax, Salzburg and Genk
📰 The Athletic: Haaland Gets Early Chance to Face Ling as Salzburg Draw United
📰 Marca: Real Madrid Handed PSG Test in Champions League Group Stage
📱 @UCLWatch ✔
Manchester United, Ajax, Salzburg, Genk. Group E just became a scouting department's dream.
| ↳ 📱 @AjaxMarketWatch
| Reply: Ten Hag saw United and immediately started calculating Antony's future transfer fee.
📱 @HaalandHive
Haaland vs Ling in the group stage. The final boss arrives early!
📱 @SanchoAgenda
Sancho laughing now, but Dortmund still have to survive their own group. Stay humble, black egg.
📱 @MadridCentral ✔
Real Madrid drawing PSG after buying Hazard and losing half their confidence is peak UEFA entertainment.
...
Soon, the main event arrived.
"Best Goalkeeper: David de Gea!"
"Best Defender: Virgil van Dijk!"
"Best Midfielder: Paul Pogba!"
"Best Forward: Jeremy Ling!"
The Best Defender award Maguire had longed for ultimately went to Van Dijk.
There was nothing he could do about it.
Van Dijk had indeed performed exceptionally this season, with almost no one able to beat him one-on-one except Ling.
"UEFA Fair Play Award: Borussia Dortmund and Burnley fan Scott Kellie!"
"UEFA Women's Player of the Year: Lucy Bronze!"
The host's voice rang out one award after another, pushing the atmosphere inside the conference center to its peak.
Then came the UEFA Men's Player of the Year award.
The big screen displayed three names.
Jeremy Ling.
Lionel Messi.
Cristiano Ronaldo.
Although everyone knew who the award would most likely go to, there was still a trace of anticipation in the air.
The moment the music stopped, the screen froze on the legendary number 7 of Manchester United.
This time, it was not Cantona.
"UEFA Men's Player of the Year: Jeremy Ling!"
The conference hall erupted.
Ling stood up amid the applause, adjusted his suit, and walked toward the stage.
Messi applauded calmly.
Cristiano applauded too, but his eyes remained sharp.
Mbappé watched with a faint smile.
Haaland, sitting farther back, stared at the stage as if he were watching the peak of the mountain he had sworn to climb.
Ling took the trophy from the presenter and stood in front of the microphone.
For a brief moment, he looked down at the award in his hands.
Two years ago, he had watched this ceremony on television.
Now, he was standing here!
"Thank you."
His voice was calm.
"First, I want to thank Manchester United — the club that brought me to England, trained me, protected me, and gave me the chance to become who I am today."
"I want to thank the boss, my teammates, the staff, and every fan who stood with us through last season. Football is never won by one person, even when one person receives the award."
He paused for a moment.
"I also want to thank my parents. They sent me far from home because they wanted me to have a road. I hope this trophy proves that road was worth it."
The applause grew louder.
Ling looked toward the audience, where Messi, Cristiano, Mbappé, Haaland, and countless other stars were watching him.
"Last season was beautiful, but it is already over. This season, everyone will chase Manchester United harder, and everyone will want to stop us."
He smiled faintly.
"That's good."
"Because if you want to build an era, you should never be afraid of being chased."
The applause became thunderous.
📰 UEFA: Jeremy Ling Named 2018–19 UEFA Men's Player of the Year
📰 Sky Sports: Ling Beats Messi and Ronaldo to UEFA's Top Honour
📰 BBC Sport: Manchester United Star Completes Historic Night in Monaco
📰 Manchester Evening News: From Carrington Teenager to Europe's Best: Ling Claims UEFA Crown
📰 Marca: Ling's Era Begins as Messi and Ronaldo Watch On
📱 @UnitedStand ✔
Two years ago he was watching this ceremony on TV. Tonight he won the whole thing. Jeremy Ling, UEFA Men's Player of the Year!
| ↳ 📱 @StretfordEndTom
| Reply: "If you want to build an era, you should never be afraid of being chased." Put it on the stadium wall.
📱 @BallonDorWatch ✔
UEFA Men's Player of the Year: Ling. Best Forward: Ling. Seven trophies. Back-to-back Champions League. The Ballon d'Or race is not close.
📱 @MadridCentral ✔
Messi and Ronaldo applauding Ling on a UEFA stage feels like the official handover scene football wasn't ready for.
📱 @HaalandHive
Haaland watching Ling lift the award like an anime rival discovering the final boss. We are seated for this storyline.
📱 @FootballRealist
Whatever shirt he wears internationally, he was still the boy who left China and became Europe's best. Complicated feelings, but tonight deserves respect.
...
"Ling, I passed the trial at Antwerp earlier, and I've performed well coming off the bench in the last two matches. The coach has already promised me a starting spot in the next game."
"Also, Sheffield United have contacted me. They said once I sort out the work permit issue, they'll consider bringing me in."
