Free Web NovelFortunately, there were no direct clashes between Chelsea fans and Leeds fans.
Chelsea supporters quietly swallowed their frustration and began leaving the stadium.
But the thousands of Leeds fans inside Elland Road stormed the pitch all at once, sending the Premier League officials—who had been preparing the trophy ceremony—into a state of emergency.
Fans were sprinting across the grass, some even climbing dangerously onto the crossbar and shaking their bodies atop it.
Police formed a human chain to buy time so that the players could retreat safely into the locker room.
“Congratulations, Charlie. Your first Premier League title.”
Roman looked disappointed but not bitter.
He and I stood, shook hands, and exchanged a brief embrace.
“As the loser, I will take my leave. Enjoy the ceremony and celebrations.”
Roman and the Chelsea executives departed their seats. As soon as they left, a loud shout erupted beside me.
“Hey! Hey! We won! We won!!”
Myeongsu—who had been alone savoring his joy—wrapped his arm around my neck from behind, bouncing wildly.
Seeing him jump and shout with such giddy happiness made me laugh as well.
“Yeah. It’s the title. I never imagined we’d actually lift the trophy. Guess a storied club really is a storied club.”
No matter how much money you pour in to sign good players, if a club lacks a proper system, it takes ages just to build a foundation.
But the executives who led Leeds’ golden era, Hiddink, and the coaching staff he brought in had managed to win the league in such a short time.
The upper management ran the club peacefully without internal noise, while Hiddink united the players as one.
He terminated the contracts of problematic players, brought in young blood from the youth team, and then filled immediate gaps with signings from the transfer market.
Even then, with how recently Hiddink had taken charge, the squad still felt thin.
I should talk with him and fix that during the transfer window.
“For now, let’s head down too.”
Security and police were pushing pitch-invading fans back into the stands.
The locker room entrance was completely sealed, both goalposts had been destroyed, and several people were already injured.
It would take a long time to calm this level of hysteria. freewёbnoνel.com
“This is real madness. You think it’s safe for us to go down?”
“You want to see the players, right? Let’s stop by the locker room first.”
“Hell yeah!!”
As if he had never been worried, Myeongsu whooped with joy.
“They’re probably popping champagne like crazy right now.”
“I know, I saw videos. I can’t believe I’m actually going to see it in person—dancing, spraying champagne everywhere, sliding across the floor on their stomachs...”
That was when Leeds United’s executives came up to me.
“President Allen. Thank you for your hard work.”
“It’s all thanks to Charlie. Because you trusted us and gave us full authority, we were able to achieve this.”
“You’re pretty good at flattering, Allen. Anyway, let’s go down to the locker room. We need to see the players. And of course the coaching staff—they’re the true unsung heroes, aren’t they?”
“Exactly. [N O V E L I G H T] It took every one of them to get us here. No matter how good the players are, without the coaches’ work, we wouldn’t have achieved this.”
Leaving the VIP box, I continued talking with Allen as we headed toward the locker rooms.
“How are you planning to pay out the title bonuses? The players have clauses in their contracts, so of course they’ll get theirs. But what about the coaches? Excluding the manager, do they have anything in their contracts?”
“Nothing specific written. Honestly, we didn’t expect to win... We’ll probably have to hold a board meeting to discuss it.”
Everything requires proper compensation. That’s what gives people belonging and motivation.
While I was considering how much compensation would be appropriate, Ailee ran up and joined us.
Her wide bright smile made her presence obvious. I introduced her to Myeongsu.
“Oh, Myeongsu. She’s the girlfriend of our executive here.”
“Oh? Really?”
Myeongsu greeted her warmly.
“Hello, I’m Park Myeongsu. This guy—James—and I are close enough to call each other hyung and dongsaeng. I never knew James had such a gorgeous girlfriend.”
At the word “girlfriend,” Ailee’s cheeks flushed faintly.
It must have felt more embarrassing with Allen right beside her.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Ailee.”
“I’ve never been jealous of James before, but today I kinda am.”
Myeongsu shamelessly showered her with praise.
Leaving her with him, I resumed my conversation with Allen.
“And the executives’ bonuses?”
“Nothing set there either.”
“Really? That’s surprising.”
“They all joined management because they wanted the team to succeed. They’re not the type to nitpick terms in contracts.”
“So they only care about the team. They’d probably have worked unpaid, huh?”
“That’s... maybe...”
When I teased him, Allen scratched his head awkwardly.
“Haha, I’m joking.”
He was too serious—teasing him was easy. Very similar to Manager Ma.
As we neared the locker room, we began hearing shouting and roaring.
“Ooooooh!!! Oooooooh!!!”
“Hiddink! Hiddink!! Wooaaaaah!!”
When we arrived, the place was pure chaos.
The floor was soaked with exploded champagne, and players were rolling around in it, expressing their joy with their whole bodies.
“Great work, everyone. For our team to win the Premier League title—this is an unbelievably joyous day.”
Allen gave a speech on behalf of the executives.
“Allen! Allen! Allen!!”
The players chanted his name. I looked around.
I didn’t see Ronaldo.
“But what about Ronaldo? Is the injury serious? I don’t see him.”
“He’s in the medical room. He probably needs to go to the hospital, but he insisted on holding the trophy before leaving.”
Hiddink answered me with a troubled expression.
