It's cheating, but Hazard

Chapter 278 Champions League Draw (Daily Transition)
On August 8, the first round of the Premier League, Chelsea's home game against West Bromwich Albion officially began.

West Bromwich Albion, as a newly promoted team this season, is no match for Chelsea.

Charles still sat on the bench and watched the game peacefully.

But compared to the game scene where Chelsea played like a top-level boss entering a kindergarten, more media preferred to focus their cameras on Charles on the bench.

After all, in such an economic downturn, Charles alone accounted for 21.2% of all transfer expenditures in the entire Premier League this summer*.

After 90 minutes of the game, Chelsea finally swept West Bromwich Albion 6:0. Drogba scored a hat-trick, Malouda scored twice, and Lampard added the icing on the cake.

After the game, in addition to the regular reports, the newspapers that reported the game also focused on Charles, who had not yet played.

The Guardian: "Charles' 1.2 million euros may seem high, but this expenditure is completely worth it for Chelsea."

"Shayle has already won two consecutive Champions League titles. His joining may help Chelsea inject the Champions League gene."

"In the 24 hours after the transfer press conference, Chelsea sold 51 Shire shirts, compared to 2009 in the 10-87 season."

"Charles jerseys are in short supply in stores. According to our reporter's observations and statistics, at Chelsea's stadium souvenir shop, an average of one Charles jersey is sold every minute."

“At the same time, Shire’s joining plays a vital role in business development.”

"The sales of jerseys are just the beginning. Previously, Chelsea's sales of various souvenirs were only 55% of Real Madrid's. After Charles joins, as long as Abramovich is willing, he can rely on Charles' huge influence to continue to expand the club's commercial development."

"In addition to the fact that Charles' joining will help Chelsea reach a new level, his huge influence and commercial value are exactly what Chelsea and the entire Premier League need."

"With the military competition between Barcelona and Real Madrid starting, the title of the first league, which originally belonged to the Premier League, is slowly shifting to La Liga."

"With the addition of Charles, the attention and ratings of the Premier League will increase, which will benefit the entire league and perhaps slow down the pace of the transfer of the first league throne."

On August 8, in the second round of the Premier League, Chelsea played away against Wigan Athletic.

The two teams have met 15 times in history, but it was not until last season that Wigan beat Chelsea 3-1 at home, which was also the only time in Wigan's history that they beat the Blues in the league.

From this level, it is not difficult to see that the opponent in this game is also not very challenging.

In the end, Chelsea once again defeated Wigan Athletic with a huge margin of 6:0.

The British media is already looking forward to Charles' appearance.

In an interview after the game, Ancelotti still said that due to the difficult schedule ahead and taking into account the players' physical reserves, Charr will not make his Premier League debut for the time being.

On August 8, with Tottenham, Bremen and other teams reversing and eliminating their opponents, this season's Champions League qualifiers have all ended and all 26 qualifying places have been determined.

That evening, the draw for the 32-team group stage of the Champions League was held in Monte Carlo.

Charles and his Chelsea teammates all stayed at the training base to watch the Champions League group stage draw.

Malouda and Anelka sat on either side of Charles, and this season's new signings Ramires and Neymar also sat near Charles.

Soon, Brazilian players Luis and Alex also gathered around.

The 32 teams will be divided into four tiers according to their points in European competitions. Barcelona, ​​Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal, Bayern, Milan, Inter Milan and Lyon are all in the first tier, commonly known as seeded teams.

However, due to their poor performance in the previous Champions League, strong teams such as Real Madrid, Roma, Schalke 04 and Tottenham were placed in the second and third tiers.

Even Rubin Kazan, Twente and Auxerre in the fourth pot are not easy to deal with.

According to the principle of avoidance of the same football association country, Real Madrid only avoided Barcelona, ​​Roma avoided Inter Milan and Milan, and Tottenham avoided Premier League Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United.

This means that there is a high possibility that 2-3 death groups will be formed in this Champions League group stage.

It would be interesting if Chelsea were unlucky enough to meet Real Madrid, Ajax and Rubin Kazan.

"It's a pity we won't meet Barcelona."

Essien said regretfully.

"How unlucky is it to meet them in the group stage?" Drogba scratched his head.

Charles did not interrupt.

Although he did not play in those two games, it would be better for him not to get involved in this topic.

The draw ceremony, which was broadcast live on television, began soon.

The first eight seeded teams to be drawn were placed in Group F, with Chelsea being drawn into Group F.

Next comes the most exciting draw for the second-tier teams.

Florentino, who was far away in Spain, clasped his hands together and stared at the Group F screen.

The big devil is gone, but it seems he didn't go too far.

Coronel, a Valencia super fan, scratched his head.

We are waiting for the lottery result to decide whether to open a new branch in Chelsea.

Roma fans in Italy are not in much better shape.

Inter Milan's legendary coach Jose Mourinho has left Italy, but the most terrifying and dominant player in the Champions League has joined a team that is not much weaker than his previous team.

