Chapter 62

According to the conventions of European football, agents typically receive about 10% of their client's income, so agents will do their utmost to secure the highest possible salary for their clients.

However, even so, Qiaowanxian was a bit depressed: "I finally managed to create a perfect image of a good man in the media, and now you're going to ruin it all with this contract? I, Qiaowanxian, do love money, but I'm not greedy to the point of demanding 15 million or 12 million pounds a year. I can accept that!"

Seeing Qiaowanxian fall silent, based on her understanding of him, Ye Xuan knew he was unhappy and patiently explained: "Actually... I contacted Chelsea after seeing the media hype. It happened this afternoon, I just didn't have time to tell you."

"Hmm?" Qiaowanxian was taken aback, "You mean... you saw the media report about the 15 million pound salary, thought my abilities were better than the combined abilities of Ferguson, Wenger, and Benitez, and felt I deserved such a high salary, so you made the request to the club?"

Ye Xuan felt a bit helpless. This Qiaowanxian never missed an opportunity to praise himself. She said clearly, "Yes, the media is hyping up the 15 million figure, and I think... we should also cooperate with the media."

"Hmm..." Qiaowanxian hesitated for a moment, his face as calm as water, "Alright, let's do it! It's just 15 million pounds, a bit low, but I can accept it! I, Qiaowanxian, am not afraid of media hype, and I'm not afraid of the pressure!"

Ye Xuan nodded, hesitating, "For now... don't have too much hope for the renewal. Our absurd demands will certainly not be accepted by the club. But by next April or May, after winning a few titles, the Chelsea board, under the immense pressure from fans and the media, will be eager to renew the contract."

"Alright, no rush, we're not short of money anyway," Qiaowanxian smiled faintly.

On November 2nd, the UEFA Champions League resumed, with Chelsea traveling to the icy and snowy Moscow to face CSKA Moscow.

CSKA Moscow had been in a state of flux in recent years, affected by the macroeconomic conditions in Russia, and had been in a low point. Fortunately, with the economic recovery this year and the financial support from billionaire and Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich, they finally returned to the European stage after the dissolution of the Soviet Union!

Unfortunately, CSKA Moscow was grouped with the defending champions Porto and the blue army Chelsea, leaving them with no hope of advancing. Playing at their home ground, they ultimately lost 3-1 to Chelsea. If not for the cold weather and icy pitch, CSKA Moscow would have lost even more惨重.

Notably, in this match, Owen scored his first Champions League goal for Chelsea, while his national team teammate Rooney, after four matches, had already scored six goals, leading the Champions League scoring chart.

On November 6th, Chelsea faced their 12th round of league matches. Coincidentally, Qiaowanxian's opponent this time was Everton's manager David Moyes, who had taken the Manager of the Month award in October.

At 11 PM, the match officially began at Stamford Bridge, amidst the loud cheers of the fans.

Everton kicked off first.

Due to the controversy over the Manager of the Month award last month, the media deeply compared the strengths and weaknesses of Qiaowanxian and Moyes. After the comparison, in all football-related aspects, Qiaowanxian came out on top, while in all human-related aspects, Moyes was the winner. For this match, Moyes was determined to field his best lineup to show everyone that he not only had better character than Qiaowanxian but also superior football tactics!

Tim Cahill, Gravenberch, Carsley, Andy... especially, Moyes fielded a player that surprised Qiaowanxian: Chinese player Li Tie! This was Li Tie's first appearance of the season after a series of injuries.

However, facing a fellow countryman, Qiaowanxian's offensive nature did not change. Even if this match would result in Li Tie being benched for the rest of the season, Qiaowanxian would not show any mercy. European football and Chinese football... are fundamentally different sports!

With both managers having offensive intentions, from the first touch of the ball, the 22 players on the field were like a group of bloodthirsty thugs, engaging in a fierce battle!

The 40,000 Chelsea fans and 1,000 Everton fans added to the atmosphere. Everton fans even displayed a banner reading, "Moyes, you will always be the best manager!" to encourage their team. Given the recent hype over Qiaowanxian's contract renewal, Everton fans also brought a large poster featuring Qiaowanxian's face and pound signs to influence Chelsea.

In Moyes' view, facing Chelsea required fierce tackles and brutal challenges! So, with strong defensive players like Gravenberch and Carsley on the field, he added a tireless and hardworking defensive midfielder—Li Tie.

