Chen Yu had hoped to stay in Phoenix a while longer, but it turned out he was being too optimistic.
A single phone call forced Chen Yu to board a plane to Europe once again.
In the 27th round of La Liga, during the match between Real Madrid and Santander, Ronaldo was breaking through with the ball in the 67th minute. In the middle of changing direction to beat a defender, he suddenly lost his balance and collapsed onto the pitch.
The image of him clutching his left thigh, captured by the cameras, shocked many people.
Ronaldo was then stretchered off the field.
Real Madrid was held to a 1-1 draw by Santander.
But no one cared about the result anymore. Fans all over the world were more concerned about Ronaldo’s injury.
He had suffered major injuries before. Although he had made a strong comeback, played healthy for two years, and reached an incredible peak, no one could forget the nightmarish moments of his injuries from a few years prior.
Moreover, it was the second half of the league season. Although Real Madrid was at the top of the table, their lead wasn’t large. Valencia and Super Laco were biting at their heels.
Most importantly, although Florentino had assembled the Galaxy Battleship this season—as if collecting the seven Dragon Balls—with a core of six players in Ronaldo, Xiaobei, Zidane, Raul, Figo, and Carlos, they had unfortunately developed a dependency on their superstars.
With the superstars on the field, the team could win. The moment a superstar was injured and absent, they would fall apart.
And Real Madrid’s ability to brute-force a goal almost entirely depended on Ronaldo.
With this injury of his, it was as if half the sky had fallen for Real Madrid.
But no matter how much they wished it weren’t so, Ronaldo was injured. And after getting hurt, Ronaldo had absolutely no faith in the club’s medical team. As soon as he was carried off the field, he allowed the team doctor a simple check, but his own team directly forbade the club from getting involved in any further examinations.
They had only one demand: Chen Yu had to be the one to treat him. Even the examinations had to be done by Chen Yu.
He didn’t trust anyone but Chen Yu.
Florentino could have sent Ronaldo to the United States on a private jet, but when Chen Yu heard the news, he weighed his options and decided to make a trip to Europe himself.
Treating Ronaldo was one reason. The main one was to talk to Florentino face-to-face and continue pushing his "health certificate" plan.
Just like in the other Five Major Leagues, the push for health certificates in La Liga was struggling to make headway.
The Football Association and the clubs were passing the buck, neither wanting to foot the bill.
Chen Yu had thought it over. Someone had to take the lead, and in La Liga, that could only be Real Madrid, who weren’t short on cash.
He would first have Real Madrid set an example, then use Florentino’s personal influence to push the matter forward. If each side took a step back, he might be able to get it done.
At Madrid La Paz Hospital, Chen Yu saw Ronaldo in his hospital bed.
Their eyes met. Leaning against the doorframe with a wry smile, Chen Yu asked, "I’ve got to ask, Ronnie, was all this really necessary?"
He was already in the hospital, yet he refused any treatment or tests.
Insisting on waiting until Chen Yu arrived.
’What if I couldn’t make it? Weren’t you afraid of making your condition worse?’
Ronaldo was lying in bed, fiddling with a toy with his son. When he saw Chen Yu, he quickly pushed his son toward his wife, Milanee, by the bedside and said with a serious expression, "Of course, it was. I told you, I don’t trust anyone but you."
"So, I should be thanking you, then?"
Chen Yu walked forward, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. He greeted Milanee with a hug and ruffled Ronald’s hair.
The little guy was almost four and looked a lot like his dad. He wasn’t shy around Chen Yu, chasing after him and calling him "Uncle."
"I’m here now, so stop toughing it out. Let’s get the tests done," Chen Yu said, finally looking at Ronaldo.
The Eye of All-Seeing had already scanned him.
It wasn’t a major problem. A tear in the biceps femoris muscle of his left hamstring.
In fact, after watching the online video of him collapsing, Chen Yu had already guessed the approximate location of the injury, because the man had clutched the back of his thigh, not his knee.
But his knee did have some minor issues; inflammation was starting to appear.
There were also some signs of cartilage wear.
But it was likely all from overexertion. The guy was getting older, the match intensity was high, and he was running back and forth between his national team and club. It was normal for an illness to develop from accumulated fatigue.
He called for a doctor and nurse to take Ronaldo for his tests.
Milanee followed with their son.
Chen Yu keenly noticed that the couple didn’t say much to each other, and their interactions were cold. It seemed like there was a problem with their relationship.
Taking advantage of a break during the tests, Chen Yu asked about it casually.
"It’s nothing, we just don’t feel right for each other anymore." He was surprisingly frank about it, and more importantly, he had a couldn’t-care-less expression.
’It’s probably his life of partying and carousing that’s made Milanee unhappy.’
"You should tone it down a bit," Chen Yu reminded him.
Ronaldo shrugged nonchalantly. "Chen, you and I are different. This is just who I am. I can’t tone it down."
Chen Yu shook his head to himself but didn’t press the matter.
"Chen, let’s not talk about that."
Ronaldo pulled himself up, grabbing Chen Yu’s arm. With a serious and earnest expression, he asked, "Chen, is my injury serious? How long do I have to rest?"
"What’s wrong?"
Chen Yu didn’t rush him to the next test, sitting down to ask for the reason.
To be honest, since Ronaldo’s transfer to Real Madrid last summer, coupled with how incredibly busy Chen Yu had been this past year, the two hadn’t communicated much.
Of course, their friendship hadn’t faded. Otherwise, Ronaldo wouldn’t have trusted no one else and insisted on finding Chen Yu after getting injured.
They were simply too busy and had no time to talk.
Ronaldo pursed his lips. "It’s nothing, really. It’s just that the Champions League knockout stage is happening right now, and I want to make a run for the title."
