"Ye Chen, you're already seventeen. You should understand some of the rules by now."
Wang Bo, the head coach of the national U17 team, looked at Ye Chen with a calm
expression. His tone was steady and unhurried.
"What rules?" Ye Chen raised an eyebrow and asked back.
Wang Bo smiled slightly.
"If you don't know, then forget it. This is your first time being called up to the U17 national team. For now, just train with the squad. You won't be getting any playing time in this tournament."
"Ye Chen, you're already seventeen. You should understand some of the rules by now."
Wang Bo, the head coach of the national U17 team, looked at Ye Chen with a calm expression. His tone was steady and unhurried.
"What rules?" Ye Chen raised an eyebrow and asked back.
Wang Bo smiled slightly.
"If you don't know, then forget it. This is your first time being called up to the U17 national team. For now, just train with the squad. You won't be getting any playing time in this tournament."
"What? So you're saying that no matter how well I train, I still won't get a chance to play?" Ye Chen pressed.
Wang Bo curled his lips and said arrogantly,
"You'll get on the pitch when you learn the rules."
"Is that your decision, or the head coach's?" Ye Chen asked in a low voice.
"Of course it's our decision." Wang Bo sneered at Ye Chen.
"And tell me, you must've spent quite a bit of money just to get into Manchester United, right? Funny how you suddenly become so stingy when it comes to the national team."
"That contract was earned with my own ability. I didn't pay a single cent!" Ye Chen said through clenched teeth.
"Oh... by ability?" Wang Bo laughed.
"You don't seriously believe your talent alone was enough to get you into a youth academy like Manchester United's, do you? They were only interested in the Chinese market behind you-just like Dong Fangzhuo back then!"
Ye Chen clenched his teeth.
"I'll ask you one last time—does this mean I won't get on the field unless I pay?"
"That's exactly what it means." Wang Bo picked up the teacup on the table.
"You may leave. No need for formalities."
Grinding his teeth, Ye Chen turned around and said"Fine. Then I'll head back to Manchester right now."
" If you dare to walk out that door," Wang Bo roared arrogantly,
"I'll expel you immediately and never call you up again! Remember—this is the national team! My rules are the rules!"
"Then expel me."
"A national team like this isn't worth staying in anyway."
Without looking back, Ye Chen walked out of the U17 training base.
In truth, Ye Chen was not originally from this world—he was a transmigrator.
In his previous life, Ye Chen had been a footballer. But at the age of twenty, a devastating injury forced him to retire early. Later, he found work as a physical education teacher at an elementary school.
He thought his life would drift along in mediocrity forever—until one day, he woke up and found himself reborn in another world.
More than that, he had obtained the God of Ball System.
The moment he transmigrated, the system gave him a choice:to become the God of Basketball—or the God of Football.Ye Chen did not hesitate for even a second. He chose football.
First, because football is the most popular sport in the world. And the World Cup, held once every four years, is the grandest festival in the footballing world—watched by billions across the globe.
Second, basketball already has a God of the game-one everyone knows well:
Michael "His Airness" Jordan.
Football, on the other hand, may have universally acknowledged kings, but there has never been a universally acknowledged God of Football.
After binding with the God of Football System, Ye Chen woke up to find himself reborn as a moderately well-known player in China. He had even signed an apprentice contract with Manchester United's youth team.
However, during an entire season with United's academy, he only made five appearances, three of which were as a substitute. His statistics were utterly bleak-zero goals, zero assists.
This completely shattered the expectations of fans who had once believed in him and further reinforced a widespread belief:Manchester United had signed him solely for the Chinese market behind him.
When Ye Chen came to his senses, he was already at the national team's training base. Coincidentally, the team leader had sent someone to call him in for a talk—only for Ye Chen to receive such an answer.
No money, no playing time...
So even in this parallel world, the national team was the same.
A trace of sadness rose in Ye Chen's heart, but he quickly cast it aside.
If he couldn't play for the national team, then he would treat the Champions League as his World Cup!
