The road to godhood starting from Ligue 1

Chapter 115: The Burning King Kong, the Smoky Tai Sui

"Congratulations, Gaio! You're the best player in the French Cup and probably the best player in Ligue 2, too. Double the prize."

Inside the reception room of the Bastia training base.

Ilion and Gaio stood together at the window, watching the sunlight of Bastia shining on the indoor green plants, and they were both in a good mood.

After a few brief pleasantries, Ilion asked, "How do you decide to stay in Bastia?"

Gaio nodded. "Yes, this is an idea I've had for a long time. If the team can win the French Cup, I have no reason to leave."

Ilion sighed, "I was hoping you'd return to Chelsea."

But as if he thought of something, he shook his head and said, "But I also know that this is difficult. The competition in the team is very fierce now. There are many top players competing for every position. We have also bought a lot of new players. To be honest, if you go to Chelsea, there will definitely be no place for you."

Ilion looked at Gaio with a relieved expression, "It would be better for you to stay in Bastia. Here you can fully demonstrate your talents without any pressure of performance.

If we play well, the fans will be happy. If there are some ups and downs, the fans here will be more tolerant.

The fans of top teams are the most demanding. They not only want to win, but also want to win beautifully."

Gaio knew what he meant, but did not continue the conversation on this topic. Instead, he talked about something he remembered after seeing Ilion.

"Uncle Albert."

"what happened?"

"Bastia has now secured a spot in next season's Europa League and plans to give it a try. They lost the UEFA Cup final, where they could have won their first European title. Everyone from Jerónimi to Chatham Hagibegic wants the team to give it another try."

Gaio told Ilion of Bastia's decision.

Ilion looked at Gaio with a puzzled look.

Gaio made no secret of his purpose. "Can you introduce Chatham to the transfer staff at Chelsea? Perhaps we can loan one or two players from Chelsea who don't have a chance to play but need to level up in top leagues and European competitions."

"Players on loan from Chelsea?" Ilion was really surprised this time.

Unexpectedly, Bastia set its sights on Chelsea.

"Yeah." Gaio nodded firmly.

Ilion did not answer immediately.

He thought about it carefully and found that Bastia next season seemed to be an excellent platform for leveling up players.

The French Ligue 1 team has the Europa League to play in and is currently short of players, so they can provide a starting position.

"Okay, let me talk to Chatham during your match against Metz. If it's just about loaning some of Chelsea's fringe players, I might be able to help."

Ilion agreed, then asked, "Since you're asking this question, do you have a candidate in mind?"

Gaio nodded and named five names, "Romelu Lukaku, Kevin De Bruyne, Josh McEachran, Tommy Hopkins, Ulises Davila."

In fact, he only likes the first two, and the rest are just there to make up the numbers, but they are still pretty good players.

If the first two players cannot come, McEachran is De Bruyne's backup.

McEachran is known as Lampard's successor at Chelsea.

In fact, he is not worried about not being able to rent.

Chelsea, nicknamed "Taxi", has too many young and handsome players, and the first team has no chance for them at all.

I can only rent it all over Europe to level up.

Ilion smiled and said, "You already have such a detailed list. You can contact the team without going through me."

Gaio shook his head. "This is just some of the connections I made with the youth team when I was at Chelsea. I noticed these players are pretty good. If I really want to negotiate, I need connections with the first team."

This was also the reason he gave to Chatham.

These are the connections he accumulated during his time at Chelsea.

Ilion repeated the names. "Okay, I'll take note. I'll talk to Chatham later to see how much your team can afford to rent these players. You have to understand that Chelsea's weekly salary for these players is higher than your average player's monthly salary. Even if it's just a loan, it's a heavy burden."

"Hey, that's Chatham's business."

after one day.

The entire Bastia team traveled to Metz in northeastern France.

Because there was no pressure to perform, the players were more relaxed. Chatham even promised the players that after the afternoon game, they could rest for a night before returning to Bastia.

