Chapter 126
During Cristiano's vacation, there was a turmoil in the national team, which was expected, but still a big deal. Cristiano even flew back to Portugal for this.
Figo retired from the national team.
Cristiano officially took over from Figo as the captain of the Portugal national team, and also became the youngest national team captain in the team's history.
He attended Figo's retirement ceremony, which was earlier than when he became the captain of the Portugal national team in his previous life, but he took over the captain's armband. He was very familiar with this item, like an old buddy on the battlefield.
Cristiano hugged Figo tightly. He couldn't help laughing with red eyes and whispered: "Luis, I will miss you."
Figo patted the young man on the back of his head. He smiled and said, "Scolari thought I handed it to you too early, but I had a hunch a long time ago that you could lead it."
"No one is more suitable to be the captain of Portugal than you. Portugal needs a spirit like yours, a spirit of not admitting defeat, a spirit of attacking, a spirit of fighting... a spirit of not giving up even if you are still behind at the last second."
"Cristiano, we won the World Cup and the European Championship. I have no regrets. I hope you have no regrets either. I hope you don't have any pressure or burden."
Figo's eyes were bright as he looked into Cristiano's eyes. "Just run forward with Portugal, my child. No matter how far you run, no matter how high you go, don't be afraid of falling. You still have my promise. I will take care of you and I will always hold your feet from the bottom. Go, Cristiano, my child."
As he spoke, he closed his eyes and bent down to kiss Cristiano's forehead. He gave Cristiano all his expectations and all his love for Portugal. He knew that the boy would run forward with his share.
Cristiano took a deep breath, his chest was burning, and he hugged Figo tightly. He knew that from this moment on, he would have to shoulder more responsibilities, just like in his previous life.
But he also knows very well that he is not alone. Behind him are Figo, Deco, Costa... his former teammates will create space for him.
"Luis, rest assured, just leave it to me. I will lead it to more glory. I promise you." Cristiano said solemnly.
"I believe you, always have." Figo curled his lips.
…
Cristiano soon returned to Manchester.
Since Cristiano returned to Manchester, his daily shopper would always bring a newspaper and daily magazine when updating the refrigerator every afternoon. Cristiano could see his photos being secretly taken and published in the newspapers almost every now and then.
If it weren't for his good figure, he would have been ridiculed by the media long ago.
Cristiano snorted softly and opened today's newspaper with an admiring look -
The newspapers failed to take pictures of him these two days because he had the curtains tightly closed. In addition, it was rainy these two days and he couldn't bask in the sun on the balcony. So the tabloids lacked material and had to start making up some stories:
"It is reported that the Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo has kept the curtains of his villa closed recently and has not come out for many days. I wonder which lady captured the body of this superstar who loves playing with people? This young football star has a preference for food... This newspaper will continue to pay attention to and answer your questions!"
Cristiano shook the newspaper and threw it into the fireplace.
Screw the captives, he was the only one in the huge villa these two days, Cristiano snorted heavily.
Kaka was summoned by Mendes for a commercial performance, a large-scale event organized by the club in London, and most of AC Milan's stars will be in attendance.
Costa privately complained in their national team group chat that they seemed like top-tier merchandise displayed by the club, with clear prices, and all kinds of peripheral products related to them. You can also see their faces printed everywhere, as well as American comic-style resin dolls, which feels weird.
In addition, everyone has to sign at least hundreds of autographs. For example, Maldini, Shevchenko and Kaka have signed at least thousands.
Cristiano followed Costa in the group to complain about the unscrupulous club - Kaka wants to sign thousands of names! Fortunately, Kaka's strokes were few enough, otherwise his hands would be crippled - but at the same time he knew very well that these were the marks of the wheel of history.
He even felt that the world seemed to be moving faster.
After Kaka finished his business activities, the club soon took on a friendly match against a non-professional team. Most of the members of this team were their fans, and they also gave some sponsorship to the club in various sizes.
So the club brought them all back to Italy.
——Costa’s complaints in the group became even more indignant because of this. It was more like being dragged out to entertain guests.
Cristiano was filled with indignation. Well, his honeymoon ended early.
