LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 252
Cristiano Ronaldo, who returned to Manchester United in a trade with Wayne Rooney from Real Madrid.
He was satisfied with his life at Manchester United.
The way the MU players looked at him with admiration made him feel very pleased.
[Is Cristiano Ronaldo’s transfer to Manchester United a divine move?]
└ For real, moving to MU and winning an unbeaten treble is insane, haha.
Moreover, Ronaldo wore the captain’s armband at Manchester United and successfully lifted the Champions League trophy once again.
He felt confident that moving to Manchester United was the perfect choice.
[Who will be the Ballon d’Or winner at the upcoming 2015 Ballon d’Or Awards?]
While Ronaldo was mostly satisfied with his life at MU, he began to get increasingly sensitive as the 2015 Ballon d’Or ceremony approached.
[‘The Wonder Boy’, Jinho. Leading Manchester United to victory.]
Son Jinho left an impact in the Champions League final against FC Barcelona that coaches worldwide praised.
[Jinho, will he win his second Ballon d’Or?]
As a result, media outlets reported that Son Jinho was a strong contender for the 2015 Ballon d’Or.
[Cristiano Ronaldo, “Being the Premier League top scorer is harder than being the Champions League top scorer.”]
With an excessively strong ego, Ronaldo could not accept the media’s reactions.
He firmly believed he, as the Premier League top scorer, deserved to win the Ballon d’Or.
While Ronaldo was giving interviews on why he deserved the Ballon d’Or…
Time flew by quickly.
The day of the Ballon d’Or ceremony arrived.
“The Ballon d’Or should be awarded to me, the world’s best player.”
Ronaldo confidently stated his position to a reporter asking who would receive the Ballon d’Or.
***
The FIFA Ballon d’Or ceremony officially began.
“The Ballon d’Or should be awarded to me, the world’s best player.”
Cristiano Ronaldo fought to the end to win the Ballon d’Or, but no surprises occurred.
– The winner of the 2015 FIFA Ballon d’Or is… Congratulations! Jinho! Son!
Thanks to his crazy performance in the Champions League final, I successfully grabbed the Ballon d’Or by a more overwhelming difference than expected.
Amidst applause, congratulations poured in from around.
“Jinho, congratulations.”
“Thank you.”
I conveyed my gratitude to Lionel Messi, who was sincerely congratulating me, then opened my mouth while glancing at Cristiano Ronaldo, who was sitting beside me with a face like he bit into poop.
“Cristiano Ronaldo, you must show more respect to me, the two-time Ballon d’Or winner.”
As I emphasized certain words, Ronaldo’s expression froze instantly.
As I watched him wearing an awkward smile and trembling hands, a strange thrill surged from deep within my chest.
Though I might face a long message terror of 5,800 characters and un-follows on SNS tonight for this brief joy…
Well, that’s something my future self will handle.
Anyway, with a bright smile, I climbed onto the stage and saw a familiar face.
Kaká, the 2007 Ballon d’Or winner, handed me the Ballon d’Or with a bright face.
“Thank you to my mother and father in heaven, and to everyone who has made me who I am today.”
Carefully receiving the Ballon d’Or, I finished my acceptance speech on stage and dropped a bombshell statement.
“Oh, and lastly, I will be acquiring Manchester United.”
***
[(Live) 2015 FIFA Ballon d’Or Awards.]
– 2015 FIFA Ballon d’Or winner Son Jinho.
└ OMG, Jinho was that rich?
└ MU has really hit rock bottom, and now an Asian is going to become the owner after an American?
└ Asian? Jinho is British!
└ How dare you mess with our football player of the Empire, I will separate your head from your body.
└ Not head and body?
└ How do you separate the body from the body?
└ Are you going to blend it?
└ Just get it, you bastards.
The stock price of Manchester United, the only Premier League club listed on NASDAQ, skyrocketed rapidly.
[Manchester United’s stock price surges amid Son Jinho’s acquisition rumors.]
└ Hold on tight, it’s going up!
└ Fans buying shares, MU is going up!
└ Glory, Glory, Man United!!
└ Damn, making me money, MU is really great.
└ From now on, any attack on Jinho-hyung will be considered an attack on me.
The Glazer family, who didn’t want to sell the honey pot that is Manchester United, subtly raised the purchase price citing the stock price increase.
