Chapter 1 After the Awards Ceremony

Grindel clasped Li Kang's hand warmly.

"Li, if you are willing..."

"German football will give you the status and honor you deserve."

"We will usher in a brand new, positive new era!"

The middle-aged man with neatly styled blond hair and a suit adjusted his glasses, his expression serious.

Twenty-nine days ago, he was elected chairman of the German Football Association as the sole candidate.

Who says the chairman of the Football Association needs to understand football?

He used to be a member of the German Federal Parliament.

He has served as the director of German National Television.

Let's put the championship aside for now.

Looking back at the entire 2015/16 season, whenever Li Kang was included in the roster, Bayer Leverkusen's league broadcasting revenue in Asia was shockingly high!

That's the key!

The Bundesliga's European战积分 (European War Points) have already increased.

All that's missing is packaging a superstar!

Li Kang is the most suitable candidate!

He is only 18 years old this year and has a future full of possibilities.

Who says the German Football Association is run by Bayern?

Grindel and Hoeness and Rummenigge are political enemies.

Without the variable of Li Kang, Bayern would face various restrictions and suppression in the next few years.

But if Li Kang is willing to join Bayern Munich... then the German Football Association and the senior management of the Southern Giant will be the most united partners!

If Beckenbauer can take care of FIFA and participate in modifying a certain regulation again...

That's right!

No matter which aspect you look at, Li is the most outstanding!

Thinking about it, Grindel's old face broke into a smile.

Looking at Li Kang in front of him, it was as if he saw glittering gold!

Poor Grindel, he doesn't know yet that he will become a scapegoat for the decline of German football.

....

Li Kang and his teammates boarded the plane and returned to Leverkusen overnight.

The championship parade ceremonies in cities like Madrid, Manchester, London, Barcelona, Milan, and Turin are very grand and complicated, requiring a lot of manpower and material resources to prepare, as well as coordination and cooperation from municipal departments.

Leverkusen is different.

It's just a small city.

It doesn't take long to slowly circle the city center.

On the plane.

Kramer, Bender, and Son Heung-min looked a little tired.

Havertz held a game console.

Brandt was flipping through a real estate magazine.

Humans cannot maintain long-term excitement and agitation and need a cycle to缓和 (huǎnhé - ease).

The Bundesliga salad bowl was stuffed into Li Kang's arms.

The system prompt sounded quietly.

[Ding! Congratulations on unlocking the achievement: Bundesliga Champion!]

[Achievement Introduction: The Bundesliga giant is always the ultimate Boss in the novice village...]

[Achievement Reward: Legend Module Upgrade Tool *1!]

[Legend Module Upgrade Tool: One-time consumable; can upgrade a "Special" level module to "Legend"! Module functions will change randomly, and the scope of change is affected by the module prefix entry!]

Li Kang was stunned.

There's a lot of information.

Needs three seconds to digest it.

He glanced at the system panel and saw that he now had four "Special" modules: Baggio - Golden Left Foot, Ronaldinho - Devil's Arc, Nesta - Barrier, Carlos - Heavy Sword No Edge!

Who to upgrade?

Baggio and Ronaldinho are definitely not good, they are too practical.

Nesta curses every time he comes out...

It's you!

Carlos!

Li Kang took off the "Heavy Sword No Edge" module and pressed it on the upgrade platform.

[Are you sure you want to upgrade the "Carlos - Heavy Sword No Edge" module?]

[Upgrading, a Real Madrid legendary module will be randomly generated!]

[Congratulations on obtaining: Zidane "King's Moment" module (Legend)!]

[Wow! Golden Legend!]

[He is a symbol of an era and also the end of an era.]

[King's Moment: Effect unknown.]

Suddenly.

Rolling white mist enveloped Li Kang...

....

2006 World Cup final.

Materazzi clutched his chest and fell to the ground in pain.

Zidane brushed past the大力神杯 (Dàlìshén Bēi - Hercules Trophy), leaving an unspeakable classic figure.

....

The plane pierced through thick clouds.

Landed at Düsseldorf International Airport.

Havertz gently shook Li Kang awake.

"Lee, the fans outside are crazy!"

"They actually guessed that we would land in Düsseldorf!"

Li Kang opened his eyes.

The system prompt sounded again.

[Congratulations, the basic module has not been consumed!]

[Carlos feature mutation: Heavy Sword No Edge → Vajra Leg!]

[Extra attribute improvement: Foot strength 89.2468416→99!]

Crazy.

The Carlos module was not consumed and even mutated.

You know.

Ballack's "Arcing Cannon" and Mihajlovic's "Bologvo Missile" will enhance their effects as attributes change.

