Chapter 486: Replacement of old and new, selection of captain
Who is Rooney?
The current leader of the Three Lions, the last remaining member of England's golden generation, and the top scorer in the history of England and Manchester United!
It is also the spiritual totem of Manchester United!
The news that Rooney left Manchester United, where he had been playing for 13 years, and returned to Everton, directly hit the hot searches on major social media and the Internet, and directly caused the British football world to explode!
You know, last season, Rooney just led the Red Devils to regain the Premier League crown and reach the top of Europe.
And he also delivered his best personal performance in the past five years:
Played 40 games in all competitions, scored 20 goals and provided 10 assists!
Everyone believes that under the leadership of Rooney and the assistance of young talents such as Ling Feng, Rashford, Kante, Martial, and Lingard, Manchester United will once again usher in a new Red Devils dynasty. !
Unexpectedly, Rooney suddenly chose to leave!
This news was so unexpected that Red Devils fans couldn't believe it was true.
When they refreshed the official website announcements of Manchester United and Everton again and again, they gradually discovered that this was not a prank or a system error!
Even during Ferguson's tenure, Rooney tried to leave the team.
However, they still have very deep and complicated feelings for Rooney.
Over the years, they have long been accustomed to the scene of Rooney wearing the No. 10 jersey, throwing his head and blood for the Red Devils on the field.
Now, they have watched Rooney grow up, but he has taken off this red jersey and returned to his home team Everton.
How can one not burst into tears? !
Later in the evening, Rooney posted an open letter on his personal social media. His words were touching and revealed his reluctance and gratitude.
In the article, the Red Devils captain said seven thanks in a row, thanking the fans, thanking Manchester United's coaches and teammates, and thanking everyone
Manchester United's official social media posted a picture to bid farewell to Rooney with the following text:
"Goodbye, legend!"
In the comment area, a large number of Red Devils fans also poured in to send their blessings:
"Eternal legend."
"We will miss you and good luck in the future."
"I'm crying now, I feel terrible. He has been playing for Manchester United since I was young, and now he is gone. Football is really frustrating~~~"
Ling Feng, Ibrahimovic, Rashford and other Manchester United players also posted photos of themselves with Rooney on their personal social media and then sent them their blessings.
"A true legend!"
"Thank you for everything you taught me."
"Goodbye, Captain, we will always remember you!"
It is worth mentioning that according to reports from the BBC, Rooney will return to Everton on a free transfer and will sign a two-year contract.
Rooney, who was originally 31 years old, still has one year left on his contract with Manchester United (with one year of renewal rights)
However, in order to return to Everton, Rooney accepted a salary cut of up to 50%, which means that his weekly salary at Everton is only half of that at Manchester United, which is 150,000 pounds.
Manchester United will bear part of Rooney's salary. They need to give Rooney approximately 15 million pounds within one year, including a loyalty bonus.
It has to be said that for the sake of the main position and to get on the train to the World Cup in Russia next year, Rooney made this difficult decision that is difficult for others to understand.
Rooney's departure was very sudden.
In addition, it was the offseason. Even though the Manchester United generals who faced each other day and night and fought side by side on the field did not expect that their captain would suddenly choose to leave the team.
Of course, even if they knew, there was nothing they could do.
After all, everyone has their own choice, and all they can do is wish Rooney good luck.
As Rooney ended his Red Devils career and returned to Everton, Everton also gave the green light to Lukaku's transfer deal.
On the second day after Rooney returned to Everton, Romano "blackmailed the dog" on his personal Twitter that Everton striker Romelu Lukaku had reached a personal agreement with Manchester United.
Not long after this news was released, Manchester United on the other side also announced the joining of Lukaku!
"Manchester United has reached an agreement with Everton. Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku will transfer to the team for 75 million pounds!"
According to the "Daily Mail", Lukaku's transfer fee is 75 million pounds, with an additional 15 million floating clauses, up to 90 million pounds!
This is a blockbuster transfer worthy of being recorded in the history of the Premier League. The transfer price of 75 million pounds is the third highest transfer record for Manchester United and even the Premier League.
Second only to Ling Feng, who exceeded 100 million last year, and Ronaldo back then!