Kaka was extremely sorry about this, and Cristiano could only comfort him on the phone: "Well, there is nothing we can do about it. We all know that football is more than just football. Business is part of it."
"I'm fine. Don't worry about my situation. You've seen it during your time in Manchester. It's not as scary as you think."
"I will stay well. I plan to go back to training. Alan and the others will occasionally go back to the club's training base for training. It will be much safer for me to be with them."
Cristiano kept on reporting his itinerary in detail so that the other party would feel at ease.
The new season has not started yet and most of the players are still on vacation, but English players like Alan and Ferdinand will go to the training base from time to time. Cristiano directly invited them to join the group.
【cristiano: Who is going to the training ground? 】
[Ferdinand: I thought you wouldn’t go out recently? @cristiano】
【Kean: Didn’t the boss tell me to stay at home during this period? @cristiano】
[Neville:? ? Still dare to go to the training ground? ? Although there aren’t as many fans waiting for you at the training ground recently as at the beginning, there are still some @cristiano】
Giggs: How did you know? @Neville】
[Neville: Don’t you read tabloid gossip? Statistics every day】
【Giggs: ……】
[Alan: Going out now? @cristiano】
[cirstiano: So I came to see you guys. Anyone going to the training ground can give me a ride? 】
【cristiano: Are you coming @Alan】
[Rooney: Anyway, I won’t come. If we show up together, the chances of getting hit will double @cristiano]
[Cristiano: You wouldn't come to the training ground on your days off, don't make excuses :)]
Rooney: …
【Alan: Come to @cristiano】
[Ferdinand: Then I'll come too @cristiano]
Giggs:
】
[Neville: Tsk… I’m impressed by you.
】
[Kean: How about this, we rotate every day, don’t all go at once, Ronnie will be there for more than just one day, we need to make a plan]
[Kean: Today, Alan and Rio will pick up Ronnie first]
Alan: OK
[Ferdinand: 111]
Alan and Ferdinand were very efficient. It didn't take long for Ferdinand to pick up Alan first, and then the two of them arrived at Cristiano's door together.
Cristiano happily got into the back seat of the car. He leaned forward with a smile: "Alan! Leo! To be honest, one person is enough to pick me up."
"Maybe the captain is worried that one person is not enough to intimidate the fans?" Alan guessed thoughtfully while sitting in the passenger seat.
Cristiano choked for a moment, and then he suddenly became curious and asked, "So, Wazza lives in your house now?"
Cristiano could see from the rearview mirror that Alan's face darkened visibly, and he snorted reluctantly: "Yes."
"Wow." Cristiano grinned and looked at Alan with gloating. He knew very well how much Alan, a true Englishman, hated the compression of social space. He patted Alan's shoulder sympathetically and said, "If you can't get used to it, you can let him live with me."
"And let your house be smashed more thoroughly?" Alan turned his head and glanced at Cristiano. "Those fans might be happy that they only need to smash one target house, but they can intimidate two stars."
Ferdinand was driving and chuckled at Alan's words: "Listen to him, Ronnie, this is not an exaggeration."
Cristiano: “…”
When he arrived at the path to the training base, Cristiano saw a few fans standing on the roadside outside the window. They were still holding banners in their hands and waving them at the passing cars. The banners had "Cristiano Ronaldo Get Out of England" printed on them.
Seeing this, Ferdinand's face darkened. He stepped on the accelerator, the engine roared, and he quickly passed by those fans.
The fans screamed and jumped aside, then pointed at the exhaust of the car angrily and cursed loudly.
Seeing this, Cristiano whispered to Ferdinand: "No need, Leo, I don't take their behavior to heart."
"I've already said that we'll ask the administrators of the training base to clear the roadblocks. At least they should ensure the safety of us players coming in and out, right?" Alan said coldly. He tilted his head to glance at Chris and lowered the corners of his mouth.
Ferdinand nodded in agreement.
Cristiano curled the corners of his mouth slightly.
As soon as he returned to the familiar training ground, the cleaning lady and the security guard welcomed Cristiano warmly.
"Finally you're back, kid!"
"It's so boring when no one is here to play pranks. We all miss you kid."