Valencia was the first to be drawn.

Coronel took a deep breath and finally relaxed.

They were drawn against Manchester United, which wasn't a very good draw, but it was good enough.

Then Real Madrid was drawn second.

In other words, except Barcelona in Group D, anyone can become Real Madrid's opponent.

Neymar also clenched his hands in this tense atmosphere.

"We... shouldn't be that unlucky, right?"

Soon, the draw ceremony on TV continued, and Real Madrid was finally placed in Group G, repeating the fate of the previous season and facing Milan.

Next, Roma was divided into Group E, Benfica was divided into Group B, Shakhtar Donetsk was divided into Group H, and Panathinaikos was divided into Group D.

The only opponents left for Chelsea are Marseille and Bremen.

“This is a pretty good sign.”

Malouda whispered.

In the end, Marseille was drawn second to last and placed in Group F where Chelsea was.

Then comes the draw for the third tier. Due to the presence of Tottenham, this tier also becomes very tricky, but the Premier League teams do not need to consider this for the time being.

In the end, Tottenham was placed in Group A where Inter Milan was located. The combination of Inter Milan, Bremen, Tottenham and Eredivisie champions Twente became a rather unexpected death group.

The four-time champion Ajax was placed in the same group as Real Madrid and Milan. The three teams formed a veritable championship group, which was also quite deadly.

Rubin Kazan was placed in the same group as Barcelona, ​​which coincides with the route of last season.

For Chelsea, the next teams they will draw, Spartak Moscow and Slovak powerhouse Zilina, are of average strength, but the away games are long, which is a very severe challenge.

Moreover, this is the first time that Zilina has entered the Champions League finals. I hope they can leave some good memories for me in future Champions League games.

……

As time goes by, the transfer windows of major leagues are about to close.

All major transfers in the five major leagues are basically completed.

In its latest report, "German Transfer Market" also reviewed the top ten players in this summer's transfer window.

"10: Ramires, 2200 million euros, Benfica -> Chelsea"

"Ramirez is a rare Brazilian midfielder who is hardworking and runs. He was also a member of the main lineup under Dunga for a long time. "Chelsea introduced him in the hope of preparing a suitable rotation player for Mikel Essien, and being able to run and steal is a necessary condition for establishing a foothold in the Blues' midfield."

“9: Gourcuff, 2200 million euros, Bordeaux -> Lyon”

“After France won the championship this summer, although he did not have a chance to start, Gourcuff’s value still increased slightly.

"With Blanc taking over as head coach of the French national team, Gourcuff also decided to follow Blanc, Chamakh and others to leave Bordeaux.

"Gourcuff's original contract with Bordeaux included a 2600 million euro buyout clause, but Lyon eventually acquired him for 2200 million euros plus a 600 million euro floating bonus, making him the top player in Ligue ."

“8: Kolarov, 2270 million euros, Lazio -> Manchester City”

"The Serbian left-back has been one of the hottest new stars in Serie A in the past two years. His assist ability is definitely not inferior to famous stars such as Vargas, Evra, and Ashley Cole. Manchester City spared no expense to sign him. However, he was injured in the first round of the Premier League. It is still unknown when he will return, which makes people doubtful."

“7: Di Maria, 2500 million euros, Benfica -> Real Madrid”

"This year has been a good year for the black shop Benfica."

"Except Ramirez, almost all the top five leagues have had scandals with Di Maria, and with the help of Real Madrid's new coach Mourinho's agent Mendes, Real Madrid came out on top. However, under Mourinho's new tactical system, Angel still needs to adapt, and his overall performance in several games was mediocre."

“6: Neymar, 2500 million euros, Santos -> Chelsea”

"Abramovich once again used his money magic to make Santos let go of their top star, the 18-year-old Neymar."

"Pele has changed his previous statement. I hope the Brazilian star can really learn something from Charles."

"Although he is still very young, judging from his previous performance and recent performance in the league, I believe he will soon get through the adaptation period."

“5: Silva 2875 million euros, Valencia -> Manchester City”

"Manchester City seems to want to compete with Chelsea's owners to see who can dig more oil under the stadium."

"During the World Cup, Manchester City poached Silva, who had been coveted by Real Madrid and Barcelona for a long time, from Valencia, and the price was not particularly expensive considering Silva's ability.

"However, it remains to be seen whether the thin Silva can adapt to the intensity of the Premier League."

"4: Balotelli, 2950 million euros, Inter Milan -> Manchester City"

"One of the big questions plaguing football today is how much money does Manchester City have?
"With Mourinho's departure, Balotelli couldn't stay at Inter Milan, but fortunately, Manchester City's head coach Mancini was his mentor.

"After a long negotiation, Manchester City finally signed a rebellious star. I hope he will not become another Bellamy-style locker room bomb."

