Klopp's remarks were brimming with confidence. He knew those words couldn't come from the young players themselves—that would only make them sound arrogantly overconfident.
But coming from him, the manager, delivered in a half-joking tone, they felt perfectly natural.
After all, plenty of truths are told in jest.
English fans immediately launched the vote. Barnett neither took part nor handled any backend operations; he simply monitored everything in real time.
His only task was to watch for any malicious vote manipulation and ensure the fairness and integrity of the poll.
What looked like an ordinary vote would, in reality, have a direct impact on this season's individual awards.
That included Premier League Player of the Season, Young Player of the Season, and the three major association-voted Player of the Season honors.
Fan opinion would inevitably influence the Football Writers' Association, the Professional Footballers' Association, and the League Managers' Association when it came time to cast their ballots.
Moreover, this vote was restricted to fans who had purchased tickets for at least three single Premier League matches. Its credibility was unquestionable. It quickly became known as the Million Vote Poll.
Voting officially began at 8 p.m., with live rankings updated in real time. Before long, five players had surged into the top five, pulling clearly ahead of the rest.
At 8 a.m. the next morning, with twelve hours remaining before the vote closed, Leo Lin opened the leaderboard.
First: Leo Lin (Liverpool) — 22.6%
Second: Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool) — 10.7%
Third: Phil Foden (Manchester City) — 8.7%
Fourth: Marcus Rashford (Manchester United) — 6.9%
Fifth: Davies (Everton) — 5.6%
From sixth place downward, no one had reached even 5%. Many hadn't even broken 3%.
And the gap between first and second was staggering.
Leo Lin stood completely alone at the top, pulling in over 20% of the vote by himself. Fans flooded his comment section, repeating Klopp's words almost verbatim.
"Wasn't this award created just for Lin?"
"Other than Lin, who else could possibly finish first?"
"This list makes everyone else look like actual young prospects. Lin already feels like a fully established star."
The voting frenzy among English football fans was beyond imagination. After forty-eight hours, Sky Sports reported that more than two million English fans had taken part, ultimately selecting the top ten new giants of English football today.
Liverpool's Leo Lin finished first with 27.9%.
Trent Alexander-Arnold placed second with 13.1%, and Manchester City's Phil Foden came third with 12.7%.
The top three alone accounted for over 50% of the votes in a thirty-man shortlist.
The remaining seven in the top ten received a pitiful share by comparison, and the other young players barely registered at all.
The Premier League even commissioned a special individual trophy to commemorate Leo Lin's victory in the poll.
Leo Lin attended the ceremony immediately, posing for photos with the league's chief executive. The BBC arrived on site to film promotional footage. The BBC had provided him tremendous support, and Leo Lin was more than willing to deepen that cooperation.
The Premier League pushed the headline across every platform, posting photos of Leo Lin lifting the trophy and sending his traffic surging once again.
Fans liked and shared in droves. His follower count skyrocketed.
English supporters had originally pinned their hopes on the homegrown superstar Phil Foden. But after bursting onto the scene, Foden discovered that the rival ahead of him was on an entirely different level.
Whether it was strength, dribbling, passing—or even free kicks, which he hadn't yet had time to fully develop—the young man ahead of him always seemed to improve one step faster.
Facing the cameras, Foden felt like shouting:
"I really can't take it anymore. I feel like I've been living in his shadow the whole time!"
When Sky Sports released the award photos across all platforms, they shot straight back to the top of the trending charts.
Fans were ecstatic.
But Leo Lin himself felt little excitement.
He could already feel the weight of expectation pressing down on him—especially from supporters who longed to see him lift even more trophies.
He thought back to the previous day at school. The moment he stepped onto campus, nearly everyone greeted him. And yet, he had no memory of 99% of their faces.
During breaks, he barely dared to look up. Whenever he did, he found himself meeting the blazing stares of the girls in his class, eyes so intense it felt as though they might melt him on the spot.
His desk mate Ocho sat beside him with his legs crossed, a smug grin plastered across his face. He was convinced at least one or two of those glances were meant for him.
Reality, however, was often far more brutal.
On the evening of March 1st, after class, Ocho slung an arm around Leo Lin's shoulders and suggested they go grab some steak.
"Another time. I've got a match tomorrow. I need to stay sharp."
At the school gate, Leo Lin waved goodbye. Ocho's eyes were filled with envy.
He was working hard to earn promotion to the first team, convinced he had what it took.
The match Leo Lin mentioned was the next day's headline clash—the second leg of the Champions League quarterfinal.
On March 2nd, at Anfield, Liverpool would host Juventus. Holding a two-goal advantage from the first leg, their goal was clear: finish the job and reach the Champions League semifinals.
Despite home advantage and momentum on their side, Liverpool knew they would have to give everything to secure a place in the final four.
Pre-match predictions showed Liverpool with 58% support. Fans clearly favored the Premier League powerhouse.
In Sky Sports' pre-match analysis, numerous legends backed Liverpool. Only their longtime rival, Gary Neville, stood firmly with Juventus.
"I'm not speaking from personal bias," Neville said. "From a completely fair and objective standpoint, I believe Juventus can overturn Liverpool and make the semifinals."
Beside him, Steven Gerrard nodded repeatedly, letting out the occasional "Mm-hmm" and "Heh," his expression practically screaming: Let's see you say that with a straight face.
When Neville finished, Gerrard played Liverpool's pre-match hype video.
The footage showed Anfield erupting in thunderous roars. Red smoke billowed across the stands.
From the aerial broadcast angle, the cameras could barely see the pitch through the haze. The entire stadium was swallowed in crimson smoke, with bursts of flame flickering inside it from time to time.
"Neville, don't forget," Gerrard said, "Anfield is the most terrifying home ground in the Premier League."
"Take your nonsense and go home."
Then he looked straight into the camera, a smile curling at the corner of his mouth.
"I just want to tell Juventus—"
"Anfield Inferno."
"Welcome."