Chapter 13: Joining the Alliance (Thanks to the Alliance Hierarch Ou Tianming for the reward, three consecutive days of additional updates)

"Deng Kai certainly is not a gifted footballer, and in Brazil, there are many kids like him, many of whom are better."

"But what they have in common is not having great physical talent."

"Wait a couple of years, when all players have grown over one meter seventy, and they are still one meter forty or one meter fifty. By then, their originally decent skills and speed will be completely inadequate."

"Besides, in matches, aside from his surprising arm strength, Deng Kai hasn't shown any other talents that could dazzle onlookers. Yet that kind of arm strength isn't enough to enable him to throw long throw-ins on a real big pitch."

"He should be playing basketball, not football. But basketball has even higher demands for height, so it seems he wouldn't succeed there either… Perhaps weightlifting would be a good alternative."

"His assists, own goals, and goals, none of them involve much skill—luck plays a bigger part than ability."

"In my view, the most talented player in this match should be Almeida, who has the chance to become like me, a center forward who scores loads of goals."

"After that would be Cristiano Ronaldo, but he needs to change his playing habits; he should practice his crosses. His speed gives him the potential to be a reliable passer."

Primeira Liga Golden Boot winner Jia De'er spoke candidly on television.

Although not very influential internationally, Jia De'er currently has a significant impact in the Primeira Liga.

Porto fans even think that Jia De'er is stronger than Figo and Rui Costa.

Because Figo used to play for Sporting Lisbon and Rui Costa for Benfica, and none of them have scored as many goals in a season as Jia De'er.

Not even half as many goals as Jia De'er.

Therefore, Jia De'er's opinion of Deng Kai nearly squashed all the Primeira Liga clubs' interest in him.

While the Portuguese clubs held back, clubs from other leagues naturally were hesitant to take any action.

To see whether a player is any good, you have to consider the local clubs' opinions of him, otherwise it's easy to be fooled by false advertising.

Like, how many Bundesliga players that Bayern Munich doesn't want are actually not overrated?

Of course, the big clubs actually had another concern.

That was the University of Lisbon's announcement of this year's special scholarship recipients.

Deng Kai's name was prominently listed.

And the amount of that scholarship is... fifteen thousand US dollars!

That's definitely a lot of money.

At this stage, the average GDP per capita in Portugal is only around twelve thousand US dollars.

And as is well known, the so-called average GDP is much higher than what people actually receive, because my average income with Ma Yun is far higher than my real income.

This sum is much more than what the clubs' youth teams offer as stipends.

Youth training is not like professional football, the clubs' subsidies are fixed, there's no chance they would offer Deng Kai two to three times more than they do other young players.

This would not only cause dissatisfaction among others but would also be contrary to the initial purpose of youth training.

But without a higher stipend for Deng Kai, why would he give up the opportunity to attend a prestigious university and a generous scholarship to play football?

Out of sheer love for the game?

So, the clubs' reluctance to approach Deng Kai was partly due to a sense of "self-awareness."

...

"Caesar of Football's next move unclear, where exactly does the problem lie?"

"University of Lisbon: won't accept students missing most classes, students should prioritize learning!"

"Medical experts: Deng Kai's physical development is lower than that of Western children his age, it's unlikely for his height to surpass one meter seventy!"

"Deng Kai suffering from dwarfism? Deng Kai has only grown three centimeters in three years, unless he has the talent of Maradona, no team will take him!"

"A youth player who can only play in U12-13 has no value! Deng Kai won't receive any invites from clubs!"

One news story after another appeared, cooling the market for Deng Kai.

No one believed he would choose football.

And nobody had confidence in his future.

Except for Trigella.

He had phoned Deng Kai, telling him to wait for his news.

Trigella was arguing with the higher-ups to sign Deng Kai, but they were too busy haggling over Simon's transfer with Barcelona to pay attention to a youth player.

Messing up the wave where Cristiano and Mutinho joined meant Deng Kai needed to wait until this matter was settled."