[Glazer family rejects 8 trillion won acquisition… “We must reflect the rise in stock price…”]
However, Mino Raiola and I, who already anticipated Glazer’s actions, promptly began our countermeasures.
[Jinho, furious at Glazer’s raised price? Claims he will terminate the contract citing terms in the contract.]
We started applying pressure on the club using the clause that stated the contract would be terminated if Alex Ferguson stepped down as Manchester United’s manager.
[What would Son Jinho’s release mean for MU’s profits?]
└ Guys, is this article too long, is it bad news?
└ Bad news, you idiot. Sell your stocks quickly.
This release clause was not just about letting an internationally renowned player go for free; it was a comprehensive issue regarding the decrease in income from Asia.
Having only moved to MU for 2 years now, the newly imported Asian fans were still light fans.
Now, leaving MU at this time meant losing those newly imported Asian fans entirely.
[Cristiano Ronaldo reconsiders contract in light of Son Jinho’s transfer news…]
In addition, the core players of the team expressed concern over my contract termination, including Cristiano Ronaldo.
[Manchester United’s stocks plummet amid dismantling of Ferguson’s legacy.]
└ Hold on tight! It’s going down!
└ What holding on, you idiot. You should cut your losses quickly.
└ Damn, I just got in yesterday.
└ Yeah, you buying made it drop, haha.
└ Sigh… I’m stuck like crazy.
The stock price of MU, which had already been expected, naturally crashed in the blink of an eye.
[Glazer plans to acquire an Asian player to replace Jinho.]
Joel Glazer and the Glazer family, in an effort to quell the anger of the shareholders, presented a vision to explore the Asian market.
They attempted to leverage their manager Carlo Ancelotti for some media play.
[Carlo Ancelotti expresses dissatisfaction to the owner: “The idea of replacing Jinho with another Asian player is nonsense from someone who knows nothing about football…”]
Carlo Ancelotti, who lightly ignored pressure from Chelsea’s owner Roman Abramovich, publicly demonstrated his boldness by targeting the owner instead.
***
As the confrontation between Son Jinho and the Glazer family began in earnest…
Politicians, who were already eyeing the Glazer family, quickly started applying pressure.
No politician liked the trick of draining profits from their domestic club to fatten foreign clubs.
Anti-Glazer clauses called the Glazer Prevention Act were even created, as the football world detested the Glazer family—but Son Jinho, a two-time Ballon d’Or winner, was British and was expected to perform impressively in the upcoming Euro.
The most important driving force that moved politicians was votes.
Unable to resist the temptation of sweet votes, politicians started to chew on the Glazer family while supporting Son Jinho.
Feeling the pressure, the Glazer family declared they would sell the club for 4.5 billion pounds (8 trillion won) as originally promised, but…
[Son Jinho rejects the offer: “It must reflect the stock price drop.”]
This time, Son Jinho’s side rejected the Glazer family’s proposal.
What Jinho’s side proposed was 4 trillion won in Korean money.
The Glazer family said they’d rather sell to the Saudi prince for that money, but would the prince accept being regarded as a fool?
The Glazer family’s arrogant attitude enraged the Saudi prince.
The stock price of Manchester United plummeted once again.
Fans, shareholders, players, coaches, and even the British government turned their backs.
If ‘Lord’ Alex Ferguson, the very symbol of Manchester United, defended the Glazer family as he usually did, it might have been different.
However, this dispute was between the Glazer family and what was perceived as Ferguson’s legacy—thus, Ferguson declared neutrality towards his pupils.
And so the last hope of the Glazer family was cut off in vain.
***
With pressure from the British government and the disdainful gaze of Manchester United shareholders at the stock drop.
Most importantly, as angry MU fans even terrorized the club owner’s vehicle…
The Glazer family decided, with tears in their eyes, to sell MU and leave.
I acquired the Glazer family’s 62% stake for 3.5 trillion won.
The day after the acquisition contract was finalized,
A club owner inauguration ceremony took place at Old Trafford.
Even though it was a weekday with no matches, MU fans flocked to Old Trafford, filling the stands, singing the MU anthem with expressions of hope for a new era.
“Ladies and gentlemen.”
Overcome with an unknown emotion rising from deep within my heart, I shouted recalling that legendary speech on the Korean Peninsula.
“I will create a club unlike any you have ever experienced!”