Take Manchester United and Roma, for example. Roma's "Il Capitano," Totti, was constantly linked with both Real Madrid and Manchester United in the years prior. With his ability and good looks, had he moved to United, he would've become Italy's version of Beckham.
Unfortunately, Totti was simply too loyal and ultimately chose to stay at the Colosseum.
Ironically, it was Cassano who later found himself squeezed by wage issues and kicked up a fuss before moving to Real Madrid.
Even so, as exciting as those stories were, they paled in comparison to the looming showdown between Real Madrid and Chelsea.
Especially since last summer, Chelsea had made a staggering €60 million bid for Su Hang.
In Chelsea's long-term plans, Su Hang was ranked even higher than Shevchenko.
At the time, almost everyone thought the price was wildly inflated.
But more than half a year later, Su Hang had already smashed in fifty goals in a single season. Was he really worth just €60 million anymore?
When Barcelona renewed Messi's contract, his release clause jumped from €150 million to €200 million.
So what do you think Su Hang's price tag would be?
Of course, Barcelona's release clauses were something of a joke. They were more about boosting the value and exposure of young players than anything else.
It wasn't until PSG went all in for Neymar that Barcelona truly took a hit—though even then, they didn't actually lose out.
...
On March 10th, Real Madrid entered a nightmare stretch of fixtures.
Less than four days after their Champions League clash, they had to travel away to face another powerhouse… Barcelona.
The second El Clásico of the La Liga season was about to kick off.
Real Madrid had just secured qualification for the Champions League quarterfinals.
However, Van Nistelrooy had been forced off injured in that match and remained unavailable.
Joining him on the injury list were Zidane and Carlos, both sidelined by serious injuries sustained earlier.
Considering the brutal battle just four days earlier, this was undoubtedly Real Madrid at their weakest.
They were stuck in that awkward phase where the old strength had been drained, while the new strength had yet to fully emerge.
Barcelona, on the other hand, though regrettably knocked out of the Champions League, had a relatively complete squad.
With no European distractions ahead, they could field their strongest possible lineup for this match.
Add in home advantage,
and their chances of winning were extremely high.
They could very well become the final straw that broke Real Madrid this season.
So far, the La Liga standings remained incredibly tight among the top five.
Barcelona sat at the top.
Sevilla and Valencia occupied second and third.
Real Madrid languished in fourth.
Deportivo La Coruña followed closely in fifth.
But Real Madrid fans had long grown used to this situation.
Over the past several seasons, this had more or less been their position at this stage of the campaign.
Despite winning La Liga titles in the previous two years, Real Madrid had never truly dominated the league.
Barcelona and Valencia had spent far more time at the top than Real Madrid during that period.
Yet Real Madrid almost always pulled off late-season comebacks.
And those decisive matches just happened to coincide with Su Hang's rise to fame.
From impact substitute, to Real Madrid's crown prince, to captain, to star, to undisputed leader—Su Hang's journey wasn't built on Florentino's favoritism, but on goals and victories.
Global fans, freshly stirred up by the Real Madrid–Chelsea narrative, were about to be treated to another blockbuster El Clásico.
Under this brutal schedule, the wave of attention merged into one continuous surge.
Wherever Real Madrid went, they became the center of the footballing world.
According to media reports, this El Clásico attracted even more attention than those of recent seasons, approaching the level of a World Cup semifinal or a do-or-die Champions League match.
This was a massive boost to the overall commercial value of La Liga.
Barcelona also took advantage of the spotlight, loudly protesting what they claimed was injustice in their Champions League elimination by Liverpool.
Mundo Deportivo argued that Premier League teams were too rough, claiming Liverpool disrupted Barcelona's attack using non-footballing methods.
However, The Echo later published the foul statistics from that match, showing that Barcelona committed far more fouls than Liverpool.
In reality, Barcelona were far more "hard-nosed" than people liked to admit.
Sport went further, predicting the outcome of the upcoming match. They argued that Real Madrid's victory in the previous Clásico was solely due to Zidane's presence, and that without him, Real Madrid were nothing more than a pseudo-giant.
They even quoted Chelsea manager Mourinho.
"The enemy of my enemy is my friend"—in Sport's reporting, Mourinho was practically the ultimate authority in football.
Whatever he said was treated as gospel.
As if it wasn't Barcelona he had been cursing this time last year.
Meanwhile, members of Barcelona's management released photos of newly replaced goal nets at Camp Nou ahead of the match, along with a caption:
"Camp Nou rarely concedes goals, so we've neglected equipment maintenance."
"That's why during the first Clásico this season, Su Hang managed to rip the net with one shot."
"But in truth, he isn't that powerful."
"This time, we've specially imported high-end nets from the United States to prevent any funny business."
"We welcome Su Hang to experience the world's most advanced nets at Camp Nou—but considering he'll likely go scoreless here, he's welcome to apply for the position of equipment caretaker."
Clearly, Barcelona were brimming with confidence.
They firmly believed that God was fair.
Open one door, and another must close.
Su Hang scored five goals in nine minutes at the Allianz Arena—so at Camp Nou, he should disappear completely, go ninety minutes without a single touch!
This provocation only intensified the hostility of the Clásico, even overshadowing the brewing revenge clash between Chelsea and Real Madrid.
In response, Spain national team assistant coach Simon said:
"The way of the world is to take from what is lacking and give to what already overflows. When your strength is truly sufficient, God doesn't just open a window for you—He closes a door for your opponent as well."
"For this match, I support Real Madrid. I support Su Hang."
Catalan media immediately attacked Simon.
As a national team coach, how could he show such blatant bias toward Real Madrid and Barcelona players?
But Simon calmly absorbed the blow.
He responded:
"Whether it's Real Madrid or the national team that needs me, I'll always give my all. But for any other club, I must think very carefully."
"I'm actually glad I didn't sign the head coach contract Barcelona offered me for next season. Out of respect for Rijkaard, a legend of the game, I turned them down."
"I hoped they would resolve their current issues before negotiating with me. I don't think I did anything wrong—but even such a reasonable response earned their resentment and attacks."
"I know they want universal praise, but if they were truly that outstanding, how could they have exited the Champions League in such an embarrassing fashion?"
"And how could they have secretly rushed to find a new head coach behind Rijkaard's back?"
Even without concrete evidence, people believed Simon's words.
After all, with the Champions League still in sight, one of the world's top managers over the past year wouldn't speak recklessly.
This time, Barcelona were furious.
And Barcelona's head coach Rijkaard felt the humiliation just as deeply.
Barcelona's morale was in complete disarray.
...
(35 Chapters Ahead)
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