In many ways, the intensity of the Champions League was no weaker than that of the World Cup.
Ding!
Because the host rejected the national team leader's unreasonable demand, an additional S-rank Skill Card has been awarded: Long-Range Shot Guaranteed Card!
A guaranteed long-range shot?
Ye Chen was stunned. This was the first time the system had ever granted him a reward.
"Explain," he said.
"Once the host acquires the Guaranteed Long Shot Card, every five long-range shots taken outside the penalty area will guarantee one goal. This effect can only be triggered once per match."
Ye Chen sucked in a sharp breath.
So what that meant was—as long as he kept trying long shots, once he reached five attempts, one of them would definitely go in?
That was insane. Completely broken.
Of course, Ye Chen didn't get carried away too quickly.Anyone who had actually watched football knew one thing very well—
if your team is weak enough, you might not even get five shooting chances in an entire match.
"Doesn't this skill card boost my attributes at all?" Ye Chen asked.
Back when he first transmigrated, he had already checked his stats.
They were… depressing.
His overall rating was only 58.
Attack: 63.
Ball control and dribbling were decent—73 and 75.
But shooting?Only 57.
Heading was even worse—45.
His biggest strengths were speed and acceleration, sitting at 76 and 78.
That was the only reason he had barely managed to stay at Manchester United in the first place.
As for shot power?
58.
With numbers like that, even if he tried long shots, they'd be soft, harmless efforts at best.
Ding!
Friendly reminder: After acquiring an S-Rank skill, the system will automatically raise all related attributes to the minimum required standard.
Ye Chen immediately opened his status panel.
The moment he saw it, he froze.
His shooting stat had jumped from 57 to 75—
an increase of 18 full points.But that wasn't even the most shocking part.
His shot power had risen from 58 to 80.
Twenty-two points.
Altogether, the S-rank skill had given him a total of 40 attribute points.
That was ridiculous.
No wonder the system hadn't given him a beginner's gift pack.
Compared to this, what even was a great bonus?
Enough thinking.
Ye Chen let out a long breath, pulled out his phone, and booked a flight back to Manchester.
He'd just pretend he had never come here at all.
Sitting in the taxi, Ye Chen began to think seriously about his situation.
He only had one year left on his apprentice contract with Manchester United's academy.
It would expire on June 30, 2012.
If he didn't produce something eye-catching before then,
there was no way the club would keep him.
Of course, Pogba was already gone from the U18s—he had been promoted to the reserves, the U21 team.Among Ye Chen's remaining teammates,the most famous in the future would be Adnan Januzaj,followed by Michael Keane.
Januzaj would later leave Manchester United for Real Sociedad, with a transfer fee of €8.5 million.
Michael Keane, on the other hand, moved to Burnley first, before securing a £30 million transfer to Everton.
To be fair, Manchester United's academy has always been solid.
Not to mention the legendary Class of '92 that once shocked the football world.
More recently, players like Danny Welbeck, Paul Pogba, and Jesse Lingard all came through United's youth system.
And after them, even bigger talents emerged—Marcus Rashford and Mason Greenwood, both natural-born goal scorers.
These were the real deal.
Pure-bred Manchester United academy products.
Compared to them, Ye Chen was more of an outsider.
After all, he had only joined the club at fifteen.
That already made him a latecomer by academy standards.
And trying to stand out in a giant club like Manchester United?
That was never going to be easy.
First and foremost, he had to prove himself to Ole Gunnar Solskjær.Solskjær—the man who would soon become Manchester United's first-team manager—was currently serving as the head coach of the U18s.
Thankfully, football abroad was much purer.
As long as you performed well enough,you would get chances.
You could even earn a starting spot.
Ding!
Initial quest issued.
Objective: Earn Solskjær's trust in a training match and secure your first appearance for the U18 team in the new season.
Quest Reward: One Bronze Treasure Chest.
Quest Failure Penalty: Random deduction of 5 attribute points.