Yes, of course there should be a gap between him and Kai. After all, he is better than Kai in every aspect… right?
Kai: Are our definitions of "all-around" completely different or what?
But what Cristiano Ronaldo couldn't accept was that Kai had now surpassed him in one specific area.
That was… physical resistance.
If Kai and Ronaldo collided directly, Ronaldo—who was nearly 1.8 meters tall—would definitely not lose.
But under pressure from the same adult opponents, Kai performed significantly better than Ronaldo.
Kai's final move in the match—his body-supported spin—relied heavily on his physical strength and balance.
If it had been Cristiano Ronaldo, the moment he made contact, his movement would likely have deformed. That Marseille turn would've turned into some awkward, broken mess—forget about the precise shot afterward.
So where did this difference come from?
Training.
What kind of training?
Strength training.
Cristiano Ronaldo knew Kai had been doing weight training. He had wanted to follow, but Kai had stopped him before, saying it could affect his physical development.
And now?
Now it looked like Kai had secretly gotten stronger while holding him back.
How the hell was Ronaldo supposed to accept that?
The team had a day off, but Ronaldo still went to the training base and hit the gym hard.
Weight training was painful in the beginning, but he gritted his teeth and pushed through.
He never accepted defeat.
Originally, Kai was supposed to train with Ronaldo that day, but there was a small issue with his signed-football business.
Someone wanted to cancel an order for a Pep Guardiola signed ball, so Kai had to handle it personally.
Guardiola's stock had been dropping lately. It was about time to talk to Victoria Beckham and get more David Beckham signed balls into the Lisbon market.
Customers, not "leeks," of course…
Also, Anne Hathaway shouldn't take too many collaborations right now. Whether she wins an Oscar or not, her value is about to skyrocket.
Lowering prices now would just be dumb.
Better to have a few afternoon teas with Victoria, talk fashion, clothing, beauty—keep leveling up professionally.
After all, every field requires expertise.
The next day, Kai finally trained with Ronaldo.
But the moment he saw Ronaldo in the gym increasing weights, he stepped in.
"When did you start?" Kai asked.
"Yesterday," Ronaldo replied, not even pausing his bench press.
"Why?"
Kai pressed down on the barbell.
"Because I want to get stronger!" Ronaldo snapped. "I'm sick of being bullied physically and not having the energy left to deal with the ball."
His face flushed red, barely holding the weight.
"I get it," Kai nodded. "But from my perspective… you're wasting one of the few gifts God gave you."
Ronaldo frowned. "I value time and opportunity more than anyone. I have a family to support. I'm not like you—I can't rely on business."
"So I need to work harder!"
Kai shrugged. "Then you should've told me earlier. I could've hired your family. Same salary as mine. If you partnered with me, I'd even give you shares."
"Of course, I'd still hold more—but that's just how business works."
Ronaldo stood up, frustrated.
"But I'm not your company! Why should I follow your plan? I wanted to do strength training long ago!"
"If I had, I wouldn't have looked so damn embarrassing in the last match!"
"I wouldn't struggle like this in the Portuguese Liga!"
"My goals would be double—no, triple!"
"I have that ability. You know it!"
Kai nodded calmly.
"So… you're saying I made you worse?"
Ronaldo froze.
"…Sorry, Kai. That's not what I meant. I just… want to be stronger. I can't accept the version of myself that struggles like this."
"There's more than one way to get stronger," Kai said. "And the one you're choosing isn't the best."
Kai brought Ronaldo to the coach's office.
Triguera was already there.
Kai asked for the data reports. Triguera already knew what this was about.
In fact, he had planned to talk to Ronaldo himself.
Because he'd heard Ronaldo had started weight training.
And he didn't agree with it either.
Soon, Kai and Triguera laid out the data.
Cold, brutal numbers.
Triguera spoke first:
"I pulled your full development data—from Madeira to Sporting's academy. Physical stats, match data, comparisons with players your age."
"After Kai's reminder, I noticed something important."
"You've almost never played against opponents at your level."
"Not age-wise—you've always played above your age group."
"But physically, you were never at a disadvantage."
"Even when skipping levels, your body stayed elite. Add your talent, technique, and tactical learning…"
"You never truly struggled."
Ronaldo stayed silent.
Triguera continued:
"This isn't unusual. Top talents are like this."
"Luís Figo, Simão Sabrosa, Ricardo Quaresma, Hugo Viana…"
"And players you've seen—Robin van Persie, Fernando Torres, Rafael van der Vaart, Arjen Robben…"
"They all went through this."
"Have you watched Simão at Barcelona this season?"
"Have you studied Quaresma's first-team matches?"
"They all share one thing in common."
Triguera looked straight at Ronaldo.
"They look exactly like you did in the last game."
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