Chapter 40
As soon as he returned to Manchester, Cristiano met his teammates.
When Keane and Ferdinand saw the young boy appearing on the training ground, his facial features were very lively and vivid. He even happily distributed gifts from Turkey to everyone. It was obvious that he had a wonderful holiday.
——And he didn’t feel that he had done anything wrong at all.
Giggs and Neville looked at their number seven with difficulty, and didn't know what to say when they received the gift.
Until they saw Keane and Ferdinand striding towards Cristiano with gloomy faces, the two of them evacuated tacitly and left Cristiano with a blessing: "Good luck, Ronnie."
God knows when they received the news last night that their No. 7 had appeared in Istanbul, everyone went crazy, especially when they saw the other side appear in the audience stands where fans gathered!
He didn't even take any protective measures, and was accurately captured by the big screen at the scene. The scene around him was already extremely chaotic, and it escalated to a higher level because of Cristiano's appearance.
Later, the broadcast was cut off. They heard that there seemed to be extreme fans at the scene who swung baseball bats after the overtime. The hundreds of security guards on the field could hardly control the situation. Some fans also put on helmets and were fully armed. The streets of Istanbul were in chaos.
——It’s hard not to worry that Cristiano will get injured in such a situation, after all, Cristiano’s body is not strong enough.
But no matter how they called, texted, or bombarded the group with messages, Cristiano did not respond. It was as if the boy had disappeared from the face of the earth! It was not until the boss's assistant sent them a notification that they learned that Cristiano had arrived safely at the hotel.
It was not until the early morning that Cristiano climbed onto the group chat and sent a message to report that he was safe.
Giggs stared at the group chat window at three in the morning, and immediately a row of [ok] emojis flashed across it.
And the last message above Cristiano's message - three hours ago - [Wayne: Anyone want a midnight snack?] - was so quiet that it seemed as if everyone had fallen asleep.
God will also sympathize with Rooney for a second.
Giggs guessed that Keane and Ferdinand would definitely teach their boy a lesson about this incident.
However, before the two big brothers could speak, Cristiano was taken away by Sir Alex Ferguson for a physical examination.
The medical examination report showed that Cristiano was as strong as an ox, and even his previous foot injury was no longer a problem.
"It looked like he needed to stop training and rest and recover... but now his reports show he is in great shape," the doctor told Ferguson, who seemed confused and had no idea why Cristiano recovered so quickly and so well.
"He can participate in the next game." The doctor finally concluded.
Sir Alex Ferguson was obviously very happy to see Cristiano's medical report. Cristiano leaned over to take a look and smiled with relief: "You see, I said I'm fine. I won't risk my physical injury to watch the game."
Ferguson realized that he shouldn't smile so obviously. He restrained his smile and glared at Chris without any deterrence. Then he said to the doctor: "I have the final say on whether he can play in the next game."
The doctor touched his nose and said nothing, obviously used to the temper of the uncrowned king.
Cristiano was also tactful enough not to fight for his place in the next round's starting lineup at this time. After all, he had caused quite a bit of controversy, so he had to be more well-behaved.
After getting permission from the doctor to resume training, Cristiano was finally able to return to the main team's training ground.
As soon as he got the OK, he ran out of the clinic so fast that even Ferguson didn't have time to react.
Ferguson shook his head with amusement and helplessness. He knew that Cristiano must be almost unbearable due to the one-week suspension of training.
After changing into training clothes, Cristiano appeared in the back row of the training team with the ball in his arms, looking very proud.
"Can we resume training? Didn't they say it would take at least two weeks?" Neville saw Cristiano walking behind him with the ball. He raised his eyebrows in surprise and his eyes fell on Cristiano's calf.
"I got the green pass from the doctor." Cristiano raised his eyebrows, gently tossed the ball upwards, and headed it to a steady stop. He stared at the ball above his head and grinned, "I'm fully recovered."
