"Acquitted! More than 5,000 fans lined the streets outside the Lisbon police station to welcome Kai, who has concluded the investigation and fully cooperated!"
"The recognized hero of Portuguese fans — the Chinese player Kai!"
"Others play football to make money for themselves, but he plays football to make money for the fans!"
"The Chinese football genius was so terrifying that he was nearly framed and banned by European betting groups!"
"He is called the Football Caesar by European football! Jiang Yunzhu brings you an exclusive long interview with Chinese supernova Kai!"
"Sports Weekly Special Feature: The Chinese-American Genius Who Is a True Superstar — Kai!"
In China, overnight, the name Kai exploded like thunder across the entire country.
Sports Weekly went completely insane. Not only did they place Kai's press conference photo on the front page, but they also released a special edition at the same time, fully reporting his performances in Portuguese youth football this season.
The content was so detailed that even fans who doubted the news had no choice but to believe it.
In recent years, there had been many reports of Chinese players "rising" in European football, but most of them turned out to be fake.
Because of that, fans had grown extremely cautious.
Major newspapers and magazines would never report something like this without repeatedly confirming its authenticity.
This time, Sports Weekly released consecutive front pages and special reports. There was no doubt—they had concrete information on Kai and had been tracking him for a long time.
Because of this, Football, currently the largest football publication in China, felt a massive headache coming on.
They knew nothing about Kai.
Their foundation in domestic football reporting was stronger than Sports Weekly, and their overseas channels were broader—but they followed elite routes, maintaining connections mainly with wealthy families and top officials.
Sporting Lisbon had never been on their radar.
But now that Kai had exploded in popularity, Football would completely lose traffic if they didn't follow up.
So they had no choice.
Their only advantage was their deep connections with overseas Chinese players like Yang Chen and Fan Zhiyi, both of whom had enjoyed successful European careers.
Football Magazine:
"Eintracht Frankfurt's main striker Yang Chen: I only learned Kai's name recently. His nickname is Football Caesar, the same title once associated with Franz Beckenbauer. Anyone with such a title is definitely not ordinary."
Football Magazine:
"Crystal Palace player Fan Zhiyi: Of course I know Kai. Sir Alex Ferguson really likes Cristiano Ronaldo of Sporting Lisbon, and Kai is the twin star of Sporting Lisbon U15 alongside Cristiano."
"If players of their level grow smoothly, their first stop in professional football will definitely be a wealthy club."
For a time, Kai's popularity in China continued to skyrocket.
Sports Weekly seized the momentum and officially announced their Wahaha Team Project.
Sports Weekly:
"In January next year, the Wahaha team jointly formed by Sports Weekly and multiple domestic football schools will travel to Europe for training and competition against elite youth teams."
"Confirmed opponents include:
– Schalke 04 Youth Team (Bundesliga)
– PSV Eindhoven U15 (Eredivisie)
– Everton U15 (Premier League)
– Sampdoria U15 (Serie A)
– Sporting Lisbon U15 (Portuguese Super League giants)"
"Among them, Sporting Lisbon U15 features twin stars Cristiano Ronaldo and Chinese genius Kai, currently drawing attention across Europe!"
There wasn't a single fan who opposed this plan.
Everyone said it was amazing, exciting, and absolutely worth following.
Kai gradually became a daily topic among Chinese football fans.
"Kai is insane, he almost overturned overseas betting studios, hahaha!"
"Football Caesar—this nickname is way too domineering!"
"What are you talking about? Have you seen Kai's goal celebration? Veni, Vidi, Vici — I came, I saw, I conquered! So damn cool!"
"Holy shit! The guy upstairs actually has a video! Share the resource!"
"And the pointing gesture—so badass! That celebration alone is worth it!"
"Is Kai real or fake? Is he really that strong?"
"Remove the 'fake' part—he's currently the assist leader in the Portuguese U15 league!"
"Tch, only eleven assists. Youth leagues score a lot. Several players are close behind with nine or ten assists. That's nothing special. On the other hand, Cristiano has twenty-four goals—huge gap."
"Haha, ignorance is fearless. Can Kai let those guys chase him for another two months?"
"Damn, is he really that crazy?"
"Four goals and two assists in three Youth Champions League matches—tell me I'm not awesome! Cristiano only has three goals and four assists in six games!"
"Holy shit, brothers—big news! Zidane beat Ronaldo to win the Ballon d'Or!"
"Two headers destroyed the aliens in the World Cup final—legendary!"
"Not just the Ballon d'Or, the World Footballer of the Year probably belongs to Zidane too!"
"I, Ronaldo, will take it back next year—just wait!"
Amid the chaos, news of Zinedine Zidane winning the Ballon d'Or swept across the world.
This was the first Ballon d'Or of his career.
Last year, he ranked among the top five for World Footballer of the Year. This season, he went one step further and was very likely to win both awards.
…
Ballon d'Or Awards Ceremony
Hundreds of media outlets focused their cameras as the ceremony entered its climax and Zidane stepped onto the stage to receive his award.
After finishing his speech, the host asked a rather special question.
Host:
"Congratulations on becoming Ballon d'Or winner, and congratulations on leading Juventus into the Champions League knockout rounds. Have you watched this season's UEFA Youth League?"
Clearly, this was meant to promote the Youth Champions League.
More than 60% of viewers had never heard of the competition, and over 95% had never watched a match.
Zidane, who was not completely bald yet, smiled.
"Are you talking about that young player who predicted this season's Champions League winner?"
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The audience burst into laughter.
Those who didn't understand immediately asked around, and those who knew explained that Kai had predicted Manchester United and Bayern Munich would reach the final, with Manchester United winning the title.
The host nodded excitedly. "Yes."
Zidane continued, "In any field, anyone who dares to call himself 'Caesar' is never ordinary…"
Another wave of laughter followed.
"I've watched the Youth Champions League and Kai's matches. He's a very intelligent midfielder. It's too early to talk about his weaknesses—he's still young, and everything is possible."
"But what impressed me most is his understanding of passing. That gave me inspiration. From this perspective alone, I believe he'll become an outstanding midfielder in the future."
The expressions in the audience slowly changed.
Because they heard sincerity in Zidane's voice.
He wasn't joking.
"But regarding the Champions League prediction," Zidane looked into the camera, "sorry, Kai—I don't agree."
"Manchester United is a great club, and Bayern is a top team. But this year's Champions League will belong to Juventus."
In the past two years, Juventus had been Europe's strongest team in both performance and reputation, far ahead of Bayern and Manchester United.
Host: "In that case, would you like to make a bet with Kai?"
Before he finished speaking, the spotlight shifted—
Kai appeared beside the stage.
To restore fans' confidence in football, UEFA, betting groups, and European officials had gone all out.
They had specifically invited Kai to attend this year's Ballon d'Or ceremony.
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