Check out advanced chapters on P@treon: [email protected]/CosmicKaminari
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"Lance, are you leaving?"
"I heard you're leaving? Don't! Play with the guys for a few more years!"
"Please don't leave, Lance!"
"Wow, going to Real Madrid? Amazing!"
At Cologne Airport, Lance was about to board his flight.
In the waiting lounge, his phone rang almost every few seconds.
Not long ago, Bayer Leverkusen had just completed their championship parade.
In the small town of Leverkusen, the team specially rented a sightseeing bus from Cologne.
All club members, wearing commemorative shirts, circled the city with the championship trophy.
Compared to the championship parades in big cities like Madrid and London,
Lance felt that Bayer Leverkusen's championship parade wasn't very exciting.
After driving through just two or three streets, the entire urban area had pretty much been covered.
However, there were still many fans who came to Leverkusen to watch the parade celebration.
Lance's fans and Bayer Leverkusen fans, who had traveled from all over Europe, packed the streets, making it impossible to move.
It truly felt like a city-wide carnival.
The moment Lance appeared at the front of the bus, holding the Bundesliga trophy,
the cheers of hundreds of thousands of people echoed uniformly over the entire small town of Leverkusen.
"Laaaaaance—"
"Laaaaaance—"
"Laaaaaance—"
"Leverkusen Allez!!"
The scene was quite spectacular.
Finally, everyone gathered at BayArena.
The entire Bayer Leverkusen team gave their championship speeches.
Lance and the team had a wonderful championship celebration night.
The club's first-ever title was incredibly significant, but Bayer Leverkusen had no experience in winning championships.
So this celebration was relatively simple and modest.
And with only one Bundesliga title, the scale of the celebration was not as grand as those of other major clubs.
Lance only hoped that if they could win more titles next season, perhaps the club could host a bigger and more lively championship celebration.
During this period of the championship parade, the rumors about Lance's transfer intensified.
So-called insider media reported with great detail, as if Lance was truly leaving.
"It is rumored that Florentino Pérez is in contact with Jorge Mendes; the two were photographed by reporters at a club in Madrid, allegedly discussing Lance's move to Real Madrid."
"In the past season, the young Chinese-German player Lance, who just turned 17, rapidly rose to prominence at Bayer Leverkusen."
"He led the team as a "key player to win the Bundesliga title, breaking the dominance of Bayern Munich.
"The 9339 miracle in the final Bundesliga match might be a microcosm of his entire season."
"At every critical moment, Lance could always step up and save the team."
"He almost single-handedly eliminated Real Madrid, and ultimately caused Real Madrid significant trouble, leading to several key players missing from Real Madrid in the Champions League Final."
With Atlético Madrid ultimately claiming the final crown and being crowned the new King of Europe.
Florentino Pérez has publicly expressed his admiration for Lance multiple times in interviews, hoping he can come to Santiago Bernabéu and partner with Cristiano Ronaldo.
Real Madrid is willing to pay an 80 million Euro transfer fee for Lance, and it is reported that the club has already sent a formal transfer request to Bayer Leverkusen.
Currently, Bayer Leverkusen has not yet responded.
If Lance joins Real Madrid, he will become the youngest first-team main signing in Real Madrid's history.
His annual salary is expected to exceed 15 million Euros..."
"According to the Daily Mail, the Red Devil Godfather, former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, who is currently retired, stated in a television interview, that he is advising Manchester United's current CEO Ed Woodward to consider signing Lance."
"This Bundesliga Golden Boot winner from last season scored a total of 42 goals in the Bundesliga, surpassing the 40-year-old record of Bundesliga legendary striker Gerd Müller, and becoming the top scorer in a single Bundesliga season."
"Moreover, Lance has only played 1 season in the Bundesliga, and his future is limitless."
"Currently, Manchester United is attempting to make an offer to Bayer Leverkusen..."
"The Sun reports that the magical Eastern prodigy Lance has entered Arsenal's medical examination room."
"He is about to don the Gunners' jersey and play for Arsenal next season."
"Under Arsène Wenger's guidance, Lance might become the new generation of superstar!"
"Arsenal is expected to win the Premier League title next season, after a 10-year drought..."
"The Mansour family has pledged to allocate at least 100 million in transfer fee reserves,
solely for the purpose of signing Lance."
"Currently, Real Madrid, Manchester United, Chelsea, and other major clubs are all vying for this young and famous super talent."
"Manchester City's abundant transfer funds and salaries might be their confidence in competing for the talent."
"The competition between the Manchester rivals has entered a fierce stage..."
With continuous news and widespread transfer rumors about Lance on social media,
some Bayer Leverkusen fans even started to petition at the club's training ground entrance, hoping Lance would stay.
Even Lance's Bayer Leverkusen teammates couldn't help but send messages to inquire.
Sitting in the VIP lounge at the airport, Lance was overwhelmed and could only reply to each message, explaining the situation.
He quickly posted a tweet, with a photo of him and the club taken when he renewed his contract:
"New season, let's continue to work hard with Bayer Leverkusen."
Soon, Bayer Leverkusen's official Twitter account also released an interview with the CEO:
"There have been many rumors recently; I hope fans don't take them seriously."
"We just renewed Lance's contract not long ago; he is not for sale and will be the tactical core of the team in the future."
"No matter how much other clubs offer in transfer fees, we will not consider it."
"Bayer Leverkusen will continue to sign new players, striving to build a more competitive squad."
"Let's fight together next season."
At last, everyone was relieved.
In Lance's comment section, Bayer Leverkusen fans were almost overflowing with gratitude.
"Lance!! Thanks for staying with the team!! We need you next season!"
"Keep up the good work!"
"Let's win the championship together next season!"
"Well done! Lance!! You are our God!"
After scrolling through his phone for a long time, Lance finally heard the broadcast announcement:
"Ding-dong—"
"Attention, attention, passengers on flight LH598 to São Paulo/Guarulhos International Airport, please proceed immediately to Gate B12 for boarding..."
After waiting for more than two hours at the airport, Lance could finally depart.
Dragging his suitcase towards the boarding gate, he received a call from his agent, Jorge Mendes, on the way:
"Lance, haven't you boarded yet?"
"It's already started."
"Good. Speaking of which, do you really not need me to send another assistant over?"
"Harry needs to help you with commercial partnerships these past few days,
I'm not at ease with no one accompanying you."
"Mr. Mendes, you're more nagging than my mom. I'm almost 18, I can travel alone, no problem."
"That's good, after all, you're flying from Germany to South America, it's quite a long journey."
"You know, you are my most valuable player, I must provide the most perfect service."
"Your most valuable player is Cristiano Ronaldo, right?"
Lance had heard Mendes say this more than once and couldn't help but retort again.
"Hehehe, you are both equally important."
"By the way, I've already arranged everything at São Paulo Airport; someone will pick you up there."
"You can just follow the assistant directly to the training ground to report."
"I've also made arrangements with the Belgium Football Association."
"Okay, that's all for now, I need to board, so I'm hanging up."
Lance hung up the phone and was the first to board from the first-class check-in counter.
This was his first time traveling to another continent, South America!
São Paulo, Brazil!
Moreover, Lance was not going as a World Cup spectator this time.
He might become one of the players competing on the field!
Since the Chinese National Football Team hasn't been able to enter the World Cup for many years, then let me be the only Chinese person at the Brazil World Cup!