"That's good." Neville looked at Chris playing with the ball and nodded with amusement.
It's best to be free of pain. He feels that the place is a little strange and quiet after not seeing the lively and mischievous little kid for a week.
"What about the previous diagnosis?" Rooney asked in confusion, "a misdiagnosis?"
"Who knows." Cristiano shrugged his shoulders, touched the tip of his nose, put the ball down guiltily and held it obediently.
Keane glanced at the few people who were talking at the end of the team, and said, "Okay, start the group training, three people in a group, each group is formed."
Cristiano was about to invite Neville and Rooney to form a team, but the two turned around as if they had received some signal: "Hey Van Nistelrooy, let's join together."
Van Nistelrooy glanced at Cristiano, then at Keane and Ferdinand who were walking towards Cristiano, and he grinned: "Okay."
He raised his hand and vigorously rubbed Cristiano's voluminous curly hair, and said with a fake smile: "Train well, listen more to your seniors, and stay up late playing with your phone less."
It took Cristiano a second to react to what the last sentence "stay up late and play with your phone less" meant, and he immediately retorted: "You too!"
Fanny was choked, and he immediately rubbed the boy's head harder and more viciously without moving his hand away from him: "Heartless guy."
Who made these rough men worry like old mothers in the middle of the night?
Neville and Rooney also took the opportunity to pinch Chris's face: "Heartless guy."
Cristiano reacted a little late, then he chuckled, with a bit of silliness in his smile: "I take it back, next time I will definitely inform you as soon as possible. To make up for your staying up late, I will treat you tomorrow? Or, come to my house for dinner after the next game? I will arrange everything!"
"There will be a next time?" Ferdinand walked to Cristiano's side and caught the key words. He looked at him expressionlessly and warned, "There will be no next time, Ronnie."
Cristiano shrank his neck, as if Ferdinand had grabbed him by the scruff of the neck, stuck out his tongue and quickly assured: "Yes, there won't be a next time."
Ferdinand was not very satisfied with Cristiano's assurances, but he let it go for now.
"Dinner, party? Ronnie will arrange it? Can I look forward to it?" Rooney asked exaggeratedly, pretending to be shocked.
Cristiano spread his hands: "Then you don't have to come."
Neville laughed out loud, "Yes, that's right. Ronnie won't spoil anyone. Go ahead and arrange it. I'll come to the party even if it's just boiled chicken breast."
Cristiano curled his eyes in satisfaction: "Then it's settled, after the next game."
Keane and Ferdinand looked at each other, and Keane said, "Let's talk about the aftermath of the game. Let's go to training."
Cristiano nodded in response, then trotted with the ball to a corner of the court to practice with the two older brothers.
"So, you went to Türkiye, watched the Champions League final, and sat in the fan section of Milan, who kicked Manchester United back." Keane looked at Cristiano in front of him, his eyes slightly narrowed, as if examining him.
"Well... sitting there with the ticket Costa gave me is better than sitting in the crowd at Liverpool?" Cristiano looked at his captain dryly. Manchester United's iron-blooded captain can always easily give people a sense of supreme oppression.
Keane used a declarative sentence, but Cristiano felt it sounded like an interrogation.
So Cristiano turned to Ferdinand and gave him a pleading look.
Unfortunately, Ferdinand didn't seem to get the hint. He even said, "There is a neutral viewing area, which is relatively safe."
Cristiano coughed lightly: "...But it's not easy for Costa to get the tickets for me. I can't ask for more."
"Putting aside the seat issue, have you read today's newspaper?" Ferdinand looked at Cristiano, his lips straightened and his face darkened. "Apart from the news about your plan to transfer to AC Milan, there are even reports discussing your relationship with the No. 22 midfielder on the opposite side, your celebration gestures, and you were photographed staying in his hotel."
Cristiano saw it.
