Chapter 371: Return to Real Madrid?
Li Ang's post-match comments were like stepping on a landmine for countless Manchester United fans, making them jump up in rage!
What did he mean by "Manchester United must get used to playing in the Europa League for a long time"?
How could he say something like that?!
Sure, United's results had been a bit shaky in recent seasons,
but that was just part of the growing pains of rebuilding!
United had money.
Their squad wasn't bad —
their only real problem was with poor managerial appointments.
How could he say "times have changed"?
United wasn't some fallen giant like Milan.
They were still one of the top commercial clubs globally, raking in piles of cash every year.
That was the source of their fans' confidence.
Just wait!
Once United found their "new Ferguson,"
all the people mocking them now would eat their words!
Red Devils fans firmly believed this — and waited with hope...
Li Ang watched the angry backlash from United fans online and could only chuckle.
Honestly, he thought, United fans — whether domestic or overseas — still carried a lot of pride.
But he didn't bother arguing.
Time would prove him right,
and the Glazer family's continued bleeding of the club was not going to change.
In the end, the ones who would be truly heartbroken would be those poor, hopeful United fans.
Li Ang felt some pity for them —
but he had no connection to Manchester United.
After a brief sigh, he happily turned his attention to enjoying a rare holiday.
After the 22nd round of the Premier League,
there was a break —
the 23rd round would only resume after nine days.
With no club or national team matches,
every Premier League team's main players were granted a golden period of rest.
At Chelsea, the coaching staff immediately gave everyone three days off.
Originally, Li Ang had planned to take Anna, now on winter break, for a trip back to Madrid.
But when Ibrahimović called and invited him,
Li Ang changed his plans and flew to Milan instead.
Ibrahimović and Boateng personally picked up Li Ang and Anna at the airport —
the three old friends, reunited after a long time, greeted each other warmly.
Before flying to Milan, Li Ang had checked the recent Serie A standings —
no wonder Ibrahimović and Boateng were in such good spirits.
Ibrahimović had scored in three consecutive matches,
leading Milan back into the top three of Serie A.
Boateng, after a failed stint in the Bundesliga and termination from Schalke,
had re-signed with Milan and regained his confidence.
In 20 Serie A matches so far, Ibrahimović had 12 goals and 5 assists.
Boateng had 4 goals and 4 assists.
Galliani had originally just hoped to bring back some old legends to stabilize the dressing room,
but accidentally helped Milan genuinely start a resurgence!
Under Ibrahimović's leadership, Milan were once again bullying the mid- and lower-tier teams.
They weren't yet a match for Juventus or Napoli in terms of top-end strength,
but they were at least no weaker than Inter or Roma.
With a few more seasons of stable growth,
Milan could realistically expect to return to the Champions League spots consistently.
And that meant more cash flow —
crucial for the club's long-term rebuilding.
If it had been the old Ibrahimović,
he might not have accepted this approach.
He wanted Champions League titles —
not just slow, patient rebuilding.
But after winning the coveted Champions League title at Chelsea,
Ibrahimović's mentality had changed.
He returned to the club he loved,
patiently mentoring younger teammates and leading by example.
On the field, he was still Zlatan — chasing victory with all his might.
Off the field, he had matured into a respected leader.
Seeing his old friends living well and thriving in their careers,
Li Ang was genuinely happy.
For three full days,
he stayed in Milan to catch up with them.
Anna, too, loved Milan's fashion scene.
Together, they spent a beautiful three-day holiday.
By the time Li Ang had to fly back to London,
he couldn't help but sigh deeply.
Compared to Milan, Barcelona, or Madrid,
life in London really couldn't compare.
Still, complaining aside,
he reported back to Cobham Training Ground right on schedule.
Chelsea's main players, refreshed by the break, were in high spirits.
After a day of recovery training,
the team resumed tactical preparations.
Their next opponent was Crystal Palace —
thus, everyone was relatively relaxed.
However, two days before the Palace match,
Mendes arrived from Portugal —
and what he brought seriously disturbed Li Ang's mood.
"Return to Real Madrid?
Didn't we already discuss this in the summer, Jorge?
I don't think now is the right time to reopen that topic.
I just signed a new contract with Chelsea..."
Li Ang instinctively wanted to reject the idea.
First, as he said —
he had just renewed his deal at Chelsea.
He was happy.
Why risk wrecking his relationship with the club and the fans?
Hadn't Fàbregas' return to Barcelona taught everyone enough?
Second — and more importantly —
was Cristiano Ronaldo.
