In 2009, Cristiano Ronaldo transferred from Manchester United to Real Madrid for £80 million, or â¬96 million.
Is Ye Chen worth that much now?
Of course not!
But he will be in the future!
And don't forget, he has the vast Chinese market behind him!
A player like Park Ji-sung made Manchester United the most attention-grabbing team in South Korea; Shinji Kagawa made Borussia Dortmund the most followed team in Japan; and the result for Ye Chen will be the same.
When Manchester United toured Asia, there were two teams in China that attracted the most attention: Manchester United and the mighty Real Madrid.
In fact, Real Madrid might have had even more attention.
Even though Real Madrid's performance wasn't extraordinary, fans just loved watching the superstars play!
But when Dong Fangzhuo joined Manchester United, Chinese fans began paying close attention to the team. Over time, Manchester United became their home team, and Real Madrid was no longer their rival.
Although Dong Fangzhuo's transfer cost Manchester United a loss, in terms of branding, they made a fortune!
And now, Ye Chen has emerged.
This should have been a key step for Manchester United in solidifying their position as the Asian powerhouse, but who could have guessed that they would shoot themselves in the foot?
They unilaterally terminated his contract just when Ye Chen was showing his brilliance.
From Ye Chen's current performance, even if he can't reach Cristiano Ronaldo's level, becoming the star player in the Bundesliga won't be difficult.
Just like Yao Ming in the NBA, who didn't reach Kobe Bryant's level but was still a widely celebrated basketball star.
Of course, this is the power of China!
Especially in the All-Star voting, the Chinese fully utilized the power of numbers. In 2005 and 2006, they outpaced LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O'Neal, Allen Iverson, and many other popular stars to become the All-Star vote leader!
Later, the NBA had no choice but to change the voting rules!
That's when this kind of spectacle was no longer possible, but Yao Ming became the only foreign player to be the All-Star vote leader.
Now, Ye Chen has scored a hat-trick in four consecutive games, netting 12 goals, becoming the top scorer in the Bundesliga and setting a Bundesliga record, becoming the first of his kind in the league.
But he still hasn't broken the world record!
In 1998, Japanese forward Yamagata Masashi scored a hat-trick in four consecutive J-League games, scoring an astonishing 16 goals!
He was certified by the Guinness World Records for this feat.
Although Ye Chen's 12 goals in four games set a Bundesliga record, and even a record for the top five European leagues, the world record remains firmly in the hands of the Japanese player!
However, Ye Chen himself was unaware of this.
After his fourth consecutive hat-trick, Ye Chen was caught by Klopp, who brought him to attend the post-match press conference.
To be honest, it was Ye Chen's first time, and he was a little nervous.
When Ye Chen first appeared at the press conference, the reporters immediately gave him the warmest applause. Many even whistled and loudly praised him for a job well done!
Klopp looked in a good mood, "I know you have a lot of questions for Ye Chen. Since that's the case, I'll bring him here for you to interview, but whether he answers or not is up to him."
With that, Klopp gestured for Ye Chen to take the floor.
A beautiful woman in the audience, who looked quite mature, raised her hand with an excited expression.
"You there!" the press officer pointed to the woman.
"We know your girlfriend Lina is Solskjaer's daughter. Apart from sweet-looking girls, do you also like women with a more mature figure, like me?" the woman winked at Ye Chen as she asked.
The room erupted into laughter.
Though it had nothing to do with the game, it was certainly a question everyone was curious about.
Ye Chen glanced at Klopp, who shrugged. "I've said it before, whether he answers is his decision."
Ye Chen didn't hide it, "Right now, I only like Lina. Sorry to the other girls!"
The woman sighed dramatically, "Oh no, in your country, there's a saying that young men don't know how good mature women can be, and mistakenly think young girls are more precious! You'll regret it later!"
"I won't," Ye Chen said calmly. "Lina will grow into a mature woman too."
The men in the room immediately started clapping.
Ye Chen's response was truly clever!
A strong black man raised his hand, "This is your fourth consecutive hat-trick, setting a new record for most hat-tricks in the Bundesliga. What would you like to say about it?"
With a smile on his face, Ye Chen responded, "Thanks to the coach for giving me so many opportunities, and thanks to the fans for their continued support. I also want to thank my girlfriend Lina... Sorry, this sounds like an award speech. But creating a record is certainly exciting, and I hope it can help more people fall in love with football and bring glory to the club!"
The reporters all smiled.
Ye Chen's humor, charm, and humility as a Chinese person were clearly reflected.
At that moment, an Asian man in a suit raised his hand, appearing very polite.
The press officer thought he was Chinese and wanted to add some fuel to the harmonious atmosphere. But the reporter stood up and, in broken German, said, "I am Taro Jono, a reporter from the Tokyo Sports News!"
"I'd like to clarify one point. The record you've set is only for the Bundesliga. The Guinness World Record for four consecutive hat-tricks belongs to our Japanese player, Yamagata Masashi! In light of his four consecutive hat-tricks and 16 goals, do you think Mr. Yamagata is greater than you?"
"Who is that guy you mentioned? Yamagata Yushi?" Ye Chen suddenly thought of a meme featuring a singer.
Someone's name is Yushi?
But soon, Ye Chen realized that since there's someone named Zhizhang, it wasn't that strange to have someone named Yushi.
After all, Japan had only learned a few things from China.
"He's Mr. Yamagata Masashi! He scored five goals in his first J-League match, and then had two more four-goal games, creating four games with 16 goals! That's much harder than what you've done!" Taro Jono said proudly.
Ye Chen looked puzzled. "Oh? When did the J-League become better than the Bundesliga?"
The other reporters picked up on what this Japanese reporter meant and looked at him as if he were a fool.
"Hey, do you even know what you're saying?"
"How can the pathetic J-League compare to our Bundesliga?"
"What a shortsighted guy!"
"If you can't speak properly, just shut up!"
Despite the mockery, Taro Jono's mental fortitude was strong, and he proudly declared, "Whether you admit it or not, the Guinness World Record for four consecutive hat-tricks belongs to Japan! Our Mr. Yamagata is the genius player the football world should remember!"
It was clear he had been mocked a lot for this!
Ye Chen suddenly felt that the Chinese Football Association could really use someone like this!
Looking at Taro Jono, who was so proud, Ye Chen raised an eyebrow. "Shouldn't five consecutive hat-tricks be a bit more impressive than four?"
"Huh?" The reporter froze. "You want to try five consecutive hat-tricks? Do you think hat-tricks are that easy?"
Ye Chen grinned, "Ah, yes, yes, yes..."
Remember, never argue with a fool!