Chapter Summaries

China national football team lost 3:5 to Manchester United in a warm-up match after Dembélé scored an own goal, while Tang Ye scored twice and ran 13.9 kilometers. After the match, Tang Ye and Dembélé each blamed the other for the mistake, and Manchester United’s official bid for Harry Kane became public as Tottenham Hotspur weighed whether to sell him.

• Tang Ye’s through ball led Dembélé to score an own goal for China national football team, making the score 3:3.
• Amad Diallo and Manchester United’s substitutes scored twice, and Manchester United defeated China national football team 5:3.
• Tang Ye, Rodri, de Jong, Haller, and Dembélé argued over who caused the own goal, while Rodri concluded that both Tang Ye and Dembélé had made mistakes.
• Tang Ye and Dembélé each told reporters that the other was responsible for the own goal, and fans joked about their chemistry.
• Romano reported that Manchester United had offered Tottenham Hotspur €120 million for Harry Kane, while Tottenham Hotspur hesitated over selling him.
• Reports said Cristiano Ronaldo wanted to return to the Premier League, and Erik ten Hag could consider Robert Lewandowski if Tottenham Hotspur refused to sell Kane.

Manchester United arrived in Charlotte for a preseason friendly against Napoli while the club continued searching for a striker. As transfer rumors linked Cristiano Ronaldo with a return to Manchester United, reports said he would have to accept a supporting role alongside Tang Ye.

• Manchester United landed in Charlotte, where Tang Ye and his teammates joked about fighter jets and his infamous own goal.
• Li Laoba argued that China’s national team relied too heavily on Tang Ye, comparing him to a camel carrying too many riders across a desert.
• Reports said Cristiano Ronaldo wanted to leave Juventus because he sought trophies and the club was not strengthening enough.
• The Glazer family reportedly wanted Ronaldo back for his commercial value, but Manchester United feared his return could undermine Tang Ye’s position and the club’s appeal in China.
• Jorge Mendes reportedly told Ronaldo that joining Manchester United would require compromises, including accepting that he would not be the team’s boss.

Tang Ye and his Manchester United teammates discussed Cristiano Ronaldo’s possible transfer before facing Napoli in a warm-up match in Charlotte. After Napoli threatened early, Tang Ye helped United settle into the game and set up Dembélé’s opening goal, leaving the match still in its early stages.

• Tang Ye and Dembélé joked about running 9.83 seconds and playing as a striker before their teammates asked Tang Ye what he thought of Cristiano Ronaldo joining Manchester United.
• Tang Ye said he was not opposed to Ronaldo but thought the younger Harry Kane might be a better long-term signing, while Victor Osimhen could also be assessed in the warm-up match.
• Tang Ye arrived at Bank of America Stadium, greeted his fans, and joked with Dembélé about their earlier visit to a military transport plane.
• Napoli tested Manchester United’s defense down the flanks, but Osimhen headed Politano’s cross wide before Erik ten Hag urged United to press and mark their opponents.
• Tang Ye instructed Dembélé to move right and Rashford to drift inward, then nutmegged Giovanni Di Lorenzo and slipped a pass through as he was fouled.
• Dembélé finished Tang Ye’s pass to give Manchester United a 1–0 lead over Napoli.

Manchester United defeated Napoli 4–1 in a preseason friendly as Tang Ye helped dominate the match and scored a long-range goal. At halftime, van der Gaag asked Tang Ye and Rodri to help Rashford regain confidence, and the chapter ended with fans accusing Ten Hag of hiding the team’s true strength.

• Tang Ye missed a rebound early, but later crossed with a Rabona for Haller to score Manchester United’s second goal.
• Tang Ye helped launch a fast attack that ended with Rodri scoring Manchester United’s third goal, before Insigne converted a penalty to make it 3–1 at halftime.
• Van der Gaag told Tang Ye and Rodri to help Rashford, whose confidence and form were troubling the coaching staff.
• Manchester United shifted its attack toward Rashford’s left flank after halftime, and Tang Ye scored from distance to make it 4–1.
• Fans accused Ten Hag of holding back Manchester United’s strength.