He didn't think that their little tricks could be hidden from the media, so he was not surprised or panicked. After all, the tabloids could always make all kinds of connections between the players, and no one would really believe it. Moreover, Mendes would handle it well. He and Kaka were "good friends" known to Mendes.
However, when Cristiano met Ferdinand's scrutinizing gaze, he knew that those excuses were still a little insufficient.
But he was still a little cautious. It didn't mean that he didn't trust Ferdinand - if he could only choose five people he trusted the most, Ferdinand would be among them - he just didn't dare to take it too lightly.
Cristiano looked at Ferdinand and chose the safest answer: "Our relationship? We are friends. We have always had a very good relationship. We even knew each other before joining Manchester United."
“And Costa gave me the tickets and of course arranged their accommodation for me, which was more convenient.”
After he finished speaking, he couldn't help blinking several times and forced a brilliant fake smile: "My Portuguese teammates are very reliable."
Ferdinand and Keane exchanged glances. They both noticed the stiffness in Cristiano's expression and the evasiveness in his eyes. To be honest, Cristiano was too bad at hiding it - that was why they tacitly chose to come to this corner when the three of them were training as a team so that no one else could see them.
"It would be better if he could be more reliable and give you a safe seat." Ferdinand snorted.
Cristiano breathed a sigh of relief silently. At least Ferdinand's attention seemed to have shifted to Costa.
His poor Portuguese teammate sneezed violently in the warm spring-like Apennine Peninsula.
Keane looked at Cristiano: "You two have known each other for a long time? So you collect his newspapers..."
Cristiano gasped, "How did you know?"
"...Do you think no one knows?" Keane almost couldn't help but roll his eyes at the boy, but he held back, "Yes, Ronnie, we all know."
He emphasized the words "we" and "all" and stressed their pronunciation.
Cristiano: “…”
"We thought it was because the media was always praising him and it made you competitive," Keane said.
"That's true," Cristiano responded quickly.
Keane glanced at the boy who seemed to have found a lifeline. He paused and said, "Rooney thinks you are jealous."
No matter how outrageous Rooney's answer was, Cristiano nodded without thinking, just to have a chance to get rid of suspicion: "Maybe a little."
"Giggs thinks you think he's good-looking." Keane narrowed his eyes slightly.
"Oh, of course." Cristiano blurted out, and then he closed his mouth.
Keane: “…”
Ferdinand wanted to laugh at how easy it was to pry out Cristiano's secret, but when he thought that Cristiano seemed to have been deceived by the little devil from AC Milan, he couldn't laugh anymore.
"I mean, he is good-looking, everyone agrees," Cristiano said. "Do we have to get so weird? Training is the main point."
Keane said, "No, before training, the point is that I must know exactly what you are thinking and what I should do so as not to let a 19-year-old kid who still feels everything is new rashly ruin himself."
Cristiano understood what Keane meant, and he assured him: "I won't, I know exactly what I want, I won't ruin myself or anyone else. You don't need to do anything."
Keane met Cristiano's gaze. He opened his mouth, but suddenly felt that there was nothing worth saying. There was a firmness and insight in Cristiano's eyes that went beyond his age.
He had a momentary illusion that the person standing in front of him was a person of the same age, mature, alert and trustworthy.
Ferdinand saw that their captain suddenly fell silent, as if he was convinced.
He frowned, took a step forward, held Cristiano's shoulder, and looked him in the eye: "Okay Ronnie, tell me what you think? A simple friend would not run to Istanbul while he was injured, and would not throw himself into that kind of place to celebrate the other party's game. Is he so important?"
“…” Keane stroked his forehead at Ferdinand’s straightforwardness.
Cristiano was silent for a moment, then compromised - but he still didn't admit it - and just took a step back: "Maybe I value this friendship very much, who knows, he is really good to me."
He emphasized the pronunciation, "It's me," and looked at Keane and Ferdinand.
The two of them couldn't help but take a deep breath.
They looked at each other and finally tacitly chose to let go of the topic.
