Chapter 213
Before the friendly match with Barcelona, Real Madrid officially announced the addition of a new lineup. As Cristiano said, there were indeed familiar faces.
Di Maria joined Real Madrid for a transfer fee of 25 million euros.
What surprised Cristiano even more was the joining of Gareth Bale. The rising star, who had just begun to reap the rewards of his breakout season at Tottenham in the Premier League, came to Real Madrid earlier for a fee of 30 million euros.
"I didn't expect him to come so soon." Cristiano stood in the team in amazement and applauded to welcome his new teammate. He lowered his voice and said to Kaka beside him, "If he stays for another two years, he can win more individual awards in the Premier League."
The transfer fees are also very different.
"Last season, Tottenham's Hector performed more stably and occupied the starting position, so that Bale had to be on the bench for most of the early season." Kaka said, covering his mouth to explain, "It was not until Hector had to leave the team for more than a month to participate in the national team competition that he had the opportunity to start and then regain the starting position. I think maybe this is part of the reason why he decided to leave Tottenham?"
"The competition here is no less than that at Tottenham." Cristiano glanced at Kaka. "If Gareth left Tottenham for Real Madrid for this reason, he would have come a long time ago."
Cristiano spoke vaguely. They were lined up in a row and his voice would be heard by his teammates on both sides, so he could only speak vaguely.
But Kaka could understand that Cristiano was referring to his previous life. The situation Bale encountered at Tottenham was almost similar, but Bale joined three years later.
Marcelo interjected: "Isn't it because he was criticized by the fans for his great performance in Tottenham in the past two years?"
"What?" Ramos pricked up his ears.
"He came on as a substitute in 24 consecutive league games and Tottenham didn't win a single one. It's like a curse," Marcelo said. He turned to Modric. "Right, Luka?"
Luca ignored him. He was actually quite happy that Bale came over. They had played together at Tottenham before, although they didn't always play together in the same game.
Marcelo didn't care that he didn't get a response. He continued to talk: "I remember that a newspaper even opened a column called 'Bale's Curse'. Tottenham fans also called him 'unlucky guy', although his luck seems to be a bit mysterious."
"That's because of his name." Ruud van Nistelrooy said coldly, "In English slang, 'Bale' means unlucky. They made fun of him with his name. It's typical of English fans."
Modric said: "Those fans are really annoying. But I don't think that's why Gareth transferred. He can handle these and prove himself."
Marcelo looked over.
Modric went on to say: "He came to Real Madrid, perhaps because he saw Real Madrid back on track and taking back the right to speak in the tournament."
They won two championships last season, and that was the key.
Real Madrid has undergone tremendous changes with the addition of Cristiano, Kaka, Benzema, Modric and Alonso.
Just like Cristiano joined Real Madrid ahead of schedule, the butterfly's wings are flapping, and more variables appear in unknown places.
Modric believes that his former teammate may have come to Real Madrid with Cristiano, and came to Real Madrid which won the double championship under Cristiano's leadership. His former teammate has always been very ambitious, but he is good at hiding it under his taciturn appearance.
Bale's welcome ceremony continued, and when the welcome speech was finally finished, he came down from the podium and walked straight to Cristiano.
He suppressed the obvious excitement on his face and walked towards captain Raul first, who gave him a big hug, and then Casillas.
Bale quickly walked in front of Cristiano.
Raul and Casillas whispered to each other and laughed: "Look at him, since he came over, his eyes have never left Cristiano."
"Is this guy the winger who celebrated like Cristiano after scoring a goal at Old Trafford?" Ramos was standing nearby and asked when he got closer. He remembered that Keane or that fierce-looking guy mentioned this when he was at a barbecue party with those guys from Manchester United.
"It's him." Modric interrupted suddenly.
Cristiano Ronaldo is Bale's idol, which is something many people at Tottenham know. However, Bale is a bit awkward. He can show it very clearly in front of others, but sometimes he likes to pretend that it is not the case. Modric rolled his eyes and said, "I heard that all the fans at Old Trafford stood up and followed suit?"
Ramos nodded. He was deeply impressed.
Di Maria, the Argentine who had just joined the team, nodded in understanding: "So Bale likes Ronaldo?"
Marcelo gave Di Maria a thumbs up: "You summed it up very well."
Cristiano saw Bale walking towards him.
The young boy took a breath, then calmly extended his hand and said in English with a strong Welsh accent: "It's nice to be your teammate, Ronaldo."
Cristiano smiled widely, stretched out his hand and shook Bale's, then noticed awkwardly that Bale's hands were actually quite big. He looked down and immediately and calmly put his other hand on the back of Bale's hand and shook it hard.
"I'm happy too," he responded. "You can call me Cristiano."
Bale was happy that at least someone here spoke English, and he knew Cristiano could understand what he said.
