Florentino: This is the treasure of my family! A gem from the East!

And as soon as the pre-arranged reporters finished the roll call, what followed was the real "battlefield."

The first shot was fired by a reporter from the World Sports Newspaper: "A 12 million Euro annual salary, breaking the record in football. Do you think your performance is worthy of such an extravagant salary?"

Both the World Sports Newspaper and the Daily Sports are newspapers in the Catalonia Region, naturally harboring ill intentions towards Chen Zhong.

They anticipated seeing the captain of Real Madrid, the holder of the number 10 jersey, Chen Zhong, show signs of panic.

However, Chen Zhong merely smiled and then answered methodically, "I'm surprised too."

"That Barcelona thinks 12 million Euros as the top salary in football is considered extravagant."

"To be honest, I greatly admire Messi's performance last season, and I think a salary around 20 million Euros would be reasonable for him."

"But Barcelona isn't even willing to offer 12 million Euros."

"Unlike Real Madrid, who readily gave 12 million Euros to a regular youth training player like me."

Chen Zhong didn't respond to the question from the World Sports Newspaper but instead raised a new issue; he didn't want to fall into a 'self-justification trap' to desperately prove he deserved 12 million Euros.

Instead, he outright stated his belief that in today's 'Monetary Era,' Messi could well match a 20 million Euro salary while subtly mocking Barcelona's poverty and expressing Real Madrid's financial strength.

Some imaginative netizens even commented interestingly online.

Such a response from him left many reporters astonished.

Seriously? Chen Zhong didn't talk like this before!

How did he become...

Sarcastic.

A reporter from the Daily Sports glanced at the person from World Sports with some disappointment, and decisively raised his hand, saying: "Please answer the question directly. Do you think you deserve such a high annual salary of 12 million Euros?"

The 12 million Euro annual salary seemed to become a "blemish" on Chen Zhong.

Since receiving this salary, many have attacked Chen Zhong for it.

Just like when C. Ronaldo created the world's highest transfer fee, many people thought he wasn't worth the price either.

This time Chen Zhong didn't resort to sophistry. He glanced at the Daily Sports reporter and said, "You're from the Daily Sports, right?"

"I noticed the badge on your chest."

"You work for the Daily Sports (Barcelona), no wonder you think 12 million annual salary is extravagant."

Netizens in China: You drive a Mazda, no wonder you're stuck in traffic.

The reporter from the Daily Sports turned a bit red, clearly understanding the subtext of Chen Zhong's words, while other reporters chuckled softly.

Gosh, was the Chen Zhong we interviewed so often before fake?

How come this Chen Zhong now is showing a completely new side?

As the captain of Real Madrid, attending a press conference for the first time, Chen Zhong showed he wasn't to be trifled with.

This made some people have to admit that Florentino was really lucky to have chosen such a person to act as the team's captain.

This kind of sarcastic response, the feeling of being directly hit in your sore spot but having no way to rebut or provide proof...

It's truly maddening.

Seeing both colleagues frustrated, a journalist from China's CCTV thought it was time for them to step in.

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