The perfect midfield: It starts with never passing the ball to Ronaldo.

Chapter 96, "Ronaldo, I'm going to be on top of you...; Guardiola talks about Mario."

After a busy day, Mario finalized his offseason training and physiotherapy team and rejected offers from two clubs.

In the evening, he also needs to take a direct flight to Pudong to Shanghai for business activities.

Cristiano Ronaldo, who considers himself a talent scout and a good captain, was very thoughtful, not only preparing a private dinner but also arranging for a drop-off at the airport.

"Joseph, have you made up your mind?"

"Let the winds of Cabo da Roca blow across all of Europe!!"

"I promise you, in six years, maybe seven, you will be the club's star player!"

"You were only 25 or 6 years old then, the prime of a player's life. You took the reins from me and created an even more glorious future!"

Cristiano Ronaldo looked at Mario with great anticipation. Although the guy sometimes takes wild shots, he can indeed create a lot of space for himself in the national team.

Moreover, through long-term integration within the club, they become even more formidable on the national team stage.

Isn't that exactly why Spain was able to lift the continental championship trophy three times in a row?

"Cristiano, you know, I'm not even nineteen yet."

"I need to have a good talk with my agent and family."

"Coentrao told me that the Bernabéu fans are very picky, and I don't want to leave in such a gloomy way like him~" Mario said, finding an excuse to pull the argument along.

You can't exactly eat Brother Luo's food and then tell him to his face.

Hey, Cristiano, my brother.

There's nothing we can do about being grouped together in the national team.

But during my club career, I want to run wild on your head!

Of course, don't worry. I'll teach that Argentinian you hate a lesson too. There's only one GOAT in this era, and that's José Mario!

An Airbus wide-body aircraft is en route from Barajas Airport to Shanghai Pudong Airport, and news of Mario's appearance in the Spanish capital has begun to circulate.

Super Mario heads to Madrid, adding another powerful member to the Galactic Fleet!

Cristiano Ronaldo's national team partners reunite, and he gains his best assistant!

Real Madrid have no budget cap in the summer transfer window and are interested in signing José Mario and Gareth Bale.

Following these news reports, various top clubs began contacting Porto intensively, further increasing the workload for agent Mendes.

Paris, on the banks of the Seine.

Nasser, who witnessed Mario's magical debut in the group stage, opened his tablet, and the screen showed a clip of Mario blasting open Bayern Munich's goal in the Champions League semi-final.

He pushed the tablet toward Ancelotti across from him.

"Carlo, tell me the truth, can you make good use of him now that he's in Paris?"

Ancelotti flicked his cigarette butt and stared at the young face for five seconds.

"Of course, he will become the sharpest sword in Paris' midfield."

"Ibrahimovic can drop back, Verratti can pass the ball, and Mario just needs to solve the problem on that damn edge of the penalty area."

Nasser nodded in satisfaction. "Tell Mendes it's a €2500 million signing fee, and the weather in Paris is great, so the taxes aren't too high."

In London, at the Cobham training ground, former Real Madrid manager and Chelsea's new coach José Mourinho slammed a stack of newspapers on the table.

He looked up at Marina Granovskaia across from him.

"Mario's long-range shooting talent is amazing, and now he's developed his heading ability!"

"If I can improve his physicality and defense, he will be the cornerstone of Chelsea's future midfield!"

"No Premier League defender could stop him!"

"How much would a club be willing to pay for a player like that?"

Marina quickly began to act according to the new coach's instructions, and she would show Porto and the players Chelsea's sincerity.

Manchester, Carrington Training Ground.

David Moyes sat in Ferguson's former office, looking at the fax on the desk.

Although Sir Alex Ferguson had retired, he still gave guidance and advice before leaving his post.

Buy that young man who's about to turn nineteen, to win the future!

Or buy Bale and bring Ronaldo back to fight for the present!

Woodward shrugged and decisively chose the first task that was more likely to succeed.

On the other side, the Blue Moon Legion.

If Manchester City's transfer office had a thermometer, it would be off the charts by now.

Ninety million.

"One-time payment, no additional fees."

"If that's not enough, I'll apply for more!"

"He's younger than Bia Toure, and he can lead Manchester City further in the Champions League!"

"More importantly, keep an eye on the neighbor next door, and don't let him go to Old Trafford!"

