Thanks to Clara's explanation, the public had no choice but to accept reality.
For now, Su Hang didn't have a girlfriend.
There was no reason to doubt Clara.
At this stage, any woman with a real connection to Su Hang would never publicly deny it.
You never know how badly some models want to have a child with a rich man just to secure part of his fortune.
You never know how eager some are to spend a night with a football star just to grab a bit of spotlight.
But Clara didn't take advantage of the moment to mislead the public and confirm her "relationship" with Su Hang.
Su Hang remembered that clearly.
Although Clara was getting closer to him and continued to leak Real Madrid's plans for the second half of the season, it only caused Su Hang minor trouble.
Because by now, Su Hang's control over the Real Madrid locker room was beyond anyone's imagination.
Forget about rumors.
Even if he really invited reporters into the locker room, most of the squad would still support him.
That was dominance.
So, as a gesture of appreciation to Clara as a friend—
A few days later, Su Hang's lawyer approached her.
Not to file a lawsuit.
But to offer… a small share in AS newspaper.
It wasn't large, but its value was far greater than Clara's personal assets.
Clara was stunned, then quickly grasped the situation:
"So… Su wants to invest in the media industry?"
Su Hang's lawyer nodded:
"Not Su. You."
"Su Hang has assembled a professional team. Within six months, they'll secure a major magazine with deep history and prestige."
"But after the acquisition, many top media professionals are likely to leave. In the meantime, you'll need to recruit enough talent to fill the gap."
"You've built solid connections at Marca."
"And I hear AS has been trying to poach you for some time…"
Clara laughed:
"Tell Su I admire his ambition. I'll go to AS and poach him a whole team of talent."
...
The next day, the Spanish media world was rocked.
Clara, Spain's most famous female journalist at Marca, terminated her contract.
Word spread that Marca's editor-in-chief had pulled one of her stories, asking her to stop feuding with Barcelona-aligned papers like Sport and Mundo Deportivo.
Those outlets had been leveraging their industry ties to polish Ronaldinho's Ballon d'Or campaign.
This was tied to Barcelona's grand revival, and they had invested heavily in media promotion.
But Clara stood firm. She cut ties with Marca outright, paying only a modest penalty.
The reason? Clara had never renegotiated her contract after becoming famous.
She was still on a standard employee salary.
But after her rise to fame, she should have been offered a new, high-paying contract, like a celebrity.
Marca, hoping to cut costs, had planned to wait until this year to renegotiate—saving themselves a year of inflated wages.
After all, a regular employee costs less than €100,000 annually.
But a star journalist could command several hundred thousand.
The result? A massive miscalculation.
They completely blew it.
Even more shocking—
Within half a day, AS announced Clara's signing.
Clara would join as Deputy Editor-in-Chief, bringing her exclusive program "Clara's Column" with her.
Later reports revealed more details.
To avoid repeating Marca's mistake, AS included a non-compete clause in Clara's lucrative contract.
If she left during the contract period, she wouldn't owe a massive termination fee, but she'd be barred from working with other newspapers, magazines, or football news outlets in any capacity—employee, consultant, or endorser.
That way, AS didn't have to worry about her jumping ship.
But they overlooked something: what if Clara later decided not to sign with anyone at all?
What if she entered the industry as an owner?
...
January 3. 2006
The winter break ended.
Real Madrid traveled to Bilbao for the first leg of the Copa del Rey Round of 16 against Athletic Bilbao.
The starting lineup shocked many fans:
Su Hang, Cassano
Zidane
Baptista, García, Beckham
Roberto Carlos, Pavón, Sergio Ramos, Cicinho
Casillas
...
Rotation was expected in a Copa del Rey match, and new signing Cassano needed playing time.
But this wasn't rotation.
This was a complete tactical overhaul.
Real Madrid hadn't tried a three-defensive-midfielder setup in a long time.
In the end, they scraped out a narrow 1–0 win thanks to Baptista's goal from Beckham's corner.
But after the match, fans were far from satisfied.
The performance was dreadful.
Real Madrid never managed to control the game.
"Simon's tactical switch makes no sense. What's he thinking?"
"Benching Figo, one of our most dangerous players—has Luxemburgo rubbed off on Simon?"
"Figo only came on in the 65th minute, and he looked completely out of place."
"Zidane's individual brilliance is undeniable, but putting the entire midfield and attack on his shoulders is too much pressure."
"Cassano, as a new signing, failed to build any chemistry with the team. His debut can't be called a success."
"With fewer attacking options up front, Su Hang's limitations were exposed. He tried to do everything, but ended up doing nothing well."
"There are two types of target man. One is the true pivot—individually strong, always able to create opportunities through sheer ability.
The other is the soft pivot—relying on teammates' threats and movement to get the ball in space and create chances or assists from there.
Su Hang is a soft pivot! Without teammates like Ronaldo, Zidane, Figo, or Raúl, he struggles to truly threaten the goal."
"Beckham's been pushed back into a defensive midfield role. He's played it before, but he doesn't like it. Too much defensive work ruins his touch for those trademark banana free kicks."
"Baptista can play as a defensive midfielder—he did early in his career. But keeping him that far from goal is a complete waste of his attacking power."
"And Pavón… hopeless. His performance was absolute garbage."
This match exposed plenty of Real Madrid's problems.
Simon immediately held multiple tactical meetings, with players actively involved.
Yet within the team, the mood remained optimistic.
Because one thing never changes—
You can always count on superstar players to deliver goals, assists, and creativity, no matter how bad the circumstances.
...
(35 Chapters Ahead)
p@treon com / GhostParser