Chapter 266
After the competition, there was a jubilant celebration ceremony, and the third official presented the championship and runner-up medals to the two teams respectively.
Countless media were waiting for this moment. When all the members of Real Madrid stood together on the podium, the spotlights almost turned the night sky into day.
"This is the third time that Real Madrid has won the UEFA Champions League! They are also the first team to win three consecutive titles since the reform!"
"The Galacticos built by Florentino are like a dominant team, unreasonably winning the Champions League trophy!"
"Not just the Champions League! This season, Real Madrid is competing on four fronts! Club World Cup, King's Cup, and La Liga! Real Madrid is a quadruple champion!!! This galactic battleship is unstoppable!"
"The appearance of Real Madrid, the four-time champion, reminds us of the former Manchester United! They swept all the Premier League titles in a sweeping manner and became the first team to retain the Champions League title since the reform of the Champions League!"
"The biggest thing that Manchester United and Real Madrid have in common is that they both have Cristiano Ronaldo! This man has won five Champions League trophies!"
"Cristiano Ronaldo seems to be ruling the Champions League!"
Cristiano is undoubtedly the focus of the night.
All the cameras and microphones were aimed at the Portuguese, while his teammates seemed to be relatively quieter - but the championship team will never lack interviews, even if there are not so many cameras around other people, those reporters who come to interview are enough.
Except that the Welsh were as taciturn as ever.
This is not Bale's first year at Real Madrid, but his Spanish is still pitifully poor, or maybe he is simply unwilling to speak, so that most people assume that Bale does not speak Spanish.
The reporters conducted a brief interview and then moved their cameras away, rushing to get in front of Cristiano.
Cristiano noticed that Bale was standing right behind him, standing quietly in place, with joy and excitement of winning the championship on his face, but the cameras and reporters all ignored him.
Bale is just not as good at talking as Marcelo, Ramos and others, but he has worked very hard to fight for his starting position, and he certainly hopes to receive more attention in such occasions.
In the last Champions League final, Bale was controversial for his three missed shots in regular time, but this season, he has performed well in various competitions and worked hard to prove his worth - Real Madrid's offense blossomed in many areas this season, helping Real Madrid win the beautiful result of four championships.
Seeing this, Cristiano waved to Bale, motioning the young Welshman to come over. He knew that the reporters would share the flashing spotlights with him.
Coentrao was standing next to Cristiano and when he saw Cristiano waving, he thought he was waving to him.
When he saw that the captain of his national team was empty-handed, he immediately understood what he meant and ran to the side, then came back with the Portuguese flag.
He draped the national flag on Cristiano's shoulders, and met Cristiano's somewhat surprised and happy eyes, feeling even more satisfied.
Look how sweet he is.
Cristiano draped the national flag on his body and strode towards Bale. He put his arm around Bale's shoulders and expertly and skillfully led the young man into the camera, naturally leading into the reporter's interview topic.
He used to play for the national team with a group of young people. He was a superstar that attracted worldwide attention, while the youngsters were always ignored, or even when they were asked questions by the media, the topic always revolved around their captain. Therefore, Cristiano was very good at dealing with these.
He patted Bale on the shoulder and quickly handed the interview stage over to the Welshman.
He enjoys victory, attention, cheers and support, but he does not indulge in them. These are almost like his daily routine, while those things that are not so harmonious - failure, injury, unfairness on the court, and the fans' ridicule are like some spicy seasonings.
Cristiano dealt with all this with ease, letting things take their course.
He looked around and decided to go back to the locker room. The celebration on the court was still at its peak. Except for a group of teammates pulling him around and running around at the beginning, they celebrated in their own way with champagne at the end, waiting for the parade that would start in a while.
Cristiano looked for Kaka, who was held by Marcelo. Seeing this, he waved at Kaka and indicated that he would go back to the locker room first.
Seeing this, Kaka also wanted to run away, but Marcelo excitedly held him down and he couldn't go anywhere.
Ramos noticed Cristiano's back as he walked into the player's tunnel. He smiled and said with his eyes curved: "Chris must have taken a shower, sprayed his perfume, had his hair done, and maybe even had his eyebrows trimmed. He will definitely come out beautiful. This guy is like a peacock!"
Benzema was silent but agreed.
The teammates around them would smile knowingly, because everyone knew how exquisite Cristiano was in the locker room. He was always the neatest one and the one who smelled the best.
To be honest, sometimes they couldn't help but want to use Cristiano's little things. After all, they all had to appear together and they couldn't be made to look too shabby.
——The idea of Real Madrid’s future male model team has taken shape.
Cristiano did as Ramos said. He went back, took a shower, changed his clothes, sprayed some perfume on his neck, combed his hair with hairspray, put on shiny earrings, and applied moist lip balm, which made his lips look more suitable for being kissed.
He looked at himself in the mirror and was very satisfied. He liked his new look. He planned to wait for his teammates to meet in the parking lot.
It was too noisy at the stadium, with fans in the stands waving their flags, and the smoke made him want to cough.
Cristiano went around from the backcourt to the parking area, where Juventus happened to be giving post-match interviews.
