Emperor of Football: Julien De Rocca

On the pitch.

The England U21 players were truly at a loss when it came to dealing with Julien.

Defending him one-on-one without fouling was virtually impossible, but double-teaming him would leave vast spaces for Griezmann and others to exploit.

Fortunately, this was just a friendly match.

After taking the lead, Érick Mombaerts quickly made substitutions, bringing off Coquelin, Griezmann, and Lacazette to give other players a chance.

After all, friendlies weren't about scores and victories.

The substitutes were clearly not on the same level as Griezmann and Lacazette. Despite Julien creating multiple opportunities through his dribbling, his teammates in the middle failed to capitalize on the chances.

Eventually, with France U21 deliberately allowing gaps in their defense, Sterling scored twice.

England U21 and France U21 shook hands on a draw.

Friendlies weren't all about blood and sweat.

After the final whistle, familiar players from both teams exchanged pleasantries.

Henderson and Sterling both wanted to chat with Julien, but he barely understood English—he knew just a few common phrases. Although he had joined Chelsea once, Julien hadn't been in the right mindset to learn the language back then.

Coquelin had to help translate.

Suddenly, the crowd stirred as Wenger strode onto the pitch with obvious purpose, greeting both coaches and several players before finally approaching Julien.

The France U21 players watched this scene with envy, their hearts were sour as lemons.

Clearly, Julien's brief half-hour performance had caught Wenger's attention.

Warm French words rang out on English soil.

"We meet again, Julien. We saw each other in Lille, but then you went to Chelsea."

Wenger's voice was quite gentle.

Julien looked up at the tall man before him, peering through his glasses into eyes that were deep and clear, far from the clouded gaze typical of other 62-year-olds.

This wasn't Julien's first-time seeing Wenger.

It was his first time seeing Wenger.

Different from how he appeared on screen, the six-foot-three body standing in front of him was imposing. It was difficult to reconcile that scholarly, refined temperament with such an athletic build.

Yet Wenger embodied both perfectly.

"I'm sorry, but Chelsea offered more money. At that time, my family needed the funds, my younger siblings needed to attend school," Julien explained, getting to the heart of the matter.

Chelsea had made the highest offer at the time.

Even now, though Chelsea had released him, they were still paying for his siblings' education in Paris. Chelsea had promised to see them through their studies.

Wenger sighed inwardly. Over the years, Arsenal's recruitment had relied heavily on his personal charisma and finding young talents. Financially, he couldn't promise Julien much.

Arsenal's debts were shouldered by the six-foot-three manager himself.

Seeing that the other France U21 players were ready to leave, Wenger knew he couldn't delay Julien much longer. He got straight to the point. "You turned down Arsenal once before. Would you still be interested in joining us? Perhaps we could bring you here in the summer window, you could play in the Premier League."

Though Julien had anticipated Wenger's purpose, hearing it directly still made his heart race involuntarily.

Arsenal and Wenger—such a combination was irresistible to any player.

But Julien shook his head.

Looking directly into Wenger's eyes, he said, "I'm not considering transfers at the moment. Bastia gave me a chance when I was at rock bottom. I want to help the team achieve promotion before I think about my own future. I can't give you an answer right now. I'm sorry."

"No need to apologize. You're a good kid. Go and work hard to achieve your goals. Arsenal's doors will always be open to you. When you're ready to leave Corsica, to leave France, come find me anytime."

Having thoroughly researched Julien's recent history before approaching him, Wenger understood that Bastia had indeed been his salvation.

He pulled out a business card from his jacket and handed it to Julien. "My private number."

Julien accepted it with a nod.

Wenger smiled warmly. "Go join your teammates now. Don't keep them waiting."

"Alright. Goodbye, Mr. Wenger!"

"Goodbye, Julien."

As Julien was about to leave, Wenger added, "You played well today."

Julien smiled and waved at Wenger before turning to catch up with his teammates. They were about to pack up and return to Paris.

When Julien rejoined the group, Griezmann, Varane, and other teammates rushed over.

"Hey, hey, hey! What did Wenger tell you? Did he want you to join Arsenal?"

"Tell us everything! God, Wenger actually noticed you!"

Julien didn't hide anything.

"Yes, Professor wants me to transfer to Arsenal in the summer window."

"Did you agree?" Varane asked anxiously. He had been hoping Julien might transfer to Real Madrid so they could play together as teammates.

With Zidane speaking so highly of Julien, Varane truly believed Julien would join Real Madrid too.

Julien shook his head.

Varane breathed a sigh of relief.

However, Julien's next words made him tense again: "I haven't decided yet. Perhaps after I help Bastia reach Ligue 1, I'll make my decision."

The other players envied Julien—this was clearly a career about to take flight.

At seventeen, he was already in France U21 and had received an invitation from Wenger.

The future looked bright!

Varane quietly made a decision: when he returned to Madrid, he would talk to Zidane about signing Julien to Real Madrid.

He wanted to play alongside Julien in Madrid.

The France U21 squad boarded their flight to Paris at six in the evening.

On the plane, the players were tired and drowsy.

Only Julien remained alert.

He reflected on Wenger's words, but felt no regret about turning down Wenger a second time.

He had a clear assessment of his own abilities. Going to a top league—he wasn't quite ready yet. What he needed most now was match experience.

Moreover, at a club like Arsenal, he would face enormous pressure, and he certainly wouldn't receive the tactical focus he enjoyed at Bastia.

There were too many examples of small-club stars becoming bench warmers at big clubs.

He would join a major club, but only when he was good enough to be a guaranteed starter.

Julien gazed out at the golden-tinged clouds. His thoughts drifted.

The next day.

While France U21 was preparing for another friendly, Mombaerts suddenly announced news, the match against Lithuania U21 in two days was canceled.

"From now until March 10th, everyone will train at the base. No matches. You can move freely within Clairefontaine, but I don't want to see anyone leaving for any destination. Understood?"

"Understood!"

Julien watched Griezmann shouting enthusiastically beside him, remembering how Griezmann would later be punished by the French Football Federation banned from all France national team levels for 13 months for leaving the training camp to party at nightclubs.

That incident would directly lead to Érick Mombaerts' dismissal.

However, now that he was here, that incident would likely never happen.

U21 training was generally relaxed in general.

After each day's team training, Julien would quietly do extra practice on his own.

The more matches he played, the more he realized his current attributes were far from sufficient.

On the 8th, Julien had dinner with Mbappé.

Mbappé had clearly come to regard Julien as a close friend.

After dinner, he brought Julien to his dormitory.

The walls were covered with posters of Real Madrid stars, most of them featuring Cristiano Ronaldo.

CR7.

"So, this is your favorite team?" Julien asked, looking at the posters.

"Yes! My goal is to play for Real Madrid someday! It's the best club!" Mbappé said proudly.

But then something seem to happen to him, and his enthusiasm deflated.

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