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

Chapter 503: From opportunity creator to game dominator!
As the 30-name list of the Ballon d'Or was announced, media from all over the world began to warm up for this annual football event.

This year's Golden Globe Awards are particularly anticipated.

Because this may be the first time that a player truly threatens Melo's monopoly on the Ballon d'Or!

In the nine years since 2008, Messi and Ronaldo have taken turns to share the Golden Ball Award, which represents the best in football.

The past decade has been called the "Double Pros Era" and the "Mero Era" by fans.

Every year, there is a player who ranks below the two and becomes the one that fans jokingly call the "third man in the world".

Xavi, Iniesta, Ribery, Neuer, Neymar
Until last year’s Lingfeng!
Everyone thought that for the young Ling Feng, third place in the Ballon d'Or was already his limit.

However, no one would have thought that since 2017, Ling Feng would have achieved a huge breakthrough in his career!
Not only did he lead Manchester United to success and dominate the Premier League, but he also reached the top of Europe after many years.

He also had the best season of his career, delivering a huge double-double of 35 in the league, and won the Premier League Golden Boot and the Champions League Golden Boot for the first time!
It is precisely because of his dazzling performance last season that Ling Feng also underwent a role change, from "the third man in the world" to "Melloi and Ronaldo's competitor"

After the results of the Ballon d'Or fan surveys by major media came out, the top three with the highest support rates were basically Ling Feng, Ronaldo and Messi!
The media from various countries also analyzed and compared the performance of the three players last season and the new season.

First of all, Messi.

So far this season, Messi has performed well in both the league and the national team.

In the league, after Neymar left the team, Messi, who took up the offensive banner again, led Barcelona to a temporary victory and led the La Liga.

Apart from being defeated twice by Real Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup at the beginning of the season, Barcelona and Messi started to go on a rampage, with Messi now also top of the La Liga scorer list.

As for the national team, Messi, as captain, led Argentina to grab a ticket to the World Cup under extremely difficult circumstances.

Especially at the critical moment, he performed a hat trick to help the team advance directly.

However, even if the team performs better after the start of the new season, it will not be able to make up for the embarrassment of losing both the league and the Champions League last season.

You know, although Messi's personal data was still explosive last season, he even won the European Golden Boot again by two goals, beating the Premier League and Champions League top scorer Ling Feng.

But in terms of championship honors, he only won two insignificant championships: the Spanish King's Cup and the Spanish Super Cup.

This puts Messi at a disadvantage in the competition for this year's Ballon d'Or.

His old rival Cristiano Ronaldo, although his personal data last season was slightly inferior to that of Messi and Ling Feng.

But the Real Madrid he played for interrupted Barcelona's championship streak and snatched back the league championship trophy.

They also reached the Champions League final and finished second.

Of course, the biggest favorite for the Ballon d'Or is naturally Ling Feng, the British No. 1 who led Manchester United to win the treble last season and is in full swing in the new season, scoring goals one after another!
As the absolute core of the five-time football champion and the top star of Great Britain, Ling Feng has the data, the championships and the influence!

Especially the most valuable Champions League title, especially in a small year for football without international competitions, it is enough to overwhelm the heavy weight of Messi and Ronaldo!
Of course, leading the team to win the Champions League does not guarantee that he will win the Ballon d'Or.

After all, Ribery, who helped Bayern become the first Bundesliga treble winner in 2013, missed out on the Ballon d'Or, which has become a source of regret for countless fans.

Of course, compared to Ribery back then, Ling Feng is much better in terms of both personal data and championship honors.

Even in a head-on confrontation with the duo of Messi and Ronaldo, the British superstar had the upper hand!
Therefore, all major media outlets believe that, considering last season's championship honors and personal performance, Ling Feng undoubtedly deserves the title of "the best in the world"!

It is Ling Feng's rapid upward momentum and equally outstanding personal performance that have allowed the public to see the possibility of a new king ascending the throne, and have made this year's Golden Globe Awards even more anticipated.

"Will Messi and Ronaldo's dominance of the Ballon d'Or end this year?"

This may sound a little sudden, but it is possible.

And Ling Feng is the one most likely to end the monopoly of the two heroes!
Will it be Messi and Ronaldo who continue their dominance, or will Ling Feng break the monopoly of the two, ascend the throne and become the first Ballon d'Or winner born in the 1990s?