After Manchester United completed their friendlies, Tang Ye discussed the Olympics and joked through a basketball comparison interview while LeBron James praised his loyalty and criticized young players for taking shortcuts. Tang Ye returned to Manchester amid enormous fan hype, then admitted to Ousmane Dembélé that winning another quadruple would be difficult, as news emerged that Cristiano Ronaldo’s private jet had been spotted at Manchester Airport.

• Tang Ye told a Xinhua reporter he would have considered the Tokyo Olympics but had been unable to attend training, and he praised Jiang Shenglong and Su Bingtian.
• Tang Ye chose LeBron in an ESPN this-or-that interview, while James praised Tang Ye’s loyalty to Manchester United and advised young players against seeking shortcuts.
• Manchester United returned to Manchester as fans celebrated Tang Ye’s return and proclaimed the club’s chances of winning the Premier League.
• Tang Ye and Ousmane Dembélé watched an AI-edited video portraying Tang Ye defeating Mohamed Salah, De Bruyne, and Harry Kane, then joked about Dembélé carrying him to a quadruple.
• The Sun reported that Cristiano Ronaldo’s private jet had been spotted at Manchester Airport.

Cristiano Ronaldo visited Tang Ye to discuss a possible return to Manchester United, revealing Juventus’s unpaid wages and his frustration with the club. As reports linked Ronaldo to United and Lionel Messi’s Barcelona renewal faltered, Jorge Mendes told Ronaldo that winning the Champions League again meant yielding to Tang Ye.

• Cristiano Ronaldo met Tang Ye at his mansion and explained that he believed he fit Manchester United’s squad but felt constrained by Juventus and United’s expectations.
• Cristiano Ronaldo told Tang Ye that Juventus owed him tens of millions of euros in wages, kept changing coaches, and had not built the team around him despite his scoring record.
• The Sun and Daily Star reported that Ronaldo had visited Tang Ye and that Manchester United’s management wanted him back, while Erik ten Hag reportedly opposed the move.
• Reports said Lionel Messi’s renewal with Barcelona had stalled because of the club’s finances and management’s repeated attempts to trade him for Tang Ye.
• Cristiano Ronaldo confronted Jorge Mendes over the lack of progress on his transfer, and Mendes told him he had not conceded enough to Tang Ye.
• Jorge Mendes told Cristiano Ronaldo that if he truly wanted to win the Champions League again, he had to bow his head to Tang Ye.

Manchester United beat Everton 5–1 in their final preseason match, and Tang Ye publicly welcomed Cristiano Ronaldo’s possible return. As speculation grew over Ronaldo joining the team, he called Tang Ye during a team meeting and then visited him with egg tarts, insisting that he wanted to help rather than take over.

• Messi’s departure from Barcelona was confirmed, drawing fan outrage over Laporta’s proposed pay cut.
• Tang Ye scored twice and helped Marcus Rashford score as Manchester United beat Everton 5–1.
• Tang Ye told reporters that Cristiano Ronaldo could help Manchester United and that the club would welcome him, prompting headlines about the pair joining forces.
• Rodri and de Jong confronted Tang Ye about supporting Ronaldo’s return, worried that Ronaldo’s personality could affect the team’s hierarchy.
• During Erik ten Hag’s team talk, Cristiano Ronaldo called Tang Ye twice, interrupting the meeting.
• Ronaldo visited Tang Ye with egg tarts from Lisbon and said fans wrongly believed he had returned to become the boss; he claimed he wanted to help Tang Ye.

As the 2021–22 Premier League season began, Tang Ye worried about how Cristiano Ronaldo’s possible arrival might affect Manchester United’s squad atmosphere, while fans and investors fixated on betting on Tang Ye to become the assist king. Manchester United opened their season against newly promoted Leeds United, and the match was underway with United defending a Leeds attack and clearing the ball to Marcus Rashford.

