After instructing Schulze, Zhou Yi didn't dwell on the matter.

With the season approaching and his recent outstanding performance, many clubs were now interested in him. Bayern Munich was just one of them. There was nothing to get excited about.

It would be strange if no teams were interested in him.

But just as Zhou Yi was preparing with the team for the upcoming league match against Hoffenheim, German media suddenly broke a transfer rumor: "Bayern Munich Contacts Zhou Yi's Agent in Secret, Will the Dortmund Core Change Allegiance?"

"...Our reporters photographed Bayern Munich's sporting director, Sammer, shaking hands with a man outside a restaurant in Dortmund. The man shaking hands with Sammer is named Tino Schulze, who is Zhou Yi's agent. There have been rumors that Bayern Munich is preparing to counterattack Dortmund off the field, and it seems this is Bayern Munich's counterattack, a very 'Bayern Munich-esque' tactic..."

"...Last season, Bayern Munich chose to activate the release clause to poach Gotze. It seems Bayern Munich is going to repeat their old tricks this season! But it must be said that although Bayern Munich's trick is annoying, it is almost invincible. In the entire Bundesliga, no club can withstand Bayern Munich's powerful financial offensive... Not even Dortmund..."

"It is said that Bayern Munich has made a huge investment this time, offering Zhou Yi a contract that is almost impossible to refuse. As long as they can get the player's consent, they can let go and bid for him from Dortmund... The only question is whether Dortmund is willing to sell their core player again. However, according to Dortmund's tradition, as long as the money is enough, there is no core that cannot be sold... If Bayern Munich wants to bring Zhou Yi from Westfalenstadion to Allianz Arena, they will definitely have to bleed heavily this time... But if they can really do it, then for Bayern Munich, apart from the expensive price, Zhou Yi is definitely a perfect signing..."

"If Zhou Yi is really poached by Bayern Munich, it will definitely be a loss for Dortmund, and I think it will also be a loss for the Bundesliga. Bayern Munich's monopoly must be curbed. Otherwise, all the best players in the Bundesliga will be concentrated in one club, which will damage the Bundesliga's competitiveness in the European arena..."

"I hope Dortmund can withstand the pressure and not succumb to Bayern Munich's financial offensive. If you want to compete with Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga for a long time, you can't always kneel down when you see money... I also hope that Zhou Yi can rationally consider the contract Bayern Munich has offered him. No matter what conditions Bayern Munich offers, he must realize that going from Dortmund to Bayern Munich is almost meaningless to him. Bayern Munich can promise him nothing but money. He has already won all other honors in Dortmund..."

This matter was not only reported by one media outlet, but also spread rapidly on the internet, not just in traditional media.

At first, everyone was just reporting that there was such a thing, such a rumor. But later it turned into a discussion about whether Bayern Munich's approach was good or bad, as if Zhou Yi was already nailed down to go to Bayern Munich...

Zhou Yi's personal social media accounts, both inside and outside the "wall" (referencing the Great Firewall of China), were instantly flooded with messages from fans.

The messages were divided into several types: the first type was to ask Zhou Yi to verify the truth of the matter, and most of these messages were from Dortmund fans. Of course, they all hoped it was fake news.

The second type of message was from Bayern Munich fans. The vast majority of Bayern Munich fans still hoped that Zhou Yi could come to Bayern Munich, after all, it could weaken the opponent's strength and greatly increase their own team's strength. They welcomed Zhou Yi to Bayern Munich, as if Zhou Yi had already come to Bayern Munich.

The third type was from fans of various clubs who were joining in the fun, saying that if Zhou Yi wanted to leave Dortmund, please consider the club they supported. Various "xxx club welcomes you" messages filled the comments section.

※※※

Zhou Yi immediately called his agent Schulze when he saw the news. But when he called, he found that the line was busy. He had just hung up for a few seconds when the phone rang, and it was Schulze calling.

"Hey, I just called you and the line was busy..." Schulze said.

