Capítulo 200: Top Soccer Star Rankings
"Ah-choo!"
Despite the Manchester City players taking hot showers immediately after the match, many of them still showed signs of catching colds on the bus ride back to the hotel.
The next day, five players who had participated in the match developed fevers.
This had the coaching staff in a panic.
Pellegrini called the team doctor to inquire about the situation.
"How long will it take for the players to recover? Can they make it for the league match in three days?"
The team doctor shook his head, "I'm afraid not. Their physical condition doesn't support such intense activity. I recommend they rest and recover."
"Alright, what about the other players? Are they okay?"
Currently, the five players showing cold symptoms were forwards Agüero, midfielders García and Fernandinho, winger Navas, and defender Zabaleta.
Apart from García, who is an important rotation player, the others are all key starters. Their absence would greatly affect Manchester City's performance.
"What about Lin? Is he showing any symptoms?"
Pellegrini specifically asked about Lin, as with so many key players possibly out due to illness, Lin absolutely couldn't afford to fall sick.
"I've checked Lin's condition. He's perfectly healthy, no issues at all!"
The team doctor had never seen a player with such an exceptional physical condition as Lin. Despite playing across multiple competitions, Lin had no injuries or illnesses. This could only be attributed to his extraordinary physical fitness.
"That's good. Isolate the sick players so they don't affect the healthy ones!"
Even though it was unlikely to be the flu, Pellegrini took no chances. A cross-infection among the team would be disastrous.
...
To get the team back to London quickly and prepare for the match against Chelsea, Manchester City's owner Mansour dispatched his private jet to bring the players back.
This avoided the time and energy spent on commercial flight check-ins and security, allowing the players to save significant time and energy during travel.
Mansour's private jet was extremely luxurious. As they boarded, the Manchester City players couldn't help but explore and take selfies.
Some players even posted their selfies online, eliciting admiration and envy from fans.
"Wow, this plane is insanely luxurious!"
"A private cinema, a dedicated rest area, a gaming room, a card room, and a café. It's like a mini palace!"
"You don't understand, do you? This is a custom private jet, designed specifically according to the client's needs, totally different from regular commercial jets!"
"I really want a plane like this!"
"Wake up, stop daydreaming. This high-end custom private jet costs several million euros. Do you think you can afford it?"
"Such wealth!"
"No wonder people call Manchester City a nouveau riche. They truly live up to the name!"
...
To keep the players entertained during the flight and prevent boredom, everything except Mansour's private bedroom was open to them, including the cinema, game room, card room, and café.
Some players chose to watch movies, while others went to play games.
Whether it was prepared specifically for the players or because Mansour himself was a gaming enthusiast, the game room was well-stocked with top-tier equipment, and the players had a blast.
"Lin, aren't you going to join them?"
Pellegrini, mindful of his position, didn't join the players in their fun. But he was surprised to see Lin wasn't joining them either.
"I've tried these before, so I'll let them have their fun."
Hearing this, Pellegrini was quite surprised.
Lin had previously been on Mansour's private jet?
Pellegrini joined Manchester City later than Lin and wasn't aware of how Manchester City initially signed Lin.
From Lin's brief comment, Pellegrini imagined a scenario where the club's owner personally invited Lin to join Manchester City.
With this realization, Pellegrini gained a deeper understanding of Lin's status within the team.
Lin wasn't just skilled; he had significant backing, with Manchester City's owner himself supporting him!
Realizing this, Pellegrini's attitude towards Lin became even more amicable.
...
One of the main reasons Lin didn't join his teammates in the game room was that he was busy chatting with Lily Collins.
Although phones had no signal at high altitudes, Mansour's private jet had Wi-Fi, allowing Lin to chat with Lily Collins through social media.
Opening the app, he saw a few unread messages.
The earliest one was sent at 10:30 PM the previous night, likely just after their match against CSKA Moscow had ended.
"Congratulations, you guys were amazing!"
The first message was congratulatory, with a clapping emoji.
"Get some good rest after the match. It must be late over there!"
"And remember to take a hot shower before bed to avoid catching a cold!"
After sending three messages without getting a reply, Lily Collins seemed to realize Lin's phone wasn't with him.
She sent a goodnight emoji and logged off.
Lin had returned to the hotel at 11:30 PM, exhausted from the match and the rain, and had fallen asleep immediately without checking his messages.
Seeing her messages now, a smile spread across his face.
"Did you watch my match?"
After sending the message, there was no immediate response.
Lin picked up a newspaper from the table and started browsing.
It was a sports newspaper, mostly covering Champions League group matches and the top five European leagues.
The main focus was on the match between Real Madrid and Juventus.
In that match, Ronaldo scored twice, leading his team to a 2-1 victory over Juventus.
Within just four minutes of the match, Ronaldo opened the scoring, giving his team an early lead.
After Juventus equalized, Ronaldo capitalized on a penalty won by Ramos, confidently converting it to complete his brace.
Including this match, Ronaldo had scored seven goals in three group stage matches, averaging 2.3 goals per game.
This scoring efficiency was unmatched in the top five leagues!
After news broke that Ronaldo was a strong contender for this year's Ballon d'Or, his form surged.
With these two goals, Ronaldo's total European competition goals reached 58, surpassing Portuguese legend Eusébio and Dutch star Van Nistelrooy, making him third on the all-time top scorers list, trailing only Messi and Raúl.
Additionally, Ronaldo became the third player in Champions League history, after Inzaghi and Élber, to score at least two goals in three consecutive matches.
However, Ronaldo wasn't the only star of this Champions League round.
In the away game against Anderlecht, PSG's striker Ibrahimović put on a stunning performance, scoring four goals!
After three matches, Ibrahimović had scored six goals, trailing Ronaldo by just one in the top scorers list.