Li Ang had left Madrid in part to chase the Champions League title and the Ballon d'Or.
Now, with Ronaldo still going strong,
returning to Madrid would only mean competing with him for glory again.
Why walk back into that?
He trusted Mendes understood this —
they had already reached a consensus the previous summer.
Thus, he didn't understand why Mendes was bringing it up again.
Mendes sighed and said:
"Originally, there was no problem.
But... to be honest, Li Ang,
Cristiano has bypassed me and gone directly to President Pérez demanding changes..."
"I don't know what's going through his mind, but now this problem is right in front of me.
Tomorrow I'm flying straight to Madrid to meet with the Real Madrid executives.
I'm not confident about this meeting, and I'm already preparing for the worst!"
"Chris has his own needs, and I understand.
I also believe he deserves a higher salary, but this time... he's being far too reckless!"
"If things really come to that, you need to be mentally prepared.
If—I'm saying if—Cristiano truly chooses to leave Real Madrid at the end of the season,
then you need to be ready for Real Madrid to aggressively pursue you.
Bringing you back to the Bernabéu has been President Pérez's dream for the past two years..."
Mendes explained everything, then left somewhat relieved.
But he left behind a stunned, restless Li Ang.
Li Ang truly hadn't expected the success of their old Mourinho-era Real Madrid
would end up pushing Ronaldo into a corner—
forcing him to gamble everything for a salary increase.
Meanwhile, Real Madrid's lack of major trophies in the last two seasons had made President Pérez less forgiving toward Cristiano.
Imagine if Ronaldo really did leave this summer—
would Pérez really, as Mendes warned, spare no effort to bring Li Ang back?
Li Ang instinctively wanted to dismiss the possibility.
But in the end, he had to admit:
knowing Pérez's character,
it was entirely possible.
Recently, Mendes had also casually mentioned that Abramovich's investment in transfers had tightened due to business struggles...
Connecting the dots,
Li Ang couldn't help but lose a little sleep before Chelsea's next match.
Still, his mental resilience remained as strong as ever.
He forced himself to stop overthinking about things that hadn't yet happened.
Before the Crystal Palace game,
he had already adjusted his rest schedule and mindset.
On the afternoon of January 25th,
Li Ang appeared on Chelsea's starting list against Crystal Palace,
seemingly back to normal.
There wasn't much media buzz before the match—
Crystal Palace, ninth in the table, didn't seem capable of troubling Chelsea.
But as always, reality was different from expectation.
Yes, Palace were ninth,
but they were only four points behind sixth-placed West Ham!
No wonder the English media called them Liverpool's biggest rival for a top-six finish this season.
When the match kicked off, Palace, energized by their home crowd, launched wave after wave of attacks against Chelsea.
Zaha, especially, was lively early on—
repeatedly troubling Trippier and forcing him to stay pinned back.
Li Ang rarely dropped back early in games.
But today, seeing Zaha's form,
he decisively stepped up and shut him down with tough marking!
Chelsea, playing away, naturally adopted a cautious, defensive strategy.
After neutralizing Zaha,
Mourinho signaled the team to tighten up, grinding out the first half.
Only after 30 minutes,
when Palace's initial burst of energy had faded,
did Mourinho allow Chelsea to cautiously push forward.
Palace's coach, Alan Pardew, wisely adapted too—
pulling his players back rather than foolishly fighting a full-frontal battle.
Thus, the first half ended 0–0.
At the start of the second half,
Chelsea launched a fierce early assault!
Suárez quickly broke the deadlock,
timing his run perfectly to latch onto De Bruyne's through ball and finish calmly.
With the lead secured, Chelsea fell back into their classic counterattack mode.
Pardew had no choice—
trailing at home, he had to push forward!
He substituted the ineffective Lee Chung-yong for Moroccan winger Chamakh.
Chamakh, once a terror on the flanks in Ligue 1,
had fallen off badly after injuries at Arsenal.
Now, he was mostly relying on experience.
Zaha was left isolated on the left,
and with Li Ang shadowing him relentlessly,
Palace's attacks lost all threat.
In the 78th minute,
Chelsea exploited Palace's full-on pressure with a devastating counterattack.
Suárez received a long ball from Li Ang,
drove forward, and drew two defenders.
Then he fed De Bruyne, who squared it across for Hazard to tap in at the far post!
At 2–0, the match was effectively over.
During the celebrations,
Li Ang's expression sometimes turned thoughtful.
Meanwhile, across the sea in Madrid,
a storm powerful enough to rock the world of football was quietly brewing...
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