"We all know you ardently pursued Zhao Gang in the past. What are your thoughts on Zhao Gang's performance today?"

Pochettino thought for a moment. If he could bring Zhao Gang to White Hart Lane, with Zhao Gang and Son Heung-min on the wings, and Kane in the center, that trident would tear Manchester City's defense to shreds, wouldn't it?

Manchester City's defenders weren't tall enough, and their speed wasn't great either. The only thing worth praising was their ability to distribute the ball. If Zhao Gang were at Tottenham, he believed today's result would be completely different.

"We were indeed very close to signing Zhao Gang. He has always been an excellent player. I've said more than once that at his age, he's the best player in the Premier League.

He's also the most outstanding midfielder in the Premier League. He can play in any position in the attacking midfield. He can find his place in any system, delivering the ball to the feet of the strikers, or directly into the opponent's goal.

Now, the entire Premier League has noticed his performance.

Wenger and Mourinho couldn't figure out how to limit him. From that perspective, we actually did pretty well." If not for that lucky assist at the end, Zhao Gang only scored one goal and provided one assist in this game. Compared to his previous hot streak, it was a significant drop.

Indeed, Tottenham did better than Arsenal and Manchester United.

"Many people say he can't defend. Today, everyone saw that if it weren't for his final defensive play, Manchester City wouldn't have defeated us.

I believe it won't be long before he becomes the most sought-after player in Europe.

It's normal for us to be defeated by such a player, I suppose."

Pochettino wasn't just praising Zhao Gang; he wanted to emphasize that Manchester City won because of Zhao Gang, not because Guardiola was better than him.

The biggest headline in the next day's newspaper wasn't about Zhao Gang, or Aguero, or Son Heung-min and Kane.

It was about referee Pearce Noah and the VAR (Video Assistant Referee) team.

Son Heung-min's offside goal caused the referee and VAR to be bombarded online. Not just Manchester City fans, but fans throughout England were furiously cursing the referee and the VAR officials.

This offside goal would have only caused some controversy normally, but it wouldn't have enraged so many fans.

The key was that before this offside goal, VAR intervened and disallowed Sterling's goal!

Tracing it all the way back to Gundogan's foul several plays earlier!

VAR showed such a strong presence, yet disappeared when Son Heung-min was offside on the rebound. Anyone with a brain knew what was going on.

This was clearly a blatant case of biased officiating!

Even brazen!

You can disallow Sterling's goal, but you can't have VAR go silent when there's an obvious offside!

And another goal, regarding Son Heung-min's offside position obstructing Kane, became a hot topic of discussion.

Almost all commentators, famous and unknown, jumped out to analyze this goal.

Manchester United legend Neville was ranting everywhere, attacking Manchester City and disdaining Zhao Gang, but this time he stood on Manchester City's side.

"I don't understand what the linesman and VAR are doing! They're trampling on the rules of football!

I've never thought of Manchester City as a professional team, but they shouldn't be treated unfairly like this either. If offsides in the Premier League are decided by the referee, is there any point in continuing to play the league? If the Premier League is indifferent to this matter, if Pearce Noah can continue to officiate Premier League matches, I think the Premier League will become a joke throughout Europe, throughout the world!

Two obvious offsides, and Pearce Noah did nothing! He even disallowed a very beautiful goal by Sterling!

I don't understand the meaning of VAR. Does VAR exist to disallow goals at crucial moments?

If Manchester City lost this game, it's hard to imagine what kind of changes would occur in their players' mentality.

This was a disgraceful match."

"My God, if Zhao hadn't hooked the ball out at the last moment... Manchester City would have really been robbed of two points... The Premier League is so terrifying now!"

"Too terrifying! Manchester City was already behind. If it weren't for Zhao's free-kick assist to Gundogan, and his god-like performance on both offense and defense at the end, Manchester City would have really been finished!

Zhao's performance was truly magical!"

"Oh my God, my Tottenham fan friend was jumping for ninety minutes, saying that Zhao was destroyed by Son Heung-min, but in the last ten minutes he was kneeling and begging Zhao to stop playing... he was almost crying... so pathetic..."

"He's really strong. I saw Southgate and Perrin yesterday. I feel like Zhao might join England!"

"It's difficult. I've read some reports that Dragon Country's football is a mess. They finally have a rising star; they won't let go so easily..."

"It depends on his own wishes. If he joins England, he's very likely to complete a grand slam in his career! European Championship, World Cup... Joining England would be a great benefit for him and for England!

He's only nineteen years old. He has enough time to win all the honors with England!!"

"Looking at it this way, it seems very likely..."

