Ye Chen could pretend that he had never come back, so he took an overnight flight back to Manchester.
However, the national team wasn't planning to let him off easily.
A message appeared on the official website: "Punishment Decision for Player Ye Chen".
The meaning was simple: Ye Chen did not follow the arrangements of the team manager and coach, refused to participate in team training, and verbally attacked team leader Wang Bo. As a result, he was expelled from the national team and would not be called up for any future U17 national team matches, effective immediately.
Team leader Wang Bo also posted an update on his personal Weibo.
"Player Ye Chen is really disappointing. He demands to start in matches without training with the team. Does he really think his identity as a Manchester United youth player gives him the right to do whatever he wants? The U17 national team does not welcome such a disruptive player!"
These two articles immediately caused an uproar online.
Countless people began to attack Ye Chen. Since he had opened a Weibo account, his training updates were flooded with comments criticizing him.
The people who had once supported him quickly turned their backs, as Ye Chen had failed to meet expectations—he couldn't even make it onto the U18 team.
In the world of competitive sports, being bad at the game is a cardinal sin!
Fortunately, Ye Chen didn't check domestic social media while abroad; otherwise, if he had a weak mentality, he might have easily cracked under the pressure.
After taking a nap on the plane, Ye Chen arrived in Manchester.
Two hours later, he didn't bother adjusting to the time zone—he headed straight to the training ground… In fact, he was still on England's time zone, and hadn't adjusted since returning to China.
When Ye Chen showed up at the training field, many people were shocked.
"Yo, isn't that Ye? Our Chinese prodigy must have been kicked out of the team!" The speaker was the team's starting forward Sam Bairney, who had often mocked Ye Chen when he was called up to the national team.
He'd said that the only reason Ye Chen was called up was because China had no other players, otherwise, how could someone who couldn't even get on the field for the Manchester United U18 team play for the national team?
"Do I need to explain myself to you?" Ye Chen coldly asked in response.
"I knew it! I told you, you just don't have the skill!" Bairney sneered. He, a regular starter for the U18 team, hadn't even been called up, and here was Ye Chen, a substitute, being called to play internationally—no wonder he was frustrated.
Ye Chen wasn't angry, though.
There was no need to get upset over someone like him, who wouldn't even last in the Premier League in the future.
"Ye, don't mind him! He's just a coward who picks on the weak. He wouldn't dare mess with you when the captain is around!" Adnan Januzaj came over and whispered to Ye Chen.
"It's fine!" Having merged with the memories of this world's Ye Chen, he knew Januzaj was a good friend of his, and the current U18 captain, Michael Keane, was also on good terms with him.
However, Keane had recently suffered a clavicle fracture and would be out for two months.
"Alright, guys, gather up!" At that moment, Ole Gunnar Solskjær appeared at the sideline, holding a notebook. "We're going to have an internal training match today. The players I call out, please go to Coach Chris to get your jerseys!"
"Goalkeeper Jonathan, four defenders Grimshaw, Luke, McGinty, and Givens!"
"Midfielders Jack Bambi, Joe Roswell, Tom, and Liam!"
"Finally, the two forwards are Pearson and Bairney!"
After Solskjær called out the names of the main A-team players, Ye Chen was naturally not on the list.
The remaining players were automatically placed in the B team.
"Adnan, do you want some assists?" Ye Chen casually put his arm around Januzaj and asked with a smile.
Januzaj was probably the only one in the B team who would pass to him, so Ye Chen was trying to win his favor.
"Don't think you can trick me this time. I won't fall for it!" Januzaj looked at him warily. It was clear that Ye Chen had tricked him before.
"Hey, I'm serious this time! Just pass me the ball, and you'll see how easy it is to get assists!" Ye Chen said with a wink.
"Last time you said that, but you didn't score a single goal!"
"Hey, this time I learned some real tricks from China, trust me!" Ye Chen clenched his fist confidently.
"Really? Don't tell me it's some kind of Chinese kung fu!" Januzaj raised an eyebrow, but his expression softened. "Alright, alright. Don't worry, I'll pass you the ball!"
The internal training match was divided into two halves, but instead of the standard 45 minutes, each half was 30 minutes.
Solskjær watched the players on the field, but in his mind, he was already worrying about the starting lineup for the next match.
The next opponent was none other than Liverpool U18, currently ranked number one, and they had a superstar in their ranks—Raheem Sterling.
Although young, Sterling was incredibly fast, strong, and was being hailed as "England's Messi"!
After just seven games, Sterling had already scored 8 goals, placing him at the top of the scoring charts, along with 4 assists, also the highest in the assist chart.
In England, their football system was incredibly structured, and every level of the game was clearly defined.
In England, their football system is very well-organized, with clear divisions at every level.
In addition to the world-renowned Premier League, there are the Championship, League One, League Two, and other leagues at various levels. Besides the leagues, there are reserve teams and youth teams at each level. Every season, the FA asks teams whether they wish to participate in the respective leagues.