After he shook hands with other teammates one by one, Florentino waved to him to stand in the middle. After all, he was the protagonist of this welcoming ceremony.
Seeing this, Bale strode over, took a quick look, then put on a smile and stood next to Cristiano in a dignified manner. His movements were so natural that Kaka had to move a few steps to the side to make space.
Then towards the camera——
Three, two, one!
Bale, Cristiano, Benzema... The BBC combination of Real Madrid's new season lineup arrived at the Bernabeu in advance.
Bale can play as a full-back, winger or shadow striker. Since he has just joined the club, he seems to be quite cooperative with the arrangements proposed by Mourinho. In the upcoming friendly match between Real Madrid and Madrid, Bale is particularly actively participating in the team's training, looking forward to performing in the friendly match.
But Mourinho does not intend to let him appear in the game now: "Use your eyes to see, use your heart to feel, what this team needs you to do on the court, when you have some understanding, I will let you play."
Mourinho's words made Bale, who originally thought he had a great potential, feel deeply disappointed.
The friendly match was held at the Yokohama Stadium in Japan, and Bale and Di Maria both sat obediently on the bench wearing vests.
When Bale saw Cristiano trotting onto the court in his handsome white jersey, he took a depressed breath, held his chin, and followed Cristiano's eyes around.
He also thought he had the chance to wear the white jersey and play on the court with Cristiano.
He really didn't know how long it would be before it was his turn.
Bell frowned and looked at it, and then Kaka beside him suddenly said: "The competition and pace here are always fast, have you really thought about this?"
Kaka did not start, he also sat on the bench, and the same went for Guti. Real Madrid's bench is very deep, which means Mourinho can make many attempts. Besides, this is just a friendly match, so it is understandable that Mourinho lets the players get used to each other.
Bell glanced at him and didn't respond.
I don’t know him, I don’t understand him, and I don’t want to bother with him.
Cristiano shook hands with the Barcelona players. Bell looked at the court, then narrowed his eyes——
Oh, who's the tall guy over there at Barcelona? Are you familiar with Cristiano? Looks somewhat familiar.
Is there no one to supervise this? Do the players from both sides need to hug each other until their muscles are stretched out when they greet each other?
I'm talking about you, the tall guy.
Oh, it's you, Gerard Pique.
Bale and Kaka stared at the field with shining eyes.
Pique stood happily on the court, waiting for Cristiano to come to him.
He shook Cristiano's hand firmly, then hugged Chris' waist tightly: "Long time no see Chris!"
"Yes, Geri, you look good." Cristiano patted Pique's waist. For a moment he felt as if he was picked up by Pique and flew into the air, but then he stepped back onto the ground, as if it was an illusion.
Ramos followed Cristiano and narrowed his eyes when he saw this. He looked at his national team player and warned him, "Gerard Pique, don't try to get close to me. Get out of here."
"You're the one who gets out of here. Chris and I are much closer than you are. How many years have you been together? Oh, sorry, has it just been a year?" Pique's blue eyes flashed with a light of battle, and it was as if he was activated when he saw Ramos.
Ramos: “…”
Cristiano patted Pique's waist, and with a little force pulled Pique's arms out. He patted Pique's chest again: "You are still the same as before, and you don't look much different, Geri."
Just as childish.
Pique seemed to have heard the compliment. He touched his face and chest muscles proudly, then looked at Ramos provocatively and gestured the height difference between the two.
Look, Cristiano is saying he is as handsome, tall and strong as ever. As for you, Ramos? Oh sorry, it looks like you don't have any "before" to recall and compare to.
Pique grinned.
Ramos: “…”
Before Ramos could counterattack, he was pushed by Modric, who was waiting impatiently behind him, and staggered forward a small step, and could only keep moving forward.
"Luka!" he muttered in dissatisfaction.
Modric twisted his nose, what a slow guy.
"Wow, this friendly match looks like it's full of tension before it even starts!" The commentator in the broadcast room was also very relaxed today, and chatted about gossip by the way -
"The new defender bought by Barcelona is also an old acquaintance of Cristiano. Gerard Pique and him have spent many unforgettable and wonderful moments in Manchester United. I believe that the two are very familiar with each other. Maybe there will be very interesting tacit 'cooperation' on the field?"
"Just during the stage when the players were greeting each other, Pique was already provoking each other with Cristiano and Ramos. They were familiar faces and it was a relatively relaxed occasion like a friendly match, so they behaved exceptionally well." The partner laughed.
"I guess what Pique did was exactly what Guardiola wanted, provoking Cristiano and being aggressive." The commentator spread his hands and joked.
Guardiola, standing in the coaching booth, touched his head.
He glanced at the court and saw that Pique was seeing some excitement. He didn't care about their pre-match tricks; he wanted to see their performance during the game.
Gerard Pique better be as he promised himself - he knows Cristiano inside and out and can see through his every move.
Guardiola narrowed his eyes.
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