Sébenzenestrasse in Munich.

Hoeneß made a special trip to the new manager's home and presented the scouting report to Guardiola.

"Pep, will you reconsider?"

Guardiola glanced down at the name José Mario Pereira on the cover, then looked up at Hoeneß calmly.

"Uli, I've thought it through clearly, there's no place for him at Bayern!"

Hoeneß tapped his fingers on the table, then raised his voice.

"Sixty million for an 18-year-old Champions League Golden Boot winner."

"The whole of Europe is scrambling for it, and you're telling me not to?"

Guardiola paused for two seconds, then picked up the tactics board on his desk and drew a simple 4-3-3 formation.

Have you ever seen this kid play soccer?

"Of course I've seen it! Thirteen goals and five assists in the Champions League. His header at the Allianz Arena was truly beautiful!"

Hoeneß still marvels at the young man's talent when he recalls that moment; scoring a goal is the hardest thing in a football match.

"I wasn't asking about the statistics, I was asking about his playing style."

"What should the midfielders do in my system?"

"We need to receive the ball, we need to pass it out, we need to press, and we need to win the ball back the instant we lose possession."

"Mario's defense is like air, which means that at the moment of transition from defense to attack, there will be someone in my midfield who is always walking around."

"Looking at his heatmap and running distance in this match, he's not a qualified midfielder!"

"Or to be more precise, he's a player who plays in midfield but doesn't do any midfield work when defending."

"Even when the opponent is attacking, he's still thinking about how to launch a counter-attack and how to score a goal!"

"Uli, this isn't the player I need!"

Guardiola picked up his tactics board and drew a few arrows in red.

"My midfielder needs to be involved in the entire attacking chain, not just appear in the final link. I need him to drop back to support the center-backs, I need him to cover on the flanks, and I need him to track back 30 meters when the opponent launches a counter-attack!"

"Does he have the ability?"

Hoeneß remained silent for a long time before speaking to explain.

"Maybe I can practice!"

"He won't be willing; someone used to taking shortcuts can't handle those tedious tasks!"

"This young Portuguese player has realized that scoring goals will bring him more praise, so he chooses to drop back in defense and focus on counter-attacks and scoring!"

"Having tasted the sweetness of success, he won't be willing to play a supporting role!"

"I know he's eighteen. I know he's talented."

"But there are two kinds of talent: one is talent that can be integrated into the system, and the other is talent that requires the system to operate around it."

Guardiola took a sip of his coffee and gave a decisive conclusion.

"This child's talent is the second type."

"In a team like Porto, he can just focus on making forward runs, taking shots, and finishing in the last 30 meters."

"But that won't work at my Bayern!"

The study remained quiet for a long time.

Hoeneß sighed.

"So you mean the 60 million activation penalty is too expensive?"

Guardiola shook his head.

"It's not a matter of price."

"Mourinho can use him."

"Ancelotti can use him."

"If Ferguson were here, he might have used him too."

"Because they don't need a versatile midfielder. They can have a dedicated player who is only responsible for attacking, for making runs into open spaces, and for shooting."

"But I can't, and neither can Bayern, who are competing for a sextuple next season!"

Hoeneß remained silent for a long time, then nodded to Guardiola in agreement.

"You're in charge, you're the team's boss!"

'

Seeing that her father had finished talking about work, Maria thoughtfully went to the study to tidy up the coffee cups.

"Pep, is this the club's new signing?"

"I follow him on social media, and my classmates in New York all say he's handsome~"

Upon hearing his daughter's remarks, Guardiola immediately flipped the report booklet over and then spoke seriously.

"Not a new recruit, Maria. How's your German coming along?"

Maria stuck out her tongue. "I haven't mastered much yet; I need to practice more."

"I'm sorry to have made you move from New York to Munich again in just six months. The school the club arranged is very good. Don't worry, we'll be staying in Germany for a long time this time." Pep patted his daughter's head and said apologetically.

The thirteen-year-old girl nodded. She disliked moving around and changing schools, which made it difficult for her to make many friends.

"I hope I can have a wonderful high school experience in Germany!"

"Unfortunately, I don't have Mario's talent for languages."

"Pep, did you know? This guy mastered Chinese completely in just six months!"

"And I don't understand the meaning of those symbols at all!"

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