But even the strongest fortress is always breached from within.
As Spain's domestic political situation shifted, Florentino finally freed himself from trouble and prepared to run once more for the presidency of Real Madrid.
He needed an opportunity.
At the same time, he honored his promise and helped Su Hang successfully acquire the Premier League club Crystal Palace before the end of the season.
As a London-based club, Crystal Palace's future value was limitless.
However, Su Hang was only able to complete the deal because Crystal Palace were facing a very real risk of relegation.
And in the end, they were relegated.
That meant Su Hang, as the behind-the-scenes owner, effectively bought a Championship club at an 80% Premier League price.
Many believed Crystal Palace's former owner had been completely fleeced by the deal.
But Su Hang, the new owner himself, didn't see it that way.
Because if Crystal Palace hadn't gone down, Florentino would never have been able to close the deal in the first place.
The English were shrewd.
Su Hang and his group weren't backed by American or Middle Eastern capital—breaking into the Premier League was extremely difficult for them.
Florentino even suggested going to Serie A instead, saying that he could probably help Su Hang secure a traditional giant there.
But Su Hang was adamant. He wanted a Premier League club.
As for Serie A, Su Hang already had arrangements on the domestic side—he would eventually acquire fifty percent ownership of a Serie A giant.
...
August 2009.
The football world was shaken to its core.
With a market value of €130 million and an actual valuation exceeding €150 million, Su Hang transferred to AC Milan for the absurdly low price of €50 million.
His release clause was €60 million.
Just before that, a cash-rich businessman had completed the acquisition of AC Milan.
He had once drawn up a wish list full of superstar names—Ibrahimović, Messi, Robben, Ribéry, Van Persie, Rooney—declaring that he would bring them all to San Siro.
After the takeover, none of those promises were fulfilled.
Just as AC Milan were about to label him a fraud, he delivered the world's number-one player to Serie A.
Serie A fans were moved to tears.
AC Milan supporters could finally hold their heads high again.
Soon after, the truth behind Su Hang's departure from Real Madrid was exposed.
During Su Hang's injury period, Calderón had pressured him into renewing his contract.
Su Hang left precisely because Calderón kicked him while he was down.
The foolish Calderón had naïvely believed that a €50 million release clause was more than enough to lock Su Hang in.
Later, Su Hang recovered his form—but refused to renegotiate that clause with Calderón.
Calderón dared not let the fans know. He spent an entire season walking on thin ice.
Now, the time bomb finally exploded.
Calderón was impeached by Real Madrid supporters.
Florentino was re-elected as president of Real Madrid.
The moment he returned to power, he splashed out €94 million to sign Cristiano Ronaldo—one half of the peerless duo—from Manchester United.
At last, Real Madrid assembled the two peerless rivals, becoming the only club with the strength to truly contend with Su Hang.
And that was the absolute limit of what Real Madrid could do.
Not because better players couldn't be bought—but because aside from Su Hang, every elite player was already wearing a Real Madrid shirt.
Florentino also erased every trace of Calderón's reign.
Robben, Sneijder, and others were shown the door.
Over the past two seasons, they had performed well—but compared to the core-level dominance of Su Hang and Kaka, they were merely pieces of a puzzle.
Robben might have had core-level potential, but under Simon's restrictions, his numbers never rose above a supporting role.
Robben himself wanted to leave Real Madrid to prove his worth.
Not to rival Su Hang—but at least to break into the ranks of the peerless duo.
Even trash-tier players like Modrić were dumped by Florentino and sold to the Championship club Crystal Palace.
At first, Modrić refused. After all, he was a treble-winning player—now you wanted him to play in the Championship?
But after a single phone call from Su Hang, Modrić rushed to London without hesitation, becoming Crystal Palace's marquee star.
Here, he would hone himself, lie low, and wait.
In addition to Modrić, Real Madrid also provided Crystal Palace with several strong squad players to help them compete in the Championship.
Crystal Palace themselves also signed a large number of young prospects.
David De Gea from Atlético Madrid's academy.
César Azpilicueta from Osasuna's academy.
Lyon's midfield prodigy Miralem Pjanić.
Lille's explosive winger Eden Hazard.
Real Sociedad academy star Antoine Griezmann.
Lens academy defender Raphaël Varane.
Inter Milan academy product Philippe Coutinho.
Barcelona's discarded talent Thiago Alcantara.
Valencia academy star Isco.
Le Havre academy prospect Paul Pogba… and many more.
Some of them were already famous wonderkids.
Others were less well-known, merely one name among many on big clubs' scouting lists.
