When playing football, you should call it GOAT.

Chapter 53 "Conceptual God" (Please continue reading!)

"Someone wants to see you."

When Roy pushed open the heavy walnut door of a VIP box, the glow of the crystal chandelier caused his pupils to contract slightly.

Crown Prince Albert smiled and raised his glass:
"Ah, our 'Demon King of Hell' has arrived."

Because his father, Rainier III, was ill and frail, Albert had already begun to become the de facto ruler of Monaco, even though he had not yet officially ascended the throne.

Inside the private box, all the members of the Monaco royal family turned their gazes toward it—

Princess Caroline, Albert's sister, 46, gracefully crossed her legs and lightly touched her champagne glass with her fingertips.

After her ex-husband, Stefano Casiraghi, son of an Italian tycoon and world rowing champion, died in a speedboat chase, Caroline married Prince Ernst August of Hanover and is now known as the "Princess of Hanover".

Her three children were sitting next to her.

Eighteen-year-old Andrei Casiraghi, dressed in a custom-made suit, had a scrutinizing look in his eyes.

Sixteen-year-old Pierre Casiraghi held a DV camera and filmed Roy.

17-year-old Charlotte Cassiracchi stood up, her skirt tracing an arc.

Roy was introduced to everyone present, and he noticed that the team president, Campora, was not there.

Charlotte stretched out her hand, her nails painted in Monaco's red and white color scheme:
"Nice to meet you! I'm a fan of yours."

Roy's gaze lingered on her face for half a second—the "reporter" who always ambushed him in the mixed zone, always asking tricky questions, was now smiling like a fox.

Roy took her hand: "Nice to meet you, it's my pleasure!"

The audience chuckled softly.

Crown Prince Albert swirled the whiskey:
"Charlotte convinced me to invest in youth training, but seeing your performance today..."

He glanced at the celebrating fans outside the VIP box. "Perhaps we should just buy the whole team?"

Roy remained expressionless, offering a polite smile.

Are you kidding me?
The royal family may not own shares in the club, but everyone knows that the real power in Monaco is in their hands. If Albert wants to, Campora could be kicked out at any time.

Andrei interjected, "That nutmeg you just did, I couldn't even do it in Winning Eleven (Pro Evolution Soccer)."

Pierre suddenly exclaimed excitedly, "Can you teach me how to ride a bicycle? My school team has a final next week!"

Princess Caroline coughed lightly, and the royal aura instantly returned.

Charlotte lowered her voice, so that only Roy could hear her:
"In the next interview, I'll ask more difficult questions—for example, will you invite me to watch the Champions League next season?"

He picked up the orange juice offered by the waiter (the royal family had apparently checked that he didn't drink alcohol), and Charlotte's triumphant smile was reflected on the glass.

Roy's gaze passed over Crown Prince Albert's shoulder and landed on a round-faced man—Dmitry Rybonov.

A Russian tycoon, known as the "King of Potash," and later the owner of Monaco.

His purchase of Monaco eight years later was not a spur-of-the-moment decision.

Due to threats from criminal gangs in Russia, Rybonov has spent most of his time living in Switzerland or Monaco since 1995, Monaco being one of his favorite football teams.

Rybonov has always wanted to have his own football team.

This idea will become even stronger in the future, after Roman Abramovich, who was just ahead of him on the Russian rich list, bought Chelsea.

But nothing happened yet. It was only after watching the quarter-final match between Manchester United and Real Madrid at Old Trafford that Abramovich had the idea of ​​buying a team in London.

At that time, his top choice was Arsenal, but after hiring UBS to analyze the Premier League, UBS's assessment was that "Arsenal will absolutely not be sold," and Abramovich had no choice but to give up.

Years later, Arsenal CEO Diane admitted in his autobiography that when he heard about Abramovich's original offer, his thought was: We will definitely sell!

The board, including Deane, could have made a fortune, and Wenger had a substantial budget to build a football dynasty.

However, due to the words of several Swiss bankers who knew absolutely nothing, this potentially perfect combination became a historical hypothetical.

A few years after Abramovich bought Chelsea, Rybonov also began to make his move, but his preferred team was an even bigger heavyweight – Manchester United.

By then, it had completely fallen into the hands of the Glazer family.

At this moment, Rybonov was wearing a seemingly ordinary dark blue suit and did not look like a billionaire.

He was slowly and methodically poking at the caviar crepe with his fork, as if the 4-0 victory celebration before him had nothing to do with him.

Crown Prince Albert noticed Roy's gaze:
"Ah, this is Mr. Dmitry Rybonov, our Monaco patron of the arts."

Rybonov wiped his fingers and stretched out his chubby hand:
"I watched your game against Lyon, that close-range cut-in and powerful shot inside the penalty area—it was like ballet."

His English had a heavy accent, and he pronounced "ballet" like the Russian word for "war."

Crown Prince Albert suddenly interrupted:
“Dmitri has been coming to the stadium a lot lately, even though he used to only appear at auction houses.”

Laughter erupted again in the private room.

Rybonov smiled with narrowed eyes:

"Artworks may depreciate, but champions are eternal."

He turned to Roy, “You, for example, are a better investment than Picasso’s ‘Boy with a Pipe’.”

The meeting ended quickly.

Crown Prince Albert naturally stood up and suggested taking a photo together.

Charlotte took the opportunity to slip Roy a note:
"Run! He might actually buy you as a private player. —C"

The moment he stood up, the chief aide silently drew a fan-shaped area for the players to stand in, and the royal photographer knelt on one knee to adjust his Leica camera—this was no ordinary group photo, but a miniature power display. Albert leaned against the floor-to-ceiling window of the VIP box, his right hand casually resting on Roy's left shoulder, seemingly friendly, but actually ensuring he was half a head taller than the player.