Moreover, apart from the league, there are also various cup competitions at different levels.
For instance, the upcoming U18 Youth FA Cup that Manchester United U18 will participate in is a branch of the famous FA Cup.
Of course, youth team matches are not as frequent as senior matches, which may see two or even three games a week.
Youth teams typically play a maximum of four matches per month, and at least two matches. These games exist to help young players develop and ensure the healthy growth of the entire league!
Once the players entered the field, the A-team wore red vests to symbolize their main roster status, while the B-team players wore blue vests, signifying they were substitutes.
Bairney looked at Ye Chen and smirked, mocking him, "Hey, Chinese kid, take a good look at the skills of the team's main striker. You're such a waste of space. How dare you play forward? You should be selling DVDs. At least then you won't starve!"
[Note: In the past, many East Asians in East London made a living selling DVDs, and the derogatory term "DVD" was used to refer to them.]
Ye Chen curled his lips into a sneer but didn't respond.
As always, there was no point in getting angry at someone who would never make it in the Premier League.
"I heard you Chinese people are all super good at tolerating things. You get bullied and never talk back… but that's expected, trash has no right to speak!" Bairney taunted again when Ye Chen remained silent.
"Say that again!" Ye Chen's eyes hardened, and a cold glint flashed in them.
You can insult me, but insulting the Chinese people is a line you don't cross!
"Listen clearly, you Chinese people are all TRASH!" Bairney arrogantly shouted.
Ye Chen clenched his fists.
"Ye, calm down. He's just trying to provoke you!" Januzaj quickly came over and whispered.
"What, are you angry? If you can beat me, I'll call you 'Dad'! Come on, show me what you've got!" Bairney continued his insults.
"Fine!"
"What?"
"If you lose, you have to say 'Chinese people are all my dad' three times!" Ye Chen responded, his tone calm and unwavering.
"What? You're challenging me like this?" Bairney was sure he would win, but as it was a bet, Ye Chen also had to face a consequence if he lost.
"You tell me!" Ye Chen replied, unfazed.
"If you lose, you'll say 'Irish people are all my dad' three times!" Bairney mocked.
"Okay!" Ye Chen nodded.
Although this bet seemed childish to him, it was important to show that the Chinese were not to be bullied!
In the past, he might have hesitated, especially given the skill gap.
But now, things were different.
"Long time no see, time to show a new side!"
Bairney laughed and turned to Pearson, saying, "Pearson, did you hear? He's the one who challenged me, not the other way around!"
Pearson glanced at Ye Chen and sneered, "I don't think this is a bet. It's more like humiliating himself!"
He didn't pity Ye Chen; instead, he genuinely looked down on him.
Ye Chen didn't even look at Pearson, instead speaking directly to Bairney, "Let's just see who scores more goals, no problem, right?"
"This is what you said!" Bairney arrogantly replied.
"Ding! Random mission issued: Score more goals than Bairney in this match!"
"Mission success reward: One bronze treasure chest; mission failure: Deduct five shooting attribute points!"
Ye Chen raised an eyebrow. Originally, he just wanted to stand up for himself, but now things were different.
It was about his attribute points!
"Beep!"
Coach Chris, who was acting as the temporary referee, blew the whistle to start the game.
In the youth team, betting like this was quite normal, and the players didn't get involved.
Moreover, Coach Chris also thought that East Asians were not suited for football…
Meanwhile, Solskjær had opened his notebook at the sidelines and began recording the players' performances.
Before the match, he hadn't told the players that only those who performed well in the training match would have a chance to play in the upcoming match against Liverpool.
After all, the U18 Youth FA Cup would be held at Old Trafford, Manchester United's home ground!
The match began, and the A-team, as the main side, took control of the field.
However, since all the players were from the youth team, the gap in skills wasn't huge, and the B-team's defense was quite well-organized.
The match soon reached the 5-minute and 32-second mark of the first half. Bairney's shot hit Jack Luji's foot and bounced into an open space on the right side.
Quick-thinking Januzaj appeared on the right wing and seized the ball.
After gaining possession, Januzaj decisively advanced with the ball, but the A-team's left-back, Grimshaw, was already closing in to block his path.
"I'm here!"
At that moment, Ye Chen dropped back and raised his hand to signal for the ball.
Upon hearing Ye Chen's voice, Januzaj passed the ball to him.
Since Ye Chen was deep, the two center-backs didn't follow, and he found himself in space.
He glanced at the goalkeeper's position, and without hesitation, struck the ball!
"Boom!"
The outside of Ye Chen's right foot slammed into the bottom of the ball, sending it flying toward the goal like a missile.
At the sidelines, Solskjær was still recording Bairney's rushed shot when he looked up and saw this scene.
A flicker of surprise crossed Solskjær's eyes. When did Ye Chen get this good at striking long shots?