News of the World Cup swept across the globe like a tidal wave.
Every industry now knew that Spain had been crowned champion.
Not everyone understood what that truly meant—
but getting even the uninformed to grasp a little of it was already a success.
With the World Cup concluded, the long-silent transfer market finally began to turn.
Without the tournament, transfers would've already been in full swing.
But nowadays everyone loves to dig for gold during the World Cup. With all the top teams qualifying this year and the competition at its peak, many players targeted by big clubs were on display.
Naturally, everyone wanted to use this mega-tournament to judge the goods.
Take Su Hang before the World Cup—many still weren't convinced.
Without Zidane and Figo beside him, could he still show the same dominance he had in the Champions League?
The answer shocked everyone.
Whether by efficiency, stats, performance, or final results, Su Hang turned out to be… even stronger.
Follow that logic—did the Galácticos actually drag him down at club level?
Of course, that was just a joke.
Figo and Zidane were both monstrous at this World Cup.
Absolutely championship caliber.
Transfermarkt was the first to move.
They released their updated global player valuation rankings.
Ronaldinho sat alone at the top with €70 million, far ahead of the pack.
Brazil didn't do great this tournament, but Ronaldinho himself was excellent.
Many people don't understand why players like Ronaldinho and Messi attract such massive attention and affection—why they earn such high peer recognition even before their trophy cabinets are complete.
There are many reasons, but the most direct and realistic one is very simple:
When Su Hang scores one goal, it's just one goal—enough for a single article.
Most of the time he's off the ball, invisible, doing the hard work with little flash.
But when Ronaldinho scores, it usually comes after countless dazzling dribbles, nutmegs, feints, and attacking duels.
You could write five or eight articles on that alone, and each would still feel rich and deep.
Generally speaking, the finer the detail, the deeper the content.
It's like storytelling—you can write pages about a beautiful build-up, but only a paragraph about the final punchline.
Of course, Su Hang's goals also include dribbling, feints, and tactical duels.
But a goal is a killing blow—it happens in an instant, compressing everything before it.
If you're not a true football expert, you'll never notice the high-level operations a striker executes before the final shot.
But on-ball brilliance? Even a casual viewer can instantly tell "this guy is incredible."
That's why "Ronaldinho-type" players dominate in every category:
visual appeal, camera presence, virality, popularity, recognition, technical wow factor, commercial potential, trophy narratives…
Hence Ronaldinho's valuation sits in a tier of its own.
Next came three €50 million super strikers:
Shevchenko!
Henry!
Su Hang!
Don't think that number is low—especially you Su Hang fans.
In 2025 terms, that's at least €150 million.
Before the World Cup, clubs had already offered over €40 million for Su Hang.
Manchester United, Bayern Munich, and Chelsea all wanted him.
Each had its reasons:
United wanted him partly because Van Nistelrooy was being tempted by Real Madrid.
Bayern wanted him because they'd been missing a world-class striker for years—he was their final piece.
Chelsea wanted him simply because they were rich.
At that time, Su Hang's valuation wasn't yet the widely accepted market rate.
But now, this €50 million figure was the market price.
Su Hang, however, differed from Shevchenko and Henry.
Age?
No—at this stage, age barely affects valuation. Finished products are worth far more than half-developed ones. This isn't a lottery ticket scenario where younger automatically means more valuable.
The difference was fan experience.
AC Milan and Arsenal had already had Shevchenko and Henry for years.
Their fans had been satisfied.
A transfer now might spark conflict, but it was manageable.
So €50 million was basically their realistic sale price.
But Su Hang was different.
Fans hadn't yet experienced his true peak.
If he transferred now, it'd be like finally winning over a stunning woman—only to break up before even holding hands.
The fantasy left behind would be ten thousand times sweeter than actually being together.
That kind of emotion could drive fans to tear any club executive apart.
So if Su Hang really moved, the actual fee would be far higher than his nominal valuation.
With the right opportunity—or the right lovestruck buyer—a record-breaking price was absolutely possible.
Historically, premium transfers above market value included:
Ronaldo and Vieri to Inter;
Figo and Zidane to Real Madrid;
the future €200 million Neymar;
and Barcelona's nearly €400 million trio of Dembélé, Griezmann, and Coutinho.
Right behind the top group were:
Frank Lampard (€39m),
Totti and Essien (€37m),
Eto'o, Van Nistelrooy, Rooney (€36m),
Buffon, Ballack, Vieira, Adriano, Kaká (€35m),
Ronaldo and Gerrard (€33m),
Nesta and Gilardino (€32m),
Terry (€30m),
and in the €20–30m bracket: Puyol, Klose, Beckham, Trezeguet, Xavi, Zambrotta, Ibrahimović, Cristiano Ronaldo, and many more.
Clubs were contacting each other frequently, but none made any immediate moves.
Because the marquee signing of this window was already obvious.
Until his destination was settled, all other transfers were pushed back.
Only after failing to land the marquee target would clubs move to Plan B, then C, then D.
And that marquee target was… Su Hang.
Sky Sports:
"Chelsea offer €48 million for Su Hang; Real Madrid blacklist Chelsea from further negotiations!"
Clearly, Real Madrid were unhappy with Chelsea's bid.
Manchester Evening News:
"Manchester United renew cash-plus-Van Nistelrooy proposal for Su Hang; after Madrid rejected it, United privately asked about Van Nistelrooy's chances of transferring to Madrid."
Here, another scenario appeared: a player selling for less than his valuation.
Two factors matter:
contract length and player preference.
Van Nistelrooy already wanted to join Real Madrid, and his contract was running short.
As the selling club, United couldn't push the price higher.
So United's "cash + Van Nistelrooy" offer was actually less attractive than Chelsea's.