Champions League Qualifiers?

After their upset victory over Bayern Munich Youth Team.

Old man Topp generously gave all the players a day off.

Back at Tellent Training Base.

Henrichs could not wait to lead his teammates toward May 9 Park.

Everyone changed into casual clothes and was about to leave the locker room.

They all turned back to look at Leo Kang, who was still standing there.

"Leo, come with us! My treat!"

"Don't refuse this time!"

"Otherwise, we'll have to question your ** problem. Well, it's not impossible either. May 9 Park has everything."

As he spoke.

Henrichs grabbed a football from a basket and squeezed it hard a couple of times.

"Vulgar! Leo is a respectable man like me. How could he go to that kind of place with you lot!"

"Get lost already. Leo and I still have to practice!"

Havertz quickly chased everyone away.

A moment later.

He took out his phone and leaned mysteriously toward Leo Kang.

"Leo, I asked a girl to go to the library with me tonight. Come with us! Her mother will be there too."

"Let me show you a picture of her mother."

Leo Kang: "..."

[Ding! No dopamine reward neurotransmitter generated! No suppression required!]

Naturally, Leo Kang did not join his teammates' entertainment.

He did not go anywhere.

After returning to the first-team dormitory.

He poured himself a glass of water.

The system prompt sounded again.

[Ding! German Youth League settlement in progress.]

[Personal evaluation: SSS+]

[Mission reward upgrading.]

[Congratulations, Host: Bronze Chest → Bayern Munich Superstar · Bronze Chest!]

The reward had been upgraded?

There was no prompt about any additional mission.

This should have been the normal match settlement reward.

Inside the system panel.

A small bronze chest glowed faintly with white light.

Leo Kang glanced at the reward pool.

[Beckenbauer's love letter.]

[Neuer's bicycle seat.]

[Robben's hair-growth conditioner.]

[Kahn's Viagra pill.]

[...]

What the hell was this?

Were bronze chests really filled with this kind of random junk?

[Reward opening.]

[Congratulations, Host: Low-Level Attribute Point ×1!]

[Usage restriction: This point may only be used on attributes below 70!]

Thankfully, it was not some random junk.

After thinking it over, Leo Kang added it to ball control.

[Ball Control: 69 → 70!]

Barcelona.

Enrique returned to his office looking travel-worn.

Assistant coach Unzue handed him a report and said, "You should probably take some time to look into the young players we have out on loan. The summer window is getting closer to closing, and there's also footage of their recent matches."

Enrique checked the time.

Then he opened a folder on his computer desktop.

More than ten minutes later, he was starting to look impatient.

"They're excellent, but they're not what I need. Next season's La Liga squad list has already been registered."

Two months earlier, thirty-five-year-old Xavi had left Barcelona and stepped off the European football stage.

Countless media outlets shared the same opinion: Barcelona's dominance would vanish completely with Xavi's departure.

The question was.

Could Xavi's successor really be found in this world?

Ever since taking charge of Barcelona, Enrique had deliberately been reshaping the team's style of play.

That had also brought a wave of criticism.

Some fans believed he had made Barcelona lose its soul.

Even though Enrique had led the team to the Champions League title last season.

People still called him: a dog-on-a-leash champion.

With MSN, Iniesta, and Busquets, even if they tied a dog to Barcelona's coaching bench, it could win trophies.

Unzue smiled. "There's one last clip. I suggest you watch it to the end."

Enrique unhappily moved the mouse.

The black-haired boy on the screen looked somewhat familiar.

So he was Sofia's adopted son.

Before he knew it.

The Barcelona manager was absorbed in the footage.

He kept moving the mouse.

Replaying several clips over and over.

His eyes were full of admiration.

After a long while.

He finally came back to himself. "Why is he wearing a Bayer Leverkusen shirt? As far as I remember, Barcelona and Bayer Leverkusen have rarely worked together on loans."

"It doesn't matter. Bring him back, then send him down to the reserves, or loan him to another Segunda Division club. He's only seventeen. If he develops over the next few years, he'll become a useful player for Barcelona when we're competing on multiple fronts!"

Unzue spread his hands. "It wasn't a loan. Leo Kang joined Bayer Leverkusen on a transfer!"

He was about to explain why this footage had appeared in the folder.

But Enrique slapped his forehead and cut him off.

"Robert seemed to mention this to me more than a month ago."

"It doesn't matter. If he can establish himself as a starter at Bayer Leverkusen and deliver even better performances, he'll return to Barcelona in his prime."

"Bayer Leverkusen have no chance of competing for any trophy."

"And Barcelona pursue more than just trophies."

"When a dog gets hungry, it comes home."

Munich, Germany.

Allianz Arena.

Guardiola and the coaching staff sat in the conference room.

Toward the end of the meeting.

The big screen began replaying the youth team's match footage.

Unlike Enrique, Guardiola cared deeply about the club's youth development.

During his time managing Barcelona, he knew every La Masia youngster's traits in great detail and gave them opportunities to play for the first team.

As the match went on.

The coaching staff could not help exclaiming in amazement.

"His timing on passes is so precise! It's like the result of AI calculations!"

"And his positional sense!"

"What kind of game-reading ability is that?"

"He fits our current tactical system perfectly!"

One technical assistant could not even help lifting a small blackboard from the corner and scribbling on it nonstop.

"What a pity. Aside from his passing and long-range shooting, his technical ability in other areas is pretty average."

Smack!

Guardiola had not said a word throughout.

He recognized Leo Kang.

Back when he coached Barcelona, he had greatly admired the Chinese youngster's awareness and vision.

They were practically identical to his own when he was young.

He had not expected the kid to improve so much.

He pondered for a moment.

But in the end, he did not voice any opinion.

He slowly rose to his feet and signaled for the meeting to end.

The coaching staff exchanged looks. Normally, at this point in a meeting, the head coach would have lavishly praised a player!

Highlights from a youth league match would not cause much of a stir.

China.

Bayer Leverkusen spent another large sum buying trending searches.

There were barely any likes.

Zero reposts.

The comments were still full of mockery.

-

[He played passably, I guess. But youth team matches don't prove anything.]

-

[Remember Barcelona's super talent Bojan? The one who broke Messi's records in the youth ranks? Haha, he disappeared ages ago!]

-

[Bayer Leverkusen, stop wasting money. You keep buying trending searches—go prepare properly for the Champions League qualifiers!]

-

[The Champions League has qualifiers?]

-

[Yeah. Bayer Leverkusen finished fourth in the Bundesliga last season, so they didn't qualify directly for the Champions League. They still have to play a playoff.]