The All-Around Center Forward

"I know a pretty good restaurant. How about we try it tonight?"

"I feel Suker makes better food."

"Don't we have to pay for meals?"

"Get lost! Do you think my home is a restaurant?"

Suker, Pepe, Benzema, and Marcelo were chatting together.

Since the end of the second round of matches, Pepe and Benzema had gradually gravitated toward Suker, and even Marcelo, a substitute with little presence, was sticking close to him.

Humans are social animals.

Even within a small football club, this kind of thing naturally forms.

Suker didn't intend to form cliques, but some people would naturally lean toward him.

For example, non-Spanish players like Pepe and Benzema, lacking local support, naturally attached themselves to the strong.

To them, Suker was that strong figure.

Whether in strength, status, or other aspects, Suker was already one of the leaders in the locker room, holding considerable influence.

Just from Florentino's move to punish Raul, they knew this was someone worth following.

Of course, Suker's relationship with the Spanish faction was not antagonistic.

He still had a good relationship with Casillas.

He made it clear that this was purely a personal feud, not involving the team.

Neither Suker nor Casillas wanted the Real Madrid locker room to split.

Once that happened, no one would benefit.

Florentino acted like thunder, handling the matter quickly and decisively with a strong hand.

This quickly calmed the once divided Real Madrid locker room.

The only victim in this whole incident was Raul.

But it was inevitable.

Even without Suker, Raul would have left Real Madrid.

"Everyone, gather in the tactics room!"

Pellegrini shouted loudly.

Once everyone assembled in the tactics room, they saw the tournament group on the screen.

Four teams in total.

Real Madrid, AC Milan, Marseille, and Zurich.

This was the Champions League group draw. Coincidentally, Suker's former team AC Milan was in the same group.

At that moment, everyone's expression turned serious.

Compared to Suker, Real Madrid players had been repeatedly knocked out at the Round of 16 in the Champions League year after year.

From the 2004/2005 season up to the last season, they had been eliminated at the Round of 16 five times in a row, earning the humiliating nickname "The Round of 16 Men."

This was undoubtedly a shameful title.

Madrid fans were eager to shake off this label, but after five years of trying, no progress had been made.

Thus, whenever they played in the Champions League, a psychological burden always existed.

They no longer felt confident.

Naturally, they couldn't play freely.

Moreover, in this group stage, the biggest threat was AC Milan, the very team that had twice ended their hopes at the Round of 16.

Thinking of this, Ramos and others quickly turned their heads to look at Suker; their gaze shifted from anger to joy.

AC Milan's biggest obstacle!

Suker was Milan's core!

Now, they had bought Milan's core. Suker was on their side.

As one rises and another falls, this time they must break through this shameful label.

"Our biggest opponent in the group is undoubtedly AC Milan!" Pellegrini said. "I believe you are all familiar with this opponent. Although Suker has transferred to us, Milan's firepower has shifted focus from Suker to Kaka!"

"In the last two Serie A matches, Kaka scored three goals. Although Milan's results were one win and one loss, it still shows their attacking threat."

"Apart from Kaka, Pato is also a player to watch. Then there's Pirlo's passing, Gattuso's tackling, and recently, Inzaghi's outstanding performance."

Inzaghi had been doing well lately.

Perhaps Suker's departure gave Inzaghi more room to perform.

He scored in two consecutive league rounds, becoming another attacking spearhead after Kaka.

Most importantly, Inzaghi's ghost-like runs were hard to predict and counter.

"That's the general situation. The Champions League will start in two days. In the first round, we will play away against Zurich. For us, getting the first victory is more important than anything else!"

Everyone nodded heavily at Pellegrini's words.

The start is the most important, get the first win, then gradually adjust mentality and situation.

The match against AC Milan would be the highlight of the group, and they couldn't afford to be careless.

After the tactics meeting, Suker had just left the room when he saw Florentino standing by the door.

"Mr. President!"

"Good evening, Mr. Perez."

Everyone greeted respectfully, because at Real Madrid, you don't mess with Florentino.

Florentino adjusted his glasses, wearing a warm smile, chatting kindly with the players.

He talked with every player, showing care, without ignoring substitutes.

Finally, Florentino approached Suker.

"Your gift has arrived!"

Florentino said with a smile.

Suker's eyes lit up. "I can't wait!"

The two left together.

Everyone watched their backs with admiration.

At this moment, they deeply realized what it meant when people said "Suker is special."

In Real Madrid's underground garage.

A brand-new Rolls-Royce Phantom, with a steady and dignified shape, no flashy curves, but sharp angles showing calmness.

Under the lights, the whole car body glowed softly, like a huge piece of obsidian.

The interior was light brown; though not as luxurious as a futuristic design, it was top-tier luxury now.

Moreover...

"Look here!"

Florentino pointed at the double-R emblem.

Suker leaned in and saw that beneath the logo, his name was engraved in a ripple pattern diagonally, and inside the hood, there was a large signature of Suker.

