Chapter 74
Chapter 74
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Translator: Silver Dragon
Chapter: 74
Chapter Title: Ban Yeager Derby (1)
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After arriving in Korea, we spent three days resting together with Lucas's family.
Because we'd booked schedules exactly for those three days in advance.
Also, as planned, except for the first day, I never once saw Yerin and Lucas talking alone.
"Lucas, this is my little sister, Ban Yerin."
"Yeah, I've heard a lot about you, but this is our first time meeting. Hi."
"H-Hi..."
We were so close, and since Lucas often talked about his own family first, I ended up sharing a lot about mine too.
Naturally, that included frequent stories about my sister Yerin.
"You're a Manchester City fan, right? Yerin sometimes says it'd be nice if her brother cheered for us too."
"Ah..."
Of course, I'd also told him that Yerin supported Manchester City.
Thanks to that, the two of them were noticeably awkward around each other.
Nothing had happened yet, and I didn't have any doubts or problems with Lucas.
Still, I couldn't bear to see my little sister making eyes at him.
"Yerin. Gift."
"What is it..."
It was obvious how excited she was, so letting it slide would hurt my heart too.
"Lucas gave it as a bribe to get you to cheer for Man United."
"Whoa!... This..."
Grabbing Lucas Cruijff's signed jersey, Yerin let out a burst of joy she couldn't contain before quickly pretending like it was no big deal.
"T-Tell him thanks..."
"Yeah, and if Manchester City plays us later, Lucas and I agreed to swap jerseys for you."
"Ah..."
Teasing Ban Yerin really is the most fun.
Until she either confesses she's actually a Man United fan herself.
Or her room fills up with jerseys from every Manchester City player.
Whichever comes first, I'll keep poking fun until then.
Vacations really do fly by.
The week in Korea passed in the blink of an eye, and we were back on a flight to Manchester.
During the rest period, I'd completely shut out any soccer info and relaxed fully.
So, a whole week's worth of soccer news had piled up.
A lot had happened in that short week.
First, after finalizing the Galaxy model contract with me and Lucas Cruijff, Executive Director Lee Dae-yong flew straight to Manchester and sealed the global partnership with Man United.
The deal went relatively smoothly since it was centered around me.
To snag the next goal—uniform sponsorship—we'd need to prove our reliability again in the upcoming 29-30 season.
As Ohsung Group's and Executive Director Lee Dae-yong's influence in the soccer world grew, we'd get closer to the ultimate goal.
This was more or less expected, so it wrapped up with "proceeding as planned." What really caught my eye, though, was another issue.
Later swapped rice crackers for choco pies lololol he must've liked rice crackers more lololololololololololol
Now he just needs to play well and we'll stan hard, then ditch him if he flops lololol
Him speaking Korean so well really helped connect with fans
Lucas Cruijff's popularity was skyrocketing even beyond my expectations.
Of course, I'd predicted he'd draw crowds, but not to this extent.
Yet, despite that, Korean fans weren't seriously entertaining the idea of him choosing the national team.
They figured there was no way he'd pick Korea over England, the soccer powerhouse—no expectations, not even in their wildest dreams.
Especially since a striker who could play the No. 9 role was so rare in modern soccer, his shot at starting for England looked extremely promising.
Bringing Lucas Cruijff to the Korean national team in this situation? That'd earn massive acclaim.
All we had to do was ensure the credit went squarely to Executive Director Lee Dae-yong and me—not Chung Mong-koo.
After returning to Manchester and enjoying another week of rest.
Manchester United's team training finally restarted.
It was time to shake off the rust from the two-week break and gel with the new signings.
The rookies: left fullback Nuno Mendes and right center-back Iliya Zavarani.
Not just them—Kai Rooney and Jesse Carrick had also been promoted from the reserves to fully join the first team.
Sons of Wayne Rooney and Michael Carrick, they'd been highly touted prospects in Manchester United's youth setup since childhood.
That's why the club had been so cautious, not rushing them to the first team until they hit 20.
Compared to when I'd first arrived at Manchester United, the squad felt incredibly solid now.
With them integrated, would it perform as practiced?
Would it roll as smoothly on the training pitch?
One preseason match was scheduled before the season to test it all.
The opponent: Real Madrid.
No need for minor friendlies—with their current stature, they were a powerhouse where defeat was expected, a true big club.
Thanks to this fixture, Manchester United could train with the mindset of prepping for official season games.
Manchester United vs Real Madrid
Time slot's perfect lololol ordering chicken right now
For real, 12 PM? Prime time lolololololol
Throwing the Ban Yeager Derby right out the gate lolololololololol
Signed up for Kupon just to watch this...
Man U and Real don't seem to have bad blood despite head-to-heads?
Crush them pathetically to drill in the gap between Man U and Real yeah
Think this is more important than Club World Cup
Feels like the princess of a fallen kingdom getting taken hostage by the invading royal Real Madrid... hot af 💦💦💦
Okay winner of today's match gets Ban Yeager yeah
The Manchester United vs Real Madrid friendly was instantly branded the Ban Yeager Derby.
The clubs had scheduled it from the start to capitalize on that hype.
Real Madrid still hadn't given up on signing Ban Yeager.
More precisely, Real Madrid fans were starting to show their greed for him.
Opinions like overwhelmingly beating Manchester United to sour him on the team while stirring nostalgia for his Real Madrid days.
But they didn't know.
This friendly was Rodrygo's last game with Real Madrid.
And no matter the result, they'd be the ones handing over a player once the match ended.