Metz is located at the confluence of the Moselle and Sauer rivers.

The two rivers embrace each other and give birth to three small islands in Metz: Petite Saulteille, Grand Saulteille and Chambier.

Four p.m.

Saint Severon Stadium.

The Metz home stadium, with a capacity of more than 20,000 people, had an attendance rate of less than 70% to 80%.

Apart from the cheers from the die-hard fans in the stands, there wasn't much movement from the fans in the other stands.

This is also related to Metz's record this season.

They were on a losing streak.

Currently ranked second from the bottom in Ligue 2.

A relegation spot has basically been locked in advance, so for Metz fans, this game itself is not something they are looking forward to much.

They will play in the French league next season.

Gaio sat on the bench.

He knew that he probably wouldn't have a chance to play in this game, as the team rotated almost all of its main players.

Hagibegic went from wanting to win to scouting the players.

And these substitute players also know that the last four games are their time to perform.

Whether he can stay and compete in Ligue 1 with the team next season depends on these games.

So I work extra hard.

In less than twenty minutes, striker Khazri scored a goal to help Bastia score the first goal.

The offensive ability of Metz's players was indeed average, with only one shot in the entire first half.

Gaio kept looking at the bench next to Metz, waiting for someone to come on.

Sadio Mane.

Not many people are paying attention to Mane at the moment, and his market value on the official website of Transfermarkt is only 25 euros.

However, Gaio also knows that there may be some twists and turns in signing Mane.

Because he remembered that Salzburg Red Bull had already paid attention to Mane and brought Mane to Austria after Metz was relegated.

Now Gaio only hopes that Chatham can use the advantages that Bastia is a French Ligue 1 team, Mane is more adaptable, and the team has plans for European competitions to persuade Mane.

Of course, the more important point is the transfer fee.

Gaio can no longer remember how much Salzburg Red Bull spent on Mane, but it is estimated to be only a few million euros.

Bastia can afford this money if he grits his teeth.

What’s more important is that Mane is a high-quality asset and buying him is pure profit.

As with Kante, it's on the eve of takeoff.

As time passed, Gaio kept thinking about these related things, and also thought of the so-called "Messi Double Youngsters" evaluated by L'Equipe - Pjanic and the Crown Prince.

He sighed again, Pjanic has now joined Serie A Roma, but the future of the crown prince is still bleak.

drop!
The match between Bastia and Metz ended at halftime with the whistle. The away Bastia fans were singing and dancing, feeling no pressure at all. They had been relaxed and enjoying each of the last few matches, just watching the action.

When seeing Gaio walking towards the player tunnel, some Bastia fans shouted Gaio's name and asked, "Gaio, will you play?"

Gaio shrugged and smiled.

Then he walked into the player tunnel.

In the player tunnel, he saw the somewhat shy "fiery King Kong, smoky Tai Sui", but Gaio did not go over to say hello. He just nodded slightly when their eyes met.

Mane also responded with a smile.

He naturally knew Gaio.

This player, who appears in the headlines of French football media almost every day, is now the darling of fans throughout France.

There are even media reports that Gaio is on Blanco's final European Cup squad.

This made Mane very envious.

He is two years older than Gaio, but Gaio is already famous in France and is worth 30 million euros.

And he's not even one percent of Gaio's ability.

Mane walked towards the locker room with a feeling of loss. In the locker room, the head coach was constantly talking about the tactical arrangements for the second half and how to play.

Mane sat quietly on the side.

He knew that no one would care what this guy said. In the eyes of his teammates, the team was going to be relegated and the head coach was definitely going to leave. Everyone who was capable had to find a new club.

Otherwise, you have to play in the French league.

Mane was thinking about Gaio who he saw in the player tunnel. The other guy led the team to win the double championship at the age of 17 and got to play in Ligue 1 and the Europa League. But he was 19 and almost 20 years old and still had to play in the French league.

He shook his head silently.

Maybe this is the difference between people.

soon.

The second half continues.

