Chapter 12
After Cristiano hung up the phone, Giggs came over to him and said, "Come on, I'll give you some extra training."
Giggs put his arm around Cristiano's neck without hesitation and pushed the boy towards the training ground. "As Manchester United's No.7, you fall down every time you get tackled. Aren't you afraid of being called a fake?"
Cristiano tilted his head to look at Giggs, said nothing, and just followed Giggs to the training ground.
Giggs felt that the glance just now was as if the little thoughts in his heart were seen through by the boy in front of him.
His face sank. The thing he disliked most about Ronaldo was that the boy didn't look like a new player in the team at all. He always held his head up proudly, chest puffed out, and looked straight at them with his eyes without any fear, as if he didn't know his own limitations.
Neville doesn't like Ronaldo either. These Manchester United veterans are certainly qualified to be more self-reliant. In comparison, Ronaldo is undoubtedly a thorn in the side.
Cristiano knew what was going to happen, but honestly, he also wanted to see how he could perform this time - facing the devilish training of these veterans - at least, he had to do better than in his previous life, he had to let these people see what kind of person Cristiano Ronaldo was.
There was a light in Cristiano's eyes, and he was eager to try.
Neville, Rooney and Van Nistelrooy were all waiting at the training ground. When they saw Cristiano and Giggs approaching, Neville was the first to speak: "You look like a little chicken. You need to practice more, kid."
Cristiano looked at the other party and nodded slightly: "Come on then."
The high-speed and high-intensity confrontation on the court is not only a competition of physical fitness, but also a competition of technology and a psychological contest.
Ferguson would frown worriedly every time he looked at Cristiano's body, even though he knew that improving physical fitness is not something that can be achieved overnight, and the boy is in the period of growing taller, so he should not exercise his muscles excessively or improperly.
But to be honest, Ferguson was frightened every time he saw the boy in pain after being maliciously knocked to the ground.
Of course he would worry about his chosen players getting injured, but he is more worried about the psychological side. Too many players suffer from injuries after a brief appearance. Even if the team doctor declares them fully recovered, they will still be tormented by the painful memory of the injury when they return to the court, causing their movements to deteriorate and the quality of their performance to plummet.
The boy in front of him is bright enough and talented enough. If any problems arise because of this, he will definitely be depressed to death.
Therefore, Ferguson was naturally the first to know about the veterans' sudden private training and acquiesced to it.
The private "extra training" of the Manchester United gang is not so much to help Cristiano quickly learn how to avoid being tackled, but rather to make Cristiano get used to being tackled.
In Cristiano's impression, the extra training in the previous life was a memory of one-sided abuse, but this time it was much better.
Even Neville had to admit that Cristiano was like a smart and cunning little German Shepherd. He was energetic and brave enough to seem ignorant and fearless, but he could not be said to be ignorant - Neville and Van Nistelrooy exchanged glances, and were very sure that their new number seven knew how to protect himself. Of course, this was also related to the fact that they would not kick as fiercely as they did in the game.
Cristiano's shorts were stained green by the tackle. He dared to say that every inch of grass on Manchester United's training ground had been in close contact with him.
Giggs frowned, and when Cristiano fell to the ground and rubbed his calf with his teeth bared, he walked over and stretched out his hand to Cristiano: "Okay, that's enough for the anti-tackling training. Get ready for the next game."
Cristiano grabbed Giggs' hand and used the force to pull himself up. The corners of his eyes were still red due to the intense exercise and pain. He grinned at him: "That's all for today? I think I can continue."
Giggs thought this kid was incredible. Every time he looked like he was about to cry because of being beaten by them, the words he said would make all of them stubborn.
Giggs raised his hand and rubbed Cristiano's curly hair, and was disgusted by the hairspray on his hand: "Why do you put so much hairspray on during training? Also, have a good rest. If you can't perform well in the next game, you can just sit on the bench."
Cristiano thought to himself that Sir Alex would never let him sit on the bench, he was in great shape now!
But of course he wouldn't say that. He just answered the first half of the question: "Don't you know there are always tabloid reporters who like to take pictures of us?"
Giggs: …No, I don’t know.
He has always felt that Manchester United does a good job in privacy.
Only David is occasionally photographed lifting his shorts to reveal his thighs on the court.
Giggs thought, then fell silent.
He glared at Cristiano fiercely and strode away.
Cristiano glanced at the other person's back in confusion, feeling strange.
