"Ye Chen, you're already 17. You should start understanding the rules."
Wang Bo, the U17 national team manager, looked at Ye Chen with a calm expression and spoke unhurriedly.
"What rules?" Ye Chen raised an eyebrow and asked in return.
Wang Bo smiled. "Since you don't know, just forget it. This is your first time being called up to the U17 national team, so just train with the squad. You won't have any chance to play in this tournament."
"What? So no matter how well I train, I still won't get to play?" Ye Chen pressed further.
Wang Bo smirked arrogantly. "You'll play when you understand the rules."
"Is this your decision or the head coach's?" Ye Chen asked in a deep voice.
"Of course, it's our decision. Let me ask you, you must've spent a lot of money to get into Manchester United, right? Why are you suddenly so stingy now that you're in the national team?" Wang Bo sneered at Ye Chen.
"I earned that contract through my ability. I didn't pay a cent!" Ye Chen gritted his teeth.
"Oh… through your ability?" Wang Bo laughed. "Do you really think you got a contract with Manchester United's youth academy purely based on skill? They're just interested in the Chinese market behind you—just like they were with Dong Fangzhuo back then!"
Ye Chen clenched his jaw. "I'll ask you one last time: if I don't pay, does that mean I won't get to play?"
"That's exactly what it means!" Wang Bo picked up his teacup. "Now, off you go."
Ye Chen clenched his fists and turned around. "Fine. Then I'm heading back to Manchester right now!"
"If you dare leave now, I'll expel you immediately, and you'll never be called up again!" Wang Bo shouted with authority. "Remember, this is the national team! My rules are the rules!"
"Expel me if you want—I don't care about staying in a team like this!"
Without looking back, Ye Chen walked out of the U17 training base.
In reality, Ye Chen wasn't even from this world—he was a transmigrator.
In his previous life, Ye Chen had been a football player, but a major injury at 20 forced him to retire. He ended up becoming a PE teacher at an elementary school.
He thought his life would just drift along meaninglessly, but who would've thought that after a night's sleep, he would actually transmigrate?
Not only that, but he also obtained the "Football God System"!
Right after transmigrating, the system asked him to choose—would he become the God of Basketball or the God of Football?
Without the slightest hesitation, Ye Chen chose football.
Ye Chen didn't hesitate for a second—he chose football immediately.
First, football was the most popular sport in the world, and the World Cup, held every four years, was the pinnacle of the sport, attracting global attention.
Second, basketball already had its God of Basketball—the legendary Michael Jordan.
But football, despite having recognized kings of the game, never had an undisputed God of Football!
After binding with the "Football God System," Ye Chen woke up to find himself in this new reality—he was now a somewhat well-known Chinese player who had signed an apprentice contract with Manchester United's youth academy.
However, during his season with United's youth team, he had only played five matches, three of which were as a substitute. His stats were miserable—zero goals, zero assists.
This completely shattered the expectations fans had for him, confirming their belief that Manchester United had only signed him to exploit the Chinese market behind him.
When he woke up, he was already at the national team's training camp, just as the team manager had sent for him. Yet, he never expected to receive such an outrageous demand.
No money, no playing time…
So even in this parallel world, the national team was the same.
Ye Chen felt a pang of sadness, but he quickly shook it off.
No national team matches? Fine. I'll treat the Champions League as my World Cup!
After all, in some ways, the intensity of the UEFA Champions League was just as high—if not higher—than the World Cup.
"Ding! Since the host has refused the unreasonable demands of the national team manager, an extra reward has been granted: an S-tier skill card—'Long-Range Shot Guarantee Card'!"
Long-Range Shot Guarantee Card?
Ye Chen was stunned—this was the first time the system had ever given him a reward.
"Explain."
"With the Long-Range Shot Guarantee Card, every five long-range (outside the penalty box) shots will guarantee a goal. It can only be activated once per match."
Ye Chen took a sharp breath. So as long as I keep taking long shots, the fifth one is guaranteed to score?
This skill… is absolutely broken!
Of course, Ye Chen didn't celebrate too early.
Of course, Ye Chen didn't celebrate too early.
After all, anyone who had watched football matches knew that if a team was too weak, they might not even get five shooting opportunities in an entire game...
"Since I got this skill card, shouldn't my personal attributes improve as well?"
Ye Chen had already checked his attributes when he first transmigrated, and they were terrible.
His overall rating was only 58.
Attacking ability: 63Dribbling: 73Ball control: 75Finishing: 57 (extremely poor)Heading: 45 (even worse)Speed: 76 (his best stat)Acceleration: 78 (also quite good)Shot power: 58 (far too weak)
These numbers explained why Ye Chen had barely managed to stay at Manchester United.
With only 58 shot power, even if he attempted long shots, they would lack any real force.
Just as he was feeling uncertain, the system chimed in:
"Ding! Friendly reminder: After obtaining an S-tier skill, the system will automatically upgrade the related attributes to meet the minimum requirements!"
Ye Chen quickly opened his personal attributes panel—and was instantly stunned.
Finishing increased from 57 to 75! (+18 points!)Shot power increased from 58 to 80! (+22 points!)
In total, this S-tier skill had granted him a whopping 40 attribute points!
Incredible!
Could this be the reason why the system never gave him a newbie gift pack?
Could this be the reason why the system didn't give me a newbie gift pack?
After all, when reading novels in the past, the system would always give out a newbie gift pack as an extra reward...
But whatever, Ye Chen sighed deeply and picked up his phone to book a flight back to Manchester, pretending as if he had never been here!
Sitting in the taxi, Ye Chen started reflecting on his situation.
His apprentice contract with Manchester United's youth team only had one year left, and it would expire on June 30, 2012.
If Ye Chen didn't perform outstandingly, he wouldn't be able to stay.
Of course, the current Manchester United U18 team no longer had Pogba—he had been promoted to the reserve team, the U21 squad.
As for his teammates, the most famous one in the future would likely be Adnan Januzaj, followed by Michael Keane.
Januzaj later transferred to Real Sociedad in La Liga for €8.5 million, while Keane moved to Burnley, and after that, he was sold to Everton for a whopping £30 million.
In reality, Manchester United's youth academy was impressive. Not only was there the legendary Class of '92, but players like Danny Welbeck, Paul Pogba, and Jesse Lingard all came through the academy, and later, players like Marcus Rashford and Mason Greenwood emerged as brilliant goal-scorers.
These were all players who came through the Manchester United youth system.
Ye Chen, on the other hand, was what you'd call a late bloomer, having joined the team at the age of 15.
And making a name for himself at such a large club was no easy task.
First, he had to prove himself in front of Ole Gunnar Solskjær!
Solskjær, who would become Manchester United's manager in the future, was currently the manager of the U18 team.
Of course, football abroad was more pure—as long as you performed well, you could earn playing time and even a starting position.
"Ding! Initial mission issued: The host needs to earn Solskjær's trust in a training match and gain the opportunity to represent the U18 team in the first match of the new season!"
"Mission success reward: 1 Bronze Chest. Mission failure: Random loss of 5 attribute points!"
This mission... I really feel like 'I'm done for'.