"LEO! THIS IS IT! This is the call! Not Liverpool, not PSG! This is the endgame! The final boss! Real Madrid! The white shirt, the Bernabéu, the history! Chivu wants you! Pérez wants you! The entire universe wants you! We have to do this, Leo! This is not an offer; it is a coronation!"
Leon stood in the quiet of his car, the lights of Los Angeles a distant, blurry river of gold outside his window.
He listened patiently to the hurricane of enthusiasm, to the whirlwind of talk about release clauses, signing bonuses, and a future so bright it would require sunglasses. He let Marco paint the beautiful, intoxicating picture of a life in Madrid, a kingdom waiting for its new prince.
He thought of Chivu's words. He had been tested, and he had passed.
The path was clear, a golden road leading directly to the pinnacle of world football.
could walk it, hand-in-hand with the coach who understood him best. It was a perfect story.