"What a coincidence, I called you and the line was busy too," Zhou Yi said.

"This..." Schulze was stunned for a moment, and then realized: "That means we were calling each other at the same time. I wanted to tell you about the media reports..."

"What a coincidence, I was going to ask you about it too. Didn't I tell you to reply to them by phone, not to meet? What I was worried about at the time was this situation, someone would take a picture of you meeting and make a big deal out of it."

"I didn't meet them, this is a photo from when they first contacted me and wanted to talk to you!" Schulze explained quickly.

"That works too..." Zhou Yi was stunned for a moment, then grinned and exclaimed. "This sleight of hand is really good... How did you reply to them?"

"I just said that you refused to transfer to Bayern Munich, and Bayern Munich is never in your options..." Schulze repeated what he had said to Sammer at the time.

"No problem, what did they say?"

"They said that since you are not willing, Bayern Munich will not force it. But they still hope to have the opportunity to cooperate in the future."

"They say one thing and do another..." Zhou Yi grinned. Although he had no evidence, he believed that Bayern Munich was behind this, deliberately leaking information to the media and letting the media hype it up. The purpose?

Of course, to interfere with Dortmund's morale, and his own. If they could make him perform poorly and Dortmund lose the game, then Bayern Munich could reap the benefits.

Zhou Yi had always had this concern, so he told Schulze not to meet with Bayern Munich's people, but to directly reject them by phone.

He never thought that he would still be caught by the other party...

"So what do we do now?" Schulze still wanted to ask Zhou Yi for his opinion.

"It's very simple. They want to spread rumors to interfere with morale, then I'll refute the rumors. I'm not Gotze..." Zhou Yi was not too bothered by Bayern Munich's off-field tactics, because he was upright and not afraid of shadows. He really did not agree to Bayern Munich's offer and refused very simply.

The reason why the incident last year was so big was because Gotze really reached an agreement with Bayern Munich and was really going to Bayern Munich. That was irrefutable and could not be reversed.

But this time it was different...

※※※

After hanging up the phone, Zhou Yi logged into his social media account and began to issue a statement to refute the rumors.

"...Thank you for your concern, I have seen all the enthusiastic invitations from the fans. It seems I am very popular, everyone likes me! Regarding the rumors between me and Bayern Munich, I would like to clarify here: First, Bayern Munich did contact my agent, Mr. Schulze, in private. That photo was taken when they first met. Second, Bayern Munich did want to bring me to the Allianz Arena. Third, I asked my agent to tell them that I will definitely not go to Bayern Munich. These are all things that have already happened."

Zhou Yi posted this short statement on social media both inside and outside the "wall."

He did not deny the contact between Bayern Munich and his agent, which made his subsequent words more credible. If he had denied the meeting from the beginning, then in the face of photographic evidence, everyone would have thought he was lying, and everything he said next would be naturally regarded as a lie.

Zhou Yi generously admitted and was open and honest, which made everyone feel that he was upright, had nothing to hide, and his words were more credible.

At the same time, when refuting the rumors, the way he spoke and the words he used were very decisive and affirmative. He used a lot of words like "indeed" and "definitely" to avoid ambiguity in interpretation and avoid misunderstandings.

By speaking definitively, he left no room for certain people to maneuver.

After Zhou Yi's statement was released, there were countless messages immediately.

Dortmund fans, of course, breathed a sigh of relief, while some Bayern Munich fans were a little unwilling to accept this result because they had been happy for nothing, spreading conspiracy theories in the comments and stirring up trouble, which then sparked a dispute between Dortmund fans and them.

But more people still learned about Zhou Yi's attitude, which was that he would not go to Bayern Munich.

Some people also went to @Bayern Munich's official account, wanting the Bayern Munich official to say something.

But until everyone went to sleep, Bayern Munich's official account did not respond.

What about Zhou Yi? After issuing the statement, he also went offline and went to bed at his usual time.

Bayern Munich wanted to use this trick to interfere with him, but he was not disturbed at all, and even wanted to laugh a little...