"Chris, don't you know? Your brother went to Lisbon this time to do business and made quite a lot of money. I scolded him for it—he went all the way to Lisbon and didn't even visit his own younger brother. What kind of older brother does that make him?" his mother said on the phone.
"I was busy at the time and couldn't leave…"
"I did the math. It's almost eight thousand US dollars. I left you three thousand, and the rest can be used for him to set up a stall outside and do some small business."
"Oh, and your brother said he was deeply impressed by this trip to Lisbon. He finds it boring to hang around with those friends now. He's been staying at home reading lately. Guess what he's reading… not novels—football agent books!"
"He said that if he can pass the qualification exam, he wants to be your agent's assistant. He knows he's not qualified to be your agent directly, but at least when you sign contracts in the future, he can help review them and look at your career planning."
"After all, family is the most reliable. Like Deng Kai said—brothers fight side by side like tigers, fathers and sons go to battle together. When you're playing on the pitch, Hugo can help you handle business deals, promote you, and let more people know that our Chris is a football genius…"
Cristiano Ronaldo listened to his mother's excited voice on the other end of the phone and felt a complicated emotion surge in his heart.
This time, dealing with Hugo's mess had cost him a massive debt—twenty to thirty thousand US dollars borrowed from Deng Kai. There were intense arguments, false alarms, a late-night rescue from a criminal hideout, and countless nerve-wracking moments.
Troublesome. Expensive. Exhausting. And not very pleasant.
To be honest, if Hugo weren't his biological brother, Ronaldo felt someone like that should've been abandoned long ago to fend for himself.
But hearing his mother so happy—happy because Hugo had "made money" and "grown up"—Ronaldo finally understood the meaning of all this.
In the past, he only felt proud of his own achievements. He was used to his family being happy because of him.
He had almost forgotten what it felt like for his parents to be excited because of his brother's success.
It was as if his parents were only his parents, not the parents of four children.
This time, his mother's happiness had nothing to do with him.
Yet Ronaldo felt joy deep in his heart.
After hanging up the phone, Cristiano Ronaldo looked at Kai and said seriously:
"I used to think I understood love and family. But after this, I realized I didn't understand them at all."
"I never knew why people said I was selfish. Now I get it. I really was selfish—so selfish that I thought I was everything to my parents, so selfish that I only celebrated my own success."
"I never stood in their shoes. I forgot that I'm just one of their four children."
"I took too much of the love that should have belonged to my brothers and sisters. I'll repay them. I have to play better."
Kai nodded.
This was what a healthy family relationship looked like.
A man who understands this is not far from maturity.
His effort hadn't been wasted.
…
On November 23, Sporting Lisbon U15 hosted league rivals Ireteke.
The match itself wasn't particularly exciting.
Sporting Lisbon won 2–0.
Cristiano Ronaldo had neither goals nor assists, but his off-the-ball movement and constant pulling runs were the biggest reasons the team won.
Kai provided an assist.
Both goals were scored by other teammates.
For those two players, it was the happiest day of the year.
The atmosphere within the Sporting Lisbon squad improved even further, almost like a family.
During training, more players naturally joined Kai and Ronaldo's group.
Cristiano Ronaldo finally dropped his invisible arrogance and became more grounded.
Aside from Kai, he could now at least exchange a few words with his teammates.
This change surprised coach Marques.
But he attributed it to winning.
In reality, a good team atmosphere requires more than victories.
It also needs people who quietly contribute and maintain harmony behind the scenes.
That day, Marques invited Trigueira to give a targeted tactical lesson.
The target: Benfica U15.
In the next league round, Sporting Lisbon U15 would travel away to face Benfica, the current group leaders.
After twelve rounds, Sporting Lisbon had six wins, one draw, and five losses—19 points, ranking fifth, with a real chance of entering the playoff zone.
In their last six matches, they had won five and lost one, even defeating the team ranked second.
They were in great form.
But Benfica?
They were on fire.
Twelve wins in twelve matches.
Absolute dominance.
Two mortal enemies from the same city—one unstoppable, the other rising fast.
When strong teams collide, it's not just about rankings—it's about survival.
Because of this, Benfica applied to move the venue from the small youth training ground with a capacity of just 2,000 to the first team's home stadium—the Estádio da Luz.
The Stadium of Light, newly expanded in 1997, could hold over 42,000 spectators.
Benfica fans were expected to flood the stadium and fill every seat.
This U15 city derby was also being used as a rallying cry for Benfica's first team in their title push.
At the top of the Primeira Liga, Porto still led the table—but the gap to Benfica wasn't large.
Benfica wanted to build momentum from the youth level upward.
Sometimes, that kind of "momentum" is exactly what a first team needs for a desperate comeback.
Some media outlets even claimed this U15 derby would decide the Primeira Liga title.
It sounded passionate—but it was also an insult to Sporting Lisbon.
Because no matter how the U15 match ended, the Primeira Liga champion would not be Sporting Lisbon.
The media knew this too.
But Sporting Lisbon was already used to being stepped on.
After all, your U15 team had the misfortune of sharing a region with Benfica.
Porto U15 played in a different region. If they wanted to clash with Benfica, they'd have to wait for the championship stage.
This year's Benfica U15 had another reason to be feared.
Many of their players were playing above their age group.
Normally, U15 players should've been born around 1983.
Kai and Cristiano Ronaldo, born in 1985, were exceptional grade-skipping talents.
Benfica had six players born in 1984 or 1985.
Their talent pool was terrifying.
Among them were several familiar faces to Kai.
Right-back João Pereira, whom Kai had played alongside in the Diamond Generation Invitational Tournament, was now Benfica U15's starting right back.
Midfielder Rúben Amorim and center-back Miguel Veloso—also from that tournament—were on the same team and in outstanding form.
This Benfica side was anything but ordinary.
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