Zhu Chenjie's voice was full of excitement.
Although Antwerp could not compare to Shanghai Shenhua in terms of domestic attention, playing abroad would bring him a completely different kind of exposure.
More importantly, the Belgian Pro League was more competitive than the Chinese Super League and often served as a springboard for young players trying to reach Europe's top five leagues.
Back in the day, Dong Fangzhuo had also been loaned to Antwerp and became the team's top scorer that summer.
"The Belgian Pro League is considered a second-tier European league. How does it feel playing there?" Ling asked with a smile.
"Hey, don't even get me started. There are so many talented young players over there."
Zhu Chenjie sounded both troubled and excited. "Domestically, I was already considered one of the most talented young centre-backs of my generation, but once I got there, I realized I don't stand out that much. Antwerp isn't even one of the most dominant teams either. If it were Club Brugge or Standard Liège, I might not even make the squad list."
"Don't rush. You're still young. Take it step by step," Ling comforted him.
He was sitting in his room at St George's Park, with his phone propped against a bottle of water.
On the screen, Zhu Chenjie was not the only one present.
A few younger Chinese players had also joined the call, partly to ask about overseas opportunities and partly because they were curious about his life with England.
"By the way, are you really playing in the Euro qualifiers too?" Wei Shihao leaned into the camera without any restraint. "Isn't that like using a cannon to kill a mosquito? You're the UEFA Men's Player of the Year now, and you're going to bully Kosovo and Bulgaria?"
"Nothing much is going on at the club during the international break," Ling joked, "so I thought I'd pad my England goal tally."
Wei Shihao pouted. "Damn, you really are shameless! You win UEFA Player of the Year, steal the headlines, and now you're stealing goals from Kane and Sterling too?"
Wu Lei rubbed his hands together on the screen. "Ling, did you bring the trophy back?"
He had won plenty of domestic awards, but he had never seen a European award up close.
Ling turned the camera slightly.
On the table beside him was the tightly wrapped UEFA Men's Player of the Year trophy.
He had brought it back partly because the club wanted some photos, and partly because several teammates had insisted on seeing it in person.
"It's really heavy," Ling said, picking it up and tilting the camera closer.
"Just the design is a bit ugly!" Wei Shihao commented immediately.
"I wonder if I'll ever get a chance to touch that award in my lifetime..." Zhu Chenjie muttered.
"You'd better become a regular starter in Belgium first," Wu Lei said mercilessly.
Zhu Chenjie carefully looked at the trophy through the screen, his envy almost visible even through the video call.
"At this rate, Ling is probably locking up every Chinese football award for the next fifteen years."
Zheng Zhi, who had joined the call quietly, smiled and said, "Those awards are awkward now. He chose England, so some people won't want to count him, but they can't pretend he doesn't exist either."
Ling was not too concerned about that.
To be honest, he might not even have time to attend half those ceremonies.
This year's Asian Football Confederation Annual Awards already clashed with the Ballon d'Or ceremony, and his schedule was packed enough without adding more ceremonial appearances.
"In three days, England are playing a closed-door training match against the U21s, right?" Wu Lei asked.
"Yeah. Southgate wants us to build more chemistry before the qualifiers," Ling replied.
"By the way, you haven't slacked off on your fitness training, have you?" he added, raising an eyebrow at Wei Shihao.
"Don't even mention it. Now that clubs, national-team staff, and your youth project all exchange data, there's no escaping daily training anymore," Wei Shihao said, rubbing his slightly sore thighs.
He was not really complaining.
That was just his usual way of speaking.
If one ranked Chinese players by fighting spirit, Wei Shihao would definitely be near the top.
"Li Pi's coaching staff also conducts regular inspections now, monitoring match data, physical indicators, and training attitude," Zhu Chenjie whispered, covering his mouth. "Haven't you noticed? A lot of familiar faces have disappeared."
With Jeremy Ling's rise abroad and the influence of Chasing the Wind, Chinese football had also begun to change in strange but visible ways.
There was a supervisory team dispatched from above, and there were also civilian football monitors.
With support from multiple fronts, Li Pi had begun purging the parasites within the national-team setup.
Everything was now judged more heavily by data, performance, and results.
Young players were being promoted, and naturalized players were being used more practically.
Jiang Guangtai, Li Ke, Elkeson, and others had all been included in the latest national-team roster.
"Jiang Guangtai contacted me too," Ling said. "He used to be at Everton and Sunderland, so he understands the intensity of English football."
He had watched Jiang Guangtai's match footage and thought the centre-back was quite skilled.
His passing, receiving, movement, physicality, and defensive ability were among the best in the current Chinese setup.
Of course, his footwork was still rough.
But if he had the technical ability of Maguire or John Stones, he would probably still be playing for a mid-to-lower-table Premier League side.
---------
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