"Ye Chen, you are already 17 years old; you should understand some rules." The U17 national team manager, Wang Bo, looked at Ye Chen calmly, speaking in a slow, steady tone.
"What rules?" Ye Chen raised an eyebrow and countered.
Wang Bo smiled, "Since you don't know, forget about it. This is your first time being called up to the U17 national team. Just train with the team for now. You won't have a chance to play in this competition!"
"What? Are you saying that no matter how well I train, I won't get to play?" Ye Chen asked, pressing further.
Wang Bo sneered, his tone arrogant. "When you understand the rules, that's when you'll get to play!"
"Is this your decision or the head coach's?" Ye Chen asked in a deep voice.
"This is of course our decision," Wang Bo replied coldly. "I heard you spent quite a bit of money to join Manchester United, but now you're so stingy with the national team?"
"That contract was earned through my own ability. I didn't pay for it!" Ye Chen gritted his teeth.
"Oh... earned through ability?" Wang Bo laughed. "You don't really think your ability was why Manchester United signed you, do you? They were only interested in the Chinese market behind you, just like how they signed Dong Fangzhuo back in the day!"
Ye Chen clenched his jaw. "I'll ask you one more time: If I don't pay money, I can't get on the field?"
"That's the idea!" Wang Bo grabbed the teacup on the table. "Goodbye, no need to see you off!"
Ye Chen gritted his teeth. "Fine, I'll go back to Manchester right now!"
"If you dare leave now, I'll expel you immediately and never call you up again!" Wang Bo shouted with full authority.
"Expel me then! I'm not interested in staying in this national team!" Ye Chen turned and left the U17 training base.
In truth, Ye Chen wasn't from this worldâhe was a time traveler.
In his previous life, Ye Chen was a football player, but at 20, he suffered a major injury that forced him to retire. He later became a physical education teacher at an elementary school.
He thought his life would be dull and uneventful, but to his surprise, he woke up in a new world.
Not only that, but he also gained a "Football God System"!
Right after traveling, the system gave him a choice: Become the god of basketball or the god of football.
Ye Chen didn't hesitate and chose football.
Firstly, football is the most popular sport worldwide, with the World Cup being the biggest football event held every four years.
Secondly, basketball already had its "god"âthe legendary Michael Jordan.
Football, although it had a recognized "king," didn't yet have a universally recognized football god!
After binding the "Football God System," Ye Chen woke up in the body of a moderately famous Chinese player and had signed an apprentice contract with Manchester United's youth team.
However, in one season with Manchester United's youth team, he only played five matches, three of which were as a substitute, and his stats were abysmalâzero goals, zero assists.
This made the fans, who once had high hopes for him, utterly disappointed. It also confirmed a prevailing belief: Manchester United signed him only for his connection to the Chinese market.
When Ye Chen woke up, he found himself in the national team's training base. The team leader had sent someone to summon him for a talk, but he hadn't expected such a response.
No money, no playtime... He didn't expect the national team in this parallel world to be the same.
Ye Chen felt a bit sad, but he quickly pushed it out of his mind.
If there's no national team match, then he'd treat the Champions League like the World Cup!
In some ways, the intensity of the Champions League was just as high as the World Cup.
"Ding! Due to the host rejecting the unreasonable request of the national team leader, an additional reward is granted: S-level skill cardâLong Shot Guaranteed Goal Card!"
Long Shot Guaranteed Goal Card?
Ye Chen was a little stunned; this was the system's first reward for him.
"Explain?"
"After the host obtains the Long Shot Guaranteed Goal Card, every fifth long-distance shot (outside the penalty area) will definitely score. This will only work once per match."
Ye Chen sucked in a breath. Does this mean that as long as he keeps trying long shots, once he hits five attempts, it's guaranteed to be a goal?
This skill is ridiculously powerful!
Of course, Ye Chen didn't get too excited just yet.
Anyone who's seen football knows that if your team is weak, you might not even get five shot attempts in an entire match...
"Will my personal attributes increase after getting this skill card?"
Ye Chen had checked his personal attributes when he first traveled, and they were quite poor.
His overall rating was only 58.
Attack: 63.
His dribbling and ball control were decent, at 73 and 75, respectively!
But his shooting was just 57.
Additionally, his heading ability was also lacking, though his speed and explosiveness were impressive at 76 and 78.
That's why Ye Chen had been able to "barely" stay at Manchester United.
His foot strength was only 58.
With stats like these, even if he tried long shots, they would probably be weak and ineffective.
"Ding! Friendly reminder: After obtaining the S-level skill, the system will boost relevant attributes to the minimum required level!"
Ye Chen quickly opened his personal attributes, and when he saw them, he was stunned.
His shooting had gone up from 57 to 75, a gain of 18 points.
His foot strength had risen from 58 to 80âan incredible 22-point increase!
This meant that the S-level skill had given him 40 attribute points in total...
This was amazing!
Could this be the reason the system didn't give him a beginner's gift pack?
After all, in the novels Ye Chen had read, systems usually gave out extra rewards in the form of a newbie package...
But whatever the reason, Ye Chen sighed and picked up his phone to book a flight back to Manchester, as if he had never been here.
Sitting in the taxi, Ye Chen began thinking about his situation.
His apprentice contract with Manchester United's youth team was only valid for one more year, expiring on June 30, 2012.
If Ye Chen didn't make a significant impact, he wouldn't be able to stay.
Of course, Manchester United's U18 team no longer had Pogba, as he had been moved to the reserves, the U21 team.
The most famous player on his team now was likely Adnan Januzaj, followed by Michael Keane.
Januzaj later transferred to Real Sociedad for â¬8.5 million, and Keane moved to Burnley, later joining Everton for £30 million.
Manchester United's youth development system is quite good. Not only did it produce the famous Class of 92, but also players like Welbeck, Pogba, and Lingard.
Later stars such as Rashford and Greenwood were also products of the academy.
Ye Chen was more of an outsiderâhe joined the team when he was already 16.
Making a name for himself at such a big club was no easy feat.
First, he had to prove himself, especially in front of Ole Gunnar Solskjær...
Solskjær, who would soon become Manchester United's manager, was currently coaching the U18 team.
Of course, football overseas is more straightforward: If you perform well, you get the chance to play, even start.
"Ding! Initial mission issued: The host must earn Solskjær's trust in a training match and secure the first opportunity to play for U18 in the new season!"
"Mission success reward: One bronze treasure chest. Mission failure: Randomly lose 5 attribute points!"
This mission... I really hope I can succeed...