Chapter 34
The bet between Manchester United manager Ferguson and Cristiano Ronaldo has become a hot topic of discussion. Even during the post-match interviews, reporters would occasionally ask the two parties about it.
Cristiano shrugged his shoulders. "This is not the first bet that the boss and I have made. In fact, we have made many bets. For example, at the beginning of the 2003-2004 season, we made a bet that if I could score 20 goals, he would give me 400 pounds... By the way, how many goals do I have now?"
The reporters below laughed and immediately rushed to answer for Cristiano: "Twenty-one! You beat Ronaldo!"
Reporters remember Cristiano's statistics better than he does.
Cristiano laughed when he heard that. He smiled widely without hesitation. He turned to look at the Sir Alex who was sitting next to him. He extended his hand to the old man and raised his eyebrows: "How about now? Are you willing to accept the loss?"
Ferguson laughed, slapped the boy's open palm, then looked at the reporters and said, "To be honest, when I bought Cristiano, I thought he would be good, but I didn't think he could really score 20 goals."
"I expected him to get six points, but he gave a perfect score!"
The reporters below were agitated. There were only a few who could receive such high praise from Sir Alex Ferguson! Not to mention that the boy in front of him has only been in the club for less than two years!
Cristiano touched his palm and blinked: "Boss, thank you for your compliment, but that doesn't mean you can default on my four hundred pounds."
Ferguson: “…”
He glared at Cristiano, then fished out his wallet from his pocket, counted out a wad of cash pounds, slapped it into Cristiano's insistently open palm, and cursed with a smile: "You little bastard!"
Cristiano took the cash with a smile on his face. His round amber eyes were full of joy. He raised his voice and said briskly, "Thank you for your generosity."
The reporters all laughed, some in a friendly and some in a sarcastic way: "Ronaldo, four hundred pounds is enough to satisfy you, right?"
"Yes, because these four hundred pounds are of great significance. I think they will be preserved in my exhibition room." Cristiano smiled in response to the mockery in the reporter's words, "Maybe you can understand? Oh, the premise is that you can win a bet from Sir Alex Ferguson."
The media reporters below were choked for a moment.
Ferguson was still moved by the first half of the boy's words, but after hearing the second half, he couldn't help but stroke his forehead. If Cristiano could hide half of this provocative side of him, the media reporters might be more friendly to him.
Despite thinking this, there was only a smile in Ferguson's eyes.
He likes lively kids with fighting spirit and sharp edges, and Cristiano is the perfect child in his dreams.
Manchester United has lost the qualification to compete for the Champions League, and the upcoming league championship does not seem to be as easy as taking candy from a sack. For the club, they must at least bring back the next FA Cup championship so as not to end the year with nothing.
The next schedule of events has been announced. Although there is no Champions League, Manchester United’s schedule is still quite full with the remaining Premier League and FA Cup events.
Cristiano felt that he could play three times a week. He thought he was in excellent shape, young, not troubled by injuries, and had unlimited energy. However, Ferguson disagreed with his extreme and ridiculous idea. He forced the boy to take a rest and even did not let him play the whole game.
In the match against Everton, in the 56th minute, he was maliciously tackled twice in a row by the opponent's defender.
——Before that, he created a penalty in Everton's penalty area and scored.
Seeing this, Ferguson almost immediately flew into a rage in the coaching area. He waved his arms in anger, his face and neck turned red, and his shouts were drowned out by the roars of the fans behind him.
The fans in the stands stood up angrily, and when Cristiano was tackled for the second time, countless fans angrily used popcorn, scarves, lighters and all kinds of things in their hands as weapons and smashed them at the opposing players on the field.
"Damn it! This is naked revenge! This is intentional!"
"Poor little Chris!"
"He's been treated like a ball! It's not fair!"
“This is murder!”
Cristiano doesn't know that he has the largest proportion of fans among all the stars in the league, which are parents, grandparents. They almost treat Cristiano as their own child. Even if Cristiano made a fool of himself by playing with the ball on the court, these fans would just applaud and cheer regardless, not to mention that Cristiano has become the target of attack now.
There was a lot of booing in the stadium. Manchester United fans were extremely dissatisfied with this violent and malicious attack. On the field, Cristiano avoided more serious injuries by rolling after falling down. He just got up and hugged the ball that belonged to him.
Looking at the referee again, he only gave a yellow card.
Rooney rushed over and angrily grabbed the collar of the Everton defender who had just made the tackle: "You bastard!"
Everton's main players immediately surrounded them, and Ferdinand and Keane from Manchester United also rushed up quickly. The main players on both sides confronted each other for a while, and the atmosphere was full of gunpowder.
Cristiano was a little surprised that the scene suddenly became so popular, but it seemed that this was not the first time such a scene had happened.
