Emperor of Football: Julien De Rocca

"Congratulations, Julien For Becoming the French Cup's best player, and likely the Ligue 2 best player as well—a double honor."

In the guest lounge of Bastia's training facility.

Elion and Julien stood together by the window, watching Bastia's sunlight illuminate the indoor plants. Both were in good spirits.

After some brief pleasantries, Elion asked, "So you're certain about staying at Bastia?"

Julien nodded. "Yes, it's been my plan all along. If the team could win the French Cup, I'd have no reason to leave."

Elion sighed. "I was hoping you might return to Chelsea."

But then, as if remembering something, he shook his head. "Though I know it would be difficult. The competition at the club is fierce now. Every position has numerous top players competing, and we've bought many new players. Honestly, if you went to Chelsea, there definitely wouldn't be a spot for you."

Elion looked relieved as he turned to Julien. "You staying at Bastia is actually better. Here you have a stage to perform freely, without any pressure from expectations.

If you play well, the fans will be delighted. If you have slight dips in form, the fans here will be more forgiving.

The fans of big clubs are the most demanding—they don't just want to win, they want to win beautifully."

Julien knew he was making a pointed reference, but didn't continue the conversation. Instead, he brought up something that had occurred to him after seeing Elion.

"Uncle Albert."

"What is it?"

"Bastia has secured a Europa League spot for next season, and the club is planning to make a serious push. Bastia once heartbreakingly lost in the UEFA Cup final, missing out on what could have been the club's first European trophy. This time, from Jérôme to Chataigner to Our Coach Hadzibegic, everyone hopes the team will make another run."

Julien shared this decision from Bastia with Elion.

Elion looked at Julien with puzzled eyes.

Julien didn't hide his purpose. "Could you help Chataigner get in touch with Chelsea's transfer department staff? Perhaps we could loan one or two players from Chelsea—players who aren't getting match time but need top-level league and European competition experience."

"Loan Chelsea players?" Elion was genuinely surprised.

He hadn't expected Bastia to set their sights on Chelsea.

"Yes." Julien nodded firmly.

Elion didn't answer immediately.

He thought it over carefully and realized that next season's Bastia would indeed be an excellent platform for developing players.

A Ligue 1 team with Europa League football, currently short-handed and able to offer starting positions.

"Alright, I'll have a chat with Chataigner during your match against Metz. If it's just loaning some of Chelsea's fringe players, I might be able to help."

Elion agreed, then asked, "Since you're asking about this, do you already have players in mind?"

Julien nodded and named five players. "Romelu Lukaku, Kevin De Bruyne, Josh McEachran, Tomas Kalas, and Ulises Dávila."

Actually, he was most interested in the first two; the others were just to make up numbers, though they were still decent players.

If the first two couldn't come, McEachran would be De Bruyne's backup option.

McEachran was being called Lampard's successor at Chelsea.

He wasn't worried about securing the loans.

Chelsea had the nickname "taxi" for a reason—there were too many young talents, with no opportunities in the first team.

They could only loan players all across Europe for development.

Elion smiled. "You already have such a detailed list. You could contact the club directly without going through me."

Julien shook his head. "These are just some connections from my youth team days at Chelsea, players I noticed were pretty good. But for actual negotiations, you need first-team connections."

This was also the explanation he'd given Chataigner.

That these were contacts he'd built during his time at Chelsea.

Elion remembered these names as some were quite impressive players already. "Alright, I've noted them down. I'll talk to Chataigner about how much your club can afford for these loans. You have to understand, Chelsea pays these players weekly wages higher than your average players' monthly salaries. Even on loan, it would be a heavy burden."

"Heh, that's Chataigner's problem."

One day later.

The entire Bastia squad traveled to Metz in northeastern France.

With no pressure from league standings, the players were relaxed. Chataigner even promised that after the afternoon match, they could rest for a night before returning to Bastia.

Metz sits at the confluence of the Moselle and Seille rivers.

Embraced by the two rivers, Metz nurtures three small islands: Petit-Saulcy, Grand-Saulcy, and Chambière.

4 PM.

Stade Saint-Symphorien.

Metz's home stadium, with a capacity of over 20,000, was only about seventy to eighty percent full.

Apart from the die-hard fans' section still chanting, the other casual spectator areas showed little enthusiasm.

This was related to Metz's performance this season.

They'd been losing consistently and currently sitting second-to-last in Ligue 2. They'd basically already secured a relegation spot, so this match held little anticipation for Metz fans.

They'd be playing in the National Championship next season.

Julien sat on the bench. He knew he likely wouldn't get playing time in this match, as the team had rotated almost the entire starting lineup.

Hadzibegic had shifted from wanting to win to evaluating players.

These substitute players also knew that the final four matches were their time to shine.

Whether they could stay for next season and compete in Ligue 1 with the team depended on these few games.

So, they played with extra determination.

Less than twenty minutes in, striker Hazri scored, helping Bastia take the lead.

Metz's attacking ability was indeed mediocre—they managed only one shot in the entire first half.

Julien kept watching Metz's bench, waiting for one person to enter the game.

Sadio Mané.

The current Mané hadn't attracted much attention yet. His market value on Transfermarkt was only 250,000 euros.

However, Julien knew that signing Mané might involve some complications.

He remembered that Red Bull Salzburg had already noticed Mané and would take him to Austria after Metz's relegation.

Now Julien could only hope that Chataigner could use Bastia's advantages—being a Ligue 1 team that Mané would adapt to better, plus the team's European competition plans—to convince Mané.

Of course, the most important factor was the transfer fee.

Julien couldn't remember exactly how much Red Bull Salzburg paid for Mané, but he estimated it was just a few million euros.