He looked weighed down—naturally, since he handled player management.
“How bad is it? What did the medical staff say?”
“They say they won’t know until proper tests, but it seems like his previous injury flared up again. Around the knee.”
“Hmm... if it’s serious, will that affect our roster?”
“We’ll have to sign players this window, definitely. As for the details...”
Trailing off, Hiddink glanced at the celebrating players.
The mention of Ronaldo’s injury cast a shadow over their festivities.
Seeing that, I quickly changed the topic.
“Everyone, thank you for your hard work. Because each of you gave your all, we were able to lift the trophy. Some of you may know me, some may not—but I am the owner of this club. And celebrations should be...”
I let my sentence fade intentionally. The players turned their full attention to me.
“Less talk, more money—right? You all have title bonus clauses in your contracts. On top of that, I will personally give each of you an additional 100,000 pounds. This goes to every player registered in the first team—not only the starters.”
“Woooooooaaah!!”
Money really is the best speech. Their reaction was louder than when Allen spoke.
I looked at Hiddink and the coaching staff beside him and continued:
“The coaching staff will each receive 100,000 pounds as well. Thank you for all your work this season.”
Hearing that they too would get bonuses, the coaches erupted in cheers.
“Charlie! Charlie! Charlie!”
Everyone in the locker room chanted my name.
Then a Premier League official entered.
“It’s time for the trophy ceremony. Please wash up and put on your uniforms.”
The players headed toward the showers. I turned to Myeongsu, who was getting Hiddink’s autograph.
“Let’s go. Time to watch the celebration.”
“Oh—uh—okay. But I didn’t get the players’ signatures yet...”
He looked wistfully toward the showers.
At work he was sharp and reliable, but moments like this made him look like any other young guy his age.
Smirking, I patted his shoulder.
“Your friend is the Leeds owner, remember? I’ll get you a jersey with every player’s signature later.”
“Really? Damn—this is why I’m proud to call you my friend.”
Turning to Allen, I said:
“Please prepare a jersey with signatures from the entire first team. Can you do that?”
“Yes. Of course.”
“Good. We’re flying out in three days, so please have it ready before then. Let’s head out now. The players and coaches need to get ready.”
We exited the locker room, then walked through the tunnel out to the pitch.
The fans who had rushed in earlier were now back in their seats, and Premier League officials were preparing the stage.
The camera panned over me, Myeongsu, and the executives.
“Whoa!! Allen! Allen!”
“Charlie! Charlie!”
The players began chanting for me and Allen.
Some even edited my name into their chant melodies.
I waved at them.
Then a man with a microphone ran toward me.
“You’re the owner, right? Please say a few words to the fans.”
I looked helplessly at Allen, but he smiled and pushed me forward.
Fine. Enjoy it. When else would I experience this kind of positive spotlight?
I took the mic and stepped to the center of the pitch.
“Charlie! Charlie! Charlie! Charlie!”
Their chanting got even louder. I raised my hand to quiet them.
Immediately, as if by magic, the stadium fell still.
“Ah, ah. Can you hear me? This is Charlie.”
“Woooooooaaaaah!!!”
Smiling at the renewed roar, I spoke:
“When I bought this club, someone told me this: You can’t buy trophies with money. I’m sure most of you felt the same. The British football world and the media mocked us back then.”
‘You can’t buy trophies with money. You can’t buy history with money.’
Those were the words of Manchester United’s manager Alex Ferguson, the rival who criticized us publicly.
The criticism we faced at the time was overwhelming.
Murdoch was the only one who wrote friendly articles—everyone else cursed that foreign capital was corrupting the Premier League.
Even the fans who now cheer for me had once opposed me and doubted me.
“I know you all looked at us with suspicion. Back then, I made you a promise: that I’d make sure you could support this team without a single worry. And I’m still working to keep that promise. I still think it isn’t enough. Our goal is to build a new home stadium—and turn the entire area around it into a landmark dedicated to football lovers.”
“WAAAAAAAH!!!”
The fans who once doubted us now showed us boundless trust and love.
Repaying them wasn’t hard.
“Leeds is a club with a long history. A team that has survived with you for over a hundred years—yet incompetent owners nearly pushed it into bankruptcy. Now we will end that cycle. No matter the cost, I will make this club one of the greatest in Europe. As fans, all you need to do is cheer proudly. Thank you.”
I finished and waved to the crowd.
Fans chanted my name loudly enough to shake the stadium. Smiling, I walked back toward the executives.
As I exited the pitch, the fans stopped chanting and began applauding instead.
“That was a great speech.”
Allen told me. I simply smiled.
“Damn, Kim Muhyuk. Not bad. You’d make a good politician.”
Myeongsu teased. I was chatting with him when the players returned to the pitch.
Thankfully, Ronaldo was among them—barely able to walk, supported by a teammate.
They received their medals, the ceremony ended, and the players began greeting the fans.
After watching for a bit, I told Myeongsu:
“Let’s head back to the hotel and rest while we watch the rest of the celebrations.”
I turned my body to lead him out.
But suddenly, the players sprinted toward us.
Before I could react, they grabbed me and tossed me into the air.
My body rose again and again, thrown skyward in celebration. I heard them shouting my name joyfully.
A warm feeling of satisfaction washed over me.
This wasn’t bad at all.
I let myself sink into the atmosphere, fully enjoying their cheers.