After Manchester United signed Lukaku, the biggest victim was Morata, who had begun practicing English in Spain.
A well-informed source told ESPN that as of Thursday morning, Morata still believed he could join Manchester United.
After learning that the Red Devils had signed Lukaku and immediately gave up negotiations with Real Madrid, Morata's agent made it clear that he was "very shocked" by this.
In addition to Morata, Chelsea are also victims!
In fact, until this Friday, the Blues still did not give up their efforts to introduce Lukaku. They made the same transfer offer as Manchester United.
But Chelsea ignores the fact that in today's international football, agents play an increasingly important role in the career decision-making process of a high-level player.
Especially Raiola, the famous "vampire" in the agency world!
Chelsea lost Romelu Lukaku, who had been chasing him for nearly half a year, because they were unwilling to pay Raiola's high agency fee.
This is another loss for the Blues to Manchester United in the transfer market.
The last time was Maguire not long ago!
Maguire, Lukaku, and Kante last year, Manchester United has "cut off Hu" from them for the third time
According to reports from Abramovich's entourage, the team owner has given the head coach a death order and must give Manchester United some color in the new season!
Subsequently, ESPN's chief sports reporter also compiled and revealed the entire process of Manchester United's signing of Lukaku.
Behind this deal, five clubs including Manchester United, Everton, Chelsea, Real Madrid and Tottenham are involved.
Manchester United's forward targets ranged from Morata to Kane and Belotti, but in the end they intercepted Chelsea's long-standing target Lukaku.
The whole process can be said to be full of twists and turns, with ups and downs in the plot.
Originally, Manchester United's first target was Morata.
Morata himself is also very eager to join Manchester United.
This seems to be a transfer transaction that "the man is in love with and the concubine is interested in".
However, when Manchester United formally requested Morata from Real Madrid, they suddenly discovered that the situation was not as simple as they imagined: Real Madrid's attitude was very determined, and they refused to give in at the price of 90 million euros!
And this number obviously far exceeds Morata's actual value.
After a few rounds, what Manchester United originally considered to be a "easy and comfortable" transfer transaction became more and more complicated
Ever since, Manchester United's transfer department quickly carried out Plan B and Plan C.
In fact, before Lukaku was selected, they also took a fancy to Tottenham's Harry Kane.
In the eyes of Mourinho and Manchester United's top brass, Kane is definitely the answer to Manchester United's forward line. Young, outstanding ability, national household registration, full life!
Moreover, Kane and Ling Feng are teammates and best partners in the national team. If the combination of the national team can be copied to Manchester United, whether it is tacit understanding on the field or adaptation off the field, it can be said to be seamless!
However, they did not expect that doing business with Levi would be even more uncomfortable than doing business with Lafayette!
As Tottenham's star player and the darling of his own youth training, Levy claimed that Kane was not for sale.
Even if Manchester United has bid 80 million pounds, Levy has no intention of relenting.
The player himself also stated that he is very happy playing at Tottenham and has no plans to transfer.
Even the olive branch from Manchester United makes him extremely honored.
Morata and Kane can't agree on the price, and Benzema and Lewandowski, who fit the team's tactical system, are the leading shooters of the wealthy clubs, which is even more useless.
In desperation, Mourinho could only accept Raiola's recommendation and set his sights on Lukaku, who had made a name for himself at Everton.
As for Belotti, Manchester United has never really been in contact with him at all.
In short, Belotti is just the last option on Manchester United's striker signing list.
It's just that Belotti's agent has been hyping it up, trying to link Belotti with top European clubs like Manchester United.
You know, the Italian forward performed well in Serie A last season, but that was also the first time he came into the sights of a wealthy club.
For Manchester United, which just won the Triple Crown, they absolutely look down on a rookie who has only played well for one season and has never proven himself in the Champions League!
Of course, except Ling Feng.
After all, before joining Manchester United, he had already cracked the entire Premier League and let the world see his extraordinary talent.
The joining of Lukaku is a very strong supplement for Manchester United.
Not only does the aging Ibrahimovic have a successor, but even the winger position has been improved!
Anyone who has watched Lukaku play knows how much he is a center who likes to play wide.
