Barcelona Has Their Eye On You

Name: Anno Chen.

Date of birth: June 4, 1996.

Position: Forward/attacking midfielder.

Club: Sao Paulo FC, Brazil.

Match: Recopa Sudamericana, Sao Paulo vs Corinthians.

Overall performance:

1. Two goals: For the first goal, he dribbled past three players in succession, completing it while being double-teamed by two of them. Step frequency recorded at 4.3 steps/second, extremely close to Messi. The second goal was a free kick from 23 meters out, with a stable curling trajectory. According to inquiries, he had received guidance from Sao Paulo's legendary goalkeeper Ceni.

2. Teamwork: Played as a forward in the first half, completed 20 passes with a 100% success rate. Shifted to a false nine role in the second half, completed 39 passes in total, with 3 expected assists overall, all wasted due to the front line's poor finishing. Pass success rate: 95%.

3. Mentality: Faced with multiple defenders, he remained composed even against fouling challenges, and was more emotionally stable than Neymar.

4. Technical shortcomings: Due to his age, his upper-body strength still needed improvement. He was not yet stable enough when engaging in physical battles with strong defenders.

Conclusion: Very much in line with the team's technical style requirements. His personal playing style was highly similar to Ronaldinho's, but his instant burst of speed was stronger than Ronaldinho's at the same age.

Recommendation: Make limited contact with his agent Wagner Ribeiro (the club has the advantage of having signed Neymar) and attempt a direct buyout in the summer window.

After the match between Sao Paulo and Corinthians, a brief scouting report appeared on the desk of Barcelona's current sporting director, Andoni Zubizarreta. Sent along with the report was an edited clip of the match footage.

As a former legendary Barcelona goalkeeper and the starting keeper of Johan Cruyff's Dream Team in the 1990s, he had taken over the role of sporting director from his predecessor, Txiki Begiristain, in 2010.

There were several people in his office at the moment: chief scout Albert Valentin, current president Sandro Rosell's spokesperson Narcis Julia, and current first-team head coach Luis Enrique.

"All right, guys, you've all seen the report and footage Andre sent over from Brazil. Tell me what you think," Zubizarreta said first.

They looked at one another. Enrique had only just taken over the team as a newcomer, and his position was not yet secure, so it was not appropriate for him to speak first.

"Isn't Garcia Pimienta in charge of the youth team now? Bring this Anno back and hand him over to Garcia Pimienta for training. Judging from the information and footage, he is indeed a good prospect," chief scout Albert Valentin said slowly.

"Bring him back? Hand him to the youth team? Director Valentin, is that what you wanted to say?" Narcis Julia, the only woman among them, glanced at Valentin.

"Do you know how much Sao Paulo has priced this kid at? Do you know how much his release clause is? Forty-five million euros! Since when was our club this rich, spending forty-five million to buy a young player and then tossing him straight into the youth team?"

"Then what else? Put him in the first team?" Valentin retorted. He glanced at Enrique beside him, who had remained silent. "Ask Luis. Would there be a place for him in the first team right now? The club signed Neymar in the winter window—everyone knows exactly how much that cost."

Hearing this, Narcis Julia did not refute him, merely curling her lip.

Barcelona's upper management all knew that while the outside world reported Neymar's transfer to Barcelona as costing a total of eighty-eight million, Barcelona had in fact spent over two hundred million in total to get Neymar, half of which had gone into Neymar's father's pocket.

"Then what you mean is... we're not going to start negotiations for Anno Chen?" Zubizarreta rubbed his brow.

"File it first. Let the board decide in a meeting. After all, this kid is indeed a good prospect. Even if we can't get him, we absolutely must not let the people in Madrid get him," Narcis Julia said, which more or less settled the matter.

While Barcelona's management was discussing how to approach Chen Anno's transfer, in Spain's capital, Madrid, Real Madrid's team was likewise looking at the report sent by their scouts in Brazil.

The contents of the reports were more or less the same, but Real Madrid's scouting report included a few extra points.

First, Chen Anno's speed was clearly noted: 30-meter dribbling sprint, 3.85 seconds!

Only 0.1 seconds slower than Gareth Bale, whom they were preparing to bring in for a record fee that summer, and the same figure as Usain Bolt's.

Second, Chen Anno's appearance fit Real Madrid's positioning extremely well. Moreover, he was also half Chinese by blood, giving him huge potential for commercial hype.

"Juni, please contact Anno's agent Wagner Ribeiro as soon as possible. We already missed out on Neymar before. Mr. Florentino Perez has given the word: no matter what, we have to bring Anno to the Santiago Bernabeu."

Real Madrid's side was much more decisive. Zinedine Zidane, who had only been appointed the club's sporting director that year, looked toward chief scout Juni Calafat beside him.

After a brief pause, the bald Frenchman spoke again. "The main thing is that we've received word Barcelona are also paying attention to this youngster. Our goal isn't necessarily that we must sign Anno Chen. Even if we buy him and leave him in the youth team to develop for a few years, we cannot let Barcelona get their hands on him again!"

Aside from Real Madrid and Barcelona, similar situations were also taking place at Europe's other major giants.

Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga, AC Milan and Juventus in Serie A, Manchester United and Arsenal in the Premier League, and so on.

After all, these giant clubs all had professional scouts in South America, especially in countries like Brazil and Argentina, who were specifically responsible for helping them discover players.

Some were directly preparing to contact Wagner Ribeiro to ask about his transfer intentions, while others directly asked Sao Paulo FC for a price.

Of course, some were also preparing to keep watching for now. After all, Chen Anno had risen too quickly, and some of the more cautious clubs still needed to observe him further.

He had only just become a starter at Sao Paulo and played one Recopa Sudamericana match, yet he had already drawn the attention of Europe's major giants. This was something Chen Anno had not expected.

While the phones of Sao Paulo FC and his agent Wagner Ribeiro were being blown up with calls, Chen Anno, the person at the center of it all, was lifting weights in the gym.

Core strength training was not something that could be achieved overnight. It required time and gradual accumulation.

"♫ I still remember what you promised me

That you wouldn't let me lose sight of you

But you followed those migratory birds flying south, flying so far away

Love was like a kite with its string cut..."

Just then, the phone set aside rang.

"Neymar?"

"Haha... Anno, I haven't congratulated you yet on shining so brightly in the Recopa Sudamericana."

Listening to Neymar's voice, Chen Anno could practically picture the grinning face on the other end of the line.

"You didn't call just to say that, did you?"

"As expected of my brother. Smart!" Neymar joked, then said, "Anno, I'm telling you, I feel like Barcelona might have their eye on you. We brothers might get to play together. How about it? Happy?"

"Huh?" Chen Anno was a little surprised. "What do you mean? Why do you say that?"

"Heh... here's the thing. This morning, Barcelona's sporting director, Andoni Zubizarreta, called me personally to ask about you. So I think the club should be considering bringing you to Camp Nou."

Hearing Neymar's words, Chen Anno wasn't as happy as he might have imagined. He only frowned and thought.

If Barcelona really wanted to buy him, should he go?

At a giant club like that, would he have a chance to play if he went?

"Hey...! Why aren't you saying anything? Don't tell me you don't want to go to Barcelona?" Neymar shouted from the other end when he got no response. "Or is it that you don't want to play with me?"

"Damn it! I just hadn't reacted yet!" Chen Anno instinctively shot back. "And, brother, do you think if I really went to Barcelona, I'd have a chance to get on the pitch? Or rather, how long would it take before I got a chance to play?"