"I hereby solemnly announce that the winner of the 2018 FIFA World Footballer of the Year award is..."
With Infantino's words, everyone in the Royal Festival Hall—and even viewers around the world who had been glued to their televisions watching the live broadcast—suddenly felt their hearts leap into their throats. Some even held their breath.
The live broadcast simultaneously switched to close-ups of the three finalists at the venue. Yang Yang looked the calmest and most composed.
Modrić was a veteran, but he was still somewhat nervous. He looked like he was forcing himself to remain calm. As for Mbappé, there was no need to say more—the young finalist was so tense that he had already closed his eyes.
Everyone at the venue was suffering just as much, especially the Ajax players seated in the guest section. They were all on tenterhooks.
They all hoped Yang Yang would win, but they were also extremely anxious.
Fortunately, the agonizing wait soon passed.
Infantino quickly leaned toward the microphone and loudly called out the winner's name...
"Yang Yang!!!!!"
Yang Yang!!!!
Infantino's shout echoed throughout the Royal Festival Hall.
The name Yang Yang rang in everyone's ears, astonishing everyone present while also seeming perfectly natural. After all, Yang Yang's performance last season had still been world-class.
No one could downgrade their assessment of his performance last season simply because he had transferred to Ajax.
Modrić had been a major favorite. He had led Croatia to the World Cup final and helped Real Madrid win a Five-peat in the Champions League. He would have been a deserving winner, but the problem was that Yang Yang was Real Madrid's soul and star player. Croatia's dark-horse World Cup legend had already been written by Yang Yang in the previous edition, greatly diminishing its impact.
As for