A center who is over 1.9 meters tall and weighs more than 100 pounds does not go head-to-head with the opponent's central defender in the middle, but pulls out to bully the full-backs. This is a nightmare for Premier League full-backs!
Especially after Rooney leaves the team, Lukaku can completely replace him and become Manchester United's killer on the right.
With Rashford on the left and Lukaku on the right, the two wings of the Red Devils can finally take off!
However, with captain Rooney leaving the team and vice-captain Carrick retiring, a question also arises:
Who will be Manchester United captain for the new season? !
The sports channel ESPN gave several candidates, namely Valencia, Ashley Young, Herrera and Ling Feng.
The analysis pointed out that although Valencia is the third captain of Manchester United, he should assume the responsibility of captain after Rooney and Carrick.
But the Ecuadorian star still can't finish a sentence in English after living in the UK for more than a decade, making him unlikely to become captain.
After all, as a captain, the most important thing is to unite teammates, and communication skills are a must.
Herrera looks competitive.
He is United's metronome on the field and is well-liked among reporters and fans, as well as having a good rapport with his teammates.
And Ling Feng, although he was only a newcomer who just joined the team last season, his length of service and qualifications in the team are far less than others.
However, with his explosive performance last season, his current popularity and reputation, and his natural leadership qualities, he is the perfect choice for captain!
And there is no doubt that Manchester United has built a tactical system around the 22-year-old superstar since last season.
It is no exaggeration to say that this Manchester United has long since transformed from Rooney's Manchester United to Ling Feng's Manchester United!
What's more, as early as the Three Lions, Ling Feng had already tried to assume the responsibilities of captain and leader.
And he did a great job!
It is worth mentioning that for the selection of Manchester United's new captain, "Manchester United" directly conducted an online vote on "Who is more suitable to become the new captain of Manchester United?"
In just one day, more than 30,000 people voted.
Among them, Ling Feng’s votes exceeded 70%!
The Red Devils fans who voted for him were all conquered by Ling Feng's dominant performance last season.
The last player to bring such an immediate change to the team was the "King" Cantona!
Ling Feng's leadership performance is even better than Cantona's.
Who can lead a declining giant in the trough to regain the Premier League title and reach the top of the European continent in the first season after joining? !
Although other stars in Manchester United also made huge contributions.
However, his performance in winning the Premier League Golden Boot and assists title, the Champions League top scorer and assists title, and breaking the Premier League single-season scoring record is enough to prove that he is a strong contender for the best in the world today!
In the world of professional football, the strong are always respected.
As long as you have the ability, age and seniority are not a problem!
When the voting results came out, Lineker, as the number one player, also directly shouted to Manchester United on his personal social media:
"What else are you thinking about? Ling Feng is the new leader of Manchester United! He can lead this club to the top again!"
"Without a doubt!"
While the public is discussing the joining of Lukaku and the selection of Manchester United's new captain, the Manchester United generals, who are in the center of the traffic, have already arrived in Los Angeles, USA, and are preparing to start the pre-season tour of the United States.
During this trip to the United States, Manchester United will play five games.
This Saturday, they will first face the Los Angeles Galaxy.
48 hours later, they will face another major league team, Real Salt Lake City.
On July 20, they will usher in the first Manchester Derby held overseas in Houston.
On the 23rd and 26th, they will also face La Liga duo Real Madrid and Barcelona in Santa Clara and Washington, DC respectively.
After the trip to the United States, Mourinho's team will have two more games before the Premier League opener.
On August 5th, the Community Shield match against FA Cup champion Arsenal;
72 hours later, they will face the European League champions Manchester City in Macedonia as the Champions League champions!
Participate in seven games in less than a month!
The schedule can be said to be tight!
However, this is normal for a top club like Manchester United.
Considering that the new Premier League season will kick off in one month, they must seize the time to reserve physical fitness and run-in the lineup during this month.
In the first public training session of the pre-season in the United States, neither the Manchester United players nor the Red Devils fans could see Rooney and Carrick anymore.
Instead, there are many young players promoted from the youth training, such as McTominay, Andre Pereira, Tuanzebe and so on.
And this is also the cruel and unchanging side of the professional football world.
Veterans exit and rookies take the stage, it’s always been like this.
(End of chapter)