This was a custom-made product, not mass-produced.

"This is yours, the only one like it in the world!"

Florentino smiled and handed the car key to Suker.

Suker took it with a smile.

"Thank you again. I will repay your expectations with more goals and championships!"

Florentino laughed heartily: "That's the best reply!"

"Try it out!"

Suker immediately sat in the driver's seat.

Driving licenses in Spain are easy to get. After practicing with club vehicles and passing a road test once, Suker had gotten his license.

With the club's help, the process was quick; he got the license right after passing.

Suker took a quick drive around and found it very good. Then he waved goodbye to Florentino and drove off.

The black Rolls-Royce glided on the road, Suker behind the wheel, almost no tire noise or engine sound — very smooth.

This gave Suker a very comfortable driving experience.

Compared to flashy sports cars, Suker preferred this steady and dignified sedan.

The Rolls-Royce Cullinan was not yet released; otherwise, Suker would have ordered one.

The only downside was the training base was too close to his villa — less than five minutes driving, a few turns, and he arrived, which didn't give him much chance to enjoy driving.

Zorancic was watering the garden near the field.

He lived in Suker's villa and helped care for the small pitch.

When he saw a Rolls-Royce arriving, he stood up in surprise: "Wow, this car is really cool!"

The car parked in the spot long abandoned by Suker.

Suker got out, patted the roof, smiling: "Want to go for a ride?"

Zorancic shrugged: "No thanks, I prefer my little car."

Woof! The dog barked.

Luna, a big figure, ran quickly toward Suker, placing her front paws on Suker, reaching up to his chest.

The dog was growing bigger and bigger.

Luna wagged her tail furiously, circling Suker, occasionally shaking her head outside.

"Go out and play!"

Suker stared into Luna's dog eyes, and Luna shyly lowered her gaze, tail wagging less wildly.

"Damn dog! Trying to trick me into taking you out?"

Suker laughed and scolded.

Zorancic also laughed watching Luna.

The dog was getting more and more human-like; now even learning how to deceive the owner.

Though all it wanted was to go out and play.

"I'm about to go to Spain, I can't wait," Kaka's voice was full of joy on the phone.

"Why so impatient? It's still a long time; we only meet in the third round!"

Kaka happily said: "Right, two times in a row I get to eat your cooking."

Then Kaka complained: "A few days ago, Pato invited me to eat Brazilian food. I didn't even know what Brazilian food was. What he made was confusing — he himself didn't like it and asked me to eat more."

"Sigh, Milan has been getting weaker lately. Pirlo and Ivan had a big fight. They've always had a good relationship, but this time it was intense. Pirlo is thinking of leaving Milan. I hope he doesn't join Inter Milan. That would make things very hard for us!"

"Inter Milan is too strong. If you leave, we lose our attacking core against them. Mourinho's defensive system makes it very difficult for us. By the way, Srna played really well. In that game, he kept tackling me on the wing. Though I still broke through and scored."

Kaka bragged a little, but soon his mood turned low.

"I really want to go back to a few years ago when Paulo was captain. That time was really happy; every day was joyful. But now it feels so depressing — the matches are one thing, but the locker room is another. Allegri is clearing out the Eastern European group recently. Simeunich's relationship with Allegri has worsened. He has even lost his starting position."

Kaka spoke nonstop, and Suker listened quietly.

Kaka was not one to complain, but at this moment, he was truly uneasy inside.

Suker knew Kaka wanted to protect Milan, just like Maldini before.

But no matter how he struggled, the overall trend couldn't be changed.

Suker's departure dealt a big blow to AC Milan.

Although they received 100 million euros in transfer fees, the loss was still huge.

Moreover, many were thinking of leaving, including Kaka himself.

"Real Madrid contacted me again. This time I didn't tell the club," Kaka sighed. "Maybe subconsciously, I'm thinking about leaving."

Suker asked, "What do you think?"

"I don't know," Kaka said dejectedly. "I want to go back to the past, but that's impossible."

Suker was silent for a moment, then said, "If you're unhappy there, come find me."

Kaka smiled: "Are you Real Madrid's recruiter?"

"I fully respect your choice."

There was a long silence on the other end before Kaka finally said, "Alright, see you next time. Then we'll be opponents."

"The more times we meet, maybe we'll be teammates again."

Suker laughed: "Come on, I'll cook you paella every day."

Kaka chuckled softly: "No jokes, I'll seriously consider it."

"Good night!"

"Goodbye!"

After hanging up, Suker couldn't help but sigh deeply.

He still hoped Kaka would join Real Madrid. That would not only be a huge boost but also allow them to explore a "super god" and "god slayer" combined offensive duo.

Yes!

Suker hadn't given up.

TL note

There will only be 5 chapters from now on cuz before the 680 each chapters is 1k words so now the author of this book wrote 2k words per chapter.