• At Carrington, Tang Ye told Ousmane Dembélé that he was uneasy about Cristiano Ronaldo’s situation, and Dembélé teased him and promised to protect him.
• Betting odds made Manchester United favorites for the league title and Tang Ye the favorite for the assist-king awards; Berkshire Hathaway backed Tang Ye, while scams selling supposed GG bonds spread in China.
• Tang Ye told a Xinhua reporter that GG bonds carried risks and said Manchester United would discuss Cristiano Ronaldo the following week.
• Manchester United started against Leeds United with Bruno Fernandes on the left wing and Marcus Rashford at center forward, as commentators noted Erik ten Hag was experimenting with the lineup.
• Leeds United attacked through Raphinha, but Luke Shaw and Rodri closed him down, Tang Ye and Frenkie de Jong converged on Harrison, and de Jong cleared the ball to Rashford.

Tang Ye led Manchester United to a comfortable 4:0 win over newly promoted Leeds United in the opening match of the Premier League season. After celebrating his return to Old Trafford, he told the reporters, “I... am back.”

• Tang Ye scored Manchester United’s first goal of the season with a volley after B. Fee and Koch collided over a loose ball, and the referee allowed the goal to stand.
• Dembélé scored Manchester United’s second goal after a move involving Rodri, B. Fee, and Rashford, then scored again to make it 3:0.
• Tang Ye helped Rashford score the fourth goal after B. Fee’s free kick rebounded off Koch, and Manchester United later won 4:0.
• Tang Ye came off in the 80th minute and celebrated his return with fans at Old Trafford while joking with Ousmane Dembélé.
• At the press conference, Tang Ye welcomed Leeds United to the Premier League and told the reporters and fans, “I... am back.”

Manchester United won their first two Premier League matches and drew a challenging Champions League group, while Tang Ye left for the United Arab Emirates to join China’s national team ahead of the qualifiers. The chapter ended with Romano reporting that Ronaldo had joined Manchester United for 25 million euros plus add-ons.

• Manchester United beat Leeds United 4-0, and pundits praised the tactical partnership between Tang Ye and B. Fee.
• Manchester United beat Southampton 2-0, with B. Fee and Mason Greenwood scoring, and moved to the top of the Premier League table.
• Tang Ye flew to the United Arab Emirates for China’s upcoming qualifiers, and he told Liu Min that Japan would be difficult to beat.
• Escribá avoided reporters as China’s national team began preparations in the United Arab Emirates.
• Erik ten Hag attended the Champions League draw, where Manchester United were placed in Group C with Sevilla, Ajax, and Atlético Madrid.
• Romano reported that Ronaldo joined Manchester United in a transfer worth 25 million euros plus add-ons.

Tang Ye’s teammates discussed Cristiano Ronaldo’s return to Manchester United and whether the two stars could work together, while Tang Ye said he believed they could. At China national team training, Escribá split the players into groups and warned Tang Ye that the squad’s lack of shared understanding made qualifying for the World Cup harder than he had expected.

• China national team players questioned Tang Ye about whether he had approved Cristiano Ronaldo’s return, and Tang Ye explained that he had not explicitly objected.
• Wu Lei and Wu Xi concluded that Cristiano Ronaldo would be beneath Tang Ye in Manchester United’s pecking order, while Tang Ye said he thought he could work with him.
• Mati warned the players not to discuss Manchester United around Escribá, then Escribá criticized the team’s uneven form and divided the players into separate training groups.
• Tang Ye asked Escribá what he should train, and Escribá told him to practice yoga or work on combinations with Zhang.
• Escribá told Tang Ye that China’s players lacked a shared understanding on the pitch, that it would take months to address, and that they needed to earn as many points as possible.

China national football team faced the United Arab Emirates in Escribá’s debut as manager, with Tang Ye helping create an early lead. Elkeson’s 23rd-minute goal stood after a VAR check, leaving Escribá celebrating so wildly that his staff had to pull him back from the pitch.

