For the fans of Tang country, they were already satisfied, even beyond satisfied. They had never imagined reaching this far in the World Cup before. Even if they could surpass their previous performance, they would have been content. But the final result was the World Cup runner-up. With such an achievement, what else could other countries use to mock us or look down on us?
If they still couldn't show respect at this point, they would be shooting themselves in the foot, or slapping themselves in the face, because they would be mocking a team that had defeated them soundly on the World Cup stage.
And at this moment, due to Cao Baming's reputation, the entire world's impression of Tang country's football had completely changed. This was the biggest gain of the year, and undoubtedly the most important aspect. In the future, they would discover that it was not just this.
This was the most important thing of the past year. Now, one should look to the future. If asked what the most important thing for the future was, it would undoubtedly be his transfer, Cao Baming thought to himself.
All the top management of Arsenal knew that after the Champions League final, Cao Baming would also declare himself a free agent, as his contract was only for two years.
At this time, it was too late for the management to regret not taking a risk and signing him for 10 years directly.
More importantly, two years ago, in their eyes, Cao Baming was just a Tang country kid with seemingly outstanding performance. They had no confidence at the time to believe in a Tang person, let alone a 19-year-old child.
This age is considered relatively young for a world-class professional football team. While young players have their advantages, such as speed and strength, they also have an irreparable disadvantage in terms of experience and judgment on the field.
Especially back then, when Cao Baming had no guarantees, how could they dare to take a gamble? Offering a two-year contract was already a huge effort.
Now, with the arrival of Messi and Henry, coupled with Cao Baming's own salary increasing day by day, even his base salary was growing exponentially. They knew that the team's financial budget would not support keeping these three superstars next season.
Fans naturally wish that all their favorite stars could perform for them on the same team, but such a thing is unrealistic for team owners because they simply don't have enough money to buy so many star players. If players like Cao Baming or Messi open their mouths, their transfer fees alone would be over a hundred million, and their annual salaries would be over a hundred million.
With such astronomical figures, what sponsor could truly afford it? Who could guarantee they could casually earn billions every year to spend on the team?
Even if commercial value could compensate for this, cash flow would already show signs of weakness.
The management of Arsenal was aware of this. They knew the facts very well and felt very helpless, as they couldn't think of any other solution. It was almost 100% certain that these three would not all stay with the team next season.
However, without Cao Baming's knowledge, all the management had held many private meetings. Their unanimous decision was to do their best to keep Cao Baming. Even if one of Messi and Henry had to leave, they wouldn't hesitate. Even if the team's midfield and defense couldn't be strengthened with sufficient funds, it wouldn't matter, because Cao Baming alone seemed to be able to compensate for everything. As long as he was there, everything would be fine.
But dreams are just what the management hoped to see. Cao Baming himself knew that he no longer wanted to stay in this place. He would transfer next season, and the most important question was where to go.
This question is a major life event for a professional player, but for Cao Baming, it was probably not that significant.
AC Milan might be a consideration, but he couldn't make a decision so early. What Cao Baming truly desired was to play with them and lead them step by step to the highest level, allowing the club's players and management to experience the feeling of winning the highest honor.
He wanted the fans of the team to experience the feeling of watching their supported team win the highest honor, a feeling they had probably never experienced before, just as the people of Tang country had never won the World Cup.
AC Milan, while not an absolute top-tier team in Serie A, was still one of the dominant forces in Italy. From this perspective, it seemed insufficient to meet his standards, as they were too strong, and his own abilities wouldn't be fully showcased.
At this moment, what Cao Baming truly wanted was a sufficiently weak team. The presence of specific players within the team was even less important. He had become more rational after the match had just ended, and his perspective on such matters had become clearer.
He might continue to play in the Premier League, but he wasn't waiting for an invitation from a strong team. Instead, he was looking for a weaker team in the Premier League, perhaps one of the two teams that successfully avoided relegation this season.
One team was Everton, and the other club was West Ham United.
Thinking of this, Cao Baming immediately realized that although the transfer window had not yet opened, those who wanted him at this moment were probably already impatient and had sent emails in advance.
He took out his phone and opened his mailbox. As expected, there were three pages of emails, almost all from the top management of various teams, extending proactive invitations.
However, upon closer inspection, Cao Baming showed a helpless expression, because none of these teams were what he wanted.
Liverpool, Manchester City, Juventus, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich, Leicester City, Inter Milan... these were all big-name teams!!