"I'm just afraid that the game officiated by that idiot referee will make Zhao think that English football is a dark place, and he won't dare to join the English national team casually!"

"Yes, the referee was scared in the end. He didn't dare to allow Kane's goal."

"If he had allowed it, he might have been finished today!"

……

After the Manchester City game, Zhao Gang didn't return with the team; instead, he stayed in London.

He had already asked Guardiola for leave.

London not only had Ollie, but also two people he needed to meet: Southgate and an assistant editor from Turin Sports Daily.

This was Perrin's arrangement, and Zhao Gang naturally agreed.

Guardiola gave Zhao Gang a vacation and informed him that he wouldn't be included in the squad for the next League Cup match against Swansea.

The League Cup was never a serious competition for Premier League teams of Manchester City's level; it was played by reserve players.

Fernandinho, Aguero, Silva, and Zhao Gang wouldn't be included in the squad. They wouldn't even have a chance to play.

If other Dragon Country players could get a chance to play in the League Cup, they would thank heaven and earth and God.

Even the domestic media would report it extensively, but Zhao Gang was directly excluded from the squad by Guardiola. It wasn't that he wasn't qualified, but that the League Cup simply wasn't worthy of him playing.

The medical team that Perrin found for Zhao Gang checked his body and confirmed that everything was normal. Zhao Gang rested for a day.

The next day, he met with Southgate as planned.

Zhao Gang didn't really want to meet Southgate. He wasn't interested in joining England, but he wasn't against it either.

He still wanted to fulfill his dream, to wear that red jersey and gallop on the field, even if he lost.

But Southgate sincerely wanted to talk several times, which made it difficult for Perrin.

After all, Southgate was the head coach of the English national team, supported by the FA (Football Association), and even received some promises from the English government.

Perrin, as an agent, was in a difficult position.

Zhao Gang was prepared to personally tell Southgate that he wasn't interested in other national teams, whether it was England, Germany, Spain, Argentina, Brazil…

Southgate was young, yet he could sit in this position, clearly relying not only on his tactical skills, but also on his charm and emotional intelligence.

The three of them had a meal together. Southgate didn't beat around the bush; instead, he directly stated his purpose while eating.

He must have learned about Zhao Gang's personality from Perrin: he didn't like beating around the bush, so Southgate was straightforward.

"I know that you, Zhao, have a very strong sense of national honor. When you gave up the Nike and Adidas brands, I knew it would be difficult for anyone to persuade you to join another national football team."

Nike and Adidas endorsements represented not only recognition, but also huge traffic and authority.

In the football world, giving up those two meant that it was almost impossible to reach the highest individual honor, the Ballon d'Or.

"But, you need to know, people like me, football people like me, when I see a football genius, when I see a peerless treasure, it's hard for me to give up.

I have a responsibility, and an obligation, to do my best for football.

It's hard for me to accept that a future King of Football would ruin his path to godhood because of some non-football factors.

That's a huge regret for you, for me, and for those who love football."

Zhao Gang felt a little unnatural about Southgate's praise. How could he say these words so calmly?

It was really like stating a fact…

"I don't want to talk about the Ballon d'Or, the European Championship, the World Cup, these honors that all players dream of!

I just want you to know that when you become a member of England, you will become a true world-class superstar, a true King of Football!

Dragon Country can't give you these.

You may not care about these external honors, but… but with these, you will have enough influence. Every word you say, every comment you make, will affect people who love football.

It will even affect the world of football.

You can use your unprecedented achievements to do more for your country, for your country's fans, and influence more people!

You can even rely on your own strength…" Southgate paused, looking intently into Zhao Gang's eyes, "To change those corrupt systems."

Originally, Zhao Gang planned to directly refuse Southgate, simply and clearly.

As a football player, the two things most desired are, of course, the World Cup and the King of Football title.

But if he wasn't wearing a red jersey, even if he stood at the highest point in the world, it wouldn't be very attractive to Zhao Gang.

However, Southgate's last sentence made Zhao Gang waver.

"In Dragon Country, a football player can never really change anything. Not even Messi, as powerful as he is, changed the corrupt Argentine Football Association.

Only when you become a true King of Football, with a pivotal position in the entire world of football, with the support of fans around the world, will you have the power to change things.

You can't rely on yourself to lead Dragon Country's football to glory. You need helpers, you need a healthy system.

Joining the Dragon Country national team, you can never change the current situation.

Joining England, in the next ten years, you will definitely become that person, the one who can truly change Dragon Country's football.

You are the King of Football, an idol, and a belief."

