Carlos quickly arrived at Li Ang's office. Under Li Ang's questioning, the matter was quickly clarified. This was a piece of news that was taken out of context and suspected of being fabricated.
The process of the matter was very simple. As Carlos did not have an agent yet, other teams or anyone who wanted to poach him could only contact him personally.
He first received a call from Milan. The other party invited him to join them, but Carlos flatly refused.
Then, at his doorstep, he met some reporters from Italy. They asked him about his views on AC Milan. Carlos thought about it and praised them. This was mainly because of Albertini. Albertini was Carlos's' master. 'The two of them had a close relationship. Moreover, Carlos knew of Albertini's deep love for AC Milan. Naturally, he was more polite to Albertini's home team.
Well, it was these few words of praise that were reported in Italy. It became evidence that Carlos yearned for AC Milan and wanted to defect to Milan.
Li Ang did not know whether to laugh or cry when he heard it. Although Carlos was young, he came from the slums of Madrid. Generally, he would not be easily deceived. Li Ang did not expect him to fall for it this time. Li Ang shook his head. He could not blame Carlos for falling for it. The media's tricks were too deep.
"Go." Li Ang said snappily. "Be careful when you face reporters in the future. Those guys are not good people. They are more insidious than the people you faced in the slums of Madrid."
Insidious?! That's right!
Reporters are not good people?!
Yes, that's right!
Carlos said in his heart.
Li Ang did not expect that his casual words would have a great impact on Carlos. He had been deeply wary of reporters his entire career. It was not easy for the media to interview Carlos. According to the media, Carlos was vigilant against all media. He hated the media as much as he hated thieves.
*****
The report in Milan Gazzetta dello Sport that Carlos might be loyal to Milan caused quite a commotion among Sporting de Gijón's fans!
Carlos had grown up from Sporting de Gijón's B team. He was a young man discovered by Li Ang. Sporting de Gijón's fans could be said to have witnessed the growth of this young man in the past year.
In the hearts of many Sporting de Gijón's fans, players like Carlos were upright and had feelings for the team. Such players were the roots of Sporting de Gijón and were the cornerstones of the team.
Now that they suddenly heard that Carlos had expressed goodwill to AC Milan and even agreed to go to AC Milan, it caused panic among the fans.
At this time, Spain's Marca also reported that Real Madrid's manager, Luxemburgo, had expressed his admiration for Sporting de Gijón's young player, Juan Carlos. The report also believed that Real Madrid did not have a real defensive midfielder and did not have a midfield barrier that could really satisfy and reassure Luxemburgo. Under such circumstances, the young player, Juan Carlos, smoothly entered Real Madrid's sights.
On the other hand, AS reported that Real Madrid's scouts had recommended Carlos to Real Madrid's management after last year's Copa del Rey final. However, because Carlos had angered Zidane, the incident where Zidane had hit Carlos on the head caused Real Madrid's management to dislike Carlos. They felt that this player lacked manners and education and was not worthy of Real Madrid. This season, after Sporting de Gijón defeated Real Madrid again, and it was a huge victory, Real Madrid's management once again received suggestions from their scouts and technical department to recommend Carlos to them again. This time, Real Madrid's management hesitated, and Real Madrid's president, Florentino, voted against it in the end. His reason was that Carlos was only a pure defensive player and did not perform well in offense. Real Madrid did not need such a player! Real Madrid needed a player who could attack and defend, and play beautifully!
Before Florentino could finish his words about Carlos' lack of offensive capabilities, Carlos had already scored two goals in the match against the defending champion, Valencia. It was a double-shot.
This time, according to 'AS', Florentino was full of praises for Carlos' two goals. Although this player's technical ability was not up to Florentino's standards, his long range shooting skills were admirable.
*****
Of course, this was only what the media said at the beginning. AS and Marca would often publish such reports. As long as a player performed well, they would quickly link him to Real Madrid in their reports. Anyway, the core of their point of view was: the best players must come to Real Madrid, and Real Madrid must have the best players!
However, it seemed a little different this time, because the general manager of Real Madrid, Valdano, was interviewed by a local television station in Madrid. When the general manager of Real Madrid was asked if Real Madrid were interested in signing Carlos, Valdano's answer was, "This is the representative of the best young players in Spain. Real Madrid will naturally welcome such a player."
Valdano's words immediately caused a huge uproar. This was seen as a direct signal that Real Madrid had extended an olive branch to Carlos.
This also attracted the attention of the Spanish media, and even the European media. Who were the players in Real Madrid? What kind of players were they? Just look at their list of players: Zidane, Raúl, Ronaldo, Figo, Beckham, Owen, and so on. These players were the world's top football players. Most of them had won the Ballon d 'Or and the FIFA World Player of the Year awards.
Now, Carlos, a sixteen or seventeen-year-old young man, was actually listed together with those superstars. He was actually associated with Real Madrid, a century-old powerhouse. This was a great honor.
The media was in heated discussion. If such a young lad, or even a big boy, really went to Real Madrid, what kind of scene would it be?
Just imagining it was enough to make the reporters excited.
As for the player's own opinions on the call of Real Madrid and other powerhouses, they were selectively ignored by these media. In their view, Carlos had no reason to refuse the call of a powerhouse, especially no reason to refuse the invitation of Real Madrid. Zidane said a famous sentence, "No player can refuse the invitation of Real Madrid." Even a superstar like Zidane said so, let alone a big boy who had not seen the world?!
*****
The Italian media said that Milan had taken a fancy to Carlos. Then, their media said that Carlos had pledged his loyalty to Milan.
The Madrid media said that Real Madrid had taken a fancy to Carlos. The Spanish media was already discussing the matter of Carlos joining Real Madrid. Some media even began to set new tactics for Real Madrid with Carlos. They believed that the arrival of Carlos would liberate Beckham and Figo. Real Madrid's offensive firepower would be greatly improved because there was a defensive midfielder who could make the attacking superstars feel incomparably safe.
From beginning to end, no one from Milan or Madrid came to personally ask Carlos what he thought. They were sure that a young player from a small club like Carlos could be said to come over with a wave of their hand!
For a while, a good show of "Carlos's battle" was staged between the two powerhouses, Real Madrid and AC Milan.
PS: Update 4, K League 9/14.
Continuous updates are being released. In the last half of the double monthly votes, the competition is fierce. Xiao Qi needs everyone's strong support. Our week of hard work depends on this half of the day! The situation is precarious!
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