"…In the just-concluded 2014 World Cup semi-final, the Chinese team, after losing their starting goalkeeper Sun Pan to a red card in the first half, seeing their coach Lippi sent to the stands, and conceding four goals, launched a desperate counterattack in the second half, scoring three consecutive goals. However, due to the numerical disadvantage and the excessive energy consumption from playing with the same lineup continuously, they were unable to do more in the final moments of the match, ultimately losing 3-4 to the German national team and missing out on qualification for the World Cup final…"

"…Zhou Yi criticized the referee's decision to give Sun Pan a red card after the match, expressing regret over the result. But he also stated that the Chinese national team would definitely make a comeback four years later. By then, the Chinese team will be even stronger than they are now…"

"After Germany narrowly made it through the semi-final, Mark Wagner said in an interview after the match that he was not surprised by China's three consecutive goals in the second half, because they had a player like Zhou Yi who would never give up… Löw criticized the team's overly relaxed mental state in the second half at the post-match press conference, believing that this was the main reason for the team's embarrassing performance in the second half…"

…

"…Without their starting goalkeeper Sun Pan and coach Lippi, the Chinese team fought hard for 120 minutes against the Dutch team in the third-place play-off, ultimately losing 1-2 to the Dutch national team and missing out on a World Cup bronze medal… Despite only finishing fourth in the World Cup, this is already the best result in the history of the Chinese team at the World Cup, and also the best result for an Asian team at the World Cup…"

"At the Maracanã Stadium, Germany defeated Messi's Argentina 1-0 with a goal from Mario Götze in the final moments of stoppage time, winning this year's World Cup… Subsequently, the World Cup individual awards were also announced, with He Ying becoming the top scorer of this World Cup with six goals… German goalkeeper Neuer became the World Cup's best goalkeeper, while Messi won the Golden Ball, and Zhou Yi won the World Cup Silver Ball…"

…

"The curtain has fallen on the Brazil World Cup, and this afternoon, the chartered civil aviation plane carrying the Chinese national team arrived at Beijing Capital International Airport… At the airport, the Chinese team was warmly welcomed by fans from all over the country. Although the team did not win any honors, the top four finish was their best result… At this World Cup, the Chinese team won the hearts of fans across the country with their outstanding performance, as can be seen from the number of fans gathered on the scene, with many fans even coming from Sichuan, Yunnan, Guangdong, Zhejiang and other places…"

"…Zhou Yi, as the captain of the Chinese team, thanked the fans for their support on behalf of the whole team at the airport, and said that in Russia four years later, they would continue to charge towards the World Cup… At that time, Zhou Yi will be twenty-seven years old, He Ying twenty-eight years old, Sun Pan twenty-six years old, Guo Nu twenty-seven years old, Yang Muge twenty-six years old, Yan Min twenty-five years old, Wu Lei twenty-six years old, Zhang Linpeng twenty-nine years old… This group of players is in their prime, and we can fully expect their performance four years later…"

…

※※※

"Zhou Yi, we have already talked with Real Madrid, and they intend to directly activate the buyout clause in your contract…" Agent Schulze said to Zhou Yi, who was on vacation, on the phone.

"Ninety million, Real Madrid are really loaded." Zhou Yi grinned.

"After seeing your performance at the World Cup, many wealthy clubs will think that ninety million is not expensive," Schulze said with a smile.

"Well… okay, that's it, I have to call Klopp."

"What are you calling him for?" Schulze asked strangely.

"I promised him that if I were to leave, I would tell him the news myself."

After Zhou Yi hung up Schulze's phone, he found Jürgen Klopp's name in his address book.

He hesitated for a moment, but still dialed the number under the name.

Soon Klopp's sleepy voice sounded on the other end: "My God, Zhou Yi. Do you know what time it is in Germany now?"

"I'm sorry to bother you, coach. But we agreed…" Zhou Yi said.

"Agreed… what?" Klopp was obviously not awake yet, and his mind was numb.

"If I were to leave, I promised to tell you myself, and at the first opportunity."

"What?! Ouch! Ugh…" There was a chaotic sound on the other end of the phone. "Damn it!"

"What's wrong, coach? Are you okay?"

"No, I'm not okay, but not because I bumped into the damn headboard, but because I heard what you said…" Klopp was completely awake.

"I'm sorry, coach. Real Madrid has extended an olive branch to me, and it's a difficult invitation to refuse…"

There was no sound on the other end of the phone for a long time, so Zhou Yi had to ask again, "Coach, are you there?"

"I'm here…" Klopp's voice was tired. "This is not the first time, our team's core player has been poached by Real Madrid. Borussia Dortmund always seems unable to escape this fate…"

"This is different from the last time with Şahin, coach. I'm not leaving Borussia Dortmund to pursue glory. I've already won almost all the honors I can win at Borussia Dortmund, I've even won two Champions League titles, and I snatched the second one from Real Madrid. I just want to find new challenges, coach. Real Madrid is in Spain, where besides them, there's also Simeone's Atlético Madrid and Barcelona, and I want to go there to accept new challenges." Zhou Yi told him his thoughts truthfully.

"I know, it's not the same as you and Şahin. So I won't stop you from leaving, and I won't complain about you. You've done enough at Borussia Dortmund, you don't owe Borussia Dortmund anything, you can pursue new life goals, after all, you're only twenty-three years old… There are so many possibilities in your future…" Klopp murmured, he seemed a little distracted, but he quickly recovered from this brief distraction. "Real Madrid is a true giant, and such a giant deserves you, so going to Real Madrid is no problem, as long as they give enough transfer fee, I believe the Borussia Dortmund club won't make things difficult for you in your transfer…"

"Uh, coach. Actually, Real Madrid intends to directly activate the buyout clause in my contract…"

"Ninety million euros?" Klopp was stunned for a moment, then said in a semi-joking tone, "I said I shouldn't have agreed to set up a buyout clause in your contract in the first place… Otherwise, we could at least sell you for a hundred million now!"

