January 2011.
This winter transfer window was more active than ever.
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Torres's transfer in particular was shocking.
It was a move that sent Liverpool, who had at least been sitting in sixth place, into the abyss.
Liverpool's fans fell into despair.
On the other hand, Chelsea's fans were ecstatic, having acquired a world-class striker.
They were swept up in the hope that Chelsea could beat Manchester United and win the league title.
The transfer fee was a staggering 60 million euros.
Even for Chelsea, whose owner was a Russian oil tycoon, it was not a small amount.
In the old days, it would have been enough to buy Zinedine Zidane.
That was the way things were in European football these days, as huge capital began pouring into the game and player values soared through the roof.
You could tell as much just by looking at the fact that Andy Carroll, a 22-year-old young prospect, cost 42 million euros.
And spending 46 million euros on a young player who had not yet proven himself in the Champions League was another example of the same trend.
That club was none other than Manchester City.
[Spain's left winger David Silva makes shock move to Manchester City for a transfer fee of 46 million euros and wages of £130,000 per week. What was City's secret for beating Bayern's big offer?]
David Silva said this at his official unveiling press conference.
"Of all the clubs that made me an offer, Manchester City was the one my body and mind wanted. Why didn't I choose Bayern Munich, who are perpetual contenders for the Champions League? Because this place has something Bayern do not. As everyone knows, there is a friend here who speaks Spanish. His presence will definitely help me a lot. I want to show that to you on the pitch."
Put simply, he was saying he came because of Ho-young.
It was an interview that sent Manchester City fans into a frenzy.
And that was not the end of it.
Not long after David Silva arrived in Manchester, an interesting article came out.
[Real Madrid beat Valencia 2-1 without Silva, taking one step away from crisis]
└ Wow. Even after going to City, Ho-young is still helping Real Madrid like this.
└ By the way, if even David Silva has gone to City, next season is going to be incredible, isn't it? What if Manchester City really do win the league someday?
└ Ho-young is going back to Real next season, so what's supposed to be so incredible? They'll just turn into a bunch of misfits again. No matter how much money they throw around, there are limits to football.
That was a fair point.
It was not enough to simply gather expensive players.
What mattered most was whether they could truly blend together.
Balance.
They had to sign players without breaking the team's harmony.
And so Manchester City completed a transfer for the ages.
[Legend Ronaldinho signs until 2013 on wages of £100,000 per week, continuing his European career.]
Ronaldinho's sudden move left football fans around the world in shock.
It happened even faster than expected, since the deal was completed in one smooth sweep without leaving any room for speculative reports.
The transfer fee was 6 million euros.
Considering his contract with AC Milan had almost run out, and that his recent form had not been good, it was by no means a small amount.
Besides, was he not a 30-year-old veteran whose best days were said to be behind him?
That led many people to raise the same question.
If City wanted to sign a player to use as a substitute, why bring in Ronaldinho, whose ability had declined, instead of a young prospect?
And why had Ronaldinho chosen Manchester City at this late stage of his career?
That was expected to be revealed on January 20 at the media zone in the Etihad Stadium.
Flash!
As camera flashes filled the room, one player stepped into the media zone.
It was Ronaldinho, who had just arrived in Manchester and was about to go through his official unveiling.
Naturally, the room was packed with reporters, and the excitement was as immense as it had been at Ho-young's unveiling.
It was that shocking a transfer.
No one had imagined they would get to see him in the Premier League right before retirement.
There was simply too much they wanted to ask.
In the midst of that, one reporter's question voiced everyone's curiosity.
"Welcome to the Premier League. I have a question. From 2008 until last year, you were constantly linked with Manchester City. Two years ago in particular, you turned them down even after being offered £250,000 a week. And after that, you repeatedly rejected City's offers as well. But this time, despite receiving only £100,000 a week, you came to Manchester City. There must be a special reason. What is it?"
"The reason I play football is not money."
"Then what is it?"
"It's fun, isn't it? That's all."
It was a truly Ronaldinho-like answer.
He really was one of those players who enjoyed football not as a profession, but simply for what it was.
"If it's a place where I find football interesting and can play the kind of football I want, then I'll go anywhere."
"So you think that's possible here?"
"Is there any reason it wouldn't be?"
"Well. If I may be bold enough to give my opinion, the Premier League is a graveyard for technicians. No matter how outdated that might sound, the South American jinx can never be ignored."
"Then I'll break it."
"Pardon?"
"That jinx, I'll break it this time."
Tremendous confidence.
It was not the kind of thing people would expect from someone who had recently been called washed up.
"As you know, you won't be able to become a starter here. Manchester City's attack is already overflowing. In particular, they have Robinho, David Silva, and Ho-young in the second line. Are you saying you're confident you can break into that?"
It was a mischievous question.
Even so, Ronaldinho answered with a bright smile.
"For me, football is not a competitive sport. As long as I can enjoy football, no matter the position, that is enough. So from my point of view, I'm happy. I get to support such wonderful players."
It would be unfortunate for the fans to hear, but the truth was that Ronaldinho was not looking for a resurgence.
Football.
He had come to Manchester City simply to enjoy it for what it was.
On the very day Ronaldinho transferred, Manchester City recorded incredible shirt sales.
In just 24 hours after sales began, as many as 320,000 shirts were sold, a figure that far surpassed Manchester City's annual sales of 140,000.
It was the club's second-best figure after Ho-young's shirt, which had sold 500,000 in a single day on January 2.
Thanks to that, Manchester City's sponsor Umbro recorded sales worth hundreds of millions of euros, and the club itself was also able to make a considerable profit.
