Full-level pass, please call me the speaker of the Three Lions

Chapter 486: New and old replacement, captain selection

Who is Rooney?

The leader of the current Three Lions, the last surviving 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 played for 13 years, and returned to Everton, immediately became a hot topic on major social media and the Internet, causing an uproar in the British football world!

You know, last season, Rooney just led the Red Devils to regain the Premier League title and reach the top of Europe.

And also delivered the best personal performance in the past five years:

He played forty games in all competitions, scored twenty goals and provided ten assists!
Everyone thought that under the leadership of Rooney and with the assistance of young talents such as Lingard, Rashford, Kante, Martial and Lingard, Manchester United will once again usher in a new Red Devils dynasty!
But unexpectedly, Rooney suddenly chose to leave!

This news was so unexpected that even the Red Devils fans couldn't believe it was true.

When they repeatedly refreshed the official website announcements of Manchester United and Everton, they gradually realized 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 become accustomed to the scene of Rooney wearing the No. 10 jersey and sacrificing his life for the Red Devils on the field.

Now, they watched Rooney grow up and take off the red jersey and return to his parent team Everton.

How can one not shed tears?!

Later, Rooney posted an open letter on his personal social media, with touching words that revealed his reluctance and gratitude.

In the article, the Red Devils captain said seven thanks, thank you to the fans, thank you to Manchester United's coach and teammates, thank you to everyone
Manchester United's official social media posted a picture to bid farewell to Rooney, with the caption:
"Goodbye, legend!"

In the comment area, a large number of Red Devils fans also poured in to send their blessings:

"An eternal legend."

"We will miss you, good luck in the future."

"I'm crying now, I feel terrible. He has been playing for Manchester United since I was a kid and now he's gone. Football is devastating."

Ling Feng, Ibrahimovic, Rashford and other Manchester United players also posted photos of themselves with Rooney on their personal social media and sent him 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 the BBC, Rooney's return to Everton will be in the form of a free transfer and he will sign a two-year contract.

Rooney, 31, has one year left on his contract with Manchester United (with the option to renew for another year).
However, in order to return to Everton, Rooney accepted a 50% pay cut, 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 about 15 million pounds in a year, including a loyalty bonus.

It has to be said that for the sake of the starting position and to get on the train to the World Cup in Russia next year, Rooney made this difficult decision that others could hardly understand.

Rooney's departure was very sudden.

In addition, it was the off-season, and even though the Manchester United players faced each other and fought side by side on the field every day, they 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 career with the Red Devils and returned to Everton, Everton also gave the green light to Lukaku's transfer.

Just the day after Rooney returned to Everton, Romano posted a post on his personal Twitter account saying that Everton striker Lukaku had reached a personal agreement with Manchester United.

Not long after this news was released, Manchester United also officially announced the joining of Lukaku!
"Manchester United has reached an agreement with Everton, Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku will transfer to the team for 7500 million pounds!"

According to the Daily Mail, Lukaku's transfer fee is 7500 million pounds, with an additional 1500 million floating clause, up to a maximum of 9000 million pounds!
This is a blockbuster transfer that will go down in the history of the Premier League. The transfer price of 7500 million pounds is the third highest transfer record for Manchester United and even the Premier League.

Second only to Ling Feng, who broke 100 million last year, and Cristiano Ronaldo of that year!
After Manchester United signed Lukaku, the biggest victim was Morata, who had already started 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 further negotiations with Real Madrid, Morata's agent made it clear that he was "very shocked" about this.

In addition to Morata, Chelsea is also a victim!
In fact, until this Friday, the Blues had not given up their efforts to bring in Lukaku, and 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 decisions of a high-level player.

Especially Raiola, the famous "vampire" in the brokerage industry!
Chelsea lost the chance to sign Lukaku after pursuing him for nearly half a year due to their unwillingness to pay Raiola a high agency fee.

This is another time the Blues lost to Manchester United in the transfer market.

The last time was with Maguire not long ago!

Maguire, Lukaku, and last year's Kante, this is the third time Manchester United has "intercepted" from them

According to Abramovich's entourage, the team owner has given a death order to the head coach that Manchester United must be taught a lesson in the new season!
Afterwards, ESPN's chief sports reporter also compiled and revealed the entire process of Manchester United signing Lukaku.

Behind this transaction, five clubs are involved: Manchester United, Everton, Chelsea, Real Madrid and Tottenham.

Manchester United's forward targets changed from Morata to Kane and Belotti, but in the end they intercepted Lukaku, who had always been Chelsea's target.

The whole process can be described as 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 looks like a transfer deal in which both parties are interested.

However, when Manchester United officially asked Real Madrid to buy Morata, they suddenly found that the situation was not as simple as they had imagined: Real Madrid's attitude was very firm, and they insisted on the price of 90 million euros and would not give up!

And this figure obviously far exceeds Morata's actual value.

After several rounds, what Manchester United originally thought was an "easy and comfortable" transfer deal became increasingly complicated.

As a result, Manchester United's transfer department quickly implemented Plan B and Plan C.

In fact, before Lukaku, they also had their eyes on Harry Kane of Tottenham.