He brushed off the grass debris on his shorts, nodded slightly to Van Nistelrooy and the others not far away as a greeting, then turned and went back to the locker room. He urgently needed to take a shower and then call Kaka back.
The recent extra training sessions had forced them to postpone the time for their long phone calls, and the extra training sessions also exhausted him, and he often fell asleep in the middle of chatting without even noticing - he doubted that he could not even last five minutes - so that now, he, Cristiano, was very, very short of Kaka.
Cristiano did not tell Kaka about the private "extra training" during this period. He couldn't say why. It might be because he knew very well that the real reason for this so-called "extra training" was not out of good intentions, but in his eyes it didn't matter. As long as he could get better, he didn't mind the methods, but he didn't want to let his lover worry about it.
He knew how intensive the matches and training Kaka had to go through, and it was important for him to know that they were heading to the same destination, and Cristiano had no doubt that this was the bond between them.
However, while he was taking a shower, a piece of news quickly attracted the attention of most people - the big headline: "Manchester United's rising star was tackled and cried! How are top football players made? 》/Subtitle: "The boy crying secretly on the court, the 18-year-old teenager, the pink toy of Manchester United"
The attached photos show Cristiano Ronaldo falling on the court in various ways, with flying grass and dirt, blown-off clothes, a section of lean waist muscles exposed when he fell to the ground, and various expressions, some enduring pain, some grinning.
In every photo, the young star's eyes are shining stubbornly, and his cheekbones and eyelids are red. Anyone would think that the young boy in the photo is trying not to cry.
"Kaka, look at this, is that your little friend? It seems like he's not having a good time at Manchester United." Inzaghi passed the message to Kaka immediately after seeing it.
"The British just like to do this. I've never seen such a training method." Inzaghi said with a click of the tongue. "It's obvious that they don't like Ronaldo. After all, an 18-year-old teenager, I heard that he now has the center ball rights second only to Van Nistelrooy? It's really shocking that Sir Alex Ferguson attaches great importance to this new number seven. Such a guy is really, if it were me, I would have to say that I am a little jealous..."
Inzaghi continued to talk until he was bumped by Shevchenko and then he shut up.
Shevchenko whispered to Kaka: "Doesn't Ronaldo often call you? Didn't he mention this to you?"
"No." Kaka pursed his lips slightly and simply replied without any further words.
"It's probably not as exaggerated as the tabloids say. You know these media like to make up stories," Shevchenko said.
Kaka nodded slightly, held the phone for a while and said, "I'll make a call."
"Go ahead." Shevchenko waved his hand.
Inzaghi looked at the back of their little prince who hurried away. It seemed that even his hair was listless. He shook his head and said, "Look at how nervous he is. If you don't know, you would think that his girlfriend is in trouble. Ha!"
Shevchenko raised his eyebrows: "Girlfriend?"
"Don't they look alike?" Inzaghi asked.
Shevchenko smiled thoughtfully, and the Ukrainian said it was interesting.
Kaka wanted to call immediately, but thinking of the time Chris called recently and the tired voice on the phone, he hesitated again. No wonder he always fell asleep while chatting on the phone during this period. It would be strange if he was not tired after such high-intensity confrontation and training.
He understood what Chris was thinking, but the same thing goes, even though he understood, he would want to kiss the redness at the corners of Chris' eyes, and the bruises on Chris' feet. His heart would always be either sour or sweet because of a change in Chris.
Just as Kaka was thinking about whether to make the call, Cristiano called.
"Hey Kaka!" Cristiano's cheerful and slightly hoarse voice came from the other end of the phone, "We can chat for a while today. I'm already lying in bed!"
Kaka listened to the peaceful voice on the other end of the phone. He thought about it and decided to pretend the news he learned today was an inadvertent secret.
Cristiano smoked Kaka for a full hour with satisfaction, making up for all the missed shares from the previous few days before hanging up the phone.
The next day, he returned to the training ground in high spirits.
His teammates stared at him with strange expressions.
"What are you doing?" Cristiano's hair on the back of his neck stood up because of the stare. He frowned and looked back unwillingly.
"So after the extra training a few days ago, you stayed behind to cry secretly?" Rooney couldn't help but speak first.
Even Neville and Giggs gave Cristiano a look that seemed a little guilty, which made his scalp tingle.
He stayed and cried secretly? ! Get out of here. Who spread the rumor?