On top of that, with the club's brand value rising, Manchester City would likely be able to secure an enormous deal when they renewed future contracts.
With Ronaldinho, Manchester City wrapped up their transfer business.
There were no plans for further spending, and they were only carrying out behind-the-scenes work on players to sign next season.
The squad was close to bursting.
There was a limit to how many players could be registered on the roster, so inevitably, for every arrival, someone else had to leave.
They began clearing out the deadwood in earnest by sending Wayne Bridge, Roque Santa Cruz, and Jô out on loan one after another.
And so, tremendous changes were sweeping through Manchester City.
January 20.
Etihad Campus training ground.
It was the first training session since Ronaldinho's transfer.
The atmosphere at the training ground was better than expected.
You could call it respect for a legend.
No one had told them to do it, yet the existing squad members were looking up to Ronaldinho.
As expected of a player who had shown the greatest short-term impact in football history.
Even the way he trained was on a different level.
It was as if a free bird was performing tricks with the ball.
'Even with that body, he can still move that lightly and delicately. He really is gifted.'
It took one to know one.
Watching Ronaldinho warm up, Ho-young felt it clearly.
Why his nickname was Alien.
[Ronaldinho]
[Possessed Talents: Alien (T), Alien's Ball Perception (W+2), Individual Skill at the Pinnacle (SSS-), Astonishing Creativity (SS), Artistic Ball Control (SS-), Unrivaled Football Sense (SS-), (More...), Balanced Body Control (A+2), Excellent Agility (A+2), (More...)]
(You may covet one talent if the conditions are met.)
(When coveting a T-grade talent, Title, you may acquire part of its senses. However, you must be at least 18 years old to covet it.)
(W-grade and SSS-grade or higher talents may be coveted only after achieving Hidden Condition 2.)
(S-grade or higher talents may be coveted only after achieving the hidden condition.)
(Condition 1: Train together for 3,000 minutes)
(Condition 2: Receive Ronaldinho's know-how)
(Hidden Condition: Unlocked when coveting 1 or more talents)
(Hidden Condition 2: Unlocked when coveting 3 or more talents)
A talent that suited the nickname Alien perfectly.
Perception.
To explain it simply, it referred to a supersense that allowed one to perceive changes happening outside the body through physical and mental sensation.
A talent that could sum up Ronaldinho in a single word.
That was precisely why he could control the ball so freely even with his eyes closed.
'But to still have a W-grade talent at age thirty.'
And not just W, but W+2.
It was a talent that even Zidane and Ronaldo had not possessed at the brink of retirement.
Of course, they too had probably declined from W in the end, but Ronaldinho had not aged quite that far yet.
That was one of the reasons Ho-young had wanted Ronaldinho.
Talent.
Not only would he help the team, he would also be a precious presence who could help Ho-young a great deal.
At this rate, was it not basically like winning the lottery?
'He's not like when I saw him briefly at the Beijing Olympics, but he still hasn't declined that much. Even if his form has dropped a lot.'
In other words, if the conditions were right, he could pull his level back up again.
If he quit drinking and clubbing, controlled his weight, and just trained hard, a resurgence was entirely possible.
Considering there were players who maintained a physical age in their early twenties well past the age of thirty, Ronaldinho could certainly do it too.
The problem was that he himself had no will to do that.
'Anyway, he really is incredible.'
Right now, Ho-young found this whole situation almost chilling.
The very fact that he was wearing the same training bib as Ronaldinho and playing football on the same training ground.
It felt different from when he had met other legendary players before.
When he had met Zidane, the charisma pouring off him had made the hairs on his body stand on end, and when he had met Ronaldo, he had been intimidated by his aura.
But now.
"Hey."
When he came face to face with Ronaldinho, his whole body heated up.
His legs were itching with the urge to kick a ball with him as soon as possible.
But it seemed Ronaldinho felt the same way.
"Want to play an interesting game? A one-on-one bet on the mini futsal pitch. But no using hands. The key is to do it with your hands behind your back and your eyes closed."
The creative football Ronaldinho played in his prime could be called the most dazzling in football history.
People said that with Ronaldo, defenders knew what he would do and still could not stop him, but with Ronaldinho, they could not stop him because they truly had no idea what he was going to do.
And now that same man was proposing a bet.
With their eyes closed, no less.
"But wouldn't that be dangerous?"
"That's why I wouldn't even suggest it to someone who might get hurt. But with your skill, there's no reason you'd get injured."
It took one to know one.
"There aren't many people I've made this offer to. Xavi, Iniesta, maybe Messi?"
"I see."
Of course, there was no reason Ho-young could not do it either.
He was simply curious about the reason.
"But why all of a sudden?"
"This is my own way of greeting people. Why, doesn't it sound fun? It may be out of nowhere, but things that come out of nowhere are more fun. The winner of the bet gets the loser as an errand boy for a month."
"Haha. That does sound interesting."
The moment he heard that, he was suddenly very tempted.
And it was at that very moment.
Ronaldinho's talent window updated anew.
(Special Condition
(If Special Condition
'This will be fun.'
His competitive spirit flared up.
There was still plenty of time before manager Mancini arrived.
It was a good opportunity to warm up and get closer to Ronaldinho as well.
Ho-young answered.
"Let's do it."
"Good. That's the spirit."
After that, the two of them headed into the empty mini futsal court.
Every player's eyes turned toward them.
A match for the ages, something no amount of money could buy, was about to unfold.
(To be continued.)
◇◇◇
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◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)