Thread a needle

Just as Wang Feng continued to play brilliantly and lead Real Madrid to great success, he received a message from domestic asking for help to arrange for a young player to join his training program in Belgium.

In fact, this plan had been quietly ongoing for many years, but it had not made much waves in China. Many people were unaware that the Chinese superstar, besides regular charity work, also had such a special act of promoting football development.

This was mainly because the managers didn't want others to emulate it; training players could be a big pie, and they didn't like things beyond their control.

But Wang Feng's influence was so great that it was hard to completely restrain. Coupled with the fact that those he trained were from poor families with little value, as without Wang Feng, these people would not play football either. So everyone tacitly accepted this behavior and downplayed its effects. The Chinese superstar had never "crossed the line" to recruit children who paid for training.

Not long ago, the BBC's report brought hope to many discerning individuals. Unable to stop the trend of quick money-making in the current environment, young men who truly loved football could choose a more suitable path.

So, people started asking Wang Feng to help them get into the Genk Academy in Belgium. However, he rejected them one by one. His principle would never change; as long as the families couldn't afford it, and he also mentioned that if they really wanted to take this path, they had every opportunity to try it themselves.

This time was no exception, but the person on the phone still insisted, pleading, "He's really a very good seedling. There are too many difficulties for him to go on his own. Please take care of him, at least take a look at his game videos!"

"When he was 13, he scored six goals for the U14 youth football team, helping China beat Japan to win the championship. At 14, he played for a professional team in the Chinese League Two. At 16, he scored his first goal in the Chinese League One. Such achievements are considered top-notch in China."

"Now this kid is only 17 years old. Without your care, he will probably have a hard time getting the chance to develop his talents to the level of you and Dong Fangzhuo. He clearly has extremely high talent!"

Hearing this, Wang Feng was somewhat moved. He knew that according to the normal development trajectory in China, if this young talent were to grow to the level of signing with a top-five league club. It would probably take until he was in his twenties or even his early thirties.

People like Sun Jihai and Zheng Zhi went abroad when they were 26 or 27 and could never reach the level of world-class stars. Gao Lin and Chen Tao were in their twenties and still had a chance, while Dong Fangzhuo had the best luck, encountering opportunities at 19 and successfully grasping them to reach his current status.

"Send me his game videos. If he really has the ability, he definitely won't be able to enter the Genk Academy, but I can help him connect with other European clubs."

On February 1st, in the 21st round of La Liga, Real Madrid faced Numancia away.

The day before the match, Wang Feng watched the highlights of a young man named Wu Lei in the hotel and found that he was indeed very outstanding. He was agile and elegant on the field, and his football IQ was also very high. However, due to poor training, his basic skills were somewhat lacking, especially in the crucial final touch, which was quite regrettable.

But there was still time! This kind of deficiency could be corrected with a little guidance, and then his attacking firepower would be even stronger!

Wang Feng was somewhat excited, pacing around the room. It seemed that he couldn't avoid helping with this task, so he immediately called his agent, Balmond: "Francisco, I have an excellent young Chinese player on hand. He's only 17 years old. Use all your connections to help him find a good European club academy."

Although Balmond was a bit puzzled on the other end of the phone, he still agreed, "By the way, it's better not to be a super powerhouse club. I hope he can play as soon as possible and establish himself in the first team!"

"Alright, boss, leave it to me!" So Wang Feng gave Balmond the contact information and let them communicate directly.

In the match the next day, Wang Feng was even more spirited, thinking about the excellent rising star. Less than five minutes into the game, he received a diagonal pass from Sneijder on the left.

Stopping the ball steadily at his feet, the Chinese superstar moved towards the bottom while cutting inside, forcing the defenders to come forward to block. But suddenly, with a quick stop and feint, he left the defenders behind, Cruyff turn! Shaking off the defense, he easily crossed into the penalty area, where Higuaín nodded it in from the front, 1-0!

In the 29th minute, Sneijder sent a direct pass, and at the edge of the penalty area, Wang Feng flicked and dribbled the ball, catching the Numancia goalkeeper off guard. Despite his desperate retreat, he was helpless, and the ball slowly crossed the penalty area, brushing the crossbar and dropping into the net.

At the beginning of the second half, the Chinese superstar plotted another attack, dribbling past two defenders and shooting into the far corner of the goal, extending the score to 3-0, sealing the victory.

Balmond's efficiency was very high, and soon came the news. There were both good and bad news. The good news was that several European clubs were very interested in Wu Lei, including stars from the Portuguese Primeira Liga and Dutch Eredivisie, such as Amadora and NEC Nijmegen, which were mid to lower table teams.

"To be honest, Wu's biggest disadvantage is that he didn't come from a European youth academy, and almost no team recognizes the training level of the Chinese league. Even the Armenian league, which is at the bottom of the UEFA rankings, is no exception. These two interested clubs believe that he should start from scratch."

"Do you mean that if he joins them, Wu Lei won't get any playing opportunities at all? That doesn't sound like good news!"

"I knew you highly value opportunities for real match experience, so I used almost all my energy to make it happen. Finally, I found a suitable club, the Young Boys Club in the Swiss Super League."

"They are a traditional powerhouse in the Swiss league, having won the league title 11 times and the cup 6 times. Their performance this year is also very good, currently ranked second, and even have a chance to qualify for the UEFA Europa League."

"And more importantly, the main striker of the team, Landis, has fallen out with the club, and he is sure to leave this summer. They don't have better options, so they promised to let Wu Lei have a trial."

Balmond joked on the phone, "This is thanks to your early fame. Now many small clubs in European football are more willing to try young players, as hitting the jackpot is very exciting."

"This is really good news. What's the bad news?" Wang Feng asked. "The bad news is that the club Wu Lei is currently signed with in the Chinese League One refuses to release him and even demands a €10 million termination fee."

€10 million, which is more than 100 million yuan. Wang Feng seriously doubted whether this club was worth so much money. This is how the environment is now; as long as there's a little benefit, everyone rushes in like wolves, and young players in domestic youth training programs have no chance to stand out.

"It definitely shouldn't be that much. So, let me try to negotiate." Wang Feng then took action, contacting many people in charge and finally managed to reduce the price to €3 million. If it was any lower, the other party wouldn't agree.

But the Young Boys Club was only willing to pay €300,000. Although Wu Lei's family conditions were good, they couldn't come up with the remaining €2.7 million, so Wang Feng stepped in to cover this part.

"I believe that one day you will be able to repay me with interest, and it won't be too long." Encouraged by the call from the football king, Wu Lei's eyes were already brimming with tears. This was support from the football king!