The World Cup trophy was never meant to be taken so easily.
Especially when you seize a trophy that was never truly yours to begin with.
Was this karma coming back around?
This injury was the result of too many factors converging at once.
A hidden old injury he himself hadn't fully noticed.
Ashley Cole's sheer impact force.
Underestimating the risks and consequences of a high-speed Marseille turn.
Increased explosiveness leading to even more violent collisions.
Real Madrid's brutal schedule steadily wearing down his injury resistance.
Too many things piled up.
Under circumstances like these, not getting injured would've been unnatural.
But for it to be this severe—
Su Hang found it hard to accept.
"Su, you…" The doctor hesitated, clearly unsure how to begin.
Su Hang's parents knew his temperament well and didn't dare tell him the diagnosis directly.
In the end, Zidane stepped forward. Locking eyes with Su Hang, he said quietly,
"It's over, Su."
Su Hang understood what Zidane meant, but deliberately twisted the meaning and nodded.
"Yes. The match against Chelsea is over."
Zidane shook his head.
"No, Su… everything is over."
"You can't play football anymore."
"If you want me to keep leading Real Madrid, then we'll stick to what we said before—I'll finish this season and then retire."
"If you want me to stay with you, I can announce my retirement immediately."
"We can go to the United States. Forget dealing with MLS—I'll cover the extra money myself!"
"We'll be club owners! Playing is exhausting—owning a club is where the fun is! Or you could coach, though you'd need certification first."
"And it's close to Hollywood. Visiting Jennifer would be easy. Honestly, wasting that handsome face on football feels like a loss—you'd be perfect for movies…"
Everyone in the room became absorbed in Zidane's vision of a "beautiful future."
Without realizing it, tears streamed down every face.
Judging by background, wealth, and fame, Su Hang's future was guaranteed to be comfortable—happy, even.
But…
He would never play football again.
"Maybe… things aren't that bad?" Su Hang felt everyone was being overly pessimistic.
The attending physician handed him the test reports and spoke calmly.
"With your current condition, we strongly recommend that you immediately give up all strenuous physical activity."
"No—more precisely, you should immediately give up all physical activity."
"If you choose surgery, even if we use advanced techniques and bring in top specialists from the U.S., the failure rate is still as high as thirty percent."
"And failure means paralysis from the waist down."
Su Hang asked quietly, "And if the surgery succeeds?"
"Even if it succeeds, you'll need nearly two years of rehabilitation. And it doesn't mean the injury will never recur—it only means recurrence won't result in paralysis."
"It will become a chronic injury. Compared to other areas, it'll be far more vulnerable. You'll most likely become what we call a 'glass player.'"
Su Hang shook his head.
"So whether surgery succeeds or not, the difference isn't that big? Then what about conservative treatment?"
The doctor glanced at Su Hang's parents and lowered his voice.
"With conservative treatment, you could return to the pitch in about a month."
"But the next time the old injury flares up, it won't just mean lying in bed for a few days. Paralysis is a very real possibility."
"Even if paralysis doesn't happen, surgery would become unavoidable. And by then, the failure rate would rise from thirty percent to seventy or even eighty percent."
"In other words, conservative treatment won't affect your short-term ability to play—but paralysis is your eventual destination, and it will most likely arrive within a year."
Outside the door, Jennifer and Clara were already covering their faces, crying.
Su Hang had no choice.
He had to retire.
There was no other option.
Even after retirement, he wouldn't be able to engage in intense physical activity.
Which meant that in the future, even sharing a bed, they'd have to be extremely careful—no recklessness, no excess—lest Su Hang himself end up paralyzed.
Certain… energetic positions were clearly off the table.
A real shame.
Su Hang: …
...
Strictly speaking, an injury this serious should never have been made public.
At the very least, not before an internal decision had been reached.
However—
As everyone knows, England's paparazzi industry is terrifyingly efficient.
Led by The Sun, unscrupulous tabloids leave no crack unexplored.
They actually used a Page Three model to infiltrate the hospital, befriended a caregiver, and planted someone who stole Su Hang's medical report directly from the doctors' office.
The Sun:
"Stronger than Ronaldo! But even more fragile! Su Hang's career is officially over!"
The headline instantly exploded onto global trending lists.
Just like that, The Sun had "helped" Su Hang announce his retirement.
And they weren't done.
One headline after another followed—each rocketing to the top of European trends.
"Must Retire! Doctors Say Su Hang Will Be Paralyzed Within a Year If He Continues Playing!"
"Surgery Not an Option! Thirty Percent Chance of Paralysis If Operation Fails!"
"After Conservative Treatment, All Intense Activity Must Stop—Including Sex!"
"Delay Surgery Now, Future Paralysis Risk Rises to Eighty Percent!"
"A Star Falls! A Brilliant Yet Tragically Short Career!"
"Confirmed: World Football's No.1 Glass Player! Root Cause Traced Back to World Cup Final Goalpost Collision After Bicycle-Clearance!"
"A Beautiful Bubble, Shattered at a Touch—Like a Wounded Heart, Unable to Endure Pain! Every Promise, Too Fragile!"
"The Galácticos Drained All of Real Madrid's Luck! After Their Collapse, Real Will Sink for Twenty Years! Su Hang Was Strong—But Could Not Defy Fate!"
"A Great Performance! From Rookie to World No.1 to Forced Retirement—Just Four Years, Yet He Dazzled an Entire Era!"
"Bayern Miracle Doctor Wohlfahrt's Prediction Fulfilled! Su Hang Becomes Football's Ultimate Glass Man!"
Stunned.
The fans were completely stunned.
One moment, Su Hang was saying, I'm back.
The next—
Forced retirement?
This…
Was unbearably cruel.
Especially for Su Hang's fans and Real Madrid supporters, who simply couldn't accept it.
They refused to believe The Sun.
But reports said the hospital where Su Hang was being treated had already been surrounded—three layers inside, three layers outside—by media and fans.
Everyone wanted the most direct, most reliable confirmation.
A reporter from Sport even caught footage of Calderón boarding a private jet.
Sources revealed the trip was made on short notice, not part of Calderón's usual schedule.
Clearly, he couldn't sit still anymore—he was heading to London to see Su Hang in person.
And that meant The Sun's report was very likely true.
After losing Ronaldo, Real Madrid was about to lose Su Hang as well.
And considering that Real Madrid never truly had a Ronaldo at his absolute peak, losing Su Hang—just as he was entering his own prime—was an even deeper wound.