• Chinese fans and commentators voiced confidence before the match, while Al Qasimi welcomed Tang Ye and joked about recruiting the world’s greatest player to the United Arab Emirates league.
• China and the United Arab Emirates began in 4-2-3-1 formations, and the hosts threatened down the right before Jiang Guangtai cleared the ball.
• Tang Ye led a quick counterattack and set up Wei Shihao, whose shot flew high over the goal.
• In the 21st minute, Wei Shihao took a short corner and combined with Tang Ye and Wu Lei before Tang Ye crossed into the box.
• Elkeson controlled Tang Ye’s cross and scored; VAR confirmed he was onside, giving China a 1-0 lead in the 23rd minute.
• Escribá leaped onto the pitch to celebrate, and Mati and Li Tie dragged him back as the fourth official tried to stop him.

China took a 3-1 lead over the United Arab Emirates in Escribá’s first match in charge, with Tang Ye scoring twice and setting up dangerous attacks. Tang Ye was substituted late after struggling with his shooting, while China moved closer to securing the win.

• Escribá urged China to stay alert after Tang Ye gave them an early lead, and Tang Ye later won a penalty after Haseif fouled him in the box.
• Tang Ye converted the penalty to put China 2-0 ahead, but Abbas scored from long range to make it 2-1 before halftime.
• Escribá brought on Zhang Yuning, whose target-man play helped create a promising combination with Wu Lei.
• China struggled to stop the United Arab Emirates switching play across the wings, but Tang Ye broke through with Zhang Yuning’s help and scored from a tight angle to make it 3-1.
• Tang Ye missed a free kick in the 80th minute, and Escribá substituted him off while telling him to develop his own ideas in combination play.

Tang Ye and Escribá celebrated China’s 3-1 win over the United Arab Emirates as China prepared for its next World Cup qualifier against Vietnam. A report that France Football would restart the 2020 Ballon d’Or selection spread widely, and the chapter ended with France Football confirming the restart.

• Tang Ye received the MVP trophy after China defeated the United Arab Emirates, and he said qualifying for the World Cup mattered more than individual awards.
• Escribá explained that he left Borussia Dortmund because he had little more to contribute there and said he was well suited to China’s tactical system.
• Tang Ye posted about the win and reassured Manchester United fans that the club could handle his absence.
• A SoFoot report claimed the 2020 Ballon d’Or selection might restart, prompting widespread speculation about Tang Ye’s chances.
• Tang Ye arrived in Dalian with China’s squad ahead of their match against Vietnam.
• On September 6, France Football announced that the 2020 Ballon d’Or selection had restarted.

FIFA restarted the 2020 Ballon d'Or vote, prompting speculation that it was backing Tang Ye, while Tang Ye joined China for its first home match of the final round of 12. China took an early lead against Vietnam, and Wu Lei scored a second goal after Tang Ye created an opening.

• FIFA announced that it would retroactively award the 2020 Ballon d'Or, and commentators and fans speculated that Tang Ye was the reason for the decision.
• Xiaoming Aatrox argued in a livestream that FIFA was supporting Tang Ye because of his growing value and China’s upcoming tournaments.
• Tang Ye arrived at Dalian Sports Center Stadium, signed autographs, and joked with fans about winning two Ballon d'Ors and giving one away if he earned the match MVP.
• China attacked from kickoff against Vietnam, and Tang Ye scored in the second minute after combining with Wei Shihao.
• Tang Ye beat a Vietnam defender and sent a fast ball across the penalty area, where Wu Lei finished at the far post.

China defeated Vietnam 5:0, with Tang Ye scoring a hat-trick while Escribá kept him on the pitch to the final whistle. After returning to Manchester, Tang Ye spotted Cristiano Ronaldo’s Rolls-Royce at Carrington and greeted him.

• Wu Lei scored China’s second goal in the 15th minute, and Wei Shihao made it 3:0 just before halftime.
• Tang Ye scored directly from a corner in the 66th minute, then completed his hat-trick five minutes later after combining with Wu Lei and Wu Xi.
• Escribá left Tang Ye on the pitch until the final whistle as China won 5:0, and he denied that Manchester United’s schedule had influenced his decision.
• China’s two consecutive wins put them atop Group B on goal difference, and Tang Ye joined the team’s celebration in Dalian.
• Tang Ye flew back to England by business jet and, at Carrington, greeted Cristiano Ronaldo after recognizing his Rolls-Royce.

