Building Momentum Cannot Stop, Li Yufei Underestimated

Li Yufei wanted to become the GOAT of football, and the Ballon d'Or—the ultimate individual honor tied to popularity—was essential.

It was precisely because of the Ballon d'Or's "popularity" factor.

Li Yufei had to seize every moment to boost his own fame.

And his girlfriend's songs were a perfect medium for that!

Not to mention Taylor herself would actively write songs for the two of them; even if she didn't, Li Yufei would beg her to.

He knew all too well how far Taylor's songs would spread in the future!

In his past life, countless obscure little artists became known to the public simply because they were Taylor's ex-boyfriends and she wrote songs about them.

Even their Baidu profiles would show only Taylor Swift as an ex-girlfriend in the relationship network.

Nothing else at all!

No parents, siblings, or anything like that.

It was as if the only reason these people had any info on Baidu was because of that one woman in their relationship network.

A nobody artist gained worldwide recognition just from having a past with "Swiftie."

So what about a football superstar dating a global pop icon like Taylor?

Just think about it for a second—a cross-industry romance like that would be an absolute explosion of hype!

Pique, a player who at his peak barely made the top-three defender discussion, gained massive global fame thanks to Latin pop queen Shakira.

Li Yufei, a super striker and the world's best player, teaming up with Taylor—how could that not surpass the old Beckham + Victoria Beckham combo?

At this level, even if Li Yufei couldn't completely crush Messi and Ronaldo in terms of fame during individual award competitions, he'd never be at a disadvantage!

Walcott probably never dreamed that the young man who had just graciously let him keep the match ball was already thinking about the Ballon d'Or selection.

Because in his eyes, the Ballon d'Or—football's highest individual honor—had nothing to do with a player of his caliber!

Walcott didn't even dare to hope, feeling it was unlikely he'd make the top 30 shortlist, let alone win.

It just goes to show: a person's ability determines their vision.

Walcott's ability wasn't enough to lift his vision to the level of the Ballon d'Or.

But Li Yufei could, even though his current skill hadn't even reached world-class standards!

That didn't stop him from planning for the future.

After all, with his growth rate, it wouldn't take long to reach the level of a Ballon d'Or-caliber player...

Besides, winning the Ballon d'Or didn't necessarily require the winner to be at that level of ability.

You just had to be better than other players in a given year to take it home.

That "better" didn't purely mean "player skill"—it meant honors.

As long as Li Yufei could rack up the most team honors in a year, especially the Premier League and Champions League—the two big club trophies.

And have solid personal stats on top of that.

Combined with media momentum, that would be enough to knock Messi and Ronaldo off their pedestals.

Li Yufei wasn't like Sneijder, Ribery, or Van Dijk—players without media backing.

From the moment he joined Arsenal at 14, the hype machine around him never stopped.

Otherwise, why would a youth academy player get so much attention?

Never underestimate the power of a super-rich billionaire worth tens of billions of dollars in modern society. The little support Li's Father casually gave his son might be something Messi and Ronaldo's teams could only dream of achieving with all their effort.

This advantage came from birth—it was innate, and yeah, it was unfair, but Li Yufei didn't see anything wrong with it.

After all, if Messi and Ronaldo could use media and platform advantages to steal Golden Balls from others.

Then Li Yufei could use his birth advantage to steal Golden Balls from them.

None of them were saints—it was just about who had the stronger backing and the sharper tactics...

At the post-match press conference.

Blackpool's head coach chose to dodge, unwilling to face Fleet Street's grilling and mockery.

Wenger, as usual, summed up the match, unchanged by the big win.

Maybe because this was a game they were expected to win anyway. Even a 9-0 slaughter was just three points in the end—nothing to get excited about.

"If I had a choice, I'd rather turn this 9-0 into nine 1-0 wins, because that would mean 27 points, while a 9-0 is just three."

"Of course, I know that's impossible, so it's just a hypothetical."

When asked about Walcott and Li Yufei's double hat-trick, Wenger said:

"It's not surprising. Theo (Walcott) and Fly are capable of that—they just did what they were always able to do."

"I have great confidence in our season. Arsenal can win the league title this year."

In the end, Wenger stated his resolve right in front of the media.

Fleet Street reporters were long accustomed to this—every season, Wenger made the same declaration at the start.

But the outcome was always the same: total failure.

Even the process was stamped from the same mold.

Blazing hot at the start of the season, crushing opponents, racking up win after win.

Then, when the grueling December fixture list hit, the collapse became routine.

That collapse typically lasted one to two months. By February, Arsenal's title hopes were effectively dead, and they'd shift into "top-four-or-bust" mode to cling to Champions League qualification.

The script was so tired that Fleet Street media workers had grown numb to it.

The same vows, repeated over and over, never fulfilled—Wenger's ambition had long been called into question.

Otherwise, Henry would never have left Arsenal for Barcelona.

It was because the King of Highbury saw through Arsenal's hollow bravado and realized Champions League glory was a pipe dream.

If they couldn't conquer Europe even during their 49-match unbeaten run, what hope was there when they couldn't even compete for the league title?

And the final result proved Henry's choice was right.

Within just two years of joining Barcelona, he'd snagged a Champions League title with Dream Team III.

Truly, the saying held: choice matters more than effort!

Arsenal today hadn't yet suffered Fabregas's betrayal.

But given their near-blank trophy cabinet in recent years, the media found it hard to believe this season would be any different.

After all, they'd barely spent on transfers and hadn't signed a single big-name player.

Relying on a rookie like Fry? The reporters didn't see how that could bring any real upgrade to Arsenal.

Again, no matter how dazzling Li Yufei's performances were, in the eyes of insiders, he was just a talent.

Football history was littered with brilliant young players who burst onto the scene and dazzled for a time!

But precious few ever grew into true legends.

Whether Li Yufei could become a superstar still needed time and consistent matches to prove.

At this stage, at least, insiders didn't believe he could bring any substantial reinforcement to Arsenal.

With their current squad, dreaming of a league title was nothing short of wishful thinking.

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