Chapter 51: A merciless slap in the face!

Simon Grayson, who held great power, quickly started his work. Of course, the first thing to consider for such good things is his favorite disciple. Shaq had no objection to this. Anyway, it was proposed by the club that a simple salary increase was a good thing no matter how you look at it.

In addition to Shaq, there are naturally many players who performed well last season who received salary increases.

On October 3, a series of contract renewals were announced on the official website of Barcelona...

Shaq renews his five-year contract, with an annual salary of 40 million euros, an increase of 10% every year!

Vasquis renews his five-year contract with an annual salary of 8 million euros!

Batista renews his five-year contract with an annual salary of 6 million euros!

Gonzaro renews his five-year contract with an annual salary of 4 million euros!

Rivero renewed the new contract for the first five years, with an annual salary of 7.75 million euros!

Although not everyone received the reward of a raise, the atmosphere in Barcelona has changed. Everyone worked harder in training and had a high fighting will. Everyone clearly understood that by contributing more to the team, they could get higher salary, which gave the players more hope.

However, the highest salary record in the world's world football renewal and Barcelona's series of actions have caused the media to discuss...

"Although Shaq's performance of scoring 157 goals last season was indeed the world's number one, is it really necessary for Barcelona to give an annual after-tax salary of 40 million euros?"

"Shaq and Barcelona have four years of contract, and his salary has been as high as 34.5 million euros, and no other teams come to poach. We can't see that Barcelona has to rush to leave this king of football!"

"This season, Shaq has scored 20 goals in 10 games, although this is still the level of the king of football. However, its efficiency has declined compared to last season. Is it an unprecedented high salary to give Shaq an unprecedented high salary at this time to stimulate Shaq's goal**?"

"Vasquis finally won a world-class salary for himself with his world-class performance last season. He has already achieved excellent performances of 8 goals and 8 assists in 9 games this season. Barcelona should indeed leave the flag of his team's future at all costs."

"Rivero and Batista, the central defender combination, became Barcelona's iron wall last season. They have indeed become world-class central defenders. There is no more stable and better defensive player in Barcelona's team now. Considering the age of this pair, Barcelona's defense will never have any major loopholes in the next five years, which will become the foundation for the team's stable performance."

"Gonzaro's ability is underestimated, Barcelona has taken remedial measures. The right-back produced by La Macia's youth training camp will replace Rafael as Barcelona's thrust on the right."

Spanish media are hotly discussing Barcelona's collective salary increase incident. Barcelona fans didn't think so, they felt that these things were still within an acceptable range.

Shaq's contribution to the team last season is obvious to all. Without Shaq, there would never be the "triple-champion" of last season, and it would not be as good as the current "five-champion". The annual salary of 40 million euros is indeed quite high, but since the club can give such a high annual salary, it is enough to prove that the club's finances can afford it. It would be even better if Shaq could score a few more goals. However, if Shaq could play his role on the court and ensure that the team wins, it doesn't matter.

Vasquis has proved his name as a "genius". It is understandable to get a significant salary increase. Although it has not been long since he won the last contract, but... after all, he is his own person, so he should have a high salary!

As for Rivero and Batista... this pair of central defenders is really the best pair of central defenders in Barcelona's history. The previous dream team, and even Guardiola's cosmic team, have not solved the team's defensive problems well. Although these two are outsiders, they have indeed made Barcelona more perfect, and it is reasonable to give high salaries!

What satisfies Barcelona fans the most is Gonzaro's salary increase. The little man who has just been transferred from Barcelona's B team to the first team this season is an absolute small man. His height of 1.62 meters is very short among normal people. But he can still become a professional player and play so well. This is completely an inspirational idol!

Gonzaro's sudden rise really surprised Barcelona fans. Fans who knew Gonzaro's previous performance in Team B could see that this little man's progress is too great. His rapid attack support on the right and his active fighting while defending are enough to prove that Gonzaro is indeed giving everything to the team.

When Barcelona welcomed their sixth round of La Liga rival Hercules at home, Simon Grayson was asked a sharp question by reporters at the pre-match press conference...

"Simon, Shaq's latest annual salary is another record, but his performance this season is not as good as last season. We all know that you are hosting the team's transfers and contract renewal work. Do you think giving your own lineman such an amazing high salary will cause unnecessary misunderstandings and troubles?"

Simon Grayson sneered: "This journalist friend, I want to know what you think the standard for a salary increase should be?"

"Uh... this one should at least perform better than last season, right?"

