Chapter 575: No Comparison
Real Madrid received unanimous praise from all media outlets for their pre-season matches in the United States. The entire team was in excellent form, with Wang Feng completing a fantastic four-goal haul in his first appearance alone, proving himself to still be the unstoppable super striker.
Even more surprising was that in Wang Feng's absence in other matches, the other players were equally competitive, even defeating the full-strength AC Milan.
Apart from the footballing success, Real Madrid also reaped significant commercial benefits. According to later statistics, the four matches in the United States collectively attracted nearly 250,000 fans to the stadiums, and even with an average ticket price of $200, they couldn't resist supporting Real Madrid.
Furthermore, major North American media actively reported on Real Madrid's matches, and head coach Ancelotti and Wang Feng both gave interviews to several important media outlets.
The Chinese superstar was even invited to appear on the highest-rated American TV show, "The Oprah Winfrey Show." Although this program had officially ended in 2011, given the rare opportunity, including Oprah herself, all the staff were willing to produce a special episode.
In the show, Wang Feng's witty and humorous responses captivated all the audience, even causing the queen of talk shows to marvel, "You're the smartest athlete I've ever met."
After this episode aired, his popularity in North America skyrocketed, almost reaching a level of universal recognition. The club continuously produced special edition jerseys for the US tour, which sold out rapidly and required continuous restocking.
In contrast to Wang Feng's flourishing career, Messi found himself in a public relations crisis. When Barcelona played a friendly match against Manchester United in Sweden, a local newspaper published a photo showing the Argentine looking intoxicated, with a bewildered expression, being supported by his teammate Xavi as he walked.
The report pointed out that the day after the friendly match, coach Roura gave the entire team a day off, and Messi, Xavi, Valdés, Busquets, Puyol, and other key players went to a local nightclub to party.
According to insiders, they invited up to 30 women to the party. To prevent any leaks, the Barcelona players demanded that these women leave all their phones at the nightclub entrance and cover all the windows.
"Everything was free, including food, drinks, and entertainment. It was the most wonderful day of my life," one of the attendees revealed. Another person said, "They drank quite a lot and did some crazy things. But what exactly happened must stay inside and not be leaked."
After this incident was exposed, Messi suffered the most damage. His image as the well-behaved boy who avoided smoking and drinking contrasted sharply with the candid photos, especially when compared to the disciplined Wang Feng.
"The Chinese superstar has never had a scandal since his debut. Messi may excel on the field, but off the field, does he just want to have more fun than anyone else?"
Of course, most rational fans, although feeling uneasy, could understand human nature. After all, across town, Ronaldo of Manchester United had his own issues, yet it didn't hinder his performance on the field.
On August 13th, a week before the start of La Liga, the entire Real Madrid team returned to their Valdebebas base in Madrid for final preparations for the upcoming season opener.
At 10 a.m. sharp, UEFA announced the candidates for the 2011-2012 European Footballer of the Year award. The top three were Wang Feng, Iniesta, and Messi.
Having won the award for six consecutive years (including its predecessor, the UEFA Club Footballer of the Year), Wang Feng, with his century of goals and the glory of winning five titles, was still the strongest contender for the award, leading the first round of voting.
The fact that "Little White" managed to secure second place ahead of his teammates was unexpected, and UEFA even hinted that the difference in points between him and Wang Feng was not significant.
This was mainly due to the efforts of some members of the judging panel who were tired of the European dominance and didn't want the Chinese superstar to continue monopolizing the award. In previous years, Wang Feng's dominance was overwhelming, whether in individual statistics or honors, completely overshadowing his competitors.
Finally, after Spain's unprecedented Euro Cup defense this year, there was naturally an attempt to challenge the core of the team for the award.
This approach might not necessarily defeat Wang Feng, but it inadvertently "injured" Barcelona teammates, as Messi had contributed 50 league goals and 14 Champions League goals last season, second only to the Chinese superstar, yet he could only settle for third place.
Moreover, most football legends scoffed at UEFA's suggestion that the difference was insignificant. When interviewed, Beckenbauer said, "Wang Feng's contributions last season were evident to all. His data significantly helped Real Madrid achieve their best-ever results."
"The Spanish Euro Cup defense was more of a team effort, and there were no exceptionally outstanding players. Andrés was excellent, but he couldn't stand out from the collective."
Zidane added, "There's no possibility of direct competition between the two. In my opinion, Wang has already secured the award with his 100 league and cup goals."
"Unless this award wants to lose its authority and fairness, then feel free to do as you please."
There was no doubt that in the new season, La Liga would still be dominated by the two giants, Real Madrid and Barcelona, but the landscape for other teams would likely be completely different from the previous season.
Leading the charge was Malaga, a team that rose with capital and naturally fell with capital. There were rumors in May that their Qatari boss, Al Thani, had begun to withdraw his investment.
"They've cost me a lot of money, and I can't keep playing like this endlessly. Malaga will never become Manchester City." Al Thani said in an interview with local media.
The club simultaneously began clearing out players, with core players like Cazorla and Rondon moving to Arsenal and Rubin Kazan respectively. The general manager also announced his resignation, and unlike the previous season's lavish spending, they didn't bring in a single player during the summer transfer window.
Despite still having a Champions League berth, coach Pellegrini had to make choices. Now, the coastal team's squad was no longer able to support dual competition.
Similar to them were the newly promoted Levante, who, despite their glorious history, had vastly different finances and squad strength from the past. Their primary goal remained avoiding relegation.
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