"If you really want to do something for Dragon Country's football, the last thing you should do is join Dragon Country's football."

……

Zhao Gang didn't agree, nor did he refuse.

He was even a little dazed.

He felt that his previous thoughts were a bit naive.

He was full of enthusiasm, thinking that if he played for the national team, they would be happy together when they won, and they would bear the burden together when they lost.

He would get the recognition of the fans and hear their cheers.

But that wouldn't change much for Dragon Country's football.

He would influence many people and make the children of Dragon Country believe that Dragon Country's football players could also play well.

He would attract more people to join.

But ultimately, there was a problem with Dragon Country's football system.

Those children, full of enthusiasm, would have their passion extinguished by the system.

He wouldn't only not be helping Dragon Country's football, but he would also be harming those brave and passionate children.

If he joined England and really became the future King of Football, the focus of world attention?

His influence wouldn't be limited to Dragon Country, and his energy could even confront the Dragon Country football system.

Even if he couldn't confront it, he could use his energy to rebuild a small system, maintaining those children with dreams and strength so that they could become pillars of the nation.

Then, he could change the system little by little.

If he only joined the Dragon Country national team himself, it might briefly improve the Dragon Country national team's results, but that would only be a flash in the pan.

He would retire in pain and regret, and then the national team would continue to decline, and Dragon Country's football would still have nothing.

He would never have the chance to become the King of Football, and he would never have so much energy to change anything.

Joining England, he would be cursed and reviled by countless Dragon Country fans that he cared about. No one would understand or support him.

But eventually, when he became the peerless King of Football, when he returned to Dragon Country with the honors of the European Championship and the World Cup, as a football legend and an English Dragon Overseas Chinese, he would definitely be able to truly change some things.

He might even be able to take on a pivotal position in the AFC (Asian Football Confederation) and FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association).

Then his voice would be even more important.

If he joined the Dragon Country national team, he would become a member of the system. Within the system, no one would take his words seriously.

Zhao Gang sat in Perrin's car, not saying a word, his mind a mess.

Perrin didn't say much either.

"If you need my advice, be sure to take the initiative to tell me," Perrin finally said.

Zhao Gang nodded and entered Ollie's residence.

Ollie saw that Zhao Gang was in a very low mood and quickly took his hand with concern, then leaned on him, "When you want to talk, be sure to tell me first, okay?"

Zhao Gang sighed. Fortunately, Ollie was very, very sensible. Otherwise, if she said a few more words at this time, it would really upset him.

They might even quarrel.

"Thank you," Zhao Gang rubbed Ollie's little hand.

The two of them leaned together, without saying any more words.

Zhao Gang slowly calmed down. It was always easier to have someone by his side silently than to bear it alone.

Zhao Gang's biggest dream was to be able to stand on top of the world wearing a red jersey, and he also knew that the current situation made it almost impossible.

The only possibility was to find helpers.

To find helpers, he needed to change the system, and to use ten or twenty years to make Dragon Country's football talents explode.

He thought that he could succeed through his own unremitting persistence and hard work.

But Southgate's words completely pulled him out of his illusions.

To change Dragon Country's football system, Zhao Gang had many choices, but the only one that was doomed to fail was joining the Dragon Country national team.

It would only move himself and move the fans, and there would be no substantive progress.

Zhao Gang lay in bed, thinking for a long time.

He turned his head and glanced at Ollie, who was closing her eyes and snuggling beside him.

"Are you asleep?" Zhao Gang asked softly.

Ollie opened her eyes, her smile extremely gentle.

"I'm waiting for you to talk to me!"

Zhao Gang gently rubbed Ollie's hair and couldn't help but kiss her.

It was so lucky to have someone to accompany him and someone to listen.

Zhao Gang explained his situation, not needing Ollie to have any constructive opinions or help him solve this problem.

He just wanted to confide.

"Of course, I hope you can join England. It would be of great benefit to your future, your football career, your commercial achievements, your influence, and of course me… everything would be beneficial. It seems like there's not a single downside.

Oh, no, that's not right. The only downside is that the fans you care about will curse you.

They will say you are a traitor, a sellout!"

"Yes, I may not be able to withstand their curses," Zhao Gang nodded. If it was someone else cursing, he wouldn't care too much, but if it was curses from his fellow countrymen, he felt that he might not be able to bear it.

That was a factor.

"You want to do something for football, you want to do something for Dragon Country's football…"

"Yes."

"Then… then have you ever thought about becoming the King of Football even without joining England? About becoming the unparalleled person in the world of football!

You and England will create glory together, but that won't be a miracle!"

Zhao Gang stared at Ollie carefully. There was a light in Ollie's eyes.