Simon Grayson smiled contemptuously: "How did you know Shaq's performance was not as good as last season? Just a simple look at the number of goals? Oh, okay, I forgive your ignorance, but I think I need to explain it so that others will not be misled by you!"

After pausing, Simon Grayson swept the reporters present and said slowly: "For a center, the number of goals and assists are very important standards. However, although the team's formation has not changed much this season, the tactics have made considerable adjustments. Shaq's goal efficiency this season has indeed declined, but you should see that Shaq has sacrificed for the team's tactics. This season, 11 players have scored goals in the official game, and the team's offense has become more points and diversified. Do you think this is not the improvement of the team? Isn't Shaq's role?"

These reporters are all sensible people who deal with football all day long. Although Simon Grayson's words meant to defend Shaq, they are also telling the facts. Whether a player has a tactical inclination, his performance on the court is definitely two different.

But before Simon Grayson finished speaking, he stared at the reporter who asked the question: "Finally, I'll remind you. Oh, I don't know your name yet, and I don't need to know. I just want to advise you not to try to doubt the greatest player in the world. Shaq just hasn't tried hard yet. We have a lot of games to play and a lot of champions to compete for. Shaq's condition is completely fine. And he is also very smart to adjust himself and leave his best condition behind. But... Since you doubt his goal-scoring ability, I'll let him score a few more goals in tomorrow's game! This is not difficult!"

After saying that, Simon Grayson got up and left. What did he think about those reporters? Now the "brutal Simon" has long been the world's number one coach, so he can ignore these reporters. But these reporters will definitely continue to stick to them shamelessly.

Simon Grayson is also very sure of Shaq's more goals in the next game. Barcelona plays against Hercules at home. It was originally a game without suspense. The strength of the two teams is not at the same level. Moreover, Barcelona is playing at home. When the game is over, he just needs to adjust the team's offensive direction and leave more opportunities to Shaq.

At 20:01 on October 6th, the match between Barcelona and Hercules was only 1 minute since the start of the Camp Nou Stadium... Shaq scored!

At the beginning of the game, Barcelona, ​​who served the ball first, passed the ball to the rear, and then Alaba passed the ball to Matthews Mueller. The German young player passed it back and forth with Shaq twice, allowing Shaq to drive the ball into the penalty area on the left side of the Hercules. With a "bang", Shaq directly shot low and kicked the ball into the lower right corner of the goal.

Camp Nou stadium was cheering, and Barcelona fans were excited to yell Shaq's name. They found that scoring a goal was really instinct for Shaq, and it was very difficult for others. It became so easy to get to Shaq!

After scoring the goal, Shaq was not idle either. He ran to the camera and opened the jersey on his chest, and another sentence appeared inside...Silke, bring your face over!

Silk, the name of the reporter who made things difficult for Simon Grayson at the press conference, was a young reporter from a small sports magazine in Madrid.

Of course, Shaq's slap in the face was not that simple. He received a cross from the left by Alaba from the top of the penalty area in 6 minutes. He roared with a "Shaq goal" on his left foot and threw the ball into the upper left corner of the Hercules goal... 2:0!

In the 20th minute, Shaq received a straight pass from Matthews Mueller and dribbled the ball from the right frontcourt diagonally. He shook the opponent with a pendulum-like pass all the way so that the opponent did not dare to make a foot easily. Finally, he pulled the ball into the left goal of the Hercules at the left side of the free throw point...3:0!

The sentence "Silke, bring your face over" appeared in total five times in the game!

Shaq completed the big four in 36 minutes, and scored another goal in the second half to lock the score at 8:0!

In addition to Shaq scored five goals alone, Rivero, Matthews Muller, and Alaba also scored goals, and the players introduced by Simon Grayson took charge of eight goals in the game!

Everyone was smiling after the game. Barcelona stars could already foresee the face of the reporter named Silk. Do you think you can't doubt who you can't? Do you have to doubt Shaq?

A strong character like "Godfather" Cruyff had to bow his head in front of Shaq. In summer, he had to praise Shaq on his Twitter. It was a disguised apology and surrender. You little reporter dared to blow up the thorn!?

Besides, Shaq's reduction in goals this season is indeed the result of the team's tactical changes. This does not mean that Shaq's goal ability has declined. Instead, it means that he has made greater contributions to the team. The greatest player in the history of world football, a king of football who targets goals that surpass Pele, can't even touch it, otherwise... I'll wait to be slapped in the face! (To be continued...)
Chapter completed!