Roy was positioned to the right of the Crown Prince (the most honored position in European etiquette), but he had to turn slightly to the side to avoid facing the camera directly and stealing the spotlight.

Albert maintains a dignified smile when he says "Sourions" (French for smile).

He then quipped, with a touch of self-deprecation, "Regardez l'objectif comme vous regardez le but." (Looking at the camera like you're looking at a goal.)
"Perhaps in a while, we should invite our young geniuses to dinner together."

The words were polite, but the tone revealed the nearly seven-hundred-year-old hereditary authority of the Monaco Royal Palace.

It wasn't a discussion, nor an inquiry, but an aristocratic notification—as unquestionable as his ancestor had once told the casino owner in Monte Carlo, "An opera house is needed here."

Mercedes-Benz V-Class minivan, Monaco coastal highway, dusk.

Claire slid the contract toward Roy, her platinum earrings gleaming coldly in the sunset: "A base endorsement fee of 60 euros is the ceiling for a rookie in a major league. Considering their marketing budget, they're very willing to spend money!"

“金童奖再加20万欧法甲冠军15万欧赛季进球20+再加10万欧外加获赠全系列和2％销售额分成。”

"Do you remember what I said last time?"

She took the pen from Roy's fingers and lightly tapped the third page of the contract with the end of the pen. "The next time you see me, it means your wealth has increased again."

Outside the car window, the horns of yachts in Monte Carlo Harbour sounded like pauses in a poem.

APM Manoco is a fashion jewelry company founded in Monaco in 1982 by Ariane Pratt.

In 1992, the company moved its production base to China, but its office remained in Monaco.

Roy frowned as he stared at the "custom product line" clause:
"Earrings?"

He subconsciously touched his intact earlobe.

Customized product lines.

“ROI 25” series:
Football-themed silver/platinum bracelet (engraved with the latitude and longitude of the Stade Louis II).

Black diamond earrings (echoing the "Demon King" character)

"APM is willing to compromise and use a magnetic attachment for filming."

She tapped her chin with the cap of her pen: "Or do you want to be like Beckham? The year he got his ears pierced, jewelry contracts skyrocketed by 40%."

Roy scoffed: "I'd rather have the 20 euros from the Golden Boy award than make money from ear piercings."

"62% of their stores are in Asia, and the ones displayed in their counters are still bow necklaces designed for Japanese girls."

Claire scoffed, "It looks just like a child's jewelry box."

"Two ads a year, four offline events, filmed in Monaco and Paris. You have to wear their products to the awards ceremony, and then you can collect the money."

Do you know why it was you?

"Because of this damn mixed-race face—"

She suddenly switched to Japanese: "Have no genius (mixed-race genius)."

Then he switched to French: "le diable métis (the half-breed devil)."

Finally, she said in Chinese with a cold laugh, but it was clearly something she had just learned: "I'll eat anything."

"French football stars endorse Europe, Asian heritage leverages the Asian market, and that country where both men and women are a bit eccentric and dreamy (she won't use the word 'chuunibyou') will love your arrogant interviews. The girls on the streets of Shibuya may not watch the games, but they will definitely look at your face and will fight tooth and nail for your earrings and other accessories."

"Add to that the buzz from winning the Ligue 1 title and the Golden Boy award, and it's like getting free global media exposure."

"They really want to sign a three-year contract at once, but my advice is to only accept the option to renew."

Claire handed him the pen, and Roy noticed a new Van Cleef & Arpels bracelet on her wrist, cuffed by her suit sleeve.

Roy took the pen and joked:

"That's all? I thought I'd be working as a window mannequin in Ginza, Tokyo for three days."

Roy is starting to gain some popularity in Asia, although Ligue 1 is not as popular as other major leagues.

WOWOW (a paid satellite channel) in Japan holds the broadcasting rights to Ligue 1, and broadcasts selected matches weekly. Some sports packages on SKY PerfecTV may also include Ligue 1 matches.

Korean broadcasters KBS N Sports or MBC ESPN (now SPOTV) occasionally air key Ligue 1 matches.

The paid cable channel Sky Sports (Korea) occasionally also offers match information.

ESPN Star Sports (ESS) is the main broadcaster in Hong Kong, broadcasting through i-Cable and now TV. It broadcasts fewer games, but paid subscribers can choose to pay for individual games through now TV.

ESPN Taiwan and Star Sports are the main broadcasting platforms in Taiwan, broadcasting through cable television systems such as Kbro and CTS.

Ligue 1 has far less exposure in Asia than Serie A/Premier League. Unless there are local players playing (such as Japanese player Nozomi Hiroyama who has confirmed his move to Montpellier this summer), the number of broadcast matches is limited. However, given Roy's Asian identity and incredible goal-scoring rate, some people have started to pay attention, and this number is steadily increasing.

He is still quite popular in China, after all, reporters have revealed that his ancestral home is in China.

His posts appear on the "International Football" section of Sina Sports' homepage every match, and his traffic is almost higher than that of the entire French Ligue 1.

The problem is, nobody has actually seen him play football.

In 2005, CCTV in mainland China began a trial broadcast of Ligue 1, but it was quickly discontinued due to poor viewership.

Therefore, he is currently in the state of a conceptual god.

Fast? Is it as fast as Qu Bo?
Can it run? Can it run with iron?
Can it score a goal? Yes... cough cough, fire the cannon and blast his mother.

(End of this chapter)