He wanted to laugh, but his leg still hurt, so he couldn't help grinning. He held the ball and walked to the other end of the noisy crowd to see what feedback the referee gave, but he soon found it a bit embarrassing - he couldn't squeeze in.
Apartment
Giggs and Neville were busy separating Rooney, Ferdinand and Everton's main players. Giggs lowered his voice to remind Rooney: "You already have a yellow card! Calm down!"
Rooney pushed again angrily, turned his head and spat, then stepped back.
Everton also received more than one yellow card in this game, and both sides took a step back.
The referee took a look at the postures of both sides and saw that there would be no further fighting, so he stopped planning to deal the cards.
His eyes swept over to Cristiano, who was standing at the edge of the battlefield. He was the person involved in the incident. When the fight on the field was at its most brutal because of him, he was actually holding the ball and watching the fun from the outside?
The referee twitched his mouth and signaled the game to continue.
Although Cristiano took measures to protect himself after being tackled repeatedly, he was inevitably affected to some extent.
He was able to endure the pain and was sure that it would not affect his next shot. He planned to score the second and third goals.
However, Ferguson still replaced him after ten minutes. Cristiano's eyes widened and gestured to Ferguson that he could still play and complete the shot.
Ferguson shook his head firmly at him. When the boy reluctantly limped off the field, he knew Cristiano was angry, but he still put his arm around his shoulders and patiently explained: "There will be a league match against Arsenal later. I want you to win it in your best condition. Do you understand?"
Cristiano pursed his lips, nodded hastily, and then sat on the bench.
Assistant coach Queiroz handed a coat to Cristiano, who took it and threw it heavily to the ground. Seeing this, Queiroz shook his head helplessly and looked at Ferguson.
Ferguson naturally noticed Cristiano's bad temper. He didn't say anything, but asked Queiroz to find a team doctor to check and treat Cristiano's foot injury.
When Everton's defense was shoveling the ball away from Cristiano's feet, they even crossed their legs and tried to clamp the boy's ankle. If they had clamped it firmly, it would undoubtedly have caused extremely serious consequences. There have even been players who were completely injured because of this. This is why Ferguson, Rooney and other players rushed up in anger.
Fortunately, Cristiano had the experience to protect himself and fell down first, but he was still kicked in the calf by the opponent's spikes.
After the crazy surge of adrenaline subsided, Cristiano felt the pain returning while sitting on the bench, and it seemed to be more serious than he thought.
Cristiano leaned over slightly and rubbed his calf and the lower Achilles tendon muscles. He frowned, picked up the coat he had thrown away earlier and put it on.
Queiroz saw Cristiano's actions and couldn't help laughing. Isn't he just an awkward teenage boy? He threw away his clothes in a temper, and then put them on again because he was cold.
The temperature at this moment is actually quite moderate, but after coming down from intense exercise on the field, a thin jacket is necessary to keep warm.
Queiroz shook his head and whispered to the team doctor about the diagnosis.
Manchester United scored another goal in the 80th minute, a shot by Giggs, which almost secured the victory.
Cristiano couldn't help but stand up and cheer when Giggs scored, but was pushed back by the team doctor the next second.
The team doctor seriously asked Cristiano to stop training and rest for a few days because his Achilles tendon was also strained.
Giggs and his teammates wanted to run to the bench to celebrate with Cristiano, but they stopped when they saw this. Until the referee blew the final whistle to end the game, they quickly ran to the sidelines and asked: "What happened?"
Cristiano spread his hands helplessly and depressed, because he had just been completely banned by Ferguson. He couldn't get close to the training room until the team doctor announced that he could resume training.
He was frustrated and unwilling about this, his hair and face were wet with sweat, and his hair, which had been fixed with hairspray, was now restlessly sticking up, making Cristiano look even younger and more pitiful.
Ferdinand pinched Cristiano's face, which was puffed up unconsciously, and ruffled his hair and said, "Then listen to the team doctor."
"I told you that I was too rude to that guy just now, and I should have hit him!" Rooney said fiercely. He touched Cristiano's calf and frowned and asked, "Will this affect the game against Arsenal?"
It will be a difficult knockout match against Arsenal.
Cristiano replied without hesitation: "No, I will be well soon."
Ferguson glanced at Cristiano and said, "We still have time."
Cristiano knew from what he said that this meant a mandatory rest. He would get one or two rest periods. He didn't like this, but he knew Ferguson. When the other party showed such an expression and tone, it meant that there was no room for maneuver.
He could only hope that the treatment kit would work quickly - he used one, but needed to wait for it to take effect. On the other hand, he couldn't immediately find a team doctor to confirm that he was healed after the treatment kit took effect. After all, that would be too fast.
Cristiano could only accept that he had been given a small break.
