Football: He suffered a broken leg at the start of the game, but partnered with Haaland!

The Estádio da Luz in Lisbon is deserted.

Sun Yang's ambitious declaration, transmitted through dozens of microphones, resonated like a thunderclap under the massive stadium dome.

In Bayern Munich's ranks, Lewandowski abandoned his provocative stance. The Polish striker touched the gold medal he had just warmed on his chest, gave Sun Yang a deep look as if he were a monster, and then turned and strode off the podium.

"Arrogant brat." Thomas Müller curled his lip, spread his hands toward Kimmich beside him, and muttered a pure Bavarian swear word.

No one went up to trash talk, not even a shove. This is the coldest jungle law in professional football: winner takes all. The losers' threats can only be fulfilled next year with their football boots.

Sun Yang didn't give them another glance. He carried the heavy crystal trophy in one hand, turned around, and walked back to the somewhat somber Dortmund queue.

Haaland, leaning on his crutches, hopped over and slapped Sun Yang on the back with his large, fan-like hand.

"Fxxk! You're absolutely right, bro! That thing's just a loan to the Munich guys for a year." The Norwegian maestro gritted his teeth, his eyes gleaming with malice. "Next year, I'm going to gnaw a piece of the Allianz Arena's turf off!"

The group walked back to the locker room through the dimly lit player tunnel.

Pushing open the door, the atmosphere inside was somewhat oppressive.

There was no champagne, no music. Even Sancho, who was usually the most boisterous, had his head buried deep in a towel.

Favre was standing in front of the tactics board. The old man had taken off his iconic Dortmund windbreaker and put on an ordinary wool coat. His personal bag was already zipped up and placed quietly at his feet.

"Heads up, lads!" Favre clapped his hands twice.

Seeing the players' red-eyed expressions, the veteran coach walked up to Hummels and gave the old man a tight hug: "You played a truly great final. Zero spectators, back-to-back matches, a squad full of injured players! You pushed Bayern's steel machine to the very last second, and that's nothing to be ashamed of."

Then, he walked over to each player one by one, patting them on the back like a loving father.

"I just told those two guys in the stands that I was going fishing. The doctor warned me that if my heart keeps watching you guys go on this rollercoaster ride, it'll give out prematurely."

Favre walked up to Sun Yang and Haaland, a few deep smile lines appearing at the corners of his tired eyes: "Don't be sad. My old partner Terzic will take full control of this locker room."

As soon as he finished speaking, Terzic, who had been standing in the shadows, stepped forward.

This 38-year-old young coach, though dressed in a suit, had a burning ambition in his eyes that was quite different from Favre's refined demeanor.

"It's your turn now, Aiden." Favre handed over the tactical notebook. "Guys, you only have a pitiful three-week vacation before you have to prepare for the next season."

"Mr. Favre has laid the most solid foundation for this team." Terčić took the notebook, his sharp gaze sweeping over the entire team. "I don't like spouting cheap platitudes. I only ask one thing: on the first day back from your holidays early next month, turn all the frustration you suffered tonight into bullets on the field!"

Terčić turned and slammed his finger heavily on the central point of the tactics board: "Dortmund's tactics for the new season are simple. It's all about pushing the attack to its limit, revolving around these few luxury cars up front!"

Finally, Terzic's gaze settled on Sun Yang, and he nodded solemnly.

The meaning couldn't be clearer.

Regardless of the hype, there is no doubt that Dortmund will be the sole midfield commander next season.

A few hours later, Borussia Dortmund officially announced on their website that Terzic would take over as the first team coach.

……

Cologne, Germany, an affluent neighborhood.

Due to the ripple effects of the global public health crisis, the schedule has been drastically compressed, resulting in the most dismal and rushed summer break in European football history. The new Bundesliga season will kick off in early September, leaving players only 21 days for a break.

Inside Sun Yang's villa.

Catherine had just finished giving Sun Yang a deep physiotherapy treatment on his left leg muscles and was carefully tidying up the gels and bottles.

With a loud bang, the door was kicked open.

Uncle Henry burst into the yard from outside, carrying a huge stack of crumpled sports newspapers.

"Damn it! This world has gone completely mad!" Henry plopped down on the leather sofa, grabbed Sun Yang's ice water from the table, and gulped it down.

"What happened?" Sun Yang asked, stretching his knees, which had just relaxed.

"No money! All the rich people in Europe have lost their underwear!" Henry slammed the newspaper down on the coffee table, pointing to the shocking figures on the front page.

"These two waves of shocks have resulted in a total revenue loss of four billion euros for clubs across Europe! AC Milan lost two hundred million euros in a year! The Barcelona players are so poor they can barely afford to mow the lawn at Camp Nou! Real Madrid's old fox, Florentino, has announced that they won't spend a single penny this summer, setting a forty-year record for the lowest transfer spending!"