Everything will be revealed on December 12th!
. . .

While the Ballon d'Or has become a hot topic among the public, Manchester United's journey has not stopped.

The heat of the Red Derby has not yet faded, and they have already traveled to the Iberian Peninsula to challenge another red team.

This team's jerseys look like Manchester United's, its advertisements look like Real Madrid's, and it's also Mourinho's former club.

That is the "Eagle" Benfica, one of the top three teams in the Portuguese Super League!

Benfica, which has a very long history, is the most popular club in the Portuguese Super League and one of the teams that has reached the Champions League final the most times in history.

In Group A, Benfica was originally the only team that could pose a threat to Manchester United's top spot.

However, after the main goalkeeper Ederson and the main sideback Semedo were sold to top clubs in the summer window, the defense line was only supported by the Swedish central defender Lindelof, who had been rumored to be linked with Manchester United for half a year.

Therefore, Benfica, which has been unstable at the back this season, was overshadowed by Sporting Lisbon and Porto in the Portuguese Super League and ranked only third.

Facing the aggressive Champions League champions Manchester United at home, the Benfica coach also adopted a strategy of avoiding the opponent's attack.

That is to let the substitutes and young players come on the field!

Anyway, it's just a Champions League group match and it won't affect their fate in competing with Basel for the second place in the group.

Instead of fighting hard with the powerful Manchester United, it is better to retain our strength and compete for the league title.

Coincidentally, Mourinho also predicted in advance that Benfica would strategically give up this game and chose to rotate the lineup.

However, even so, when Benfica fans found out that the "monster" wearing number seven was in the starting lineup, they couldn't help but cry out helplessly:
This game is in danger!
Of course, Mourinho wanted to give his beloved disciple, who had just played the entire game in the Manchester derby, a rest.

However, during a private discussion, he learned from Ling Feng that this kid's goal was to break the annual record of 91 goals!

After a brief surprise, Mourinho immediately smiled, expressed his full support for him, and made a promise: as long as Ling Feng does not take the initiative to request a rest, he will not miss any game!
Of course, if he continues to score goals at his current rate, he still has a great chance of breaking Mr. Mei's goal record of 91 before the end of this year.

However, in addition to breaking the annual goal record, he also hopes to score as many goals as possible before the Ballon d'Or is announced to add more weight to his winning chances.

After all, Ronaldo, who had nothing to his name that year, stole the Ballon d'Or with a hat trick against Sweden in the World Cup qualifiers.

Even though I have better statistics and championship honors than that person, I don’t dare to say that I am safe.

If Messi or Ronaldo performs a few more hat tricks before the voting ends, everyone will, as always, praise these two men standing at the top of the football pyramid and cheer for them crazily.

After all, they have been doing this for the past seven or eight years.

Popularity and fame are both Messi and Ronaldo's advantages.

So, what Ling Feng can do is to score as many goals as possible!

Use more goals to tell all voters that in terms of personal ability, Ling Feng is not inferior to Melo at all!

Even stronger than them!

At the Luz Stadium, Ling Feng saw the Benfica club's mascot, the eagle, fly over the pitch and land accurately in the hands of the falconer. He also witnessed the "warm hospitality" of Benfica fans.

However, he had no intention of showing mercy!
In the first half, the Red Devils captain used a violent long-range shot with both hands, allowing the 18-year-old goalkeeper Svilar, the youngest record holder for appearances in the history of the Champions League, to see what it is like to have a powerful shot like the best player in the Premier League!

In the second half, he dribbled the ball horizontally from the left and shot straight into the blind corner, directly extending the score to four to zero!

It is worth mentioning that in the second half, when defending against Ling Feng's long-range artillery, Svilar accidentally fractured his palm and was unable to continue. He had to be replaced on the spot by veteran goalkeeper Cesar on the bench.

When Svilar left the field, the "culprit" Ling Feng took the initiative to step forward and hug him to apologize.

After all, he had no grudge against the young goalkeeper, and he did not intend to shoot him on purpose.

