Chapter 216: Chapter 81: Chinese Netizens: Teach Real Madrid a Lesson

It’s only mid-March now, and there are still nearly half a month left before the voting ends, but the number of participants has already exceeded initial expectations.

“IP addresses from China.”

“Perhaps fans from China have participated in the voting.”

Mijatovic’s expression was somewhat dazed. For the first time, he truly felt the mysterious power from the East, and Calderon also swallowed a mouthful of saliva.

He underestimated the mysterious power from the East, underestimated the passion of the Chinese people, and underestimated their emphasis on national honor.

However, no matter what, this ranking cannot be allowed at any cost.

If this ranking is announced and Chen Zhong becomes the best player in the club’s history, then this evaluation will become a joke, Real Madrid will become a joke, and he will become a joke as well.

Hosting this kind of ranking for the first time, Calderon, truly someone with higher education, quickly found a solution.

“We need to change the rules.”

“Only registered members are allowed to vote.”

“Votes from non-registered members will receive an award, the Most Popular Player Award.” Calderon’s eyes rolled; he didn’t want to give the first place, but he still wanted to capitalize on this traffic, and meanwhile, his interest in Chen Zhong grew.

The distant Oriental dragon, with just a slight movement, let the Spanish giant Real Madrid experience what vastness truly means.

Calderon’s decision hasn’t been announced yet, but news has already spread within the club, and even in some media outlets.

After all, Real Madrid has always been observed with a magnifying glass.

The Real Madrid dressing room basically has no secrets.

Some emerging online news portals have already begun to release some information, and new self-media have an unparalleled advantage in timeliness.

“Real Madrid’s selection has become a joke, and Chen will become the best player in the club’s history.”

“The biggest joke of the century, a 16-year-old player chosen as the best in the club’s history.”

“How does he surpass Di Stefano, Zidane, Raul?”

…

Similar news emerged endlessly, which also gave some Merengue fans a diminished impression of Chen Zhong, with some extreme fans even organizing a small group of like-minded fans to protest.

Most Merengue fans were relatively calm about this, but there were still some emotions mixed in their words.

“I don’t know how to evaluate this matter, but it can’t be true.”

“He’s still very young, and he’s a bit too impatient.”

“I am very disappointed in him.”

…

Not only Merengue fans but also fans of other big clubs like Barcelona, Bayern Munich, and Juventus looked at Real Madrid as if they were watching a comedy.

Apart from the fans, there was also something subtle going on inside the Real Madrid club.

Raul, Guti, Sneijder, and Casillas started to look at Chen Zhong with complicated expressions. They certainly knew it wasn’t Chen Zhong’s fault, but this kind of thing would more or less fall on Chen Zhong’s shoulders.

Robben, Pepe, Marcelo, Higuain, and Baptista were comforting Chen Zhong, while other friends like Negredo, Granero, and Mata called in to offer their condolences.

Of course, some were “crazy,” like Castilla’s captain, Nacho, who privately told a group of Chen Zhong’s devotees, “Chen will definitely become the greatest player in the club’s history in the future; it’s just happening a bit earlier now.”

Of course, these ridiculous words were only agreed upon by Nacho and a small group of people.

Chinese netizens taught Real Madrid a lesson, and this lesson eventually extended to Chen Zhong.

When Chen Zhong was a bit troubled and wanted to discuss with his agent, Cannavaro found Chen Zhong and gave him a suggestion.

“I think you need to clarify.”

Cannavaro had a good relationship with Chen Zhong. When Chen Zhong first joined the team, he took care of him like a junior, and Chen Zhong listened to his advice. After communicating with his agent, Pimenta quickly arranged a press conference for Chen Zhong.

Calderon was initially a bit flustered.

He didn’t know what Chen Zhong wanted to do with a press conference.

Could it be that he would directly say, ah, thank you all for your love, and then smoothly accept this ranking?

If that were true, Real Madrid would be utterly defeated, harming both the club and the player.

However, after learning some specific details about Chen Zhong’s press conference, Calderon breathed a sigh of relief and couldn’t help but praise, “This kid really understands!”

…

The next day, as all of Spain, Europe, and the world began to focus on this matter, waiting to see Real Madrid’s joke, the news that Chen Zhong was holding a press conference in a hotel quickly spread.

Countless journalists flocked in.

This was also the first time Chen Zhong had held a personal press conference.

Many journalists couldn’t wait to get to the scene.

Of course, some more experienced journalists noticed something amiss, as Real Madrid was excessively quiet, and Chen Zhong’s behavior differed from Robinho’s.

This very likely resulted from communication and negotiation between both parties.

Meanwhile, some rookie journalists were overjoyed, thinking it might be a big story.

With the development of the times and the convenience of communication, young players’ ability to stir trouble increases geometrically.

However, as the best Asian player in Europe, regarded as the future Asian top player and a world-class star, Chen Zhong consistently used a mature steadiness beyond his years, leaving nothing explosive for them to dig up.

No nightclubs, no indiscipline, no laziness whatsoever.

Finally, they got a handle on something, so how could they not be drooling over it?

If players were categorized by generation, Chen Zhong might be the most focused on the 90s generation.

After Pimenta’s warm-up, and after Chen Zhong simply answered some pre-arranged questions, the press conference officially entered its main topic, and the first question immediately revealed a full sense of malice.

“Congratulations, Chen.”

“You are now at the top of the list of the best players since the club’s founding.”

“The high vote count reflects the fans’ love for you and expectations for the future. What do you think about being able to reach the top?”

The question was full of pitfalls aimed at taking advantage of Chen Zhong’s youth.

As long as Chen Zhong answered anything slightly inappropriate, he would face a lot of trouble in the media for a long time to come.

“I really wish what you said was true, but unfortunately, it’s not the case.”

There was an uproar below, and the reporter asking the question stared wide-eyed like copper bells.

Directly denying to their face — lying — isn’t a good choice.

However, before he could “passionately criticize,”

Chen Zhong’s subsequent words extinguished his inner fire.

“Initially, when I heard I received the highest number of votes, I was somewhat flattered.”

“After all, my current achievements are far from those of my seniors.”

“But the club quickly reassured me, informing me that the best player selection in the club’s hundred-year history was based on votes from Real Madrid members.”

“Considering many non-members also voted, their votes would be listed separately, creating a Most Popular Player Award.”

…

Compared to Real Madrid directly issuing an announcement, delivering this information through Chen Zhong’s speech seemed much smoother, and word by word, the “errors and omissions” in this Real Madrid selection were mended just like that.

And after being taught a lesson by numerous Chinese netizens this time, Real Madrid will be exceedingly cautious in similar evaluations in the future.

After all, the team isn’t like before now.

There’s Chen Zhong from China, backed by countless Chinese people.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep