Chapter 219 2015 European Golden Boy, the historic moment has finally arrived!
"Damn it, why are we still fourth!"

Terry frowned and stuffed his macaroni into his mouth sullenly.

Because of the busy schedule, Mourinho canceled his holiday today after the draw with Leicester City.

Originally, Chelsea's players should have been resting at home or partying in the bar, but now everyone is gathered in the cafeteria of the base.

They have finished their morning training.

"We didn't win yesterday, so isn't it normal that the ranking remains unchanged?"

Hazard swallowed the burger in his mouth and a happy smile appeared on his face.

Speaking of winning, Costa, who was sitting alone next to him, suddenly came over and said, "Kurt, give me a seat. Jiang Yuan and I will sit together."

Ok?
Costa's request surprised Zuma a little. Terry, Hazard, Zuma and Jiang Yuan, the four of them had always been sitting at the same table, but now Costa suddenly wanted to come in.

OK?
However, Zuma certainly did not dare to refuse Costa's request. The French guy cleaned up his plate and changed seats with Costa.

"Jiang"

Costa sat to Jiang Yuan's left, looking a little embarrassed: "I want to apologize to you for what happened yesterday"

"Apologize? For what?"

Jiang Yuan didn't react. He didn't remember what Costa had done to offend him yesterday!

“It was the penalty”

Costa reminded Jiang Yuan: "I didn't expect that I didn't score that penalty. You ran such a long distance in vain..."

"Don't do this!"

Upon learning that it was a penalty kick, Jiang Yuan interrupted Costa who was speaking and said, "Diego, you were the first penalty taker on the field at that time. No matter who made the penalty, it should be given to you. This is the rule."

Jiang Yuan was right. He was currently third in line for penalties in Chelsea. Penalties would only be given to him when both Hazard and Costa were substituted.

Hazard had already left the field yesterday, but Costa was still on the field, so the penalty should have been given to Costa, there is nothing to say about it.

"But I didn't score, maybe I should have given the penalty to you..."

"Stop talking about this!"

Jiang Yuan's attitude was very firm: "We are a team. Do you remember what Jose said before? The decision on the field, no matter what the final result is, should be borne by the whole team. Your penalty was not scored. That is Chelsea's problem, not your problem alone. Because giving you the penalty was a joint choice of the coach and the players."

"I think Jiang is right!"

Terry raised his fork to show his agreement with Jiang Yuan. Zuma at the next table gave Jiang Yuan a look of admiration: "That's right!"

As defenders, penalties have nothing to do with them, but as players on the field, they can personally feel the pressure of the forward standing in front of the penalty spot.

Jiang Yuan said this not only to comfort Costa, but also to find a way out for Hazard and himself.

No striker has a 100% penalty success rate. Even the strong players like Melo can miss penalties, let alone Costa.

"Um……"

Costa was speechless and could only relieve his embarrassment by eating non-stop.

After Costa swallowed the bread in his mouth, he gave Jiang Yuan a hug while sitting on the chair: "I may have had some prejudice against you before, but I was wrong."

"Ah? What prejudice?"

"Nothing. Just remember, we are brothers from now on."

Costa grabbed Jiang Yuan's back with both hands, causing Jiang Yuan some pain.

Just then, the cell phone in Jiang Yuan's pocket rang.

It came just in time!

"Hey, hey, hey, let me answer the phone first!"

Jiang Yuan pushed Costa back and reached for the phone in his pocket.

"0039? What country is this?"

When Jiang Yuan saw the area code of the caller's phone, he was completely confused.

"Hmm...I think it should be Italy!"

Terry gave the answer.

"Italy? Do we have any Italians on the team?"

Jiang Yuan was even more confused when he heard that the call was from Italy.

This is his private phone number, why would an Italian call him?

Hazard gave a thumbs up and said: "Maybe there is a Serie A team that wants you, answer the phone quickly"

At Azar's urging, Jiang Yuan dialed the number. A woman's voice came from the other end of the phone. She sounded about 30 or 40 years old.

At first Jiang Yuan was worried about the language problem, but it turned out that the person on the other end spoke English.

"Hello, this is Turin Sports Daily"

???

Zouma stood up and put his head in front of Jiang Yuan: "What do you mean, Juventus or Naples? Which team wants you?"

Jiang Yuan replied calmly: "Neither, this is a newspaper company..."

"What the hell, another stupid reporter, just hang up now!"

Zuma waved his hand, looking disappointed, but Terry, who was sitting opposite Jiang Yuan, seemed to realize something was wrong: "Jiang, did he say what newspaper it was?"

"Torino Sports"

!!!

……

A plane from London lands at Caselle Airport in Turin, Italy.

“Is this Italy?”

Jiang Yuan walked down the gangway slowly. He did not carry any luggage except an Adidas sports backpack, because he would only stay in Italy for less than 12 hours before returning to London.

"Jiang, can you give me an autograph, please?"

At the bottom of the gangway, an Italian stewardess spoke in standard English, and after handing Jiang Yuan a notebook and a pen, she did not forget to show him her cell phone wallpaper.

In the wallpaper, Jiang Yuan's left foot is on the side of the ball, his right leg is swung back, and in front of him stands Xabi Alonso. There is no doubt that this is Jiang Yuan's amazing long shot at the Dragon Stadium.

"sure"

Jiang Yuan smiled and signed his name in the booklet handed to him by the stewardess: "Thank you for your support!"

“Welcome to Italy!”

While speaking, the flight attendant stuffed a small business card into Jiang Yuan's hand.

Liliana.

This should be her name, and the string of numbers below must be her phone number.

Jiang Yuan stuffed the business card into his trouser pocket, nodded in greeting and left.

As airports in developed countries, the gap between Caselle in Italy and Heathrow in London is not small.

Jiang Yuan guessed that this was probably related to urban planning and the number of tourists. After all, Heathrow Airport has five terminals and two parallel runways, which is very rare in the world.

When they arrived at the airport lobby, there were quite a lot of people in the hall. Fortunately, Jiang Yuan bought a first-class ticket which did not require him to queue. He just threw his backpack on the machine and prepared to go through security check.

"Dio mio! (Oh my God!)"

"Jiang!"

Although he was wrapped tightly, Jiang Yuan was still recognized by Italian fans.

There is no way. Jiang Yuan’s reputation this season is too loud. Not only in the Premier League, but the entire European football world is talking about this 17-year-old boy from the East.

What fans like most is a striker who is good at scoring goals, so it is not without reason that Jiang Yuan has so many fans.

However, all this was within the expectations of the airport security. As early as after Jiang Yuan's information was entered into the flight, Turin Airport had formulated a temporary plan. More than 20 security guards blocked both sides of the first-class aisle and escorted Jiang Yuan all the way through security check.

He was greeted by the Italian border control, a white woman who looked to be in her 50s, plump, and probably weighed at least 200 pounds.

"Hello there!"

Jiang Yuan sat down on the chair and handed over his EU passport.

"Hello"

The fat woman opened the passport that Jiang Yuan handed over, looked through it carefully, and began to conduct a routine inspection of Jiang Yuan: "Where did you fly from?"

"U.K"

Jiang Yuan answered, and then thought for a moment before adding: "London, London, England"

"Jiang!"

"Ti amo! (I love you!)"

"..."

On both sides of the window, the Italian fans at the airport were very enthusiastic, which made the border inspection a little confused.

She also likes to watch some movies and British TV series, but she can't recognize the Asians in front of her.

It seems that he is not a very popular actor.

The woman thought to herself and continued to ask according to the procedure:
"What is your purpose for coming here?"

Jiang Yuan shrugged: "An Italian newspaper invited me to come here, and they paid for my air ticket."

"Wow, are you an actor, here for an interview?"

The woman became interested and asked.

"I'm not an actor, I'm an athlete, I play football, calcio (Italian for football)"

"Why did the newspaper invite you?" Although Jiang Yuan held an EU passport, the Italian border control was still somewhat strict with him.

Of course, Jiang Yuan didn't care about anything. He would get through it if he answered honestly.

"I need to receive an award in Turin and I have to come here in person"

"What award?"

Golden Boy Award

……

At the award ceremony, Jiang Yuan, dressed in a suit, sat in the first row. Next to him were Mikay, president of Turin Sports Daily, and Michel Platini, current UEFA president.

The camera turned to the podium, and the host of Turin Sports Daily announced the scores of the top 2015 candidates for the 20 Golden Boy Award in front of fans from all over the world.

These scores are determined by votes from the media.
20. Ruben Neves (POR) 1 point

……

3. Marco Asensio (RMA) 80 points

2. Anthony Martial (MUN) 97 points

1. Jiang Yuan (CHE) 455 points

"so"

The host held the microphone, then spread his hands: "455?"

The next second, the pure black screen above the podium flashed, and three rows of pure golden characters appeared on the screen.

GOLDEN BOY2015
ABSOLUTE BEST (absolute best)
JIANG YUAN
……

“Please invite our 2015 Golden Boy Award winner Jiang to the stage, and our UEFA President Mr. Michel, let’s welcome them!”

Clap clap clap!

There was thunderous applause at the award ceremony. The director's camera turned to the audience. Jiang Yuan and Platini stood up at the same time, hugged each other, and then walked towards the podium together.

"We invite Mr. Michel to give a congratulatory speech to the winners!"

The host bowed slightly and then handed the microphone to Platini.

Platini looked around the podium, coughed twice and then began to speak: "As you can see, the winner of this year's European Golden Boy Award is standing on my right. Jiang, Jiang from Chelsea!"

Platini spread his hands towards Jiang Yuan, and there was immediate applause from below.

"call……"

Platini exhaled lightly, and continued after the applause: "358 points, a gap of 358 points. Everyone has witnessed Jiang's performance this year, from his first appearance in the Portuguese Super League in March to now being the top scorer in the Premier League and Champions League. The 3 voting points already say a lot. It is worth mentioning that this is the biggest gap between the first and second place since the Golden Boy Award was established in 455!"

“The undisputed winner!”

Platini handed the microphone back to the host, held up the Golden Boy Award trophy with both hands, and handed it solemnly to Jiang Yuan.

"congratulations!"

"Thank you, Mr. Michel."

Jiang Yuan took the trophy from Michelle, his expression unable to hide his excitement.

The trophy is not heavy, but Jiang Yuan always feels it is heavy in his hand.

European Golden Boy, this is the most honorable individual award he has received since studying abroad.

Europe's Golden Boy may not be as good as the Portuguese Super League's best signing of the season and the Premier League's Player of the Month in terms of competitive level, but this award also represents Jiang Yuan's current status.

First among European team's U21 players!

"Hey!"

Jiang Yuan grabbed the bottom of the trophy with both hands and then lifted it up suddenly.

"wow!!!"

"Clap clap clap!"

The guests at the scene gave their applause.

The winners of this kind of individual award are always controversial every year, but this year is a special year for the Golden Boy Award.

The gap is 358 points. Is there any controversy about this?
“Absolutely number one!”

The host also applauded Jiang Yuan, and then handed the microphone to Jiang Yuan.

Now it’s time for acceptance speeches!

"Cough cough..."

It was the first time that Jiang Yuan expressed such emotion, and he felt a little complicated.

Fortunately, Mendes had already prepared a speech for him.

"Well... first of all, this is a recognition for me. When I received the trophy from Mr. Michel, I was very excited because I felt that my efforts along the way were recognized."

"..."

"This is a small step for me, but it is a big step for Chinese people in the field of football. This is the starting point, not the end point."

"thank you all!"

The host took the microphone and asked, "Starting point? Jiang, according to you, what is your end point?"

"Ha ha!"

Jiang Yuan smiled and did not answer the host's question.

……

Considering that Jiang Yuan was going to Turin to receive the award, and Jiang Yuan had been the starter and played all the games in the past few weeks, which consumed a lot of energy, Mourinho gave Jiang Yuan three days off.

During these three days, the games in all major leagues entered the next round, but the mainstream newspapers have all been covered by the news that Jiang Yuan won the Golden Boy Award.