This kick... it's either death or injury.

If there is a chance to get Batistuta's super cannon again...

[Ding...]

The system prompt hadn't finished yet.

There are more rewards?

[The Mönchengladbach Totem has reached its maximum favorability with you and will follow you to conquer all European competitions!]

The phantom of the little foal suddenly appeared.

Accompanied by a tender neigh.

It happily circled Li Kang twice.

Why is the favorability of the Mönchengladbach foal rising to the maximum?

Is it because they won against Bayern twice?

.....

Leverkusen is destined to have no sleep tonight.

When the club bus slowly appeared in the city hall square.

Streams of fireworks shot into the sky, blooming into incredibly gorgeous fireworks.

The whole small city seemed to be shaking gently.

Thousands of Bayer Leverkusen fans burst into cheers like a tsunami!

All LED billboards were replaced with photos of Leverkusen No. 10.

"Lee!!!"

"Lee!!!"

"Leverkusenallez!!!"

Li Kang stood at the front of the bus.

Bending slightly, he weighed the weight of the salad bowl with both hands.

Havertz held the gold-inlaid German Cup in his arms.

The sound equipment in the square began to play Leverkusen's team song.

Völler kept raising his arms, signaling the fans to shout louder.

The little assistant tightly grasped the microphone.

"2015/16 season!"

"German Bundesliga Champion!"

"German Cup Champion!"

"Leverkusen!!!"

When the two trophies were held high.

The picture seemed to freeze.

After two seconds of silence in the entire city.

North Rhine began to revel!

"Bayer, Bayer04, wirstehenzudir!!!"

....

The next day.

Leverkusen Club.

Sports Director's Office.

"What, Leverkusen will have a 5% commission on Li's second transfer! Isn't this the River Plate model?"

"Bayer Group's legal team will become Li's backing? What kind of century lawsuit is going to be fought?"

"Boss, you want me to follow Li... this treatment is too high!"

The little assistant looked at the documents in his hand, his eyes dull and incoherent.

Völler smiled and said, "This is the result of Li and the club jointly discussing. You will become his... similar to the role of agent and life assistant!"

The 5% commission for the second transfer has nothing to do with Li Kang himself.

It is a very common additional clause in European and South American "black shops".

For example, if Li Kang joins Team A and transfers to Team B after playing for a few seasons, Leverkusen can get a 5% second transfer commission.

The little assistant asked doubtfully: "Li should find a professional agency team..."

Völler shook his head with a smile and joked: "After the European Cup, he doesn't need any commercial packaging and public relations skills. Look at the market behind him. Your job is not difficult. Countless advertising endorsements will come to you. I will arrange a team with rich experience to assist you."

"He may not like being controlled... the word control is not right, it doesn't matter, you can't interfere with his important decisions. Many superstars' agents are still their family members, he trusts you very much."

"Go, take care of Li!"

"Leverkusen will always be your home."

The little assistant stood there dumbfounded.

Is he going to reach the peak of his life? That's too ridiculous!

"Boss, why are your eyes red?"

"Some sand got in by accident."

.....

The German Professional Footballers' Union awards ceremony will be held in February next year.

"Bundesliga Best Coach".

"Bundesliga MVP".

"Bundesliga Best Newcomer".

Awards like these will have to wait until next year to be announced.

As for the Bundesliga MVP selected by *Transfermarkt* and *Kicker*, the earliest it will be announced is early June.

Li Kang's votes naturally defeated Lewandowski and others without any suspense, occupying the top spot.

At the same time.

The amazing statistics of 18 years old, 22 goals and 22 assists in the Bundesliga, topped the hot searches on major online platforms!

《He is not just the European assist king!》

《Looking back at Li Kang's super god moments in the 15-16 season!》

《Summer in France, the nightmare of European powerhouses!》

《Annual best investment, Völler only spent 1 million euros and won the Champions League semi-finals and the Bundesliga double crown!》

The number of comments, likes, and reposts skyrocketed!

- [Li Mingdeng is awesome! Double 22 data in his debut season! The lower limit of his career achievements is a super midfielder of Gerrard and Lampard's level!]

- [Haven't counted the goals and assists in the Champions League yet? It seems to be 11 goals and 2 assists? He played against strong teams all the way! There is not a single weak opponent. I knew that old man Toppmöller should have let Li Kang play against Borisov to刷刷 (shuāshuā - pad) his stats! Maybe he could have brushed out a Champions League Golden Boot!]

- [Little Li is hitting the elites!]