Metz struggled for ten minutes, suffering from a lack of attacking power, before the head coach made a substitution.

The underperforming right winger Ensor was replaced by Mane.

Mane comes on.

Gaio's expression brightened.

Chatham also set his sights on the Senegalese striker, who was recommended by Gaio.

But he has looked at Mane's data. In Metz's 19 Ligue 2 appearances this season, he only scored one goal and had no assists. Instead, he received four yellow cards because of defensive errors.

On paper, this is indeed not a good forward.

And Mane also plays on the right side. If he is really bought, won’t he occupy Gaio’s position?

Therefore, Chatham now wants to see Mane's strength on the spot.

Soon Chatham and Gaio both saw Mane's performance.

With a very violent straight-line acceleration, he passed Bastia's left-back Sanz cleanly.

Wow!

The fans at the scene also exclaimed. They are still very optimistic about Mane because his speed and explosive power are really strong.

Chatham noticed it too.

Mane has strong physical fitness!
but,

When Mane broke through, his handling of the ball disappointed most people. His cross from the flank actually went towards the stands.

Mane waved to his teammates to indicate that it was his own problem.

Keep playing.

Through this experience, Chatham also had a preliminary understanding of Mane: he has great impact, but his ability to handle the ball is not good enough.

Chatham frowned and thought, should he buy Mane?
In subsequent games, Mane basically fits this simple impression. He is really fast, and is at two extremes compared to Gaio.

One simply relies on his body to rush past the opponent, while the other relies on technique and rhythm to get rid of the opponent.

That's exactly what I thought of.

Chatham made the decision immediately - buy!

During the broadcast, the camera was also focused on Gaio on the bench, but apart from the routine warm-up, there was no sign of Gaio appearing on the field.

This made many fans feel a little regretful.

at Sunset Cafe Bistro.

Bertrand looked at the fans with a hint of regret and said with a smile, "What are you thinking? Gaio will still be with the team next season. Are you worried about not having games to watch? And you should prepare the money quickly. The team has the Europa League next season, and going away will still cost some money."

The fans laughed when they heard what Bertrand said.

Someone else echoed, "Right! We must go to the away game in the Europa League next season! I have news that the team is preparing to make a big push in the Europa League!"

Someone immediately questioned, "Is this true? Given our situation, how can we possibly afford to compete in the Europa League?"

It is normal to be questioned, because in today's football, fans also know that money is important.

Needs squad depth.

Otherwise, no matter how strong the lineup is, it will be dragged down in multi-line operations.

"Why would I lie to you? I have a girlfriend who works at a bank. She heard with her own eyes that Bastia's president, Jerónimi, went to the bank to apply for a large loan, using the team's assets as collateral."

what?
When the news came out, everyone was shocked. Is this such a big deal?!
moment,

The fans' expressions changed, and they began to ask questions. "How much is the loan? How much can we use for signings next season?"

There are no answers to these questions.

Someone shouted, "With Gaio here, what are we afraid of? Gaio is a player worth 30 million!"

"I hope the team can still introduce a substitute for Gaio, and also provide Gaio with some help. I worry about him getting injured in every game if he relies on himself to break through."

"Yeah, come to think of it, after we won the championship, I saw on the team's official website that Gaio was having some discomfort in his adductor muscle and he wouldn't be starting in the next few games."

"Gaio can't be hurt."

Bertrand smiled as he listened to the fans' chatter while doing his own work: mixing drinks, washing glasses, and collecting money.
He no longer has any regrets.

Jacques' wish has been fulfilled.

Gaio is the one who helps him fulfill his wish.

The graffiti on the building next to the Terra-Vecchia Center was also put there by Bertrand.

That sentence,
This is what Jacques once said to a player who rejected a French mainland team and chose to stay in Bastia.

drop! !

On TV, the final whistle sounded.

Bertrand continued his work methodically, while thinking in his mind -

"Should I make a barrel of aniseed wine, too?"

(End of this chapter)