Some said that European Football was like a pyramid. Standing in different positions naturally meant pursuing different things.
For professional or semiprofessional teams in lower-level leagues, their greatest pursuit was neither results nor strength, but survival. All they wanted was to struggle on and stay alive.
For the lower-ranked teams in the Four Major Leagues, they also wanted to survive, but they hoped to live with a little more dignity.
The pursuits of mid-table teams were naturally much more complicated. They no longer had to worry about survival and had begun trying to climb higher, striving to reach a better position. They even hoped to explode like Real Sociedad from time to time, finish in the league's top four, make a push for the Champions League, attract the world's attention, or pull off an upset against a powerful giant.
Once they reached the upper reaches, they began pursuing results. They could take part in more competitions. Besides the domestic league, they also pursued cup competitions and cared about their European results. They would even begin competing with powerful giants for promising young players.
Since they could not afford the best superstars, they could only fight for players they could afford—players who had the potential to become the best superstars in the future. They even began placing greater importance on every clash between strong teams.
But for giant clubs at the level of Real Madrid and Barcelona, they no longer needed to worry about survival, because they were wealthy. Nor did they need to worry about results, because even in their worst seasons they could still secure a top-three league finish. They did not need to compete for any particular superstar, either. As long as they were willing to pay, they could bring in the best players in the world.
Yet