Chapter 594: Non-stop Money Making
The setbacks faced by both Real Madrid and Barcelona naturally became the biggest focus of this Champions League matchday. At the post-match press conference, Ancelotti expressed that Borussia Dortmund's strength was formidable and their ability to defend their Bundesliga title was not by chance.
"This team is good at defensive counterattacks, with high efficiency in transitioning between offense and defense. The players are proactive, fast, and their defensive quality is commendable," the Italian commented on the Yellow Blacks.
"They will be one of the strongest opponents for the Galacticos on the road to the championship. But in fact, we also have a chance to win the game. If we meet in the knockout stage next time, we will definitely spark different fireworks."
Ancelotti's implied words suggested that both teams would secure qualification spots, leaving the media at the scene exchanging glances. Upon closer inspection, it seemed that this was indeed possible given the current standings.
After four rounds of matches, Borussia Dortmund led the group with 3 wins, 1 draw, and 10 points. Real Madrid followed closely with 2 wins, 1 draw, 1 loss, and 7 points. Ajax ranked third with 1 win, 1 draw, 2 losses, and 4 points, while Manchester City languished at the bottom with 2 draws, 2 losses, and only 2 points.
The name "Group of Death" was not unfounded. The Bundesliga champions demonstrated their strength, while the Premier League champions encountered continuous setbacks, to the extent that they might not even qualify for the Europa League.
This left many fans of the newly crowned champions dissatisfied, and the slogan calling for the dismissal of head coach Mancini gradually grew louder.
As for Barcelona, their unexpected loss was originally just a minor accident, hardly affecting their advancement prospects. However, subsequent media reports revealed another conflict between Messi and Villa on the field, instantly attracting the attention of countless fans.
"AS" wrote a detailed account of the incident. When Barcelona was trailing, Villa chose to take a shot himself instead of passing the ball to Messi, which greatly displeased the Argentine superstar.
He made no effort to conceal his anger. After the ball was kicked into the stands, Villa turned his back to the goal and walked towards the midfield, while Messi on the opposite side stared angrily at Villa for a full 20 seconds.
The Spanish forward knew Messi was looking for him, so he deliberately turned his head the other way to avoid eye contact with the Argentine superstar.
"But the two still locked eyes in the end," "AS" described in a very peculiar rhetoric, "Messi immediately gestured to complain that the ball should have been passed to him."
"Villa, on the other hand, pointed to the shooting position, indicating that he had a great opportunity, and the two remained at odds until Celtic took a goal kick, ending the conflict."
At the post-match press conference, coach Roura was asked about the dispute between Messi and Villa. He stated that he didn't see anything, and no one around him told him anything.
This was the third time this season that the media had captured the two players erupting into conflict. Previously, they had responded positively, stating that it was about the game and not personal issues, and everything was resolved on the field. But it seemed that things were not as simple as they appeared.
Rossi Pérez, the director of Barcelona Sports TV, inadvertently revealed on the morning sports news that Roura had long been aware of the conflict between the two players, and Messi even requested the club to get rid of Villa.
"The Argentine superstar said he didn't want to see this guy continue to play alongside him," Pérez said confidently. "Come on, Leo is not as honest as he appears on the surface. He has a lot of tricks behind the scenes."
"Just like when he sent a text message to Guardiola hoping he would get rid of Ibrahimovic. Oh, sorry, you guys didn't know about this?"
"In short, Villa probably won't stay for long. He'll leave at the earliest during the winter break, and at the latest next summer."
The program quickly ignited public opinion, and more and more people believed that Messi was the "little dictator" in the Barcelona locker room. The club had to come forward for public relations, and the TV station director chose to resign later in the day.
"I don't wield power in the locker room," the Argentine denied being a bully in an interview, "I don't care about what the outside world says. As long as my teammates know what kind of person I am, Barcelona cannot afford to be chaotic at this time."
Of course, many media outlets sought Wang Feng's opinion on the matter. The Chinese superstar shrugged, indicating that he was not aware of the details, so he had no comment.
Taking advantage of the relatively calm schedule in the next half month, both Wang Feng and the Real Madrid club began to engage in commercial activities. Making money was something they couldn't stop.
The Chinese superstar first attended his own exclusive fashion series launch event. This personal brand, a collaboration between Armani and Feng Yao Group, had already released its fourth generation and was the best-selling exclusive series in the football world.
It's worth mentioning that the current best-selling exclusive brand in the basketball world is Jordan, while in tennis, it's Federer.
The fashion series included trench coats, casual hoodies and pants, sportswear, jackets, short-sleeved training suits, and more, with a color scheme leaning towards cool tones, mainly gray, white, and black, accented with blue, consistent with Wang Feng's usual character traits.
"I really like the meticulous design style of the Eds (designer) team, and the clothes are very comfortable to wear," Wang Feng said. Prior to this, he had shot many promotional photos for the new styles, which would soon appear in major fashion magazines worldwide.
As for the Real Madrid club, they arranged for the entire team to participate in a promotional event for a popular brand. As a gesture of gratitude, Audi would give everyone a car.
"It's really generous, so you guys just went for half a day, took a few photos, and walked away with dozens of cars?" Wang Feng's younger sister looked at the white Audi R8 sports car that Wang Feng had just driven back and sighed.
"Yeah, if you like it, take it. If you don't, I'll have someone handle it," as one of the most famous endorsers of the brand, they would send him the latest models of Lamborghini, Porsche, Bugatti, and other luxury cars every few years.
Not to mention, the best player of the Club World Cup received a car from Toyota every year, so he usually sold it as soon as possible, otherwise, no matter how big the villa was, it couldn't accommodate them all.
On November 11th, in the 11th round of La Liga, Real Madrid welcomed Levante at home. On the day of the match, Madrid was experiencing a torrential rainstorm, and the muddy conditions made it difficult for both sides.
In the 21st minute of the match, the home team opened the scoring. Wang Feng took a free kick in the frontcourt and lofted it into the penalty area. Ramos leaped high and managed to flick the ball before the opposing defenders, ferrying it to Morata at the far post, who stabbed it into the net.
But in the second half, Levante equalized in the 61st minute through ángel, and nine minutes later, Iguain received a through ball from Carvajal inside the penalty area. He was about to turn and shoot when he was brought down by Navarro.
The Spanish defender had intended to go for the ball, but the slippery field caused him to lose control, and the referee promptly awarded a penalty kick to the Galacticos.
Wang Feng personally stepped up to take the penalty but was denied by the Levante goalkeeper, a very rare occurrence, as the heavy rain obscured his vision and affected his performance.
Although his teammates offered consolation, the home fans in the stands remained enthusiastic. However, the Chinese superstar was very frustrated; he rallied his spirits and continued to seek opportunities.
Fortune favors the prepared mind. In the 83rd minute, Wang Feng received a through ball from Ramos in midfield and broke through the visiting team's defense with successive half-high passes in collaboration with Carvajal.
After rushing into the vicinity of the penalty area, he decisively lifted the ball into the box. Iguain leaped forward from the back and headed the ball into Levante's net.
2-1! The Galacticos managed to secure victory in this rain-drenched battle.
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