Football: Salary System - Chapter 157: In the Spotlight (Patreon)

Just as Zayn had expected, his remarks spread across the internet at a terrifying pace.

“This time next year, this won’t be the only trophy I’m lifting.”

“Why not?”

“They’re all great. But I’m great too. And I’m only going to get better.”

Those three lines generated almost as much attention as Modrić ending the Messi-Ronaldo era!

Zayn was already the most talked-about young prodigy in football. Add a declaration that bold, and once again, he became the hottest topic on the entire internet.

Professional players could understand his ambition and confidence.

People online certainly couldn't!

“Has this kid lost his mind? Look at Modrić. Look at Kane! The humble ones are the players who last!”

“He’s getting way too full of himself. Does he think he’s the Chosen One or something?”

“Zayn Ryder, don’t try to copy Ronaldo. You haven't earned the right to act like him!”

“Typical English player. One little taste of success and his ego goes through the roof.”

Zayn's social media comment sections were almost completely flooded with remarks like these.

Part of it was simply because the internet was never short of self-proclaimed “rational and objective” commentators.

But there was another reason.

Zayn had risen so quickly that too many people still found it hard to believe.

A guy who had been playing in the Championship just last year was now standing at the Ballon d’Or ceremony declaring, “I’m going to win the Ballon d’Or next year”?

If that wasn't arrogance, what was?

If that wasn't getting carried away, what else could you call it?

And amid the flood of criticism, naturally, a few “English football legends” came out to grab some attention of their own.

The first was Stan Collymore, a former forward who had spent two years at Aston Villa.

“I understand that young players need confidence, but there are certain things you can think without ever saying them publicly. I think what he did was very unwise, because it leaves people with a terrible impression of you.”

Collymore had assumed that his comments, combined with his status as a “former Villa player,” would let him ride the wave of attention.

Unfortunately, he'd badly miscalculated.

“This is hilarious. Stan Collymore giving people advice on how to behave?”

“Two years at Villa makes you a club legend now? You didn't even score half as many goals for Villa as Zayn!”

“Hitting his girlfriend, fighting with teammates, refusing to train, causing trouble in bars. A guy who's done just about everything wrong has the nerve to lecture someone else?”

The combativeness of English football fans was never something to underestimate, especially when they felt their latest golden boy had been insulted.

Stan Collymore had once been hailed as one of England's most talented forwards, but like so many English players who had been given that kind of label, he had more than enough dirt in his past for people online to dig up.

Collymore had practically committed every mistake a professional footballer wasn't supposed to make.

“You're not even fit to tie Zayn's boots. Shut up.”

“At least Zayn won the World Cup Golden Boot. What have you ever won?”

In the end, Collymore quietly deleted his comments.

But similar “expert opinions” from former players kept appearing one after another.

Some accused Zayn of “disrespecting his seniors.” Others claimed he had “been corrupted by his agent.” Some even said he would “end up like Gascoigne sooner or later.”

For English football fans, retired players mouthing off about whatever happened to be in the news was nothing unusual.

In England, retired footballers who wanted to move into coaching generally had to start in the lower leagues or work as assistants. The pressure was enormous, the income uncertain, and they always had to be ready for the sack.

Plenty of famous former players had tried it, and most had hardly enjoyed much success.

So if they wanted to stay relevant and preserve their commercial value, harsh criticism was often the easiest and most effective option.

The tabloids only made things worse, chopping Zayn's comments apart and stripping them of context.

Once again, public opinion swung overwhelmingly against him.

Amid all the criticism, the only people who came forward to support Zayn were those who had actually played alongside him.

Grealish, Reus, Terry...

But their voices were almost drowned out by the wave of condemnation.

After all, in the eyes of people online, everyone defending Zayn was one of “his own.” They were simply protecting a friend.

Then, amid all the outrage, someone nobody expected suddenly spoke up.

Diego Maradona.

When reporters asked him about it, Maradona made no attempt to hide his admiration for Zayn.

“Being honest about your ambition is much better than pretending to be polite. There's no need to fake humility.”

“The Ballon d’Or... no, outside honors don't really matter. What matters is what you do on the pitch. I've watched plenty of Zayn's matches. He's a fantastic player, and he's earned the right to say something like that.”

England and Argentina might have been genuine footballing rivals, but as long as a player had enough ability, Maradona had never hesitated to praise an Englishman publicly.

Rooney and Kane, for example, had both received praise from him before.

So Maradona supporting Zayn's remarks wasn't especially surprising.

After all, Maradona himself had always been outspoken, provocative, and openly defiant of authority. It made perfect sense that he would appreciate Zayn's attitude.

As for whether Maradona saying the Ballon d’Or didn't matter was a slip of the tongue or something he genuinely believed, nobody bothered digging into it.

Because the Argentine legend had never actually won the Ballon d’Or himself.

Before 1995, the award had only been open to players with European nationality.

Maradona had never been eligible.

Even so, the fans went wild.

Because Pelé had praised Zayn publicly as well!

People could question Zayn's arrogance. They could laugh at an 18-year-old for not knowing his place.

But a player who had been a professional for barely a year and had already earned praise from both Pelé and Maradona?

There wasn't a second one like him anywhere in football.

Could you really say Pelé didn't understand football?

Could you really claim Maradona wasn't qualified to judge a forward's ambition?

Neither of the two legendary kings of football had won the Ballon d’Or, but both had received the Ballon d'Or d'Honneur!

They were the only two players in football history to have done so!

Even then, plenty of people continued criticizing Zayn.

Some even said things like, “Maradona and Pelé are old now. They don't even know who they're talking about anymore...”

After all, the internet wasn't only full of self-proclaimed “rational” people.

There was no shortage of contrarians either.

As the discussion kept growing, executives at the companies that had signed Zayn early were practically laughing in their offices.

One Kopa Trophy had already generated this much attention.

What if he actually won the Ballon d’Or?

Several brands independently called emergency meetings that very night.

They needed to decide whether to increase their advertising budgets and strike while the iron was hot with new campaigns centered around Zayn.

Paris.

Inside a cheap hotel room, paparazzo Tom stared at his screen as those three Zayn quotes were translated into more than a dozen languages and spread wildly across social media around the world.

Tears of frustration nearly came to his eyes.

He had followed Zayn from St. George's Park during the international break all the way to Paris, then bounced between Manchester, Birmingham, Dortmund...

He had hidden himself away, racked his brain, and done everything imaginable just to chase traffic.

And after all that effort, he still couldn't match a few casual sentences from one Zayn interview!

Meanwhile, the people back at the company were probably cursing him for being useless while desperately trying to squeeze every last bit of traffic out of Zayn's comments.

Tom was absolutely furious!