After the match against Manchester United…
Media outlets across Europe erupted!
"Epic 14-Game Winning Streak! Arsenal Reshapes Premier League History!"
"35 Goals This Season! The Record Breaker! Kai Surpasses Alan Shearer to Claim the Throne!"
"Red Devils' Nemesis! Kai Leads Two Different Teams to Double Defeat Manchester United This Year!"
"Real Madrid's €250 Million Mega Offer for Kai! Football Officially Enters the Billion-Euro Era!"
One headline after another burst onto the scene—
Instantly setting the entire European football world ablaze!
And just as Real Madrid's earth-shattering offer made waves—
Manchester United, who had just been crushed once again by Kai,
the Glazer family decided to go all-in.
"Manchester United Offers £220 Million for Arsenal Captain!"
The entire English football world was in an uproar!
This amount was practically neck-and-neck with Real Madrid's bid.
It also sent a clear signal from the Glazers:
They didn't want Sir Alex Ferguson to retire so soon.
Everyone in the Premier League already knew how highly Ferguson regarded Kai.
So the United board wanted to use signing Kai as leverage—
To convince Ferguson to remain and keep managing Manchester United.
For the club, this was the ultimate win-win strategy.
But once United entered the battlefield—
The other Premier League giants couldn't sit still any longer.
The first to join the fray?
Naturally, Abramovich's Chelsea, and Manchester City, backed by an equally massive financial powerhouse.
Chelsea, who had sacked Ancelotti and promoted Villas-Boas this season, had only stirred up chaos instead.
The locker room was in turmoil.
Abramovich urgently needed an undisputed leader who could stabilize the squad.
As for Manchester City, their logic was far simpler:
"We're rich, we buy what's expensive."
And right now, who's the most expensive player in the world?
Of course—Kai!
"Manchester City Offers £270 Million—Trying to End the Race Before It Starts!"
As the winter transfer window approached,
the entire football world was once again thrown into utter chaos.
Fans everywhere were stunned.
With transfer bids routinely hitting €100 million, €200 million, even nearing €300 million…
Such figures were unimaginable back in the "800k era"!
Clearly—
Since Kai became the first €100 million player in Premier League history,
football had officially stepped into a new era of billion-euro transfers.
During this time…
Arsenal, of course, wasn't without a sense of crisis.
The club's executives were fully aware:
There were countless clubs out there backed by terrifying capital,
who could throw around money like it was nothing.
And Kai's current level of dominance on the pitch—
Had entered an entirely different dimension.
A level that couldn't be measured by money anymore.
So Arsenal's board proactively invited Jorge Mendes for serious contract talks.
As the winter window neared—
Offers were flying in from all directions,
and many clubs could offer unthinkably luxurious terms.
Arsenal did not want their superstar to be swayed.
"Weekly wages raised to £350,000!"
"Release clause increased to €500 million!"
"Goal and assist bonuses raised by 30% across the board compared to the previous contract!"
Mendes didn't hold back—
He swiftly reached an agreement with the Arsenal board on Kai's latest salary package.
Stan Kroenke personally came forward to oversee the contract signing.
Not long ago, he had injected another round of funding into the club.
Now, Kroenke already held nearly half of Arsenal's shares.
Barring surprises, he was set to win the upcoming internal election—
Becoming the true and sole authority at Arsenal.
Kroenke was a die-hard supporter of Kai.
It was he who had personally invested during the summer transfer window—
Without which, Arsenal—under long-term debt pressure—
Would never have been able to afford the €100 million it took to sign Kai.
But for Arsenal, that seemingly massive expenditure—
Had turned out to be a perfect win-win deal.
Since Kai joined this season—
Arsenal's off-pitch revenues had skyrocketed.
Kai's jersey sales alone had already surpassed the total jersey sales of the entire Arsenal squad over the past three years!
Every time his Arsenal No. 10 jersey went on sale, it was snatched up instantly.
To this day, it still holds the record of selling out in less than twenty minutes.
Inside the Arsenal office—
Looking at the brand-new contract in front of him, even Jorge Mendes couldn't help but be shocked.
£350,000 per week!
In the entire Premier League, this was a tier of its own—an unmatched salary!
Looking across the global football scene:
Until now, the highest-paid players in the world were, of course, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
In 2011, Ronaldo's annual salary was around €12 million,
and Messi's wasn't far off—just about €10 million.
But Kai's £350,000 weekly salary?
That translated to nearly €20 million per year!
For the current era of football, this was yet another epoch-making shock.
Record-breaking transfer fee in football history!
Highest salary in football!
Fans were stunned.
They looked up this year's global football salary rankings—
And saw Kai right at the top!
Just behind him were: Cristiano Ronaldo, Messi, Fernando Torres, Yaya Touré, Rooney, Kaká...
All names every football fan knew by heart.
Kai had firmly claimed the pinnacle of superstardom!
Meanwhile…
As the winter transfer window approached,
Another major highlight in the world of football was just two months away—
The FIFA Year-End Gala.
The nominations for the 2011 Ballon d'Or were officially released!
Arsenal fans were thrilled to see that—
Kai, without question, had made the 30-man shortlist for this year's Ballon d'Or!
But what shocked fans even more was—
Kai, who had only made his professional debut one year ago,
was now ranked No. 1 on the Ballon d'Or odds leaderboard!
The highest transfer fee in history
The highest salary in football
Two major trophies
Countless personal records
Unmatched on-field dominance
And a massive global fanbase off the pitch
All of this had made the young Arsenal captain the clear favorite for the Ballon d'Or, even ahead of Messi and Ronaldo!
The entire European football world was in uproar.
Even Arsenal fans were holding their heads in disbelief:
"Is our King of the Emirates really going to win the Ballon d'Or this year?"
"This is insane!"
Gunners fans could hardly contain their uncontrollable joy.
Since the Ballon d'Or was founded—
No Arsenal player had ever won this most prestigious of individual honors!
Even the legendary Thierry Henry, the Emperor of Highbury, had come close—
But ultimately fell short.
Now, this season—
Arsenal had ushered in a new king.
An unprecedented superstar, the likes of which football had never seen.
But as Arsenal fans expressed their excitement—
The La Liga crowd was far from happy.
Barcelona supporters quickly voiced their frustration:
"This year's Ballon d'Or has to go to Messi!"
"Messi won the Champions League! We also won the Spanish Super Cup, the UEFA Super Cup, and the Club World Cup—we're quadruple champions!"
"Kai only has two trophies. How can he compare to Messi?"
"If Messi wins this year, it'll be his third consecutive Ballon d'Or!"
Spanish football was in chaos.
Even Real Madrid fans, who had just offered €250 million for Kai, jumped into the fray and started arguing with Barcelona supporters.
"Messi keeps stealing Ballon d'Ors! Last year's should've gone to Sneijder—or at least Xavi or Iniesta! Total thief!"
"And now you want a three-peat? What, you think our Ronaldo is just here for fun?"
"If we can sign Kai, with Real Madrid's platform—Messi will never touch another Ballon d'Or in his life!"
All across Europe, the football world was ablaze with heated debate!
Back at Arsenal, with the 14th round of the Premier League just wrapped up against Manchester United—
There was no time to rest.
The team quickly turned its focus to the next stage of their packed schedule.
In November, two major clashes were still ahead!
A Champions League group stage rematch against AC Milan
And a Carabao Cup quarter-final at the end of the month!
~~----------------------
Patreon Advance Chapters:
patreon.com/Dreamer20