On the sidelines, Mourinho and Cesar, the master and apprentice who once worked together at Inter Milan, also reunited on the field after many years.
Finally, in this game full of reunions, Ling Feng completed his first hat-trick in the Champions League this season, leading Manchester United to three consecutive wins in the Champions League group stage at the Stadium of Light!

The Luz Stadium, which has witnessed countless famous football matches, also once again witnessed a Red Devil wearing the legendary No. 7 jersey, who completed an unparalleled personal performance in this stadium!

After the game, Mourinho also praised his favorite disciple and the team's top star in front of the media:
"Ling Feng is like an unstoppable monster on the field. He destroys all opponents in front of him with almost no effort. He reminds me of Ronaldo from Brazil!"

"Ling, like Ronaldo, does not need any tactical system to support him in order to perform greatness."

"Because they themselves are capable of great deeds!"

When faced with reporters' questions about the Ballon d'Or, Mourinho said without hesitation:
"He is undoubtedly the best player in the world today! He certainly deserves the Ballon d'Or!"

Mourinho's remarks directly snatched away all the traffic and attention, and detonated the entire football world.

You know, Ronaldinho is recognized as the strongest striker by countless football superstars.

Mourinho directly compared Ling Feng to the "alien" Ronaldo, which is definitely the highest evaluation of him!

Of course, this is not the first or second time Mourinho has spoken out in front of the media.

However, Ling Feng's performance this season is not inferior to that of Ronaldo, who was called a "phenomenon" when he just joined Barcelona from Eindhoven!

Especially this season, he has been more active in attacking with the ball, and his style of dribbling with the ball is full of visual impact!
He rushed at lightning speed, passing the opposing players one by one with ease. He couldn't pull him back, couldn't knock him down, and couldn't catch up with him!
This kind of football king's playing style, which is full of personal heroism, is certainly pleasing to the eye.

However, Mourinho's remarks not only made Ling Feng the center of the traffic storm, but also caused a lot of
In football, Ronaldo's position is unique.

Although his career is not like that of Messi and Ronaldo, whose statistics are explosive every season.

They have never won the Champions League.

However, his playing style and his historical status are indisputable.

He is not only the idol of many super strikers, but also has influenced most of the post-80s strikers in the football world.

Therefore, many people, including some Ronaldo fans, directly refuted Mourinho's exaggeration.

For example, Real Madrid striker Benzema, who was defeated by Ling Feng in the Champions League final last season, posted a photo of himself and Ronaldo on social media.

Then he wrote:
"No offense, there is only one Ronaldo. No one can compare to him!"

And the former AC Milan star "Ukrainian nuclear warhead" Shevchenko also said in an interview,

“Ling Feng’s performance was phenomenal, but R9 was the phenomenon itself!”

However, just as many people stood up to express their opinions, Ibrahimovic, who has always publicly stated on different occasions that Ronaldo is the best in the world and even covered his room with Ronaldo posters, unexpectedly publicly praised his teammate Ling Feng on social media:

"Listen, I've seen Ronaldo when he was 22, and I've also seen Ling Feng when he was 22."

"In my opinion, Ling Feng now is as unstoppable as Ronaldo was back then!"

Comparing Ling Feng with his idol is enough to show how much Ibrahimovic, who has always been very proud, respects Ling Feng!
Indeed, only after playing football with Ling Feng did he personally realize how perverted this young man, who was a generation younger than him, was!
In just one season, he was impressed by Ling Feng!

The hype surrounding the Ballon d'Or, coupled with the controversy caused by Mourinho's high-profile remarks, made Ling Feng's name surpass Melo and become the most discussed name in the football world.

It is worth mentioning that with the completion of his sixth hat-trick in all competitions this season, Ling Feng became the player with the most hat-tricks in the new season in the top five leagues!

And "Manchester Evening News" directly gave him the nickname "Mr. Hat Trick" in the article!

From the "King of Assists" to the current "Mr. Hat Trick", as well as the significantly increased number of goals each season, it also shows that in the past two seasons Ling Feng has slowly changed from a relatively pure opportunity creator to a more all-around game dominator!
Of course, this doesn't mean that he doesn't create great opportunities as easily as before, but he has become more "selfish"
Before, he created great scoring opportunities for his teammates;

Now, he can not only create great scoring opportunities for his teammates, but also solve the battle himself!
(End of this chapter)