Chapter 97

Kaka seemed to have already grasped what Qiao Wanxian meant. For a player, the pinnacle of the world was the European Golden Ball and the FIFA World Player of the Year! Last year's Golden Ball was won by Andriy Shevchenko of AC Milan, while the FIFA World Player of the Year was awarded to Ronaldinho. Such supreme glory was the lifelong dream of every player.

As soon as Qiao Wanxian said this, Kaka's face showed uncontrollable excitement, and he trembled, saying, "Boss, can I... can I really do it?"

Qiao Wanxian patted his shoulder and said with an unusually firm tone, "Follow my path, and you are destined to become the best in the world! 2005 has just begun, and this year is destined to be a legendary chapter for Chelsea and for you, Kaka! But the prerequisite is that you must listen to me."

Kaka's face turned red with excitement, and he nodded repeatedly, "Of course, Boss, ever since you brought me from Milan to London, I have followed your every word!"

"Great!" Qiao Wanxian clapped his hands and said seriously, "I think that if you want to take your career to the next level, you must change your agent. Perhaps your father can handle this role in Brazil, but not in Europe! He doesn't understand football, let alone European football! If you want to reach the heights of Ronaldo and Zidane, you need a proper career plan and a truly competent agent!"

"Ah?" Kaka was slightly stunned and said with difficulty, "But... but my father relies on this for a living..."

Qiao Wanxian waved his hand, "You currently earn 4.5 million pounds a year, and even with a raise, it would be a maximum of 6 million pounds. Do you know that without him, you could stand at a higher position and earn a higher salary, even... over 10 million pounds! Are you afraid that your earnings can't support an old man?"

Kaka was taken aback and couldn't speak.

Qiao Wanxian took out a business card and handed it to Kaka, saying, "Her name is Ye Xuan. She is my agent and also the agent of Rooney and Owen. I hope... we can always stand on the same front!"

"O... on the same front?" Kaka was lost in thought.

...

...

On January 6th, Manchester United's official website released two major transfer announcements, finally calming the fans' anger over the departure of their captain. They signed the versatile defender Gremio from Chelsea for 4.5 million pounds and the young talent Arjen Robben from PSV Eindhoven for 14 million pounds!

Seeing this news, Qiao Wanxian couldn't help but laugh and cry. He had taken their Rooney, and now they had taken Robben, who was originally meant for Chelsea.

Robben was the second-place finisher in the 2003 Golden Boy Award. Qiao Wanxian scratched his head and couldn't help but smile wickedly, "This Sir Alex, taking the second place, well, I have no choice but to go for the first!"

That afternoon, Chelsea's official website announced two transfer news, drawing the attention of the English media back to Chelsea.

"Chelsea has reached an agreement with Italian club Palermo to sign 28-year-old left-back Fabio Grosso for 1.15 million pounds!"

"Chelsea has reached an agreement with Spanish club Murcia to sign 25-year-old forward Daniel Guiza for 500,000 pounds. He will wear the number 24 shirt, left vacant by Foulser, and contribute to Chelsea's success!"

These two transfer announcements by Chelsea exploded like two landmines, causing panic and shock among the English media.

This Qiao Wanxian, who had spent 110 million pounds on Owen, Rooney, Kaka, Cech, Ramos, and Torres, had now changed his style and started doing small-budget deals like Wenger. Was it because the media's recent criticism of Torres had put too much pressure on him, making him afraid to spend the club's money?

At least buy some famous players. Who are Grosso and Guiza?

After some research, the English media almost laughed out loud. This Qiao Wanxian was playing like a child! Grosso had played in amateur teams until he was 25, mainly as an attacking midfielder, shadow striker, or winger. He only switched to left-back after finally making it to a professional team and had played in the second division for half a season last year. In Italy, he was a completely dispensable player! If buying Torres was because of his youth and potential, why buy Grosso, who is 28? To be a coach?

As for Guiza, it was even more ridiculous! He debuted in the Spanish third division in the 1998-99 season and struggled for 6 years to finally make it to the second division. After joining Murcia, he finally got regular playing time, scoring 20 goals in 59 appearances over a year and a half, establishing himself in the Spanish second division.

But! But that's the Spanish second division, and we are the Premier League! The best and most exciting Premier League in the world! The English media roared, this Qiao Wanxian had brought two useless players to London!