After the match started, Chelsea, as usual, controlled the ball, using their superior individual skills and perfect team coordination to continuously penetrate Everton's defense through short passes.

"Obsessive young man!" Moyes looked at the confident and smug Qiaowanxian on the opposite bench and sneered, "I've heard that Easterners place great importance on face. Today, I will use an Easterner to completely tear off your false mask! I will tell you, football is not a performance; no matter how beautiful it looks, it is not as important as fierce defense!"

Moyes smiled coldly, but being cold was not a bad thing; it showed his confidence. However, if Li Tie, Everton's dedicated defensive midfielder, felt cold, that was not a good sign.

Having been out of action for a long time and plagued by injuries, Li Tie felt a great distance from football. Especially on such a grand stage as Stamford Bridge, he felt a bit nervous. Seeing Chelsea's midfielders control and pass the ball with such fluidity and grace, he suddenly felt that his manager's tactical requirements were so brutal, like a beauty and a beast!

"Oh, Kaka has been dispossessed, a fierce tackle! But the tackle was clean, and it came from... Chinese player Li Tie!" Recognizing the player, the commentator couldn't help but chuckle, "I remember Li Tie's only start last season was against Arsenal, where he was sent off after accumulating two yellow cards in the 50th minute. This is his first appearance of the season, and it will be interesting to see how he performs. However, it's undeniable that he managed to dispossess Kaka, showing his ability!"

Seeing the surprise player Li Tie successfully 'contain' Chelsea's attacking core Kaka, Moyes was excited and waved his arm vigorously, feeling extremely invigorated. He shouted on the sidelines, wanting to take advantage of this interception to launch a counterattack immediately.

Under the cheers of the few Everton fans, Everton players did not disappoint Moyes and indeed launched a rapid counterattack.

It must be said that Gravenberch indeed had the potential of a top defensive midfielder, with a strong physique, excellent defensive awareness, and even good passing skills. Soon, Everton moved the ball to the edge of Chelsea's penalty area.

"Ah, I thought Everton could organize an effective attack, but unfortunately, Cahill's excessive dribbling led to him being surrounded by Cannavaro and Terry, losing the ball... Hmm? Gravenberch! Just as Chelsea was about to counterattack, Gravenberch managed to dispossess Lampard! Chelsea's wingers have already pushed forward, and Terry has left the penalty area, danger! There is a huge gap in Chelsea's defense!"

At first, the commentator was somewhat joking and didn't take Everton seriously. However, Gravenberch's interception shocked him, making him break out in a cold sweat.

"Li Tie, again Li Tie! Li Tie has the ball at the top of the penalty area, with no defenders in front of him, he has a great shooting opportunity! He is swinging his leg... shooting! Li Tie decisively chose to shoot!"

Seeing Li Tie shoot, the entire Stamford Bridge fell silent for a moment, as this was a perfect position for a defensive midfielder to shoot from! Even Qiaowanxian was surprised, opening his mouth in shock: "Come on, when fellow countrymen meet, they should shed tears, not bully each other like this!"

The facts proved that Comrade Li Tie still had a sense of countryman's affection.

"Shooting! Hmm? The ball... the ball flew to the highest point of Stamford Bridge, a sky-high shot, an astonishingly high shot..." The commentator let out a long sigh of relief, as Li Tie's shot was not controlled, and the ball's trajectory... seemed to be going straight up and down.

Even CCTV5 commentator Huang Jianxiang was silent for a while after seeing the shot, and finally, Zhang Lu, the commentator, explained to avoid an awkward silence: "Li Tie is strong in defense and has abundant stamina, a tireless player, but his offense is a weakness. This shot... will likely disappoint Moyes."

The big screen at Stamford Bridge immediately showed a close-up of Moyes, who angrily kicked a water bottle on the sidelines, as if showing off his footwork. The water bottle flew in a beautiful parabola.

"Beep!"

The referee, who had just seen this, ran to the sidelines with the whistle in his mouth, reached into his pocket, and decisively showed Moyes a yellow card!

Moyes' face turned red and then white with anger, and he returned to the bench, resuming his cold demeanor.

Boos filled the stadium.

Qiaowanxian, however, laughed loudly on the sidelines, shouting towards Moyes, "Mate, not bad footwork!"