Even when giants were interested, they did nothing once Crystal Palace paid a premium.
Manchester United, for example, highly valued Pogba and had already reached a tacit agreement.
But at United, Pogba wouldn't reach the first team—only the youth squad.
Crystal Palace, on the other hand, promised him a first-team role and guaranteed match time.
Forget Pogba—even Manchester United fully supported the move.
Let him play one year in the Championship.
If he was good enough, United could buy him straight into the first team.
If not, they would save time, money, and squad resources.
Several players were in exactly this situation.
None of the big clubs ever considered that these players might refuse their future call-ups.
After all… it was just Crystal Palace.
Just a Championship side.
Even if they were promoted back to the Premier League, they would be relegation fodder—unable to keep anyone.
...
The 2009–2010 season.
Su Hang swept Serie A.
Juventus were struggling.
Roma were aging.
Fiorentina were fading.
Napoli and Lazio were dim.
Only Inter Milan could put up a fight.
Even then, Inter Milan stood no chance against AC Milan.
San Siro became a red-and-black ocean.
The sky over Milan no longer held any blue and black.
AC Milan surged forward on all three fronts.
By the end of 2009, Su Hang completed a four-peat Ballon d'Or and a three-peat World Footballer of the Year.
Kaka finished third for the Ballon d'Or and second for World Footballer of the Year.
C Ronaldo finished second for the Ballon d'Or and third for World Footballer of the Year.
The peerless duo lived up to the name.
The following year, AC Milan won the Coppa Italia without suspense.
Fifty-one goals.
Twelve assists.
Su Hang obliterated Serie A records with unstoppable force, setting standards future generations could never reach.
Nineteen goals.
Five assists.
Su Hang led AC Milan to Champions League glory, allowing them to taste ultimate dominance for the first time this century.
Maldini, Inzaghi, Pirlo, Gattuso, Nesta—tears streamed down their faces.
The treble.
AC Milan became the fourth treble winner of the century's first decade.
The previous three were Real Madrid in 05–06, 06–07, and 08–09.
Su Hang once again completed back-to-back trebles.
But unlike before—when he did it twice with the same club—this time, he achieved it with two different teams in consecutive seasons.
Then, at the peak of splendor, Su Hang's Serie A journey came to a sudden halt.
His five-year contract with AC Milan had only been for reassurance.
As a fifty-percent owner of AC Milan, his contract contained a special clause:
Every summer, he could leave for free.
After all, moving between affiliated clubs meant money shifting from one hand to the other.
There was no reason to let Europe take the tax cut.
Thus, that summer, transfer news exploded without warning.
The King of Football joined Premier League newcomers Crystal Palace on a free transfer.
London finally welcomed its own king.
After Crystal Palace's promotion, their young stars—once courted by giants—cut off contact almost entirely.
Pogba: "Man United, let's stop talking. I'm worried Su Hang might misunderstand."
Isco: "Dear Valencia and Málaga, thank you for your interest, but I have a lifelong Palace dream. I must stay."
Real Madrid: "Isn't that dream supposed to be us?"
Isco: "The Su Emperor's Palace."
De Gea: "Dear Atlético, I can't go back. Even Kaka couldn't refuse Su Hang—how could I?"
Azpilicueta: "Hello Chelsea, hello Marseille. I don't want to disappoint either of you, so I'll stay at Crystal Palace."
Hazard: "Hello Lille. I'm buying out my contract to join Crystal Palace. Please don't block me—or I'll have no choice but to stop training."
Griezmann: "Real Sociedad, don't worry about me. I'm very happy here."
Varane: "Dear Lens, may we part peacefully and wish each other well."
Coutinho: "If even Su Hang won't stay in Italy, why should I return?"
Thiago Alcantara: "Trash Barca—just wait for Su Emperor and me to tear Camp Nou apart."
Faced with these young stars choosing to stay, Su Hang publicly praised them.
"Thank you all for trusting me," he said.
"At Real Madrid, I wrote a legend. In that legend were Zidane, Figo, Ronaldo, Beckham, Raul, Carlos, Casillas, Kaka, Owen, Guti, Ramos, Emerson, Baptista, Robinho, Van Nistelrooy…"
"And now, I want to write a new legend in the Premier League, at Crystal Palace."
"This time, I hope it includes Modrić, Pogba, De Gea, Griezmann, Varane, Hazard…"
"Pay attention."
"A new legend is setting sail."
...
(The End)
Author's Note:If you enjoyed this fanfic, I have another one on my profile called Football: Genius Midfielder System. It has a very similar vibe, and I'm sure you'll like it—feel free to check it out!