"Even with the Dragon Country team, you can let the world know your greatness! Even if you fail in the end, your influence, your achievements, will definitely not be worse than if you won the World Cup with England!

Southgate changed the concept. He tricked you. You care too much about Dragon Country's football. His words made you lose yourself.

You've forgotten how powerful you are.

If you want to win the European Championship, win the World Cup, you should indeed join England.

But if you want to become your true self, become people's true faith, idol, King of Football, you should listen to your own call and stay true to your beliefs."

Zhao Gang looked at Ollie in disbelief.

Ollie's voice wasn't loud, gentle and lovely, but the words she spoke had such a strong appeal.

"Don't you want me to join England? This way, there would be a lot less trouble between us, and I would most likely win all the honors and have a better future.

A win-win situation for fame and fortune, with great benefits for you and for me."

"Of course, of course I want you to join England, but you're asking me for advice, and I can't let my own selfish thoughts influence your own judgment.

Besides, I love you so much."

Ollie gently blew a breath, her big eyes narrowed together, her smile with charm, "It seems you've already made up your mind, and you have no doubts."

"How did you know?"

"Little Zhao told me…" Ollie couldn't help laughing.

"No, no, no, it's Big Zhao…"

"Ah!!" Ollie exclaimed with hope.

……

The next day at noon, Perrin appeared in front of Ollie's residence. He had received a call from Zhao Gang, preparing to go to accept an interview with the Turin Sports Daily.

Perrin thought that Zhao Gang would take a few days to think about his own affairs.

He didn't expect to figure it out so quickly?

Did Ollie whisper sweet nothings into his ear?

This girl was capable!

Zhao Gang appeared in front of Perrin with a spring breeze on his face. Perrin looked at his appearance and knew that he had made a choice.

Looking at this appearance without a trace of hesitation, Perrin guessed that he had most likely chosen Dragon Country.

If he had chosen England, he should still have some doubts now.

Only by staying true to his original intention could he be so relaxed and comfortable, without regrets.

It seemed that Southgate's brainwashing had failed.

Perrin sighed in his heart. He had hoped that Zhao Gang would choose England.

This would have been of great benefit to Zhao Gang and to him.

With Zhao Gang's momentum of development, as long as there were no accidents, he would eventually become the focus of the world.

After a few years of high-profile performance, he would become a superstar like Messi and Ronaldo. The only thing he lacked in the end was a World Cup.

There was no chance in Dragon Country, but there was a very big chance in England.

That was the difference between the King of Football and a superstar.

When Zhao Gang became the King of Football, as an agent, his status would naturally rise, and he would likely become the number one in the world.

His reputation and fame would grow geometrically.

Wasn't that what people lived for?

"Did Ollie solidify your ideas?" Perrin asked with a smile as he drove the car.

"Yes, I think she might be my soulmate. I really didn't expect her to say those words. I thought she…" Zhao Gang rubbed his head and stopped himself.

"Haha… I'm also your soulmate. I've been waiting for you to let me give you advice!"

"Which one would you have me choose?" Zhao Gang looked at Perrin curiously.

Perrin's smile froze, and he said through gritted teeth, "England."

"Haha…" This time it was Zhao Gang's turn to laugh.

"Spain would work too, Germany is also fine!" Perrin didn't hide anything and said it all in one breath, "Argentina and Brazil are good too! Even France and Portugal would be fine!

But you had to choose Dragon Country, sigh…"

"You wouldn't lie to me, Ollie said that Southgate changed the concept, is that true?"

"You've already chosen, why do you still care about this?

Most of what Southgate said is true.

But the only thing that's not right is that no matter which national team you're on, you'll have enough energy to change Dragon Country's football in the future!

What he said about a football player having the obligation and responsibility to stop you from ruining your path to becoming the King of Football is absolutely true.

Just like signing with Ta'an Sports would ruin your chances of winning the Ballon d'Or, joining the Dragon Country football team is equivalent to giving up your path to godhood."

"Why didn't you tell me before that signing with Ta'an Sports would have a big impact on my winning the Ballon d'Or?"

"Because I didn't think you would be so strong in the Premier League at that time. I underestimated your ability. I didn't think you could become a contender for the Ballon d'Or within three years.

When the Ta'an Sports contract expires in three years, I will definitely have you sign with Nike and Adidas. Damn… If I knew you were so amazing, would Ta'an Sports still want to sign you?" Perrin gritted his teeth, getting angrier as he spoke.

The King of Football was gone, and he was also delayed for two years in winning the Ballon d'Or.

This agent was too much of a failure.