Relying on his young body and face of only 21 years old, Cristiano acted coquettishly and easily among the older guards of the training base without any burden, making everyone laugh happily.
"Yes, that's right, I'm back! Bob, you have to stay with me until the last one before you leave. Will your wife complain about you coming home late? I'll give you a set of annual tickets for the new season!" Cristiano greeted everyone happily, "Jessica! Have you secretly lost weight? I miss your coarse oatmeal bread..."
Ferdinand and Alan followed Cristiano into the locker room.
They almost forgot whether Cristiano came here for training or something else. The boy seemed to have come to his own fan club, chatting with everyone.
It was the first time they discovered how popular Cristiano was with the staff here.
Cristiano couldn't wait to put on his sneakers and training clothes and rushed to the grass field: "Leo! Alan! Hurry up! I'm going first! God knows I'm almost suffocated at home!"
Ferdinand and Alan looked at each other in amusement, and everyone could see how happy Cristiano was to be back.
Ferdinand's eyes fell on the staff who were smiling and watching. He suddenly looked at Alan: "I have an idea."
Before Alan could react, Ferdinand suddenly said, "Speaking of which, those fans holding protest banners at the door..."
Ferdinand deliberately brought up the matter in front of them, speaking loudly to ensure that all the staff outside the locker room could hear it clearly.
Alan's eyes flashed with understanding. He paused and said dryly, "That's really sad..."
Sure enough, a complaint was heard from the crowd:
"I told that lazy guy to drive away the disruptive fans at the gate! Damn Danny, he's just too lazy to move!"
"He must have thought Ronnie wasn't coming back, and I thought so too."
"I'll go talk to him right away."
"Take me and my broom with you. I want to see whether those little bastards are more stubborn or my broom is more stubborn."
“…”
Ferdinand and Alan watched those indignant people leave. They both raised their eyebrows at the same time and leaned on the window to look out curiously. They could just see the gate from afar through the window of the locker room.
I saw four or five young men under 20 years old running around in a hurry, being chased by cleaners who were holding brooms and pretending to sweep the street.
Alan raised his eyebrows: "Not bad."
"Yes," grinned Ferdinand.
In the following days, Cristiano was somewhat surprised that he no longer saw those fans holding banners and protest signs outside the training base.
Ferdinand proudly reported his work results in a small group away from Cristiano -
[Protect our Ronnie]
[Raudio: Well done, Rio, but I'm curious, are these English fans the majority or a minority? 】
【Ferdinand: ……】
【Kean: ……】
【Giggs: ……】
[Neville: This is difficult to comment, but I believe that as long as our club achieves results, those fans will forget the unpleasantness in the World Cup]
[Fanny: Extraordinary press conference speech, Gary :)]
[Neville: …]
【Alan: This is true. But if he makes a mistake, or just doesn't score, then those fans will skin him alive, see Rooney]
[Rooney: ...Thank you, I am still in this group]
【Alan:? Didn't you quit the group? 】
[Neville: I pulled them in. No conflicts are allowed within the team. The only common core of this group can be seen in the group name↑↑↑]
Rooney::)
The news of Cristiano's resumption of training could not be concealed for a few days. About the next day, local tabloids in England took photos of Cristiano going to the training ground with Neville and Giggs.
Almost at the same time, various news and related sports TV programs began to discuss the news of Cristiano's return to Manchester United, with amazing efficiency.
"Cristiano Ronaldo's return to Manchester training base means an answer, he will still play for Manchester United in the new season."
"Does Manchester United need Cristiano Ronaldo?"
"I don't think so. Manchester United has Giggs, Alan and Rooney. They don't lack an offensive player. On the contrary, with Keane's age problem and Ferdinand and Neville's injuries, Manchester United needs to buy a new full-back."
"I think Ronaldo should be sold to buy a full-back."
"Manchester United is not short of money, and they also bought Evra, a Frenchman who was newly bought in the summer transfer window this year."
"It is said that Real Madrid has made a 95 million offer to Cristiano Ronaldo. This price should have exceeded the highest transfer fee record in history, right?!"