- [Super midfield core, both offensive and defensive, also good at commanding and scheduling, a cornerstone for building a team and a winning puzzle, European giants are going to搶瘋了 (qiǎngfēngle - go crazy fighting over him).]

- [Will the transfer record be broken again this summer? I heard that Manchester United will spend 100 million to buy Pogba! How high will Li Mingdeng's transfer fee be?]

- [Don't worry, this year is the European Cup year. After the national team plays a few games, Li Mingdeng's value will continue to蹭蹭 (cèngcèng - rise rapidly).]

- [Holding out for a high price is not a wise move. The national team and the club are two levels of competition. Messi and Ronaldo still have regrets about the national team's honor! Spain's lineup is seriously aging, and young players can't bear the responsibility. I think they will only reach the quarter-finals at most! Germany, France, and Belgium... are all in their peak.]

- [And Conte's "civilian" Italy.]

- [I disagree, Little Li's return to the national team is a T0-level midfielder, we have to see how Bosque builds a tactical system around him.]

- [Li Kang and Modric are in the same group? Spain's twilight dynasty vs Croatia's golden generation!]

.....

The season is over.

The club is on vacation.

The teammates said goodbye to Li Kang one by one and returned to their respective hometowns or vacation havens.

Although the summer window has not yet opened, the destinations of several people have basically been determined.

Son Heung-min joins Tottenham.

Kramer transfers to Mönchengladbach.

Van Dijk returns to the Premier League - Southampton.

That's it.

That's really it.

Except for Çalhanoğlu who hasn't made up his mind.

The rest will stay in Leverkusen, and Leno, Bellarabi, Brandt and others have also had their salaries increased.

After a thorough analysis by the Bayern coaching staff, they decided not to bring in players from the pharmaceutical factory.

In short: except for Li, we can't stand the rest of this pile of crooked melons and cracked dates...

Leverkusen did not become a "fire sale supermarket" in the end.

Instead, the coaching staff was挖空了 (wākōngle - hollowed out)!

Old man Toppmöller has received invitations from many mid-range strong teams and Asian national teams.

Dino is also very likely to coach in the second division...

The two masters and apprentices are very纠结 (jiūjié - conflicted), because Völler has increased their salaries and firmly stated that he will increase the investment in 引援 (yǐnyuán - player recruitment) next season.

Leverkusen made a lot of money this season, 富得流油 (fùdéliúyóu - filthy rich).

Champions League semi-final bonuses, double crown bonuses, huge broadcast revenue.

In addition, after Li Kang completes the transfer in the summer window, he will also leave a large amount of funds for the club.

...

The little assistant is very busy. He terminated his employment contract with Leverkusen and became Li Kang's exclusive assistant.

His main job every day recently is answering the phone.

"The fourth highest annual salary in the world? Join a Middle Eastern powerhouse and be teammates with Xavi... La Masia's double-core No. 4 position? Forget it, the New York City team in the American Professional League offers higher treatment, and they also said they want Li and Pirlo and Lampard to form the strongest midfield combination in history, and they also have Villa on the front line!"

"Ms. Skaya, I know that Abu doesn't差錢 (chāqián - lack money)! What? A signing fee of 12 million euros! The highest annual salary in the Premier League, a cornerstone for building a team? Wait a minute, Manchester City is calling me!"

"Your Adidas endorsement fee is too low, and it has to be paid in installments. Puma's offer is twice as high as yours, and it is paid in one lump sum!"

"Mr. Chris, no! 1 million euros is too low! It doesn't work no matter how many Koenigsegg... models you give away!"

....

Li Kang returned to a peaceful and monotonous life.

Training every day.

Attending tactics classes and culture classes every day.

Playing games every night.

During this period, he met several visitors from Premier League clubs.

The other party offered extremely terrifying sky-high signing fees and salary treatment.

He didn't want to hold out for a high price, but he really hadn't thought about it.

The Premier League standings for the 15/16 season have been finalized.

Leicester City created a championship myth.

Arsenal ranked second.

Tottenham's youth storm ranked third.

Manchester City ranked fourth and will play in the Champions League qualifying play-offs next season.

Manchester United, with the same points, only got the Europa League group stage entry qualification due to the inferior goal difference.

Liverpool and Chelsea still failed to secure a Champions League qualification in the final sprint stage of the Premier League, ranking eighth and tenth respectively.

Southampton and West Ham United are still ahead of them.

In this historical period, the Premier League, except for Aston Villa, has no weak teams, and every game is a tough battle...

Every number in the standings is extremely close.

....

May 29, 2016.

Li Kang received the news of the national team call-up.

He is about to usher in a star-studded European Cup, Summer in France!