"I didn't!" Cristiano denied it flatly. The next second, the Dutchman threw a tabloid to him. He subconsciously caught it and unfolded it. His face flushed. "I will ask Mendes to hold a press conference. This is a naked slander and rumor."
What Manchester United pink toy, crying boy, this is simply a disgrace to him!
Fanny laughed when he heard this: "Come on, just for this, you're holding a press conference? Do you think you're David?"
Cristiano Ronaldo: “…”
He did forget that he was not the media darling at this moment, but he also did not remember such an episode in his previous life.
"Maybe you can wait until the press conference after we win to explain it clearly," Van Nistelrooy added.
No matter how much Cristiano stressed that he never cried after the "extra training", Keane firmly ordered Giggs, Rooney, Neville and Van Nistelrooy to perform three times the amount of training today - paying the price for them to have the energy to do these things after their daily training;
As for Cristiano, he got double - for his antics.
Cristiano doesn't care about doubling his training workload. He cares more about what the tabloids said, which gave him goosebumps.
He had to come clean, he swore to himself.
So when the starting lineup for the next game was announced, Ferguson was somewhat surprised to see his favorite player's eyes burning like flames, as if he could burn himself if he was not given the starting position.
Ferguson touched his hair, fortunately he did arrange Cristiano to start.
"Kids, run! Fight!" Ferguson waved his arms with a red face and thick neck on the sidelines.
Cristiano got the ball, ran with it, deceived the opponent's defense, and broke the opponent's defense line with an unstoppable momentum.
"Shoot! Cristiano Ronaldo shot! Manchester United scored the first goal less than ten minutes into the game, 1:0!" The live commentators gathered on the sidelines were so enthusiastic that they seemed to be shouting their throats out.
Neville, Ferdinand, Keane... a group of teammates rushed towards Cristiano in ecstasy, and one after another pushed Cristiano to the ground. Cristiano even felt that he had bitten a mouthful of grass, and someone pinched his butt.
These bastards.
Cristiano said this in his heart, but he grinned with excitement without disguising it. He had done this to others many times anyway. He was hugged around the neck and kissed hard several times.
He felt that he was in great shape today. In the second half, he assisted Van Nistelrooy, then received a through ball from Rooney, dribbled into the opponent's penalty area and shot.
Today's goddess of victory is undoubtedly on their side.
In the following post-match interview, Cristiano was ready to go.
"I have to say a few words in the interview." He looked at captain Keane and said, making a request for the first time and giving a heads up in advance.
Keane raised his eyebrows and gave a generous nod to the boy who had made great contributions today.
As it turned out, in the post-match interviews, the media's microphones were all more willing to point to Cristiano Ronaldo, Manchester United's gilt-edged boy and shining new star.
"Is the reason you secretly cried after training because of the high-intensity training or because you missed home?" a reporter asked directly without any disguise.
Cristiano felt as if he had been punched in the stomach and choked. He hadn't seen such a direct and unpretentious question for a long time. He stared at the other party with wide eyes and quickly answered:
"I must say that I didn't cry, that would be fake. I stayed after training to go to the gym to increase muscle training, and it had nothing to do with crying. We have a good relationship within the team. Giggs and others stayed to help me with extra training, and I am very grateful. That's it, that's it."
He crossed his arms and waved them, ready to leave.
However, the media did not intend to let him off so easily: "Do you think that AC Milan's Kaka's recent statement that 'training should be formal, reasonable, targeted, planned...' is a hint in response to Manchester United's situation?"
Cristiano didn't expect to hear Kaka's name at this time. He opened his mouth slightly in surprise, as if he was hit by a hammer, and his face turned red.
Oh my God, he didn't even have to think about it, this must be Kaka's response.
He felt an inappropriate sense of joy in his heart, defending his lover, and then a sense of uneasiness - he did not confess and let his lover know about it in another way.
He pursed his lips. It was over. He had to go back and coax Kaka.
Seeing that the boy in his team was confused by the reporter's unexpected question, Keane immediately took the microphone: "Let's focus more on the game itself. I think Cristiano's performance is very surprising..."
Cristiano gave the captain a look of gratitude and then ran away quickly.
So the next day's report had another headline - Main headline: "Manchester United's rising star refuses to be mentioned together with Milan's golden boy Kaka, his anger is unclear" / Sub-headline: "Good intentions rejected, rising stars clash, new generation of stars may find it difficult to become friends"
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