After Lin Feng signed with Inter Milan, the club quickly announced the news on its official website.
Although rumors had long been circulating that they were pursuing Lin Feng, such transfer-window gossip appeared every year, making it hard to tell truth from fiction.
So many people assumed it was just a rumor. Who would have thought Inter Milan was actually serious?
And they moved so quickly. The rumors had been circulating for less than a week, yet they had already finalized the transfer.
What kind of speed was that?
Still reeling from the shock, major media outlets rushed to report the transfer.
<Chinese Youngster Lin Feng Officially Joins Inter Milan!>
Inter Milan Wins the Youth World Cup MVP Battle!
<Inter Milan Completes Its First Summer Transfer Deal!>
<20 Million Euros for a 17-Year-Old Player: Another Gamble by Moratti!>
<The Player Most Like Kaka Joins Milan's Other Club!>
Most of these reports came from Italian media, which focused primarily on Lin Feng's nationality, his status as Youth World Cup Best Player, his 20-million transfer fee, and his playing style.
But Lin Feng's move to Inter Milan not only sparked widespread coverage in the Italian press, it also drew attention from other European countries.
Lin Feng Chose Inter Milan Over Bayern Munich!
<German Football Continues to Lose Talent—When Will the Bundesliga Rise Again?>
Why Can't the Bundesliga Keep Its Players?
It was not just Chinese people who reflected on things. Germans did too.
When they learned that Lin Feng had not chosen to stay in Germany but had instead joined Serie A, plenty of Germans lost it.
Lin Feng was not German, but he was a genius nurtured by German football itself.
A talent like that had not stayed in the Bundesliga and had instead been poached so easily by another league. That meant the Bundesliga was not good enough and lacked appeal.
In truth, the Bundesliga's talent drain had not begun just yesterday. Many well-known German stars had played abroad in earlier years.
German players could be found in Serie A, La Liga, the Premier League, and even Ligue 1.
But times had changed. In recent years, the Bundesliga had grown stronger and stronger, gradually catching up to the other leagues and even showing signs of overtaking them.
Serie A, meanwhile, had continued to decline. With one rising as the other fell, many Bundesliga fans felt that the Bundesliga was no worse than Serie A, or had even surpassed it.
Yet against that backdrop, a fallen Serie A giant like Inter Milan had actually snatched a talent like Lin Feng from the jaws of the Southern King.
How could they not lose it?
While the Germans were losing it, Chinese fans were celebrating wildly.
"Brother Linzi is amazing! He's our second Chinese player to join a top giant in the Big Five Leagues, right?"
"He may be the second, but Brother Linzi's situation is still different from Little Dong's. Just the transfer fee alone was four times higher!"
"Twenty million euros! That has to be the highest transfer fee ever for a Chinese player, right?"
"More than that—it's even higher than the combined transfer fees of every other player!"
"Too bad it was a little lower than Hidetoshi Nakata's transfer fee. Otherwise, he could have broken the Asian player transfer record too."
The news of Lin Feng joining Inter Milan left domestic fans overwhelmingly excited.
After Dong Fangzhuo caught Manchester United's eye last year, Lin Feng had now joined Inter Milan this year.
Perhaps many players from this China Youth Team would make their way to the Big Five Leagues that summer.
Combined with the China Youth Team's outstanding performance at the Youth World Cup, fans felt that the future was bright.
Chinese football was finally getting better!
"With Dong Fangzhuo's example right in front of us, I think we shouldn't celebrate too early. Maybe they're not after the player at all, but our enormous domestic market!"
A level-headed voice stepped forward to pour cold water on everyone, immediately irritating the fans who had been riding high:
"That was because Dong Fangzhuo didn't have a Work Permit. Serie A doesn't require one, so Lin Feng can play as soon as he joins Inter Milan. And do you think Inter Milan is stupid? Who spends an extra 20 million euros just to chase someone's market?"
"Exactly. Inter Milan paid such a huge price to buy him. They definitely didn't bring him in to warm the bench. They'll absolutely use him heavily, maybe even develop him as a core player!"
"That's right. With Brother Linzi's ability, doesn't he deserve to be developed as a core player?"
"Judging by how Kaka has developed at Milan next door, Brother Linzi's future in Serie A is bright!"
"Do you think Lin Feng could become Inter Milan captain someday?"
"Zanetti: I'll give you one chance to rephrase that!"
July 10, Malpensa Airport, Milan City.
The day after Inter Milan announced Lin Feng's transfer on its official website, Lin Feng arrived in Milan City accompanied by his family.
The moment they stepped off the plane, the sight in the arrivals hall gave them quite a shock.
The enormous arrivals hall was packed with fans wearing Inter Milan Jerseys. They held up Lin Feng Posters and all kinds of welcome banners, having waited there early for his arrival.
"Lin Feng is here!"
"Welcome to Inter Milan!"
The instant they saw Lin Feng, the fans surged toward him crazily from all directions.
The security personnel were on high alert and hurriedly formed a human wall, separating Lin Feng's group from the fans.
Lin Feng was both flattered and overwhelmed. He had never expected that a nobody like him would receive such an enthusiastic welcome from Inter Milan Fans upon arriving here.
He smiled and waved at the fans, actively responding to those who had squeezed desperately to the front in hopes of getting an autograph.
That approachable attitude won him the goodwill of countless fans.
Yet the people reacting most intensely were not those grown men, but a group of young female fans.
"Ahhh, he's really so handsome!"
"He's even more handsome than Kaka!"
"Waaah, I can't take it anymore!"
The crowd was too large and packed too tightly. One female fan fainted, though no one knew whether she had been squeezed unconscious by the crowd or dazzled unconscious by Lin Feng's handsome face.
The scene immediately descended into chaos, and Lin Feng had never seen anything like it.
Fortunately, Inter Milan staff found him in time. Under their escort, his group fled the noisy airport in a rather bedraggled state.
Lin Feng was still shaken, and he suddenly felt a trace of sympathy for Kaka next door:
So this was the kind of life Kaka had been living all along!
Terrifying!
As soon as they exited the airport, Lin Feng saw a business van parked outside.
It was a business van bearing the Inter Milan Emblem.
Beside the van stood an elegant elderly man with glasses and a head full of silver hair.
"Welcome to Milan City, my superstar."
Moratti spoke with a smile as he opened his arms and gave Lin Feng a warm hug.
"Thank you, Mr. President. I really didn't expect you to come in person!"
Lin Feng was genuinely surprised. In his impression, an oil tycoon like Moratti should have been an incredibly busy man. How could he have time to come to the airport to greet a nobody like him?
"Heh heh, someone told me that you are Inter Milan's future. I wanted to see for myself whether he was right!"
"And now? Do you think he was right?"
Moratti smiled faintly. "That isn't for me to decide. The fans will have to judge that!"
"Still, you're younger and more composed than I imagined. I look forward to seeing your brilliant performances on the pitch. Welcome to Inter Milan!"
"Oh, and if you come to Milan again, let me know in advance. I'll send my private jet to pick you up, so you won't have to be surrounded by fans at the airport."
The old man glanced back at the female fans who had already chased them to the exit, a teasing smile appearing on his face.
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