So far, the negotiations between Barcelona and Sporting Lisbon had not been pleasant.

Sporting Lisbon wanted ten million US dollars, but Barcelona was only willing to pay six million for Simon, after all, Simon had only played one season in the Primeira Liga.

But interestingly, it was Barcelona that temporarily sidelined Deng Kai, and still, it was Barcelona that brought him back into the public's mind.

During the World Cup, the media captured an argument that took place between Barcelona's renowned player Guardiola and the head coach Van Gaal in the VIP stands.

Guardiola left in a huff.

Through media follow-ups, everyone learned the whole story.

"I have no conflict with Pep, but I really don't understand what he's thinking, he's too obsessed with that youth player," Van Gaal didn't avoid the media.

Reporter: "Which youth player?"

Van Gaal: "The one who's dubbed the football Caesar. I've mentioned him to the youth department, but if the youth department isn't recruiting him, they must have their reasons. I am the coach of the first team, not the youth team!"

The reporters subsequently interviewed the staff of Barcelona's youth department.

Their response was: "The kid has performed excellently, but he hasn't reached the standard to sign with Barcelona yet."

"We have our own standards for nurturing midfielders, like B team's Xavi Hernandez, who has just entered the first team. He's only eighteen, but we can already be sure that he will be the next Guardiola!"

"Then there's Andres Iniesta, who is only one year older than that Deng Kai, but his level is more than ten times stronger than Deng Kai's."

"That's what we truly want."

"Besides… Barcelona never issues a second offer to a player who has refused us once!"

"We are a football powerhouse, different from other clubs!"

This interview reconciled Guardiola and Van Gaal, as the former thought the latter hadn't spoken to the youth department previously.

But this interview also pushed Deng Kai's stock even lower.

Because subsequent leaks of Iniesta's performances in youth games convincingly outshone Deng Kai's.

That passing, control, and shooting convinced people that he could indeed be the next "Laudrup" or "Zidane"!

The statement from Barcelona, "We are a football powerhouse, we do not issue a second offer to a player who has refused us," effectively put other big clubs on the spot too.

After all, Deng Kai had refused all the football powerhouses three years ago.

So…

Giving Deng Kai a chance is like slapping your own prestigious club's face.

Is it worth it?

Some powerhouses that intended to cast a wide net hesitated.

In Portugal, the media approached Deng Kai, asking him if he would make any other efforts to join the Barcelona youth team, such as apologizing for his rejection three years ago.

However, Deng Kai said, "It's indeed regrettable not to have received an invitation from Barcelona, as it's a great team, but I won't join Barcelona of my own accord."

Reporter: "Why not?"

Deng Kai: "Because as far as I know, most of the stars who joined Barcelona of their own volition haven't had a good outcome."

This statement angered Barcelona fans.

It was a vicious curse against Barcelona!

How could this kid be so malicious?

Media outlets affiliated with Barcelona published over ten columns questioning, glooming, criticizing, and cursing Deng Kai.

Soon after, fans discovered that Sporting Lisbon seemed to be showing signs of signing Deng Kai, as their assistant coach Trigella was photographed visiting Deng Kai's home.

Meanwhile, Barcelona was in discussions with Sporting Lisbon about transferring their young star Simon Sabrosa from the first team.

Immediately, some fans came out against the deal, hoping Barcelona would use the transaction to pressure Sporting Lisbon into refusing to sign Deng Kai.

The Barcelona management actually took this suggestion seriously.

They certainly wouldn't target an unknown like Deng Kai, but they were interested in driving a hard bargain.

But who knew, as a tough negotiator, Sporting Lisbon also had its pride.

Especially since their former player Figo, sold to Barcelona three years ago, was flourishing, and thus, multiple clubs, not just Barcelona, were keen on Simon.

It was a seller's market!

At the end of July, Sporting Lisbon officially announced the signing of Deng Kai.

The football Caesar, arriving at the Alcochete training facility!

The next day, Barcelona announced the postponement of the acquisition of the talented player Simon.

Both sides closed the window on negotiations.