The God of Football Starts With Passive Skills-Chapter 88 - 43: Topping the Charts! Not for Sale! He’s Klopp’s Treasure! When You Were Slaughtered by Bayern

Though it takes a while to describe, the entire sequence happened in the blink of an eye.

The two Frankfurt defenders couldn't even lay a finger on Wang Shuo as he feinted his way past both of them.

After shaking off Chris, Wang Shuo finally sent a low cross in with his right foot.

The ball zipped right past Chris, rolling toward the undefended penalty spot.

Hainauer came charging in, meeting the ball with a placed shot.

The ball found the back of the net.

2-0!

The entire Bruch Road Stadium erupted in cheers once again!

Wang Shuo immediately ran to Hainauer.

The Hungarian midfielder was running toward the sideline to celebrate. When he saw Wang Shuo rushing over, he immediately threw his arms out and pulled him into a hug.

"Thanks for the brilliant pass, Wang!"

"I didn't think you'd be able to get that pass off!"

You can say that again.

Two lines of defense had him completely boxed in.

But somehow, Wang Shuo still managed to get the pass out!

Frankfurt's center-back, Marco Ruth, and their holding midfielder, Chris, were still in a daze.

Positioned one in front of the other, they had thought they could contain him.

But who would have thought that Wang Shuo would carve a passing lane right through the iron wall they had formed.

It was too fast!

So fast that they had no time to stop him!

"For a moment there, I thought I was seeing Ribery!" Marco Ruth said in disbelief.

As one of Frankfurt's center-backs, he had gone up against the French winger Ribery in a one-on-one during a match with Bayern.

Based on his own ability, he honestly couldn't tell who was faster, Wang Shuo or Ribery.

But that in itself was absurd, wasn't it?

Ribery is only 1.7 meters tall. He's fast and agile—the natural advantages of a smaller player.

But Wang Shuo?

He's 1.8 meters tall.

How is that possible?

And yet, Wang Shuo had done it!

The scoreboard instantly flipped from 1-0 to 2-0!

The entire Bruch Road Stadium roared for the players celebrating on the sideline.

Less than 20 minutes into the match, Mainz was up by two goals.

...

Sitting in the chairman's box at Bruch Road Stadium, flanked by Mainz's Chairman Strutz and General Manager Heidel, Frankfurt's General Manager Herbert Brueckgen was feeling thoroughly miserable.

Brueckgen wasn't just some suit who didn't understand football.

He had come up as a professional player himself and began coaching in the '80s. He'd managed teams like Schalke 04, Hamburg, and Bielefeld before becoming CEO of the German Professional Football League in '01.

At the end of 2003, he arrived at Frankfurt.

So as he watched Wang Shuo, with one goal and one assist, help Mainz take a 2-0 lead, and saw the ecstatic expressions on the faces of Strutz and Heidel, a sour feeling washed over Brueckgen.

Because that young Chinese player should have been Frankfurt's!

It was all that damned Oscar Corochano's fault!

If it weren't for him, Frankfurt would be the one with the two-goal lead right now, not Mainz!

"I'm starting to seriously suspect Corochano must be blind!" Brueckgen cursed resentfully.

'Not blind?'

'Then how could he have missed Wang Shuo's talent?'

'Any ordinary fan could tell this kid was special after watching him play just one match.'

'But no, Corochano just had to be the one who couldn't see it. And because of him, a player like Wang Shuo was scooped up for a steal by destitute, cash-strapped Mainz.'

With Wang Shuo playing better and better, every time Brueckgen thought about it, he felt the urge to call Corochano and chew him out.

"Christian, let's talk business."

"Talk about what?" Heidel asked, looking at Brueckgen with great interest.

"The transfer window hasn't closed yet. Sell him to us. I'll give you two million euros. What do you say?"

Hearing the offer of a two-million-euro transfer fee, Heidel and Strutz exchanged a look, their eyes lighting up.

But Heidel quickly masked his reaction with a dismissive wave and a loud laugh.

"Don't joke around, Herbert. You know Klopp. If I sold Wang Shuo, he'd have my head in a heartbeat!"

After a pause, Heidel added, "He's Klopp's prized possession right now!"

'Oh, come on!'

'A club like Mainz, with its shoestring budget, has a "prized possession"?'

Brueckgen knew Heidel all too well.

"Alright, how about this: three million euros. Paid in full, upfront."

Before Heidel and Strutz could even respond, Brueckgen continued.

"Wang Shuo may be young, but that's not a cheap price tag. If I took these three million euros to Borussia Mönchengladbach, they'd definitely sell us Marco Marin."

"If I took it to Bayern, I might even be able to buy Thomas Müller."

'Three million euros for Thomas Müller?'

'That's absolute nonsense!'

But Brueckgen had a point.

There weren't many young players in the Bundesliga valued at three million euros.

Take Dortmund's Shahin. Remember how well he played at the FIFA U-20 World Cup?

He was considered a generational midfield talent across all of Europe.

And even then, Arsenal was only willing to offer three million euros for him.

'But Mainz still isn't selling!'

"I'm sorry, Herbert," Strutz chimed in. "Our goal for the new season is to avoid relegation. Wang Shuo might be young, but he's our starting striker, and we're counting on him. Without him, I'm not confident we can stay up."

'So that's a definite no, then!'

Brueckgen couldn't help but feel a pang of disappointment.

He knew that if he were willing to make a higher offer, Mainz might just be tempted.

For a small club like Mainz, there was no such thing as an untouchable player.