Ronaldo had won more awards in the football world than he could count, but he was still lacking in truly major trophies.
He did have a World Cup title, but in ’94, he was just along for the ride. In ’98 and ’02, especially ’02, his best year, he was stunningly defeated by an unsolvable Baggio in the twilight of his career.
As for league titles, people used to say he didn’t have a championship from one of the Five Major Leagues, but after his comeback, he helped Inter win one.
The only thing left was the Champions League.
In that regard, he felt he’d been a bit unlucky. When he was at his physical peak, he went to a struggling Barça, then later to Inter, where he suffered a major injury.
Moratti deeply loved Inter, but in those two years, Inter clearly didn’t have the strength to compete for the Champions League title.
Now he had come to Real Madrid, surrounded by a legion of superstars. He truly wanted to make a run for a Champions League title in these two years.
Then, he wanted to make a run at the World Cup in ’06. If he succeeded, he would feel his career was complete.
After ’06, he would be 30. At that age, his body would decline, and he could relax a bit, chasing money and thinking about retirement.
Mentioning the Champions League, Chen Yu remembered.
The Champions League knockout stage had officially begun on February 25th.
"It’s the knockout stage. In the match on the 25th, we drew with Bayern. There’s another match on the 11th, and I’m afraid the team will be eliminated if I’m not there. So, Chen, can I be back by the 11th?" Ronaldo asked cautiously.
The corner of Chen Yu’s eye twitched violently. He then said, "Back by the 11th, huh? Sure. Go find a Mage. I’m sure he can make your wish come true."
Ronaldo gave an embarrassed smile and didn’t dare to speak.
"Your injury is not light, you understand?" Chen Yu said with a grave expression.
The guy got injured on March 6th, and today was already the 8th. And he wanted to return on the 11th? ’What is he thinking?’
He had a torn muscle, and it wasn’t a minor one. It would take at least a month to heal completely and get back to his original state.
"Besides, you guys are Real Madrid, aren’t you? Things can’t be that desperate that they need a patient to rush back to play," Chen Yu added.
Florentino waved his money around, signing one superstar a year, shocking the entire football world. In Chen Yu’s mind, with such a luxurious lineup, they shouldn’t be lost without one Ronaldo.
At the mention of this, Ronaldo sat up straight and pounded his knee in frustration. "How should I put it? It’s like in your NBA, if a team put five Jordans in the starting lineup and then suddenly forgot how to play basketball. That’s basically what it’s like, you know?"
Chen Yu frowned slightly. Of course he understood the meaning. Too many stars, only one ball. It just didn’t work.
"Although, if you really did put five Jordans together, they’d probably still win," Chen Yu countered.
Five O’Neals might not win a championship, but five Jordans? That might actually work.
Ronaldo continued, "I won’t go into the details of the lineup problems, but it’s a mess. Especially the defense, it’s a total disaster."
Last summer, when Real Madrid let Makelele go, it was truly like laying off an employee and severing a major artery. The Real Madrid defense collapsed immediately.
"I don’t really like Queiroz either. How should I put it... he overuses us."
Chen Yu nodded to himself.
’To put it bluntly, he runs the starters into the ground.’
Especially for a powerhouse club like Real Madrid, fighting on multiple fronts, if you overwork your main players, injuries are inevitable.
Like Ronaldo, who was now starting to show signs of overexertion injuries again.
Xiaobei, Zidane, and Raul had also been injured quite a bit this season, which is why the media joked that the team had developed a dependency on its superstars.
Because as soon as a few of the superstars got injured, the team would immediately start losing.
This forced Queiroz to not dare use the substitutes, so he could only continue to run the starters into the ground, leading to more overexertion and injuries—a perfect vicious cycle.
"Do you have any idea? We’ve played 27 rounds in the league, and in the league alone, I’ve scored 32 goals in one go! There are still 11 rounds left! My goal count is almost catching up to my numbers from ’97 at Barça!"
Ronaldo’s voice grew louder.
"The second-highest scorer, Baptista, only has 17. I have almost double his total!"
"And that’s not even counting my goals in the Copa del Rey and the Champions League. Just think about how hard I’ve been pushing myself."
The peak year for his league goals was at Barça, where he scored 34 in the league and 47 in the entire season.
Now, the league season wasn’t even over, and he had already stunningly scored 32 goals.
This goal tally was simply outrageous.
And such exaggerated stats, on one hand, proved that he was at the peak of his career where his physical condition and skills were perfectly combined. On the other hand, it also proved how poor the chemical reaction within the Real Madrid lineup was and how severe their dependence on him had become.
With such a terrifying level of use, it was no wonder he suffered a torn muscle and overexertion injuries.
"Chen, can you stay in Spain? Just for two months, until the Champions League ends in late May."
Ronaldo suddenly reached out, grabbed Chen Yu’s arm, and asked with a look of sincere pleading.
If you were to ask him when his physical condition was at its absolute best—when he never had to worry about his body affecting his performance and could play on the field with complete abandon, making any move he wanted—it would have to be during the 2002 World Cup. After the United States Team was eliminated, Chen Yu had stayed behind, solely responsible for maintaining his physical condition.
Back then, he had felt invincible.
But this season, especially in the second half, he was truly starting to feel that his body couldn’t keep up with his will.
He felt that as long as Chen Yu could stay, he could immediately replicate his 2002 performance and activate his true Alien form.
He’d be starting with hat-tricks; a four-goal haul or even bagging five would be no problem. He dared to believe he could carry Real Madrid to a Champions League victory all by himself.
After all, this was football, a sport where scoring was everything.
No matter how bad the defense was, as long as you scored, you’d be fine.

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