"It is said, dear, it is said, if you ask me, that is a smokescreen released by Mendes, just to increase Cristiano Ronaldo's contract salary at Manchester United this year. Although his performance in the World Cup this year is very good, don't forget that he is only 21 years old and still very unstable. How many times have we seen a kick that amazed the world in the World Cup? What is the result?"
"Ninety-five million? Ha, if he can sell it at that price, I'll eat the ball on the spot!"
"Yes, he is only 21 years old, but to be honest, whether it is his performance in the club or in the national team, his data and results are actually very stable. If Real Madrid makes an offer of 95 million for him, I will not be too surprised."
"But Real Madrid also have their stars, don't forget Ruud van Nistelrooy, do they need a Cristiano Ronaldo?"
"I remember hearing that it was Van Nistelrooy who made the invitation during the World Cup?"
"It's still 'heard', my friend, didn't Van Nistelrooy leave Manchester United for the core ball rights? Will he invite Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid and continue to share the ball with him? I don't think so."
“…”
Cristiano's attitude towards returning to Manchester United is too clear, and Manchester United fans are divided into three groups:
One group of people are extremely happy and supportive of this, while the other group are staunch "anti-Ronaldoists";
Another group has a much more complicated attitude. Before Cristiano came back, they always paid attention to the other party's transfer gossip. They were nervous and worried that the boy would really leave at the slightest sign of trouble. But now that Cristiano is back, they seem to be extremely indifferent. From time to time, they say "Manchester United will be better without Ronaldo" and "He just came to take advantage of our championship"...
Amidst these rumors, Cristiano's first official club match before the season kicked off.
The English Community Shield is held as the opening match before each season. Only the league champions and FA Cup champions of the previous season are eligible to participate in this event. This year, it is Manchester United against Chelsea.
The winning prize for the Community Shield is not a trophy, but a beautiful silver shield, which is very unique.
As Wembley Stadium is currently under reconstruction, this year's Community Shield was held at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium.
The Cardiff Millennium Stadium in Wales once witnessed the Red Devils lift the FA Cup here, and now, it is about to be hot again.
Cristiano arrived in the city with the team in the morning. They entered Cardiff Millennium Stadium in advance to familiarize themselves with the field and conduct warm-up training.
"It looks good." Cristiano said to Giggs easily, "It's milder here than I thought. At least I didn't see a few fans holding signs asking me to get out."
Giggs gave a smirk: "Maybe because this is Wales?"
Cristiano blinked.
"Of course, you'd better pray that this kind of quiet and harmony can be maintained until the start of our official game." Giggs added that after all, it is still early for the fans to officially enter the stadium, but there are no banners outside the stadium.
- Like the last home friendly match at Old Trafford, even though Cristiano hadn't even returned to Manchester, all kinds of curse banners were hung outside the stadium a day in advance, which made Ferguson very angry. Even though a batch of them were removed overnight, new ones were still hung up by crazy fans on the day of the game the next day, and there was no time to remove them.
Cristiano touched his nose and smiled indifferently: "After the official game starts, who has time to care about what the fans say? They just need to watch my performance."
Giggs sneered when he heard this.
"Performance? It seems that you are determined to score a goal? Have you thought about how to celebrate after scoring? Since it is a performance." Giggs asked.
Ferdinand also looked over when he heard this.
Cristiano thought for a moment and raised his lip: "If I score a free kick, I will do a rocket launch motion, like this."
He knelt on one knee on the lawn, then swung his arms back and forth, saying, "Like a ROCKET!"
This was after the World Cup match against England, a reporter asked him: "The commentator described your free kick as a rocket. We all see that it seems to be gradually becoming your trademark. Have you ever thought about giving it a name?" "Then call it 'Rocket', ROCKET?"
Using this as a celebration after scoring a goal, even though he didn't say it explicitly, was like a blatant provocation and extremely arrogant. Cristiano felt that he should at least live up to some of the personality traits bestowed on him by the media.
Giggs almost rolled his eyes on the spot: "Childish! I won't do this with you!"
Alan also quietly moved aside, as if he was afraid of being stopped and invited by Cristiano.
Cristiano snorted softly through his nose, he had no vision, he was obviously very handsome.
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