“3: Yaya Toure, 3000 million euros, Barcelona -> Manchester City”

"Barcelona seems to have turned into a shady business and started to be very calculating."

"Last summer, Toure wanted to move to the Premier League. Arsenal and Chelsea were both rumored to be his new clubs, but this summer it was the wealthy Manchester City who bought him. Mancini also hopes to transform him into an all-around midfielder like Lampard."

"2: Villa, 4000 million euros, Valencia -> Barcelona"

"After the La Liga season ended, Barcelona quickly signed Villa, who became the last player signed in the Laporta era.

"The performance in the World Cup proves how much Barcelona's money is worth. As the most stable local scorer in La Liga in the past few years, Villa's arrival also gives Rosell the confidence to expel Charles, Ibrahimovic, Guardiola, Cruyff, Zielinski..."

“Hopefully, all his choices are the right ones.”

"1: Charles, 1 million euros, Barcelona -> Chelsea"

"Manchester City's underground oil reserves are ultimately not as good as Chelsea's. The combined transfer value of David Villa, Yaya Toure and Balotelli is more than that of Charles."

"Last season, Cristiano Ronaldo's transfer fee of 9400 million euros has refreshed everyone's cognition, but no one expected that this record would not last long. Instead, it was broken by Charles, who is five years younger than him, a year later."

"Besides, this is the price after Roselle gave me a 8% discount."

"Real Madrid, Manchester City, Manchester United, Arsenal, Bayern and other big clubs are waving their money to try to sign Charles."

"But Arsenal, Bayern and other Serie A giants were all scared off, and Manchester United and Real Madrid were also deterred by Barcelona's 2 million euros in liquidated damages plus buyout contract tax and additional taxes."

"In the end, Chelsea took the French core away with nearly 100 million people."

In its second edition, Transfermarkt Germany focuses on the clubs.

"Among the top five spending clubs in this summer's transfer market, Juventus ranked fifth with 5645 million euros."

"Barcelona ranked fourth with 7150 million euros, but their net transfer income this summer reached 9350 million euros, ranking first among all clubs."

“This is also the highest net income ever seen.”

"This season, Valencia sold almost all of its assets to pay off its debts, but in the end it only received 8355 million in revenue, and this is not net income."

"Benfica, which has always been known for its black market, only earned 4973 million euros after opening the supermarket door."

"La Liga duo Real Madrid also spent 8100 million euros in the summer window. Perhaps Real Madrid will see a return on their investment after Charles leaves La Liga."

"Manchester City, the second-ranked club, spent a total of 1.4545 million euros this summer, which has successfully surpassed Charles' value."

"Undoubtedly, the top spot went to Chelsea, last season's Premier League champions, who spent 1.8040 million euros."

"We thought the crazy summer of 2009 was not over, but happened again this year."

"Even Real Madrid has chosen to exercise restraint in such a bad economic environment, but the Premier League's money-burning war continues."

"Barcelona's new president Rosell's decision to sell a large number of players may be a response to the declining economic environment, but with the departure of Charles and Ibrahimovic, we have to wonder if this is Rosell's attempt to quench his thirst by selling Barcelona's future."

On August 8, Charles took the initiative to come to Ancelotti's office, hoping to play in the third round of the league.

In September, he ran back to the national team to play in the European Cup qualifiers without playing a single game for the club. Although Abramovich and Ancelotti did not care about this, and the teams they met at the beginning of the season were all weak teams, Charles still felt bad when thinking about his transfer fee of 1.2 million euros.

Ancelotti also has some headaches.

Tomorrow, August 8, Chelsea will face Stoke City at home.

Stoke City has yet to beat Chelsea in the league and was swept 7-0 by Chelsea at home last season.

He still wanted to let Charles rest according to the original plan.

But things often develop beyond his expectations.

The news that Charles is staying in a hotel while looking for a new home has been making headlines in the English media.

Even at the hotel where Charles was staying, some fans were curious about how he was staying.

For this reason, The Sun even did a special report on this hotel.
The house that Charles is inspecting is also the subject of continuous special reports by the media who are not tired of it.

Ancelotti thought that no one would read such boring news, but it turned out that the sales of the newspaper were still very hot.

In addition, many fans called Chelsea's hotline to ask why Charles was not given housing.

The British can't wait to see Shire's game.

"Okay, but you can only play after you have been examined by the team doctor and have been cleared."

Ancelotti said helplessly.

But what he didn't expect was that Charles took out the inspection report from behind him and placed it on his desk with a smile on his face.

"Coach, I've got the permission, let me play tomorrow!"

*The original total investment in the 2010 Premier League summer transfer window was 4.21 million euros. After adding Neymar and Charles, the recalculated transfer investment was 5.66 million euros.

So it is not an exaggeration to say that Charles' transfers account for 21% of the entire league's investment.

*I was stunned by the series of special reports about Kane looking for a house after joining Bayern.

*The meeting ended at 22:00 and typos were checked the next day.

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(End of this chapter)