The winner of the Golden Boy Award will be given the title of "Future Ballon d'Or", which is enough to show how important this award is.

Whenever the word Jiang appears, it will inevitably be the headline news of mainstream newspapers.

The front page headline of Turin Sports Daily: Chelsea Jiang was elected the 2015 European Golden Boy Award, breaking the historical record with a score difference of 358 points!
《泰晤士报》头版头条——江打破梅西记录成为欧洲金童奖最年轻的获奖者，江的年龄为17岁8个月，而阿根廷人在2005年获奖的时候是18岁零5个月。

The front page headline of Manchester Evening News: Martial failed to be selected as Europe's Golden Boy with 97 points. The one ahead of him was Chelsea Jiang, whose total score was 445.

The front page headline of "The Tthlete" - A 17-year-old Chinese teenager emerged out of nowhere and crushed the popular rising star Martial to win the 2015 Golden Boy Award!

The second headline on the front page of "Portugal O Jogo" - Porto will receive an additional transfer fee of 300 million euros because Jiang won the Golden Boy Award.

The Sun's front-page headline: It is reported that after winning the Golden Boy Award, Jiang received a bonus of no less than 150 million pounds after tax, which will be paid in one lump sum.

Special issue of China Sports Daily - witness history!
The front page headline of "Qingshan Middle School Newspaper" - Although it is hard to sift through the sand, gold will be found after all the sand is blown away.

……

"I made a killing! I made a killing!"

At the Porto Gaia training center, team manager Mario was extremely excited today.

200 million euros fell from the sky, this price is enough for Porto to buy three talented Portuguese young players.

In order to avoid taxes, Chelsea and Porto chose to negotiate the transfer fee to promote Jiang Yuan's transfer, which also resulted in the transfer fee paid by Chelsea exceeding Jiang Yuan's penalty.

This was definitely the most correct choice Mario made. If Porto had refused to negotiate with Chelsea's management and forced the Blues to use liquidated damages to forcibly purchase Jiang Yuan, they would not have signed this incentive contract.

So far, Jiang Yuan’s transfer to Chelsea has brought Porto more than 300 million euros in additional income.

Moreover, if Chelsea reaches the semi-finals of the Champions League or finishes in the top two of the league, they will have to pay Porto 200 million euros!

"Hu Lun, is he crazy?"

Hemiel, who was passing by, glanced at Mario who was celebrating with champagne in the office and couldn't help but complain.

Lopetegui shrugged and said expressionlessly: "I don't want to pay attention to this idiot"

It can be seen that the relationship between Lopetegui and Mario is not good, and a big part of the reason is that Mario forced Jiang Yuan to sign a new contract.

Lopetegui still holds a grudge about that incident.

"Having said that, Jiang's transfer really made us a lot of money. It was the right choice to choose tax avoidance."

Hemiel held a cup of black coffee in one hand. The team had a good record in the league, so as an assistant coach he was naturally in a good mood.

“We’re at a loss no matter what.”

Lopetegui's tone was somewhat dull.

"For a club like Chelsea, millions of euros is just a week's salary for the players. These bonuses are completely meaningless to them."

"We are the ones who suffered the loss. We deserve to be sold to Jiang for 1300 million euros!"

At this point, Lopetegui couldn't help but grit his teeth.

Setting a penalty clause of 1150 million euros when changing the contract is the choice Lopetegui regrets the most, no doubt about it.

At the same time, Mario is also a fool. If he hadn't forced Lopetegui to change Jiang Yuan's contract, Lopetegui could have sat down and had a good talk with Jiang Yuan after the season.

As for now?

What's there to talk about now that the person has left?
Hearing Lopetegui's complaints, Hemil's expression also looked a little lost.

Yes, they made some money, but they could have made more if Jiang Yuan hadn’t left.

Originally he could earn at least 6 or 7 million, but now he can only earn 2000 million at most.

If you earn less, what’s the difference between that and losing money?
No matter how much extra bonus Porto gets, there is only one winner in this transfer.

Mourinho!

……

(End of this chapter)