Bastia could afford that amount if they stretched their budget.

More importantly, Mané was a quality asset—buying him would be pure profit.

Just like Kanté's situation, he was on the eve of taking off.

As time passed, Julien continued pondering these matters, also thinking about L'Équipe's assessment of the so-called "Metz Duo"—Pjanić and Dauphin.

He reflected again that Pjanić had already joined AS Roma in Serie A, while Dauphin's future remained bleak.

Beep!

The match between Bastia and Metz ended the first half with the whistle.

The visiting Bastia fans were singing and dancing. They had no pressure—these final few rounds were all about relaxation and pure spectating.

When they saw Julien walking toward the tunnel, some Bastia fans called out his name, asking, "Julien, will you come on field?"

Julien shrugged with a slight smile. Then he walked into the tunnel.

In the tunnel, he saw the somewhat shy looking Mane but Julien didn't approach to greet him. When their eyes met, he simply nodded slightly.

Mané responded with a smile. He naturally recognized Julien.

This player who appeared in French football media headlines almost daily was now the darling of all French fans.

Some media had even reported that Blanc's final European Championship squad would include Julien.

This made Mané very envious.

He was two years older than Julien, yet Julien was already famous throughout France with a market value of 30 million euros.

While he wasn't even worth one percent of that.

Mané walked somewhat dejectedly toward the dressing room, where the coach was continuously explaining the second-half tactical arrangements.

Mané sat quietly to one side.

He knew no one would pay attention to what this guy was saying. In his teammates' view, with the team relegated, the coach would definitely be leaving too. Anyone with ability needed to find a good destination.

Otherwise, they'd have to play in the National Championship.

Mané thought about Julien, whom he'd seen in the tunnel. At 17, Julien had led his team to a double crown and would play in Ligue 1 and Europa League, while he, at nearly 20, would have to play in the National Championship.

He shook his head silently. Perhaps this was just the disparity between people.

Soon, The second half continued.

Metz, struggling with their attacking woes, battled for ten minutes before the coach decided to make a substitution.

He replaced the underperforming right winger Ensor with Mané.

As Mané entered the game, Julien's eyes lit up.

Chataigner also focused on this Senegalese forward—the player Julien had recommended.

But he'd looked at Mané's statistics. In 19 Ligue 2 appearances for Metz this season, he had only one goal and no assists, though he'd received four yellow cards for defensive mistakes.

On paper, this didn't look like a good forward.

And this Mané also played on the right wing—wouldn't buying him crowd Julien's position?

So Chataigner now wanted to see Mané's actual ability on the field.

Soon both Chataigner and Julien witnessed Mané's performance.

A very aggressive straight-line acceleration past Bastia's left-back Sansó, leaving him completely beaten.

Whoosh!

The crowd erupted in cheers. They still had high hopes for Mané because his speed and explosive power were genuinely impressive.

Chataigner could see it too.

Mané had excellent physical attributes!

However, Mané's handling after the breakthrough disappointed most people—his cross from the wing went straight into the stands.

Mané waved to his teammates, indicating it was his mistake.

He continued playing.

Through this one play, Chataigner formed his initial impression of Mané: tremendous impact, but poor final ball execution.

Chataigner frowned, wondering whether to buy Mané.

In the subsequent play, Mané basically fit this simple impression—he was just genuinely fast, the complete opposite of Julien.

One relied purely on physical force to break through, the other used technique and rhythm to beat opponents.

Thinking about this very point, Chataigner immediately made his decision—buy!

During the broadcast, the camera focused on Julien on the bench, but apart from routine warm-ups, he showed no signs of entering the game.

This left many fans feeling somewhat disappointed.

At the Sunset Coffee Tavern.

Bertrand looked at the slightly disappointed fans and smiled. "What are you thinking? Julien will still be with the team next season—aren't you afraid of missing games? And you'd better start saving money. Next season the team has Europa League—traveling to away games will cost something."

Hearing Bertrand's words, the fans all laughed.

Someone chimed in, "Right! We must go to Europa League away games next season! I have inside information—the team is preparing for a big Europa League campaign!"

Immediately someone questioned, "Really? With our situation, how could we possibly have money for a Europa League run?"

The skepticism was understandable, because current football fans knew money was crucial.

Squad depth was needed. Otherwise, even the strongest starting eleven would be worn down by competing on multiple fronts.

"Why would I lie to you? My girlfriend works at a bank, and she personally heard Bastia chairman Geronimi go to the bank to apply for a large loan, using the club's assets as collateral."

"What?"

This news stunned everyone—we were playing so big, going all in?!

Instantly, the fans' expressions changed as they began asking questions: "How much is the loan? How much will be available for signings next season?"

These questions had no answers.

Someone shouted, "With Julien here, what's to fear? Julien is a 30-million-euro-class player!"

"I hope the club can still bring in backup for Julien, and give him some help. Relying on just him to break through—I worry about him getting injured every match."

"Yes, speaking of which, after winning the championship, the club website mentioned Julien had some adductor discomfort and wouldn't start in these final few matches."

"Julien cannot get injured."

Bertrand smiled as he listened to the fans' chatter while doing his work—mixing drinks, washing glasses, collecting payment.

He had no regrets left. Bell's wish had been fulfilled.

Julien was the person who helped him complete that wish.

The graffiti on the building next to the Terra-Vecchia center was something Bertrand had arranged.

That phrase was what Bell had once said to a player who refused offers from mainland French clubs and chose to stay at Bastia.

Beep!!

The final whistle sounded on TV.

Bertrand continued his work carefully while thinking to himself—

"Should I also make a batch of pastis?"

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