The insane bids from Europe's top clubs across the five major leagues
left Barça's board utterly dumbfounded!
They simply could not comprehend it.
A year earlier, an Asian midfielder they had sold off from La Masia for a mere €500,000 to a Championship side—
How could he, in just over a year, grow at such a terrifying pace,
and now leap forward to become a superstar so fearsome that the entire footballing world chased after him?
His value had even broken the €200 million mark!
In Ballon d'Or betting odds, he was ahead of both Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Some clubs were even willing to splash out €500 million to activate his release clause,
all to bring him into their ranks at any cost!
"Barcelona offer €150 million in bid to bring back La Masia product Kai!"
Suddenly, such a headline emerged in the transfer market.
It was the first time this season Barcelona had made an offer for Kai.
And instantly—
Not only the English football world, but half of Europe's football scene stood stunned.
Soon after, fans burst into uproarious laughter!
"€150 million?! Have Barça lost their minds?"
"Half a year ago, Arsenal had already paid over €100 million for Kai! And now, after he's torn through England in half a season and dominated the Champions League, you're telling me Barça's offer is just €150 million?"
"I'll say this—if Barça really don't have the money, then they should stay out of the water! Stay quiet, play dumb, and maybe people might eventually forget the story of how you once sold a player worth hundreds of millions for only €500,000!"
"What a joke! Did Barça just want to stir up some drama in this winter window by clowning around?"
The fanbase erupted in heated debate.
In England, many clubs had grievances with Barça—
some even long-standing feuds.
Over the years in the Champions League, Barça always seemed to get mysterious 'assistance,' gaining advantages in controversial ways.
Arsenal and Manchester United had both clashed bitterly with Barcelona in the Champions League.
Chelsea most of all—after the infamous Stamford Bridge scandal, their feud with Barça was beyond reconciliation.
Now Premier League fans lashed out, savaging Barça's antics in this winter window, ridiculing the La Liga giants mercilessly.
Amidst the heated debates off the pitch, the winter transfer window opened.
While other leagues gradually entered their month-long winter breaks, English football carried on relentlessly with its packed schedule!
Arsenal had no time to waste on off-field drama.
As January arrived, their schedule was packed tight—five matches in total this month!
One FA Cup Fourth Round match, three Premier League fixtures,
and the second leg of a League Cup semi-final.
Since the other leagues were on winter break, there were no European fixtures this month.
The Champions League Round of 16 would kick off at the start of February.
For their first match of 2012, Arsenal faced a domestic cup clash—
the FA Cup Fourth Round.
Their opponents: fellow Premier League side Norwich City.
For Norwich, Kai was their ultimate nightmare.
Back in his Crystal Palace days, he had led his team to a double over them.
This season, in the first half of the league campaign, Norwich were humiliated at home,
smashed 6–0 by Kai's Arsenal.
That defeat even cost their manager his job.
On January 2nd, Arsenal hosted Norwich in the FA Cup!
Backed by the thunderous, avalanche-like roar of their home fans,
Arsenal, even with a near full rotation of their main squad,
swept Norwich aside with ease under Kai's lead.
A 5–0 victory sent the Gunners cruising into the Fifth Round!
Kai delivered three goals and two assists—
a hat-trick performance that lit up the stadium!
Arsenal celebrated their first win of 2012 in style.
The first four rounds of the FA Cup were a mix of giants and minnows,
random battles all across the draw.
But from the Fifth Round onwards, the competition effectively entered the Round of 16 stage,
marking the start of true knockout football!
As last season's FA Cup champions,
Kai stepped onto this stage with only one goal in mind—
to defend his crown.
Just two days after the FA Cup clash,
on January 4th, Premier League Round 20 arrived!
Arsenal welcomed West Bromwich Albion at the Emirates.
After half a season, West Brom's form had been fairly steady,
their league position slightly improved.
They were now sitting 10th in the table.
For this match, Arsenal once again fielded a rotated lineup.
Robin van Persie returned to the starting XI.
The Kai–Van Persie connection tore West Bromwich's defense apart.
By halftime alone, Kai had already produced a dazzling display with one goal and two assists!
Arsenal went into halftime leading 3–0, securing victory in advance!
In the second half, Wenger made a few rotations.
In the 80th minute, Kai struck again to score.
West Bromwich Albion showed great resilience, managing to pull one back from a corner in stoppage time.
Final whistle — Arsenal defeated West Bromwich Albion 4–0!
They claimed their first league win of the second half of the season!
20 consecutive wins in the Premier League!
Under Kai's leadership, Arsenal continued their crazy winning streak!
What shocked the outside world even more was that Kai had maintained terrifying full attendance across every competition!
Brilliant performances in match after match!
Always present, leading the team, competing on all four fronts!
This was simply England's very own Superman!
And as Arsenal continued their charge, Kai went on refreshing his unstoppable stats for the season.
After the clash with West Bromwich Albion, his goal tally for the season had already soared to a frightening 45!
His assists were even more outrageous — 52!
That alone was equal to the combined total of the other nine players in the Premier League's top ten assist chart!
Fans went wild!
Everyone was speculating — by the end of the season, what terrifying heights would Kai's stats reach?!
The fixtures rolled on.
January 9th — Premier League Round 21!
Arsenal traveled away to face mid-table Stoke City.
5–0!
Kai scored two goals and provided two assists!
January 15th — Premier League Round 22!
Arsenal returned home to face bottom-placed Wolves.
Just like in the first half of the season, Wolves were in total chaos, with poor management and weak players.
They had already resigned themselves to relegation.
In this match, Arsenal unleashed their full power.
7–0! A total demolition of Wolves!
22 consecutive wins in the Premier League!
Kai delivered a double hat-trick!
Van Persie also celebrated a long-awaited hat-trick.
Giroud came off the bench to score as well!
After the match against Wolves, Arsenal fans were ecstatic to discover — Kai's Premier League goal tally for the season had reached a staggering 50!
50 goals in just 22 league matches!
On top of that, nearly 60 assists.
In 22 Premier League rounds, Kai alone had directly contributed to almost 110 goals!
The entire European football world was shaken!
Such terrifying attacking output struck fear into the media and fans all across Europe!
This was an unstoppable performance, one that no one had dared imagine before!
And with the conclusion of Round 22, just before the League Cup semi-final second leg at the end of the month, a global football spectacle was about to begin!
The FIFA Ballon d'Or Gala!
As the annual celebration of world football, countless fans eagerly awaited the announcement of all the major awards.
The Puskás Award, the Golden Boy Award, the Team of the Year—
And of course, the most coveted of them all, the Ballon d'Or!
This season, Kai had made it to the final shortlist alongside Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
The destination of the Ballon d'Or would undoubtedly grip the hearts of millions of fans!
Countless eyes converged on this moment!
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