"Can we just play football now?" Cristiano looked up at the two men.
He smiled helplessly. If Keane and Ferdinand both wanted an answer, then he could only give them a smoke bomb first.
——Now is not the time. He has no intention of exposing their relationship so quickly, even in front of his closest friends. He needs to become CR7 in this world, he needs to become the indestructible one again, he has to make arrangements for them.
As expected, Keane and Ferdinand didn't say anything else. They cooperated with the boy in practicing football until the end of the training.
In fact, both of them felt hurt by that smile, and they all agreed that the smile was as bitter as an unripe nut.
No wonder Cristiano would quietly collect newspapers, would enthusiastically and proactively run 50 meters to score his crucial goal, would eagerly run to the stadium in Istanbul to watch a Champions League final that he would miss, and would be so excited that his eyes would turn red when the other team won the championship.
"Damn it, what right does that Milan kid have?" Ferdinand and Keane cursed in a low voice.
"He's Brazilian, a Brazilian kid," Keane retorted, then took a sip of water in the same annoyed manner. "I need to think about it, to be honest, Ronnie is in trouble."
Their poodle should be grinning heartlessly, and what he did just now was very un-Cristiano Ronaldo.
Ferdinand: "You don't have to tell me that."
"I still don't understand why Ronnie would fall for that kid." Keane frowned, "Just because he has a face that will make the Premier League cry?"
"Don't forget, he choked Giggs." Ferdinand said after a silence, "In fact, except for that face, everything else about him is very English."
As a defender, he had many physical confrontations with Milan's No. 22, he commented responsibly.
Keane: “…”
Ferdinand: "But I still can't accept that Ronnie was deceived by him."
"Yeah, Leo," Keane agreed, getting the conversation back on track, "especially since he made Ronnie less like himself."
"But maybe it's just a hormonal impulse?" Ferdinand looked at Keane.
"Has it been impulsive for nearly half a year? Or even longer?" Keane asked, "Maybe, but I think the love you encounter when you are young and frivolous is the most passionate and the most difficult to let go. No matter what, Ronnie is trapped now."
Ferdinand had to admit that the captain was right.
"Well, based on the fact that Ronnie has already 'fallen into it', I think we have to evaluate the opponent for him first." Ferdinand whispered, "First of all, is the opponent a worthy choice?"
The two looked at each other and reached a consensus tacitly - "Observation Kaka Plan".
Cristiano was relieved the next day to find that Keane and Ferdinand did not show anything unusual, as if the conversation the night before had been sealed.
Keane and Ferdinand just patted Cristiano on the shoulder without saying a word.
Although Cristiano felt that the looks of these two people seemed a little strange, but, who cares.
The Premier League match was scheduled as planned, Cristiano was not in the starting lineup, he was on the bench.
Even as a substitute, he was still warming up with the main starters.
Ferguson glanced at the lively Chris, and assistant coach Queiroz asked in a low voice: "Why don't you start him? His condition and body have recovered well."
"He needs a lesson." Ferguson snorted.
Queiroz understood: "So you plan to keep him on the bench today?"
Ferguson glanced at Queiroz strangely: "He is in such good form, why should I let him sit on the bench all the time?"
Queiroz: “?”
"Go on in the second half. The lesson of the half-time 'ban' is enough." Sir Alex Ferguson replied arrogantly.
Queiroz: “…”
Players who have been suspended for multiple games for "not being nice" will cry.
In fact, Cristiano was substituted in the 30th minute of the game.
Manchester United were trailing 0-2, and Cristiano's glances at Ferguson were so intense and urgent that they seemed about to materialize.
Ferguson even thought he saw their No. 7 clasping his hands together and making a request to him: "Please, Please..."
Ferguson blinked, then realized he was imagining it.
He pinched the bridge of his nose, but Cristiano's eagerness was real, and his urgent desire to turn the situation around was also real.
Ferguson indicated that he would exercise the first right to make a substitution.
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