Buffon was being asked about the red card. The quota for substitutions on the field had been used up, so he could only temporarily let the team's tall and strong defender fill in. Facing a top shooter like Cristiano, the penalty kick was like a sure thing.
They were just a little bit away from winning the Champions League, but this red card killed all his desires.
Facing the camera and reporters, the Italian goalkeeper spoke quickly and fiercely, ignoring the hints from his agent who kept telling him to speak less.
Those reporters will not sympathize with a failure. What they want to see is just some embarrassment being torn apart and exposed to the sun, and some excitement. There will always be some conflicts between players and referees due to irresponsible words, and no one knows what kind of butterfly effect it will bring.
Cristiano wanted to avoid it, but he had to notice Buffon's anger that was almost on the edge of patience, and the crazy and helpless hints and requests from his agent.
He paused when he saw this. Buffon was a good player and should not become the entertainment of media reporters at this time. Although he didn't know if he could bring any help, he hesitated for two seconds and strode towards Buffon.
Buffon was still denouncing the red card, and then he suddenly heard a sudden acceleration of shutter sounds in his ears.
He was stunned for a moment, and then he saw a man who shouldn't be here striding towards him.
"Cristiano?" Buffon was stunned.
To be honest, if other people from Real Madrid came over, he would feel a little embarrassed and angry.
But as for Cristiano, perhaps because he thinks he knows him too well - he has watched his games and goals countless times, and he often thinks that a player's goals and movements can always reflect what kind of person he is. So after hundreds of unilateral observations, Buffon can almost blurt out what he knows about Cristiano.
Cristiano walked over quickly and lightly. He didn't even look at the media in the audience, but walked straight towards Buffon.
He opened his arms and gave Buffon a solid hug. He stroked Buffon's neck with his palm and patted it gently, saying softly: "I think it's meaningless for me to say I'm sorry at this moment, so I might as well give you a hug."
When Buffon heard the Portuguese boy say this, he laughed a little. Cristiano's words were as straightforward as ever.
But he agreed.
He hated the hypocritical sympathy. He had received countless of them since he was sent off and walked down the player tunnel. His anger was almost accumulated to the extreme with all the "I'm sorry"s.
Those people would never think about how much they have paid for this day. A few light words cannot cover up his distress and anger.
Cristiano tilted his head to avoid being photographed lip-reading. He almost leaned against Buffon's neck and whispered, "But Gigi, you have to calm down. Your agent is going crazy. You know those journalists and media. You know who they are better than I do."
"Calm down, Gigi, okay?" He raised his head, glanced at Buffon, and patted him on the shoulder.
Buffon paused and met Cristiano's eyes. Just as he once said, Cristiano's eyes would unexpectedly present a beautiful emerald color under the refraction of light, like a piece of emerald wrapped in amber.
He took a deep breath, knowing that Cristiano was right, and his eyes followed the Portuguese's words and met the anxious gaze of his agent.
Buffon pursed his lips, nodded slightly, and glanced at his agent. He then saw that the other party looked grateful, as if a burden had been lifted off his shoulders.
Buffon: “…”
He put his hand on Cristiano's shoulder, then slightly tightened his grip and returned the hug: "Okay, Cristiano, I understand."
He could smell the perfume that Cristiano had sprayed on his body entering his nostrils, and it seemed especially strong around his neck. He tilted his head and gave him a very restrained and measured kiss on the cheek, which was an unspoken thank you.
When Cristiano heard this, he knew that the familiar Buffon had returned. He curled his lips and said nothing more. He just nodded and strode away, as if he just happened to pass by.
When Buffon saw Cristiano leave, he turned back to the cameras and microphones aimed at him.
He opened his mouth and looked at those faces full of inquiry and guidance. The media only wanted to see something explosive, fiery and full of gunpowder, and Buffon just now was obviously just what they wanted.
But now, Buffon paused, as if he had suddenly forgotten what he was going to say. He rubbed his chin with his fingertips and exhaled: "... Well, that's about it. A red card did make us fall into the abyss, but that's it."
"It was a great game, no matter who wins, there's no denying that."
"Cristiano? Oh, we are friends, I guess. He is like a junior. I feel like I have watched him stumble along the way and grow up very fast. This feeling is very strange. But I am indeed much older than him, so it is okay to say this."
“…”
All the media reporters felt surprised and gradually bored, as if Ronaldo's visit just now was some magical thing that took away Buffon's anger in an instant. Now, the Italian goalkeeper has returned to his old self, and they know that they can no longer get any big news out of him.
So the microphone gradually turned to other people——
Pirlo: "We are playing against a top team and we are facing top players shooting. Cristiano Ronaldo is a natural shooter and his positioning is perfect. Although he is always underestimated, in fact, his shots always hit the target. Under such pressure, we still equalize the score again and again. This Juventus has blood and perseverance, and sooner or later it will win the Champions League again."
Bonucci: "When defending Ronaldo, he always winked at me, and then I knew it was not good. He could make five passes in two seconds. He is a genius. Before your consciousness catches up with his movements, you have already fallen into distortion and entanglement. I am not making excuses for myself, but this is the fact. If you come to defend Ronaldo, you will know that I am not exaggerating at all."
“…”
Reporters don't want to hear any of this; they already know enough.
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