Zhou Yi laughed: "I'm also quite sorry that I didn't become a hundred million euro man."

This joke eased the somewhat sad mood between the two, and Klopp said: "I'm very glad that Zhou Yi, you still remember what we said at the beginning. If you hadn't reminded me, I might have forgotten it myself. Anyway, I'm very happy to have coached you for five seasons… Those were the best five seasons for Borussia Dortmund."

"Also mine…" Zhou Yi said.

But he was interrupted by Klopp.

"No, not yours. You're only twenty-three years old, and you'll have more and better times waiting for you. I wish you all the best at Real Madrid. If we meet again, I don't want you to hold back, just an embrace will be enough."

"I will, coach, I promise to give you a hug."

"Well, then… now, can I continue sleeping?"

"Ah, I'm sorry, I bothered you for so long. Good night, coach."

"Good night, Zhou Yi, this may be the last time you call me 'coach'." After saying that, Klopp hung up the phone before Zhou Yi could respond.

Zhou Yi looked at his phone, and the last sentence Klopp said just now seemed to be still echoing in his ears.

It was Klopp who discovered him. When Barcelona and Arsenal were also very interested in him, he personally flew to Barcelona to talk to him and make promises about the future. And then he fulfilled those promises.

The outside world may have many views and evaluations of Klopp.

But for Zhou Yi, Klopp was his mentor.

No matter what team he goes to in the future, and no matter what team Klopp goes to, Zhou Yi will still call him "coach". Because he is indeed his coach, and always has been.

※※※

"Yesterday, a sensational piece of news came from the transfer market—Borussia Dortmund officially announced that they had received a 90 million euro offer from Real Madrid for Zhou Yi. This offer has matched the amount of Zhou Yi's buyout clause with Borussia Dortmund, so as long as Zhou Yi and Real Madrid reach an agreement, Borussia Dortmund can only and must let him go… Since Borussia Dortmund is a listed club, they must truthfully disclose any information that may affect stock price fluctuations, so this transfer news should be true…"

"In fact, since leading Borussia Dortmund to defend the Champions League title, Zhou Yi has not lacked wealthy suitors. However, during the World Cup, Zhou Yi closed all transfer communication channels and focused on playing in the World Cup… Now that the World Cup is over, he can naturally negotiate with those clubs that are interested in him. His suitors are not just Real Madrid…"

"Real Madrid was defeated by Zhou Yi's Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League final last season. Moreover, Real Madrid has been blocked by Zhou Yi for two consecutive seasons in the Champions League… If they can't beat him on the field, they simply poach him to become one of their own, which is very much in line with Real Madrid's style. But it also shows that Zhou Yi has completely subdued Real Madrid…"

"According to well-informed sources, Real Madrid has reached an agreement with Zhou Yi on personal terms, and is just waiting for the clubs to complete the transfer operation before he can officially join. This will be a milestone in the history of Chinese football, the first time a Chinese player has joined Real Madrid, this century-old giant…"

"Real Madrid not only bought Zhou Yi this summer, but also introduced Bayern Munich midfielder Toni Kroos, which fully demonstrates their ambition. It seems that after failing to win their tenth Champions League title, Real Madrid has decided to accelerate the process… Zhou Yi is twenty-three years old, and Toni Kroos is twenty-four years old. These two midfield core players, who were each other's masters and mortal enemies in the Bundesliga, will join hands at Real Madrid, and they are likely to become Real Madrid's midfield combination for the next ten years…"

※※※

When Zhou Yi stood on the podium of the Bernabéu Stadium, below him were more than 50,000 Real Madrid fans and hundreds of journalists, most of whom were from China.

Beside him was Mr. Florentino Pérez, the president of Real Madrid, and the two of them had just taken a photo holding a Real Madrid number twenty-three jersey with his name printed on it—just like at Borussia Dortmund and the Chinese national team, number twenty-three would be his number at Real Madrid.

And this number had become no longer ordinary because Beckham wore it at Real Madrid.

Afterwards, Zhou Yi put the jersey aside and faced tens of thousands of Real Madrid fans, and gave his first speech since joining Real Madrid.

"I know Real Madrid is the greatest giant in the world. Playing for such a giant will put you under tremendous pressure, facing countless critical eyes, but for me, that's exactly why I came to Real Madrid—I crave new challenges. I am here to win championships, to achieve success, and I mean what I say! hala_madrid!"

Real Madrid fans welcomed the player who had just defeated them in the Champions League final with warm applause and cheers.

In the Champions League final, they must have booed Zhou Yi. But now they were cheering for him.

Having seen Zhou Yi's performance in the World Cup leading the Chinese team, any smart Real Madrid fan could realize what changes Zhou Yi's arrival could bring to the team.

It was definitely more good than bad, past grievances were wiped out, and now they were on the same boat, fighting forward for the same goal.

In this way, Zhou Yi, who joined Real Madrid for 90 million euros, became the most expensive player in the European transfer market this summer.

As for the story of "Most Expensive Player" Zhou Yi joining Real Madrid?

The whole world knows…

(End of the book)

※※※

ps, at eight o'clock in the evening, update the afterword, this book is officially finished, thank you all for your company along the way!