Henry got more and more excited as he spoke, gesturing wildly like an orator: "These vampires are all staring at each other now! Messi wants to leave, but Barcelona is holding onto his contract and refusing to let him go. That Russian oligarch at Chelsea wanted to spend 1.2 million to bring Ronaldo to London, but Juventus just deleted the fax as spam. It's completely deadlocked!"

Sun Yang picked up a copy of "Kicker" magazine, glanced at it, and understood.

This is destined to be an extremely stingy, shriveled summer transfer window that relies entirely on "scratch-off lottery tickets".

"Has there been any activity at our 'black shop'?" Sun Yang asked casually.

"That's exactly what I wanted to say!" Henry leaned forward, looking mysterious. "Those two tightwads, Zorc and Watzke, actually blew themselves dry at this crucial moment! They spent 2300 million euros to buy a seventeen-year-old kid from Birmingham in the Premier League named Jude Bellingham. Not only that, they also promoted that fifteen-year-old prodigy from the U19 team, Moukoko, who always treats opponents like dogs, directly to the first team!"

"What about Manchester United? Didn't they chase after Sancho for half the summer?"

"Manchester United went crazy and put £100 million on the table." Henry scoffed. "But Watzke didn't even lift an eyelid, sticking to €120 million, not a penny less. Manchester United were so angry they flipped the table and left the group chat. Sancho will stay for now. It's a pity that Achraf's loan spell ended, and Real Madrid refused to sell, so they dragged him back."

Sun Yang nodded slightly. With the core players largely secured and a few top-tier young talents acquired, Dortmund's squad for next season will remain impressive.

As they were talking, a pure black Mercedes-Benz van came to a smooth stop in the villa's courtyard.

Diana, radiating elegance, walked in, wearing red-soled high heels and carrying several Hermès paper bags. This powerful businesswoman casually tossed her bags onto the sofa and accepted the hand-ground coffee Catherine offered.

"Mommy, did you go to the club today?" Sun Yang asked, looking at his mother's undeniable sharp aura.

"Of course. I just spent three whole hours arguing with those scheming old men in Watzke's office." Diana smoothed a strand of her perfectly styled blonde hair. "Your old contract was practically charity. I had to cut the biggest slice of our pie before they wrote that check to that newbie named Bellingham!"

Just hours earlier, in the Dortmund executives' meeting room, the scene was nothing short of a one-sided massacre.

Diana slapped a report on Asian viewership ratings and merchandise sales figures right under Watzke and Zorc's noses without any mercy.

"Gentlemen, swallow your complaints and empty platitudes." Diana braced herself on the table like a lioness surveying her territory. "Sun Yang's popularity during the Champions League knockout stages, and the new sponsorships he brought in from the East Asian market, are enough to cover the club's losses for half a season! And his current paycheck isn't even a fraction of what the water boy at Bayern Munich earns!"

Zorc's forehead was beaded with sweat: "Ms. Diana, you must understand, the current market environment is really..."

"I only look at core value," Diana interrupted coldly. "The fact that you rejected Manchester United's offer shows you understand Sancho's worth. Similarly, I'm not here to help anyone. I don't need to explain how many top clubs across Europe are drooling over him with cash in hand. Ladies and gentlemen, if I were to let slip even a hint in Bild that Sun Yang is planning to put himself on the transfer list… the market value Dortmund loses on the stock market would be enough to pay him a top salary for ten years."

Now that things have come to this point, the true intentions are revealed.

In this devastated and shortened summer transfer window, Sun Yang and Haaland, with their terrifying potential for appreciation, have become the only two shining stars remaining in all of Europe.

In the end, Watzke bowed his head and signed. Although Diana's contract extension terms were harsh, they would completely bind Sun Yang to Westvall's team.

"So, how did it go?" Henry asked eagerly, leaning closer.

Diana opened her handbag and pulled out a top-secret document that smelled of ink and bore the official seal of Borussia Dortmund.

"A new contract, locked in until 2025." Diana's finger hovered over a series of tempting figures. "A base salary overhauled, reaching nine million euros! Matching Haaland's salary, a top-tier salary in the team's elite. An additional six million euros signing bonus. Plus performance-related bonuses: if they accumulate more than twenty goals and assists each year, another two million euros!"

"Holy shit!" Henry clutched his chest and gasped.

At a time when the whole of Europe was lamenting pay cuts, she directly forced the black market shop to nearly quadruple her nephew's salary. This woman's methods are simply terrifying!

"It's not over yet." Diana's lips curled into a proud smile as she pointed to the last red-line clause. "The buyout clause is set at €1.8 million. The key point is that this release clause will only officially take effect in the summer transfer window of 2022!"

This means that for the next two years, no matter which top club tries to acquire Sun Yang by spending money, Borussia Dortmund will have the absolute power to set a price and refuse.

Even if someone offered 200 million, Dortmund wouldn't sell. This completely eliminates the possibility of a transfer saga.

Sun Yang smiled, picked up the pen, and without the slightest hesitation, signed his name in a flamboyant manner on the last page of the contract.

With a full wallet, a safe retreat is assured.

What remains is pure football and conquest.