"Sweeping Liverpool! Arsenal advance to the League Cup final!"
"The youngest Ballon d'Or winner in history takes the stage! The Gunners are unstoppable!"
"Arsenal, eight years without a trophy, on the verge of their first title?"
"The winter transfer window heats up! The race for Kai intensifies!"
After the match against Liverpool,
the European football world erupted once again with discussion!
With Kai leading Arsenal to a commanding spot in this season's League Cup final,
Gunners fans couldn't help but feel their hearts race!
The final!
They were now inches away from the club's first trophy in eight years.
At this stage, the fans' hearts weren't weighed down by the painful memories of previous final defeats.
On the contrary,
they were full of morale and brimming with confidence.
The reason was simple:
this season, Arsenal had an unparalleled super talent in world football history—
the youngest Ballon d'Or winner ever,
the one who crushed Messi and Ronaldo,
and was now the undisputed top player in modern football.
After the League Cup semi-final against Liverpool,
the turbulent winter transfer window was now about one week away from closing.
With Kai, at just 17, having won the Ballon d'Or,
his transfer value had skyrocketed beyond control!
He had become a presence completely beyond human comprehension.
According to the latest reports from Transfermarkt,
Kai's market value had exceeded €500 million,
nearly triple that of Messi and Ronaldo!
The entire European football scene was thrown into a frenzy!
Even in 2012, a €500 million valuation would leave countless fans and media stunned.
Kai was not just a super talent leading the charts in goals and assists;
even the transfer market valuation showed a gaping gap compared to anyone else.
Behind him on the list, Messi's value remained about the same as six months prior—
still hovering around €100 million.
Ronaldo's value had risen slightly by a few million,
putting him roughly on par with Messi.
Kai, however, was nearly three times the value of these former superstars.
During the winter transfer window,
as top clubs competed fiercely for Kai,
Arsenal naturally refused to remain passive.
For Arsenal,
no matter how extravagant an offer other clubs made,
they would not agree to any deal.
Kai was priceless to Arsenal.
Stan Kroenke told the media firmly:
"Don't talk about €500 million. Even €1 billion or €10 billion—Arsenal will never sell Kai!
Our captain is a treasure, a legend of the club, the leader and soul of the Gunners!"
Arsenal's main concern was simple:
Kai's release clause no longer matched his market value.
€500 million could be paid by many European clubs backed by super-rich consortiums,
so Arsenal took the initiative to invite Mendes for negotiations.
They intended to raise the release clause,
but simply increasing the clause wasn't enough to show sincerity.
Naturally, the increase in the release clause had to come with a salary increase.
Kai had only two months ago signed a new contract,
but in just two months,
the world football scene had been turned upside down,
and Kai was the protagonist reshaping the entire football world.
"Weekly wage: from £350,000 to £500,000!"
"Goal and assist bonuses: doubled again from before!"
Mendes didn't hold back.
He knew just how much value the youngest Ballon d'Or winner ever could bring to Arsenal.
Being Arsenal's first-ever Ballon d'Or winner alone
would bring a constant flow of revenue to the club for years.
No exaggeration:
Kai had been with the club just over half a season,
but the loan for Emirates Stadium, which had long burdened Arsenal's finances,
was now no longer a problem for the club at all.
Kai's superstar effect was terrifying.
Even without considering commercial endorsements,
just the instant sell-out of the number 10 Arsenal jersey
or the packed Emirates Stadium for every match
would earn Arsenal a fortune.
Kroenke, both a savvy businessman and a superfan of Kai,
did not hesitate to offer his absolute core, super captain, a historic contract:
£500,000 weekly wage
≈ €30 million annual salary
Kai's meteoric rise not only raised the perceived ceiling of a football prodigy,
but also redefined the upper limits of player valuation and salary.
The release clause was doubled from the original,
finally fixed at €1 billion—a truly astronomical number!
At this moment in world football,
let alone a player…
Even teams whose total squad value exceeded €1 billion were extremely rare!
In 2012, the two clubs with the highest total squad values were Barcelona and Real Madrid,
both averaging around €600 million per squad.
Kai's individual value now approached half the worth of either Barcelona or Real Madrid!
And his €1 billion release clause?
If a club could actually pay it,
they could practically buy an entire squad of either Barcelona or Real Madrid outright!
What a terrifying astronomical figure!
The moment Kai's new release clause was announced,
the football world erupted instantly!
€1 billion release clause!
Who could still dream?
Top clubs who had previously been willing to spend €500 million were now helplessly rubbing their faces in despair.
This was Arsenal's signal that their super captain would never be poached.
€1 billion.
While it might not be the upper limit for some clubs backed by super-rich consortiums,
it made it clear to every top club:
Kai was absolutely non-transferable.
At least during this winter window,
trying to buy the youngest Ballon d'Or winner in history with sheer money alone was completely unrealistic.
"€1 billion release clause! After-tax annual salary of €30 million! Kai once again shatters public perception!"
"Arsenal president Kroenke to the media: This is the Ballon d'Or winner's due! Kai is the Gunners' treasure!"
"Non-transferable! At least this winter window, Arsenal's captain will not leave Emirates Stadium!"
European media reported frantically.
Fans erupted in heated discussion!
Just a few days before Arsenal's February schedule,
the club unusually gave players two days off.
During these two days,
Kai did several rounds of advertisement shoots,
and preparations for his personal brand launch were already underway.
In recent months, in Asia,
the brand Anta Sports endorsed by Kai had become a national-level brand,
spreading across the continent.
Even some top European stars contacted agents to sign with Anta Sports.
This is the superstar effect—simple and brutal!
.
With Kai winning the Ballon d'Or,
Anta Sports' stock skyrocketed!
The CEO immediately contacted Kai's team,
offering a €30 million bonus—outside of the endorsement contract itself.
This move would undoubtedly generate another wave of goodwill and publicity for the brand.
"Respectable CEO! Grateful, knowing Kai is their true benefactor and king."
"Before Kai's personal brand launch, I'll only wear Anta Sports!"
As the winter window closed,
time moved into February.
A new journey began.
In February, the Premier League schedule remained intense,
and Arsenal's was no exception.
The club had eight matches in the month:
Two legs of the Champions League Round of 16,
Four Premier League rounds,
The FA Cup Fifth Round,
And at the end of the month, a showpiece: the League Cup Final.
With only 28 days in February,
Arsenal averaged one match every 3.5 days!
The intensity of the schedule was staggering.
As all competitions entered knockout or even final stages,
Arsenal, competing on four fronts, naturally faced enormous pressure.
The first event on the horizon for February was
the Champions League Round of 16, first leg!
The Champions League was reignited,
and Europe erupted in excitement once more.
As the CL entered its knockout phase,
this once-a-year European spectacle remained a battlefield for all top clubs.
Arsenal's Round of 16 opponent was Valencia, the Bat Squad from La Liga.
In the modern era of La Liga,
Atletico Madrid was still on its rise and could not yet be grouped with Barcelona and Real Madrid in the top tier.
At this time, the only club that could be called the third powerhouse in La Liga alongside Barca and Real Madrid was Valencia.
The so-called Bat Squad, Valencia,
had in the past two seasons finished just behind Real Madrid and Barcelona,
securing third place in La Liga consecutively.
~~----------------------
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