Although one goal behind, none of Ibrahimović's goals were penalties, unlike Ronaldo, who had one penalty among his seven goals. Supporters of Ibrahimović were unimpressed by Ronaldo's lead:
"Winning with penalties doesn't make you a real man. Ronaldo, can you compete with Ibrahimović without penalties?"
"Haha, as if Ibrahimović never took penalties. Ronaldo being Real Madrid's main penalty taker shows his cool head and high conversion rate!"
"Ridiculous, only Ronaldo's fans could justify this so confidently!"
"Haha, wait until Real Madrid faces PSG in the knockout rounds. We'll see how you laugh when we thrash Ibrahimović!"
Given their current standings, the likelihood of Real Madrid and PSG meeting in the knockout stages was low.
However, in the World Cup European qualifiers, Ronaldo's Portugal and Ibrahimović's Sweden were set to face off soon.
In the playoff draw, Portugal drew Sweden, meaning only one of these teams would qualify for the World Cup.
This meant both teams would go all out, with no holds barred, to secure that final spot!
With both Ronaldo and Ibrahimović in red-hot form, this match was eagerly anticipated.
Reporters knew this and sought interviews with both players.
Ronaldo, having scored in three consecutive matches, was in great spirits.
He told reporters that Sweden was strong, but he and Portugal were stronger.
He was confident Portugal would beat Sweden and qualify for the World Cup.
Regarding his rivalry with Ibrahimović, Ronaldo remained tight-lipped, focusing on the upcoming El Clásico against Barcelona.
Though he didn't explicitly mention Ibrahimović, his attitude showed he didn't consider him a significant rival.
This statement naturally irked the Swedes.
When the instigating reporters approached Ibrahimović, he responded with full force:
"Ronaldo? Haha, I've only heard of the real Ronaldo. He's the true Ronaldo!"
Everyone knows that the Brazilian Ronaldo is Ibrahimović's idol, whom he has praised many times.
As for Cristiano Ronaldo, Ibrahimović's tone suggested he was just an imposter using the Ronaldo name.
Ibrahimović didn't particularly like or dislike Cristiano Ronaldo, but Ronaldo's dismissive attitude got under the Swede's skin.
The reporters, sensing a juicy story, pressed on:
"Zlatan, who do you think is the best player in the world right now?"
Typically, Ibrahimović would declare himself the best.
But this time, his answer was different:
"If I had to choose from all the players, I'd pick Messi or Lin."
This response surprised the reporters.
Wasn't it widely rumored that Ibrahimović and Messi didn't get along?
Yet, he chose Messi?
The rumors were exaggerated. Ibrahimović indeed had issues with Barcelona, but not with Messi.
In fact, Ibrahimović greatly admired Messi.
His real feud was with Guardiola, not Messi.
The reporters were also surprised that Ibrahimović placed Lin on par with Messi.
They acknowledged Lin's talent but didn't think he was on Messi's level yet.
"Haha, I know what you guys are thinking. Watch Manchester City's matches, and you'll see if I'm right!"
...
Reading Ibrahimović's interview, Lin couldn't help but smile.
Why drag me into your fight with Ronaldo?
What did I do to deserve this?
He opened
Twitter and checked the trending topics.
As expected, Ibrahimović's interview was trending.
Along with it were both his and Ronaldo's names.
Debates about the interview content had already erupted online.
"Ibrahimović finally acknowledges he's not the best!"
"Everyone agrees that Messi and Ronaldo are the best, and even Ibrahimović knows he can't compete with them!"
"You're too naive! If you've seen enough of Ibrahimović's interviews, you'd know how highly he thinks of himself!"
"He believes he's the best in the world! That's the real Zlatan!"
"But it's odd that Ibrahimović placed Lin on par with Messi. Does he really rate Lin that highly?"
"I checked, and Lin has only scored four goals in the Champions League group stages, ranking fifth in the scorers list. He's good, but not outstanding!"
"Haha, scoring in three consecutive matches, four goals, isn't that outstanding?"
"To be fair, Lin's performance shouldn't just be judged by goals. Did you notice he also has three assists, leading the Champions League assist chart?"
"Fun fact: Lin is only seventeen. Ronaldo is 28, Messi is 26, Ibrahimović is 31. Comparing him to these players isn't fair. Compare him to his peers, and you'll see how terrifyingly good Lin is!"
"Exactly, even compared to these top players at seventeen, Lin's stats and performances are overwhelming."
Some fans compiled stats of top players at seventeen and compared them to Lin's current stats.
The comparison showed just how extraordinary Lin was!
Seeing these stats, whether they knew Lin or not, fans could only describe him as a prodigy!
No wonder Manchester City was willing to spend a billion euros on him. They couldn't be fools!
Some football analysts, based on top players' performances in recent seasons, created a top 50 player rankings list.
The top two were predictably Messi and Ronaldo.
Messi was first, Ronaldo second.
Third was Lin's national teammate Iniesta, and fourth was Xavi.
After Xavi, Lin found his own name listed fifth.
"Lin's overall skill is exceptional, but his late debut and limited historical achievements affected his ranking.
This doesn't mean he's less skilled than those above him. In my opinion, he's on par with Messi and Ronaldo!"
The analyst explained the ranking.
Despite the explanation, many fans disagreed.
"What a garbage ranking! Ibrahimović is only seventh? This list is a joke!"
"Falcao sixth, Cavani twentieth? Are you sure you didn't mix that up? Falcao's not better than Cavani!"
"Rooney fifteenth? Based on his season, he deserves a top ten spot!"
"Why isn't Kaka on the list?"
As Lin evaluated the rankings based on his subjective feelings, a notification sound interrupted him.
Excited, Lin guessed it was a message from Lily. Opening it, he was right!
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