I Am Scouted by Real Madrid

And Valverde did not disappoint Kroos’ expectations.

Valverde, as Real Madrid’s new generation of power, has always attracted attention with his performance.

Kroos holds him in high regard, and earlier, many people thought Valverde resembled Chen Zhong.

"He is an excellent player, I really like his style of play. He is hardworking, loves to learn, and knows how to maintain his individuality." In Kroos’ view, Valverde is fully capable of taking on the burden of the number 8 jersey and creating more glory for Real Madrid.

After taking over the number 8 jersey, Valverde quickly became the backbone of the team.

Kroos chose Santiago Bernabeu Stadium for his retirement farewell match, an undoubtedly symbolic location.

In this match, Kroos battled alongside his teammates, offering fans a wonderful game.

After the match ended, the heartfelt embrace between Kroos and Chen Zhong became the focus of the entire field.

At that moment, tears glistened in Chen Zhong’s eyes as he tightly embraced Kroos, as if wanting to pour all his reluctance and blessings into the hug.

Kroos also emotionally said: "Chen is one of the most important people in my career; he gave me countless help and support. And the boss, it’s my greatest honor to serve under him."

This farewell match not only affirmed Kroos’ career but also bore witness to his deep friendship with Chen and Ancelotti.

In summary, Kroos’ retirement is a "beautiful" swift retreat, the only regret being he shouldn’t have participated in the European Cup games, because afterward, he faced a lot of criticism for some matters, adding some blemishes to this otherwise beautiful moment.

Kroos actually consulted Chen Zhong’s advice at the time, which was: "If you want to serve your country, then go ahead!"

Chen Zhong’s path was more difficult than Kroos’. Many countries initially wanted Chen Zhong to represent them, but despite dissatisfaction with the domestic football situation, Chen Zhong resolutely returned home and boldly initiated a "revolution." During this, Chen Zhong faced many "crises," but he overcame them, leading to today’s "prosperity."

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Modric’s situation was different; he wanted to stay, wanted to continue, and even had moments of hope, but ultimately faced rejection.

This was also Real Madrid’s fifth consecutive summer sending away the second team captain; from Ramos in 2021 to Modric in 2025, five second team captains with Champions League trophies were forced to leave over five years.

Chen Zhong couldn’t help but recall Ramos’ tearful scene at the press conference; at that time, Ramos choked up during the conference: "I thought I would retire here."

years of Real Madrid career, yet not exchangeable for a decent retirement?

Chen Zhong knew the inside story; when he first joined Real Madrid, Chen Zhong’s "Buddhist-style" attitude towards salary earned him Florentino’s trust, becoming the highest-paid in the football world, donning the captain’s armband.

Meanwhile, Ramos had already tried other ways to increase his salary.

At the age of 34, without having grown up, he was ultimately abandoned due to salary disputes.

After leaving Real Madrid, his career was not perfect, wandering from Paris Saint-Germain to Sevilla, until completing his 1000th professional match in Monterrey, Mexico in 2024, reminding fans he was once Real Madrid’s defensive cornerstone.

Oh, and Marcelo too!

That guy who proactively spoke to me during the first training match, left Real Madrid in the summer of 2022; together, they won many championships, and at Real Madrid, he became the most historically assisting defender in football.

Marcelo’s departure was due to his "laziness," with honors in hand, his enthusiasm in training visibly declined; if not for Chen Zhong, his departure from Real Madrid might not even have had a proper farewell match.

When Marcelo left, he embraced Chen Zhong, emotionally saying: "Thank you, Chen, I know they originally didn’t plan on holding a farewell ceremony for me."

"But you let me have a proper farewell match."

"Thank you, brother."

The protagonist of 2023 is Benzema, this "Benze Cat" had never fulfilled his potential, even almost facing imprisonment due to extorting teammates over a funny matter in the national team; he went to the Saudi League, joining Jeddah United, where he competed alongside Cristiano Ronaldo.

After losing the "big guy’s" suppression, Benzema also showed his true nature.

He became increasingly unbridled on the field, even becoming a cancer in the dressing room; in his last one or two seasons with Real Madrid, he even attempted to isolate young players with his fellow countrymen in France.

In 2024, it was Nacho’s turn. This "universal patch" who came all the way from the youth academy very quietly left.

A picture of him with trophies at his farewell ceremony topped the trending list, but Real Madrid’s official website only gave a three-line goodbye note.

Time reached now, May 23, 2025, early morning, Real Madrid officially announced Modric’s departure.

Diario AS revealed renewal negotiation details: Modric proactively proposed reducing his annual salary from 8 million Euros to 4 million, accepted playing time less than 30 minutes per match, even willing to forgo Champions League registration.

But Real Madrid executives insisted on "having to make room for Chuameni and Camavinga."

This was not Real Madrid’s first "tough action" against veterans.

When Benzema left in 2023, the club started the "one-year contract policy for players over 30."

At Real Madrid, apart from already being "legendary" like Chen Zhong, who’s even called a "living legend" or "walking legend," other players were basically not essential.

Modric originally, during his renewal in 2023, had already cut his salary by 20%, but this time, even after slashing by 50%, was still rejected.

Compared to Kroos, who gracefully declined the club’s retention and retired early in 2023, Modric’s persistence seemed particularly poignant.

After the departure news was released, Real Madrid’s dressing room collectively "rioted."

Bellingham posted three crying emojis on social media: "I haven’t mastered the outside foot pass you taught me"; Vinicius shared a nine-grid photo of Modric passing to him: "These assists will teach me until I retire"; the most heartbreaking was Kroos, who posted a peak ceremonial midfield photo with the caption "The last one is gone too."

Even Cristiano Ronaldo, far away in Saudi Arabia, posted overnight: "You’re the best midfielder I’ve ever seen besides Chen."

The average age of second captains leaving over the past five years was 34.2 years, while the average age of newbies on the bench was 21.8 years.

In 2025, Real Madrid’s first team salary list showed Bellingham’s 18 million Euro annual salary, 2.25 times Modric’s before leaving, while Chen Zhong’s high salary also became a focus of discussion for many.

Even some grandson of a former Real Madrid president spoke arrogantly with inappropriate remarks, even urging a Chinese broadcaster to sing discriminatory songs, but soon, he faced punishment.

Under the demands of the club, players, and fans, he could only come forward to admit his mistakes and shouted "I love China" loudly before the broadcast.

Even so, Real Madrid club issued a lifetime ban from appearing in Santiago Bernabeu Stadium as a punishment.

This made many Westerners with racial notions realize that the Real Madrid of today is different from the past, filled with black and yellow within the team, and racial notions are untouchable taboos.

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The summer holidays were about to start, and Chen Zhong decided to return to China for vacation; this time, he would watch the China Crown matches, which would be completed during the summer transfer window, like the World Cup, and only the top two in the China Crown qualify to participate in the Asian Champions League.