Chapter 479: Chapter 99: A Bet with Ronaldo and Messi! Idol, I Have a Cheat! Wang Shuo, You’ve Completely Blown Up

"The last time I set foot in here was eight years ago."

Night had fallen, and the city lights were just beginning to sparkle.

As Watzke, Zorc, and Wang Shuo stood at the entrance of the Grimaldi Conference Center in Monaco, Dortmund’s sporting director, Zorc, remarked with a heavy sigh.

For Dortmund, failing to set foot in the Grimaldi Conference Center for eight years was, without a doubt, a colossal failure!

In fact, Dortmund had participated in the Champions League back in 2003.

But since they had only finished third in the Bundesliga that year, they were knocked out in the qualifying rounds by Bruges from Belgium.

Worse, they were eliminated on their home turf. It was nothing short of a disgrace!

"Well, at least you’ve been here before. This is my first time," Watzke quipped humorously.

Zorc and Wang Shuo both chuckled.

Watzke had joined Dortmund in 2001, but back then he was the chief financial officer. He certainly wouldn’t have been the one to represent the team at the Grimaldi Conference Center. He didn’t become the general manager until 2005.

For Dortmund, these past few years had truly been their darkest hour.

But now...

Watzke and Zorc glanced at each other, then, as if by unspoken agreement, both turned their gazes to Wang Shuo.

’Perhaps Dortmund’s era was finally dawning!’

Over the past few days, the entire European Football Scene had been abuzz with discussion.

Wang Shuo had started the new season by scoring seven goals in two matches—it was an absolutely insane performance!

And this young Chinese player wasn’t even twenty years old yet.

Dressed in a sharp, high-end Zegna suit, he was the spitting image of a model—even though there hadn’t been time for custom tailoring.

A professional athlete’s physique is the real deal, after all.

His 1.8-meter frame, clean-cut short hair, and handsome face, combined with his outstanding performance on the pitch, had quickly made him a focal point for fans worldwide.

Especially his 36 goals last season.

He surpassed La Liga’s Messi to claim the European Golden Boot Award.

Of course, strictly speaking, he hadn’t actually received it yet.

The award hadn’t been presented yet.

After last season, everyone at Dortmund, from top to bottom, knew one thing for sure.

Sooner or later, Dortmund wouldn’t be able to hold on to a player like him.

What they had to do was make the most of Wang Shuo’s time with the club and help the team achieve the best possible results.

"This is my first time, too. Is there anything I should be aware of when we go inside?" Wang Shuo asked Watzke and Zorc.

"Not really. It’s mostly people from the European Football Scene. There are relatively few players. Messi and Ronaldo might not even show up, because Inter Milan is set to sweep the major awards this year. They probably won’t want to attend."

Wang Shuo nodded.

UEFA had already announced the nomination lists for all the awards on the morning of August 16th.

Best Goalkeeper, Defender, Midfielder, and Forward—each of the four awards had three nominees, for a total of twelve players.

The final, ultimate prize, the Best Player award, would certainly be chosen from among these twelve individuals.

Goalkeepers: Cesar from Inter Milan, Lloris from Lyon, and Valdes from Barça.

Defenders: Lucio and Maicon from Inter Milan, and Pique from Barça.

Midfielders: Harvey from Barça, Robben from Bayern, and Sneider from Inter Milan.

Forwards: Messi from Barça, Diego Milito from Inter Milan, and Rooney from Manchester United.

’Why weren’t there any nominees from Real Madrid?’

It was perfectly normal.

A team that always gets stuck in the Round of 16—what right do they have to be on the final list?

What was more surprising was that Bayern, the Champions League runner-up, only had one nominee: Robben.

This also highlighted the decline of the Bundesliga.

And according to the information Wang Shuo had, Robben wouldn’t be attending because he wasn’t going to win.

Barring any surprises, the Best Midfielder award was guaranteed to go to Sneider.

Even though Barça was eliminated in the semi-finals, they still had four nominees—more than the runner-up, Bayern.

This aligned with Wang Shuo’s previous assessment of Bayern’s performance in last season’s Champions League.

’The luck of the draw is everything!’

They stumbled their way past Manchester United, and look at Rooney—he only made it to the quarterfinals, yet he was still nominated.

In contrast, the eventual champions, Inter Milan, were poised to be the big winners, barring any surprises.

"Once we’re inside, you should probably head to the players’ area. It’ll be a good chance to meet some people."

After a pause, Zorc added a word of caution. "If executives from other clubs come over to talk or say hello, don’t be too reserved. Feel free to chat with them. It’s just normal social etiquette."

"Just don’t touch on any sensitive topics. You know what I mean?"

"I understand," Wang Shuo nodded.

’The unspoken message was clear: don’t reveal specific contract details, internal club matters, or even express any interest in joining another team.’

’How should I put it?’

After starting to play in the European Football Scene, Wang Shuo discovered that it takes all sorts to make a world.

Some executives from big-name clubs looked respectable, presenting themselves as accomplished individuals, but in reality, their reputations within the industry were absolute trash. They were notorious for having loose lips.

The most typical examples were certain elected presidents, like former Real Madrid president, Calderon.

Wang Shuo had discovered that the guy’s reputation in the European Football Scene was truly abysmal.

’Just imagine: if Real Madrid extended an olive branch and Wang Shuo, not being careful, let something slip or even showed a hint of interest, what would happen if the other party immediately blabbed to the media? What would Wang Shuo do? What would Dortmund do?’

’It was just as Wang Shuo had thought before: many conflicts only escalated into full-blown problems because of media and fan intervention, which amplified public opinion.’

It was just like the incident with Ashley Cole secretly meeting with Mourinho from Chelsea back in the day.