"Just go out to the sea, sunbathe, and have a good rest." Ferguson patted Cristiano on the shoulder. "I remember that you haven't had a good vacation until now, right? It's just right, this is an opportunity."
Cristiano pursed his lips and nodded in agreement, but he still missed the interview, secretly expressing his displeasure.
Ferguson felt helpless and amused about his favorite player's temper.
"What do you think about Ronaldo's temper tantrum and refusal to be interviewed after being substituted?" The reporter would not let this go.
Ferguson smiled at the camera: "He is a player who is eager to score goals and win. His strong desire to win is like engraved in his bones. He was unhappy because I substituted him off the field, which just proved this point. His strong desire to win is a weapon to bring victory to the club. I don't think there is anything wrong with this."
"And he is injured. To be honest, I am very sad about this. He needs to rest well to recover, so I think he refused the interview because he didn't want to let the fans see this vulnerable side."
The reporters who asked the questions were somewhat surprised by Ferguson's answer.
- You have to know that this is Ferguson. If anyone shows dissatisfaction and disobedience to the coach's decision on the field, he will basically not be seen in the next few games. But Ronaldo not only did so, but also received praise from Ferguson? !
He even explained the other party's refusal to do a follow-up interview, to avoid another barrage of criticism in tomorrow's news?
Is this a preference? No, this is simply spoiling!
The reporters in the interview area all looked like they were about to faint. This was completely different from the fighter-bomber Sir Alex Ferguson they had in mind.
///
Cristiano received a medical instruction booklet and medicine pack from the team doctor and returned to the villa he bought in Manchester.
His calf and foot tendons were still stinging. The effect of the painkillers had worn off, and the fine and dense pain was coming back. He was familiar with this and tried to ignore it, waiting for the treatment effects given by the system to take effect.
He was bored and switching channels on TV and flipping through the calendar. Soon an idea formed in his mind and he decided to put it into action.
There are still three days until the Istanbul night. Before, he was still feeling sorry for not being able to go to the scene to watch the game. He and his lover stuck together for a long time before he could get over it. But now, to be honest, he can go directly to the scene.
He gave the treatment package one day to recover, and then gave himself another day to prepare - find a hotel, tickets, and fly to the scene.
Cristiano felt that this was the only good news that could comfort him.
He did not tell Kaka the news in advance until he got the friends and family tickets from his Portugal national team teammate Costa.
"You're asking me for tickets now?! Who gets them for you?!" Costa almost rolled his eyes on the spot, but faced with the Portuguese golden boy's pitiful request, he finally took some effort to find a way and successfully got a ticket.
"Kaka didn't reserve a ticket for you? No, don't you still have league games to play in? Will Ferguson let you out?" Costa asked curiously.
"I didn't ask Kaka for it. I wanted to give him a surprise." Cristiano said proudly. He deliberately ignored the following questions and changed the subject. "By the way, where is your hotel? Send me one."
"You want to stay in our hotel? It's already been fully booked by fans. You know how popular we are in Milan." Costa grinned. Their team has super popular stars such as Kaka, Inzaghi, Shevchenko, etc. Let alone the hotel rooms, I'm afraid even the parking spaces outside the hotel will be taken up.
"Forget it, let's do this. I will stay in the same room with the captain and give you my bed. You don't have to book a hotel."
He is Kaka's usual roommate. Unless there is a vacant room, he and Kaka are usually roommates, and this time is no exception.
"That's great, Costa! Thank you!" Cristiano cheered. His national team teammate couldn't be more thoughtful!
"Ha, just pack your bags and fly over here yourself," Costa joked.
"By the way, when will you come? Do you want me to pick you up?" Costa asked with concern. After all, he is a kid from the national team and he has to be taken care of, otherwise he will be scolded by captain Figo.
Cristiano refused: "No, I will probably arrive the day after tomorrow night, just tell me the room number."
Costa agreed upon hearing this.
"By the way, don't tell Kaka that I'm coming. It's a surprise, understand?" Cristiano reminded again.
Costa rolled his eyes. “Then how do you want me to refuse the arrangement of being roommates with him?”
"This is the time to test you." Cristiano smiled, his voice soft and rising, as if he was acting coquettishly, "Costa, you will definitely think of a way."
Costa really has no resistance to Cristiano.
"...I really admire you. What's the point of surprise? You're not as troublesome as me when I'm in love." He compromised.
Cristiano chuckled: "Oh Costa, that won't do. Being in love requires dedication. It's not a struggle. You have to see it as something you are willing and voluntary. I suggest you learn more about it."
"Thanks, but I don't think I need a kid who's not even twenty years old as a relationship consultant." Costa rolled his eyes.
After he said this, he felt that this sentence sounded familiar, as if he had heard it somewhere before.
…
Why do Cristiano and Kaka like to give advice on other people's love? !
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