Tang Ye reunited with Cristiano at Manchester United, where Erik ten Hag warned his players about coaches and made his dislike of Cristiano apparent. Before Manchester United’s match against Newcastle, ten Hag discovered that the club’s promotional poster seemed to elevate Cristiano over Tang Ye and ordered the media manager to revise it.

• Tang Ye and Cristiano discussed Manchester United’s facilities and the club’s prospects, though Tang Ye felt an unspoken barrier between them.
• Erik ten Hag joked with Tang Ye and the players about his national-team goals, then advised them to be wary of coaches who might mislead them.
• Manchester United’s rising stock price and Cristiano’s return drew attention to the club’s commercial prospects and the relationship between Cristiano and Tang Ye.
• Manchester United posted a pre-match poster showing Cristiano prominently beside Tang Ye and Rashford, prompting fans to argue about Tang Ye’s status.
• Erik ten Hag confronted Britney about the poster and told her to put Tom in the middle, make him appear bigger than Ronaldo, and revise the headline.

Manchester United and Newcastle drew 1-1 early in the match before Tang Ye converted a penalty to put Manchester United ahead. The chapter ended with Manchester United leading 2-1 as Cristiano Ronaldo returned to the team but had an offside goal ruled out.

• Manchester United replaced a Cristiano Ronaldo-centered pre-match poster with one centered on Tang Ye, prompting Britney to discover that Erik ten Hag had instructed Jimmy to make the original poster.
• Marcus Rashford scored in the fifth minute after Tang Ye and Ousmane Dembélé helped create the attack.
• Newcastle equalized when Lascelles mishit a header into the net after Allan Saint-Maximin beat Rodri and Longstaff crossed.
• Tang Ye crossed for Cristiano Ronaldo to score, but the referee ruled the goal offside.
• Manchester United won a penalty after Ousmane Dembélé fell in the box, and Tang Ye scored to make it 2-1.

Manchester United beat Newcastle 5-1 as Tang Ye scored and assisted twice, while Cristiano Ronaldo scored a brace on his return to Old Trafford. The match ended with Allan Saint-Maximin’s nutmeg of Tang Ye going viral, and Tang Ye insisted his defensive stumble had been an accident.

• Tang Ye scored a penalty to put Manchester United ahead, then assisted Cristiano Ronaldo with a free-kick routine that gave Ronaldo his first goal since returning.
• Cristiano Ronaldo scored again after flicking Tang Ye’s pass toward Ousmane Dembélé, and later completed a brace after Hayden mishandled a back pass, making it 5-1.
• Allan Saint-Maximin nutmegged Tang Ye and beat him to the ball, but his shot went wide; he believed the dribble would make him famous.
• Cristiano Ronaldo told reporters he would not compete with Tang Ye for penalties, praised Erik ten Hag, and described his return to Manchester United as meaningful.
• Tang Ye argued with Rodri that Saint-Maximin’s feint had caught him by surprise, then saw an Instagram post comparing the Newcastle forward’s move to Lionel Messi.

After Manchester United beat Newcastle 5-1, Erik ten Hag criticized Escribá’s decision to keep Tang Ye on the pitch, prompting arguments over their rivalry and Cristiano Ronaldo’s return. Tang Ye discovered a mission requiring one more national-team star as an underling, and the only matching player was Ronaldo.

• Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice and Tang Ye provided two assists and a goal as Manchester United defeated Newcastle 5-1.
• Erik ten Hag said he would have substituted Tang Ye early against Vietnam and suggested some coaches were selfish, sparking debate over his remarks about Escribá.
• Li Laoba claimed Erik ten Hag and Escribá had been turned into enemies, while Taiwanese hosts argued whether Tang Ye had trapped Ronaldo or let a wolf into his house.
• Tang Ye discussed gaming with Ousmane Dembélé and learned Manchester United would face Atlético Madrid in the Champions League group stage.
• Tang Ye received a Conquest mission requiring nine national-team core players from top-ranked nations and found he had eight listed already.
• Tang Ye searched for a qualifying Manchester United player and found Cristiano Ronaldo as the sole result.