The next day, The Sun put Chen Ran’s photo on the front page once again.
The headline was even more sensational:
“OMG, Britain’s New Sweetheart Was Snatched by a Chinese Man!”
Next to it was a beautiful photo of Cheryl, and the content described Chen Ran and Cheryl’s encounter at the nightclub.
Only, Chen Ran was transformed into a villain who violently stole someone else’s love.
“F***k!”
The loan incident didn’t anger Chen Ran, but this matter really pissed him off.
It turned out that Ashley Cole was frustrated that day; seeing the beauty he had his eye on snatched away by someone else, he had been unhappy ever since.
Unexpectedly, The Sun the next day allowed him to recognize Chen Ran.
So he called the tip-off hotline and described the events at the nightclub, reversing black and white and adding heavy embellishments.
What kind of media was The Sun?
They dared to fabricate things out of thin air, let alone when they had a tip-off.
Moreover, it was about a current hot topic, so The Sun naturally struck while the iron was hot.
Thus, Chen Ran had the honor of becoming the first Chinese person to appear on the front page of The Sun for two consecutive days.
“Honey, don’t be angry.
I’ll hold a press conference tomorrow to clarify the rumors and explain the real situation of that day clearly.
We are true love, and I want to officially announce you as my boyfriend.” Seeing Chen Ran angry, Cheryl hugged and comforted him.
Looking at Cheryl trying to please him in his arms, Chen Ran sighed softly.
This girl was only 20 after all; she was still too naive.
But her intentions were good.
Chen Ran stroked Cheryl’s hair and kissed her.
“Won’t this affect your career?
Your agency won’t agree, right?” “It doesn’t matter.
As long as I can be with you, honey, nothing else matters.” “Alright, do whatever you want.
I only have one request: if someone forces you to do something you don’t want to do, you can just refuse.
Worst comes to worst, I’ll support you.”
Since Cheryl was willing to go this far for him, Chen Ran wasn’t made of wood; how could he not feel her sincerity?
Besides, his long-term goal was insanely difficult.
Even if he invested all his time and energy, he still wasn’t sure he’d succeed.
In his past life, he was just an ordinary person; besides cursing out of anger, he had no solutions for the state of Chinese football.
Now that he had lived a second life, how could he be reconciled if he didn’t try his hardest?
Although it was only 2003, considering the arduous nature of the task, Chen Ran felt he didn’t have time to be distracted by other things.
Cheryl had the looks, the figure, and the fame, and his past life proved she was a good partner.
It was only because she was young and pure right now that he had won her over so easily.
One shouldn’t be too greedy.
On the third day, as expected, Cheryl defied her agency’s opposition and held a solo press conference.
Not only did she clarify the events of that day, but she proactively announced her relationship with Chen Ran.
This time, Chen Ran was completely famous in the UK.
If he was only famous in football circles before, now, with the blessing of a romance with a popular female star, he had completely broken out of those circles.
The British public’s love for celebrity gossip could be seen from The Sun’s number one sales ranking.
Following Beckham and Victoria, now there was Chen Ran and Cheryl.
Both were a case of a handsome man and a beautiful woman.
Though Chen Ran wasn’t a football star, he was a football club owner, which, coupled with his identity as a Chinese man, made the couple even more controversial.
How could tabloids led by The Sun let go of such great hype material?
That was sales!
Therefore, Cheryl’s press conference didn’t serve to clarify anything; instead, it was like pouring a bucket of gasoline on a bonfire.
London paparazzi caught the scent and moved out.
Now, not only Cheryl but even Chen Ran was tracked 24/7 by paparazzi; they couldn’t go anywhere.
Fortunately, after securing the loan, follow-up work needed to continue.
Chen Ran left Stephen to hold down the fort, painfully bid farewell to Cheryl, and hurried out of the UK with Luis.
Lisbon, Portugal.
A place Chen Ran had always wanted to visit.
As a reincarnator, there was one thing he knew very clearly.
In the next ten-plus years, there would be two superstars in world football that no one could ignore.
One was Messi, and the other was Cristiano Ronaldo.
Messi had been scooped up by Barcelona early on; Chen Ran knew perfectly well he had no chance of getting him.
But with C.
Ronaldo, he still had a sliver of a chance.
Even though he knew the chances were slim, he still wanted to try, otherwise he really wouldn’t be reconciled.
In his past life, right around this summer, Sir Alex Ferguson bought C.
Ronaldo from Sporting Lisbon (Sporting CP) for 12.24 million pounds.
Manchester United was at the height of its power right now; compared to them, the tiny Championship team Crystal Palace had absolutely no competitive edge.
Fortunately, Chen Ran had secured a 30 million euro loan, which was his only leverage to dare to snatch a player from Ferguson.
“Luis, make an appointment with Cristiano Ronaldo’s agent, Mendes.
I want to chat with him first.” “Mendes…” Luis fell into a rare silence.
Chen Ran knew why Luis was silent and understandingly patted his shoulder.
“If it’s inconvenient for you, I’ll just go see him alone.”
Actually, Luis and Mendes had known each other for a long time.
In the early days, Mendes was the representative for Luis’s father, Juan Figer, in Portugal.
It was just that Mendes later grew big and established his own business, practically snatching away Juan Figer’s business in Portugal.
In Luis’s father’s eyes, Mendes was a shameless traitor.
Fortunately, Luis’s father had passed the agency to his eldest brother, so Luis’s reaction wasn’t too intense now.
“It’s fine, Chen.
It doesn’t matter to me; our business is more important.
As for the grudge between Mendes and my dad, let them sort it out themselves.
The agency belongs to my older brother anyway.”
The chubby guy shrugged.
He had figured it out a long time ago, otherwise he wouldn’t have accompanied Chen Ran to Portugal, Mendes’s stronghold.
“It’s good that you think that way.
Due to historical reasons, Portugal is a stepping stone for many South American players, especially Brazilian players, to land in Europe.
Given Mendes’s influence in the Portuguese football agency circle, we won’t be able to avoid dealing with him in the future.”
“I plan to let you handle Crystal Palace’s transfer affairs in the future.
You should know best how powerful Mendes is.
Even your old man suffered a big loss at his hands.
You must be extra careful when dealing with him from now on.”
“Don’t worry, Chen.
No one understands Mendes’s methods better than our family.
I absolutely won’t let him take advantage of us.”
(END CHAPTER)