The Guardian directly targeted Qiao Wanxian: "One useless player supports, two useless players join!"

The Daily Mail also lamented: "The glory of Chelsea's rise is lost!"

The Sun used a deeply meaningful title: "Qiao Wanxian's 'taste' has changed..."

The Echo published: "The blue army returns to the grassroots."

The Times, possibly under pressure from Abramovich, finally began to support Qiao Wanxian: "Keen-eyed, Qiao Wanxian stages another miraculous transfer."

At the players' unveiling press conference, facing various questions from the media, Qiao Wanxian laughed and said, "I have always firmly believed that price does not represent ability, and doubt does not represent wisdom. The performance on the pitch will prove that every transfer I have made is a wave of shock!"

On January 8th, Chelsea had a home game, the third round of the FA Cup, against Scunthorpe. Scunthorpe was just a semi-professional team in the English second division, and the match was a foregone conclusion with no suspense. However, because of one sentence from Qiao Wanxian, the stadium was packed that day.

"All the new winter signings will start, bringing you a stunning visual impact!"

The rules of the FA Cup differ slightly from the League Cup. Although the home and away teams are determined by a draw, if the match is tied after 90 minutes, there is no extra time or penalty shootout; instead, the match is replayed at the other team's home ground. Therefore, for the Premier League giants with tight schedules, it is essential to win every match in the FA Cup.

Sure enough, in this match, Roy Keane, Torres, Guiza, and Grosso all started. The three new signings—Torres, Guiza, and Grosso—received enthusiastic cheers on their first appearance at Stamford Bridge. All three came from small clubs and were overwhelmed by the warm welcome.

After all, they were new to Chelsea and not yet familiar with the team's tactics. Qiao Wanxian arranged for them to make a showy debut against an amateur team, hoping to give them a sense of excitement through a big win and help them experience Chelsea's attacking football and the thrill of a dominant victory.

Notably, in this match, Qiao Wanxian secretly used the first dose of Source 1 on Torres!

From the start, this match was destined to be a massacre.

In the 2nd minute, Keane won the ball in midfield, and Duff crossed from the wing. Guiza, from the Spanish second division, headed the ball into the net, scoring his first goal for Chelsea!

After scoring, Guiza was extremely excited and ran madly towards the bench to hug Qiao Wanxian. Keane, seeing this, was stunned and ran over to tackle Guiza to the ground, shouting, "You're crazy, Qiao Wanxian never hugs men!" He then realized his mistake and quickly corrected himself, "Uh... the boss..."

Guiza then remembered the rumors about Qiao Wanxian and reluctantly stopped, celebrating with his teammates.

Five minutes later, Chelsea's young talent Oliveira broke through on the left flank and passed a good ball. Torres arrived and calmly pushed it into the net, scoring his first goal for Chelsea.

Torres, who had played for Atletico Madrid and participated in the European Championship, was used to big occasions. Knowing the opponent was weak, he remained calm after scoring, simply high-fiving his teammates.

Three minutes later, the Spanish Golden Boy was at it again! He received a cross from Duff outside the penalty area, dribbled past three defenders, and performed a stunning "elastico" move to score past the goalkeeper.

Stamford Bridge erupted in thunderous applause, not for the goal but for the incredible elastico move! Such a move had been done by Rooney, but this was the first time it was seen at Stamford Bridge. The appearance of two players who could succeed Ronaldo thrilled the Chelsea fans, and their cheers were like a tidal wave.

The commentator was also amazed, shouting the goal and muttering in disbelief. He couldn't believe it was real. Rooney was an English genius, and it was natural for him to do the elastico, but this Torres... did he really have the same talent as Rooney?

The applause had not yet died down when Chelsea's attack came again, and it was Torres again!

Lampard's through ball sent a golden-haired, handsome figure gliding across the pitch, moving swiftly and elegantly. He shot and scored again, completing a brace in just 10 minutes! Chelsea led 3-0!

The goal was not important; what mattered was that Torres' few touches and shots, his elegant ball control and turn, and his flowing golden hair had already won over the Stamford Bridge fans. At that moment, the stadium erupted in cheers. England's Golden Boy Owen was injured, but they had a new Golden Boy, named Fernando Torres!