Chapter 125: Goodbye, Ronnie !
All matches of Serie A have ended, and everything has settled. Inter Milan won the league championship with a two-point advantage over Juventus!
Third place went to Roma, followed by AC Milan, then Lazio and Chievo. The newly promoted "Flying Donkeys" successfully secured a spot in European competition.
With a draw in the final round, Udinese narrowly avoided relegation. The teams relegated were Verona, Lecce, Fiorentina, and Venezia. The purple lilies wilted in the end.
The promoted teams for next season are Empoli, Modena, Reggina, and Como. What achievements will they make? Will they be like Chievo, a dark horse, or just a one-season wonder? Everything is still unknown.
As for players, Wang Feng comfortably secured the top spot on the scoring chart with 34 goals. Second-placed Trezeguet only managed 24 goals. It's worth noting that the record for most goals in a single Serie A season is 35, set by AC Milan's Nodari in the 1949-1950 season.
It's a bit regrettable not to break this record, but with continued effort next season, anything is possible.
In addition to his goals, Wang Feng also contributed 13 assists, ranking second in the assists chart. He narrowly missed out on topping both the goals and assists charts, demonstrating his dominance.
After the simple setup of the venue, the Serie A championship awards ceremony officially began. Since the Golden Boot award is presented before the start of the next season, only the championship medals and trophy were awarded.
Relations between Lazio and Inter Milan are poor, so most of their fans had already left, not wanting to witness their rivals' victory. Only the die-hard Inter Milan fans who traveled with the team remained.
Sitting on the sidelines, President Cararo hung the medals around the players' necks one by one. When it was Ronaldo's turn, he embraced Ronnie and said something, though it's unclear what was said.
When it came to Wang Feng, Cararo paused for a moment, smiling as he looked at Wang Feng and said, "Welcome to Serie A, Mr. Legend."
Wang Feng modestly replied, "Thank you, sir. I'm still on the way." Cararo nodded satisfactorily, then hung the medal around Wang Feng's neck and embraced him tightly.
Finally, Cararo handed the championship trophy to Zanetti and left. Zanetti lifted it high, and other players joined in to touch the trophy. This was Inter Milan's first league championship trophy since 1989!
When the trophy was passed to Wang Feng, he carefully examined it. It was golden all over, shaped like a funnel with a cylindrical center and a conical top inserted into the middle, quite unique.
Inter Milan's players celebrated with the trophy and medals, even tossing their head coach and assistant coach into the air. Poor Cooper, the 47-year-old middle-aged man, was tossed around until his back almost gave out.
They also wanted to tease Wang Feng, the hero of the hour, but luckily he was too quick to be caught, so they went to prank Vieri instead.
Ronaldo watched quietly from the side, a warm smile on his face. Wang Feng approached him and asked, "Ronnie, why aren't you celebrating with them?"
Ronaldo didn't answer the question directly but said, "Thank you, Wang." Seeing Wang Feng's puzzled expression, he continued, "I'm leaving, going to Madrid. The transfer should be completed this summer."
"I plan to announce it after the Europa League final, but I feel there's no need to hide it from you. You helped me achieve what I couldn't on my own, and my life is less one regret because of it."
Wang Feng looked at the global superstar with a melancholic expression. He knew almost all the inside stories, including Ronaldo's conflicts with coach Cooper, his injuries and decline in form, and Moratti's impatience as Inter Milan's president.
So Ronaldo's departure was an inevitable result, just like after Genk won the title, everyone went their separate ways. But Wang Feng still felt sentimental. Though their time together wasn't long, Ronaldo had helped him a lot, and they had become good friends.
"Don't give me that 'I'm gone forever' look," Ronaldo said helplessly. "In the future, whether you go to Madrid or I come back to Milan, we can meet again."
"And I feel like, with your current potential, Real Madrid might just be your next destination."
Wang Feng remained noncommittal. He had no plans to leave yet. He had waited too long for the chance to play in the highest level of European competition, the UEFA Champions League.
After the end of the Serie A season, there were two whole weeks to prepare for the Europa League final. The club gave all players a five-day vacation before regrouping to travel to Rotterdam.
During this time, the club's technical director, Horacio Borm, approached Wang Feng and offered to cover all transportation and accommodation expenses for Wang Feng's family to attend the Europa League final in the Netherlands.
In fact, as early as last season, Wang Feng had wanted to bring his family to watch the matches in Germany. However, time was tight then, and his mother didn't want Wang Feng to spend money unnecessarily, so the plan fell through.
This season, with Wang Feng's significantly increased salary and endorsement fees, he would have invited his family to visit even if Inter Milan hadn't offered. It was unexpected and heartwarming, making Wang Feng feel valued by Inter Milan.
So Wang Feng first called home to inform them. All three were very willing to come and cheer for Wang Feng in person. His uncle's family also decided to come over and join in the fun.
"Lu Yao will also go to the venue. This time she'll come with her parents. Bro, you have to look handsome." Having just returned home after playing outside for half a year, Wang Feng's sister reminded him.
Wang Feng patted his head and asked, "I'm already quite handsome, aren't I? Oh, by the way, how's Lu Yao's university?"
"Hehe, why are you so concerned about her? Why not just ask her directly? She's already received an admission letter from the University of Milan. She'll come with me to visit you during the summer vacation."
"I'm worried you'll be alone in Italy without company. Always causing trouble everywhere." Wang Feng said, "I forgot to ask last time we talked. We only talked about her Italian proficiency reaching level B2. What about you? You've been too busy playing and haven't learned anything?"
On the other end of the phone, Wang Tian stuck out her tongue and said, "I can manage basic conversations now. I'll learn more when I'm in the environment. Aren't you the same, bro?"
Wang Feng shook his head helplessly. In fact, languages were his weakness when he first arrived in Belgium. But since his adventure, his memory had improved dramatically. He not only learned Dutch and French but also quickly picked up Italian after arriving, allowing him to integrate well with the team and communicate with his teammates.
After hanging up the phone, he contacted his agent, Balmond, to arrange for his family to travel to Rotterdam, while he focused on training and preparing for the match.
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