In the eyes of Mourinho and Manchester United's top management, Kane is definitely the answer to Manchester United's forward line. Young, capable, and with a local hukou, everything is ready!
Moreover, Kane and Ling Feng are teammates and best partners in the national team. If the national team combination can be replicated in Manchester United, both the tacit understanding on the field and the adaptation off the field can be said to be seamless!
However, they did not expect that doing business with Levi would be even more difficult than doing business with Karl Lagerfeld!
As Tottenham's star player and the darling of their youth training, Levy claims that Kane is not for sale.

Even though Manchester United has offered 80 million pounds, Levy has no intention of giving in.

The player himself also stated that he is very happy playing for Tottenham and has no plans to transfer.

Even the olive branch from Manchester United made him feel honored.
Morata and Kane cannot agree on the price. Benzema and Lewandowski, who fit the team's tactical system and are the top scorers of the giants, have even less hope.

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 actually had no real contact with him.

In short, Belotti is just the last option on Manchester United's striker recruitment 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 striker performed well in Serie A last season, but that was also the first time he entered the vision of a top club.

And for Manchester United, which just won the treble, they would definitely not look down upon 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 dominated the entire Premier League, allowing the world to witness his extraordinary talent.

The joining of Lukaku is a very strong addition to 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 forward who likes to play on the wing.

The center forward, who is over 1.9 meters tall and weighs over 100 kilograms, does not confront the opponent's central defender head-on in the middle, but instead pulls to the side to bully the full-back. He is a nightmare for the full-backs in the Premier League!
Especially after Rooney left the team, Lukaku can completely replace him and become Manchester United's killer weapon on the right.

With Rashford on the left and Lukaku on the right, the Red Devils' two wings can finally take off!

However, with the departure of captain Rooney and the retirement of vice-captain Carrick, a question arises:
Who will be Manchester United's captain in 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 Manchester United's third captain, he should assume the responsibility of captaincy after Rooney and Carrick.

But the Ecuadorian star is still unable to utter a complete sentence in English after more than a decade living in the UK, making his chances of becoming captain slim.

After all, as a captain, the most important thing is to unite teammates, and communication skills are a must.

Herrera looks competitive.

He is Manchester United's on-field metronome, and he is very popular among reporters and fans, and has a good relationship with his teammates.

Ling Feng, although he is 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 fame, and his natural leadership qualities, he is the perfect choice for captain!
And there is no doubt that Manchester United has been building a tactical system around the 22-year-old superstar since last season.

It is no exaggeration to say that this Manchester United has long changed from Rooney's Manchester United to Ling Feng's Manchester United!

What's more, as early as in the Three Lions, Ling Feng had already tried to take on the responsibilities of captain and leader.

And he did a great job!

It is worth mentioning that as for the selection of Manchester United’s new captain, Manchester Evening News directly held an online vote on “Who is more suitable to be the new captain of Manchester United”.

In just one day, more than 30,000 people voted.

Among them, Ling Feng's votes exceeded seventy percent!
All the Red Devils fans who voted for him were conquered by Ling Feng's dominant performance last season.

The last player who brought such immediate changes to the team was the "King" Cantona!

Ling Feng's performance as a coach is even better than Cantona's.

Who can lead a declining giant club in its slump to regain the Premier League title and top the European continent in the first season? !
Although other stars in Manchester United also made great contributions.

However, his personal achievements in winning the Premier League Golden Boot and Assist King titles, the Champions League Top Scorer and Assist King titles, and breaking the Premier League single-season goal record are enough to prove that he is a strong contender for the best in the world today!
In the world of professional football, the strong have always been respected.

As long as you have the ability, age and qualifications are not a problem!

When the voting results came out, Lineker, the top supporter, also directly called out to Manchester United on his personal social media:
"What else is there to think about? Ling Feng is the new leader of Manchester United! He can lead this club to the top again!"

"no doubt!"

While the public was discussing Lukaku's joining and the selection of Manchester United's new captain, the Manchester United players, who were at the center of the traffic, had already arrived in Los Angeles, USA, ready to start their pre-season trip to the United States.

Manchester United will play five games during this trip to the United States.

This Saturday, they will first face the Los Angeles Galaxy.

48 hours later, they will face another major league team, Real Salt Lake.

On July 7, they will face the first Manchester derby overseas in Houston.

On the 23rd and 26th, they will face La Liga giants 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 to play before the Premier League opener.

On August 8, the Community Shield against FA Cup champions Arsenal;
72 hours later, they will face the Europa League champions Manchester City in Macedonia as the Champions League champions!
Participating in seven competitions in less than a month!
The schedule is tight!

However, this is normal for a top club like Manchester United.

Considering that the new Premier League season will kick off in a month, they must seize the time in this month to reserve physical strength and run in the lineup.

In the first public training session in the United States before the season, neither Manchester United players nor Red Devils fans could see Rooney and Carrick.

Instead, there are many young players promoted from the echelons, such as McTominay, Andre Pereira, Tuanzebe and so on.

This is also the cruel and unchanging side of the professional football world.

Veterans leave and newcomers take the stage, it's always like this.
(End of this chapter)