The biggest impact on Gao Xiaodong's contract renewal is actually the fans.

Before Gao Xiaodong's contract was renewed, Manchester United fans were nervous, fearing that Gao Xiaodong would stage a play in Inter, while fans of other teams were looking forward to their home team winning Gao Xiaodong and bringing the team's strength to a higher level.

Gao Xiaodong has not been in Manchester United for a long time, but in fact, he has become a core player of Manchester United.

After Gao Xiaodong's contract was renewed, Manchester United fans were very excited, and two or three thousand die-hard fans poured around the Carrington training base the next day, just to say thank Gao Xiaodong for staying.

After Gao Xiaodong's contract was renewed, Manchester United had no worries, and the focus of his work shifted to the FA Cup match, which came first.

Although Manchester United's opponent in the FA Cup final is the underdog Stoke City, even if Manchester United is not in good form, they should be able to win the game, but Stoke City has finally reached the FA Cup final after a knockout stage, and anything can happen in a decisive final.

It's no wonder that Ferguson is so cautious, this season's League Cup, the favorite in the final is Arsenal, but in the end it was Birmingham who upset Arsenal to win the championship, if Manchester United is also upset by Stoke City, it may have a negative impact on Manchester United competing for the next two titles.

Before the game, Manchester United coach Alex Ferguson finally stopped hiding his ambitions, he told Manchester United fans around the world at a press conference: starting from the FA Cup, Manchester United will fire the first shot to fight for the treble, the victory of this FA Cup final is crucial to Manchester United's success or failure this season, but in the FA Cup final such a decisive game, anything can happen, although Stoke City is not a giant, but in such a game, they are more difficult to deal with than the giants, because their motivation to win the championship is certainly stronger than all the giants。 ”

Ferguson was very serious at the press conference, not a superficial compliment, in fact Ferguson thought so, and he was by no means overthinking.

Stoke City is a weak team, the total value of their main squad is only 30 million pounds, and the introduction of Jones for 8 million pounds this season is already a club record, and Gao Xiaodong alone is worth more than the entire Stoke City team.

But that's not to say that Stoke City don't intend to pull teeth out of Manchester United's jaws.

Stoke City were relegated from the English top flight in 1985 and did not return to the Premier League until 2009. In FA Cup history, Stoke City reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup three times, in 1899, 1971 and 1972, but all of them were defeated, and the last time Stoke City reached the final was 148 years ago.

Obviously, for Stoke City, the FA Cup final is the most important game in their history, and this FA Cup title is the dream of Stoke City people for 100 years.

Ahead of the FA Cup final, Stoke City manager Pulis also used Birmingham's example to inspire his players and fans.

"It's a battle of great quality, no one thought before the game that we would reach the FA Cup final, and now there is certainly no one who is optimistic about us winning the title, Manchester United is definitely the favourite, maybe our hope of winning the title is not as big as buying a lottery ticket, but we can't underestimate ourselves, if we lose confidence, we don't even have the last hope. ”

'Birmingham's Carabao Cup win over Arsenal has always inspired me and he made me believe in miracles and I hope not only me, but all Stoke people should watch this game and everyone should believe in miracles and put all their energy into it. ”

Although United are not a big club with the FA Cup in mind, they have reached the final against Stoke City, and the players have expressed their determination to win the title.

"The FA Cup is the least difficult of the three titles, and if we can't even win the FA Cup, how can we qualify for the treble. ”

Manchester United's homegrown superstar Wayne Rooney said that he was arrogant and didn't take Stoke City to heart.

'It's been seven years since we've won the FA Cup, so it's undignified for Manchester United and it's a great opportunity and we can't afford to let it go. ”

Rio Ferdinand is domineering, and in fact he has been unhappy with Alex Ferguson's strategy of abandoning the FA Cup in recent years, believing that as a Premier League giant, he should win every competition.

Gao Xiaodong renewed his contract with the world's highest salary, and he was in a good mood, and he also took the opportunity to express his allegiance to the club before the game, "This is my first final at Manchester United, I hope to have a good result, winning the title for Manchester United has been my dream since I was a child, and now my dream will soon come true." ”

In the FA Cup, Stoke City played Manchester United, and public opinion was almost all optimistic about Manchester United winning the championship, and the odds were also one-sided.

However, after Stoke City repeatedly defeated strong opponents to advance to the final, the players were full of confidence and fighting spirit, and they were not afraid to face such a strong opponent as Manchester United, and the biggest player in the team, Pennant, turned out to be a Liverpool player, and he had a deep hostility towards Manchester United, and he threatened to stop Manchester United before the game and destroy Manchester United's dream of a treble.

'Manchester United are the best team in world football, they could win the treble again, but we are also the best team in the FA Cup, and I believe we can beat Manchester United and win the FA Cup, just like Birmingham, although it would be a bit cruel to break the dream of a treble, but I think it's the best way for the fans to remember us. ”

Another well-known player for Stoke City is defender Hut, a former Chelsea player who also has little affection for Manchester United.

"Stoke City are on the underdogs, Manchester United are much better than us, but we have the same chances, there are a lot of games in football where we are weak and strong, and we are not favored to reach the final, but we managed to reach the final. ”

The final was held at Wembley Stadium at 15 p.m. local time on May 14, and the battle had not yet begun, but the competition between the two sides outside the field had already begun.

Originally, Stoke City manager Pulis had booked the Grove Hotel in Hertfordshire, but when he was about to pay, he found that the five-star hotel had been chartered in advance by Manchester United.

Stoke City were so annoyed that they had to choose another five-star hotel in Bettfordshire, the Luton Hotel, which was 30 miles from the new Wembley Stadium and 18 miles from The Grove Hotel, so it could be said that Stoke City had lost before the game began.