Chapter 80

When Leonardo drove out of Kaka's yard, he tilted his head and noticed a camera lens poking out from the roadside flowers.

A reporter?

Leonardo wasn't surprised.

Recently, there have been many transfer rumors about Kaka. As the youngest player on the Brazilian team, Kaka participated in the World Cup and won the Golden Cup, which has made him a focus of European teams.

Some people compare him to Ronaldo in the 1994 World Cup. Both were young when they were selected for the national team, participated in the World Cup, and won the championship as substitutes. However, Kaka has an advantage over Ronaldo in that he at least played in the World Cup.

The attention from European teams naturally drew the media's attention.

In recent days, the media has been full of transfer rumors about Kaka.

The AC Milan where Leonardo is, along with European giants Real Madrid, Premier League powerhouse Chelsea, and a Russian team, have all been linked to Kaka.

It's normal for the media to be lurking around Kaka's house, hoping to see if anyone from a club would contact him.

Leonardo didn't take the reporter he saw seriously.

However, the next day, a local media in São Paulo exposed a photo of him leaving Kaka's house.

"AC Milan is secretly contacting Kaka!"

This was the headline used by the L'Équipe.

The Scoreboard used the headline "Kaka secretly meets AC Milan's messenger Leonardo!"

Both headlines mean the same thing, but they give different impressions. L'Équipe makes it seem like AC Milan is actively contacting Kaka, while The Scoreboard makes it seem like Kaka is actively contacting AC Milan. It's normal for a club to contact a player, but if a player contacts a club, it might suggest that "Kaka is eager to leave São Paulo for AC Milan."

"... The media captured a photo of Leonardo leaving Kaka's house. The driver in the car is Leonardo. It's no longer a secret that Leonardo works for AC Milan... Since the World Cup, it's no longer news that members of the Brazilian national team are being courted by European teams. Kaka is no exception... It must be said that Leonardo chose a good time. In the recently concluded first round of the national championship, Kaka came off the bench and didn't have a particularly outstanding performance. Instead, the Chinese player Rong, who started in his place, performed very well... I think these two events are linked, and Kaka might really be leaving São Paulo this time!"

The main text of The Scoreboard was also quite sensational.

Naturally, the reason for leaving was attributed to Kaka's own wishes. But why would Kaka have such thoughts?

It's because of Oswaldo and Rong Guang!

In the end, it all comes down to Rong Guang.

It's Rong Guang who took Kaka's position, making Kaka feel unimportant at São Paulo and thus want to leave.

Kaka's supporters certainly wouldn't look kindly on Rong Guang...

※※※

When Rong Guang stepped onto the first-team training ground to start a new day of training, he heard some female fans shouting his name.

He felt strange—had he done anything to provoke those women?

"You didn't know, Rong?" Baptista came over and shrugged at Rong Guang.

"What do I know?" Rong Guang was confused.

"Don't you read newspapers or watch TV news?"

Rong Guang shook his head: "No time."

Indeed, he had no time to sit in front of the TV and watch the news or read newspapers.

He wasn't interested in what the media said because his time was precious. He needed to practice constantly to catch up with others, despite having trained seven to eight years less than them.

Although he started the first match, he didn't lower his standards.

There's no such thing as a guaranteed starting position; he earned it through his abilities.

And where did his abilities come from?

Through hard training.

So Rong Guang never relaxed his standards.

"Cough, some media say you're the reason Kaka wants to leave São Paulo. So you're the one forcing Kaka out... Those fans are probably here to cause trouble for you." Baptista pointed to the angry female fans outside the training ground.

Rong Guang was shocked: "Kaka is running away?"

Baptista covered his face, not knowing how to deal with Rong Guang's跳跃的思维—Hey, the key point isn't that! Besides, what do you mean by 'running away'! It's just a transfer, a transfer!

"No, it's not confirmed yet, just rumors..." Baptista quickly explained.

"What does he say about it?" Rong Guang only cared about what Kaka said.

He turned to look for Kaka.

"Don't look, Rong. Kaka hasn't arrived yet."

"Tsk, late for training... this deserter!"

As he spoke, a scream of excitement erupted from the sidelines.

Rong Guang was already familiar with this sound.

"That deserter actually made it on time..."

Before he could finish, a voice came from beside him: "Who's the deserter?"

Kaka walked past him with his head held high.

But when he heard the screams and cheers, he lowered his head, looking quite shy.

Rong Guang made a face behind him: "Deserter, deserter, deserter, deserter, deserter..."

Until Baptista couldn't stand his childish behavior anymore, patted his shoulder, and dragged him away, Rong Guang finally stopped.

※※※

"Did you talk to Kaka?" After training started, Mauro asked the head coach Oswaldo.

Oswaldo nodded.

"Yes. He told me that the media reports are all rumors. He won't leave São Paulo this summer."

"Is that so? That's good." Mauro sighed in relief.

If Kaka left São Paulo because of the competition with Rong Guang, both he and Oswaldo would face enormous pressure.

"But..."

Oswaldo still had more to say, and Mauro's expression changed: "But what?"

"But he admitted that he did receive an invitation from AC Milan this summer." Oswaldo looked at the players training on the field.

"Then he..."

"He's willing to stay because of one person."

"Rong?" Mauro wasn't stupid. He knew very well about the situation between Rong Guang and Kaka. Kaka is usually a gentle and humble young man, even overly gentle, to the point where some people mock him as a weak sissy.

But this young man, who can almost perfectly control his emotions, only shows a completely different side when facing Rong Guang.

So if anything can change Kaka's mind, it must be related to Rong Guang.

Sure enough, Oswaldo nodded. "Yes, it's Rong. Although Kaka didn't say it, I can see that he cares a lot about Rong's pressure. I think he's staying because he doesn't want to be laughed at as a deserter by Rong."

Mauro didn't say anything.

The two of them looked at the training ground.

On the training ground, the team was divided into two groups.

One group was doing various simple ball drills on the side.

The other group was wearing yellow vests, practicing various local combinations that Oswaldo had prepared for the next match. This training session had no opponents; the team would practice their movements on the field, and the coach would adjust the players' positions and the runs he wanted them to make.

Usually, these eleven players are the ones who will start in the next match.

Rong Guang was among these eleven, and he was very seriously following the coach's instructions for the running drills.

After seven months of relentless training, Rong Guang no longer had to do basic training separately from the team. He could participate in various team drills.

Kaka was doing ball drills on the other side.

"Oswaldo."

"Hmm?"

"You need to act quickly. These two young men, whether one or the other sits on the bench, it's a huge loss for the team." Mauro said.

Oswaldo scratched his head: "I'm already thinking about it, Mauro!"

How to get both of them on the field at the same time... it's a real headache!

Kaka is fast, has good ball control, and is excellent at passing and shooting, making him more versatile than Rong Guang.

But Rong Guang is even faster, and his vertical breakthrough ability is better than Kaka's. His threat to the enemy's defense is even greater than Kaka's.

Should they play on the wings?

But on the wings...

Rong Guang can't cross, and Kaka can only cross... that would be a waste.

Clearly, the best place for both of them is in the center. Only in the center can they fully utilize their strengths and threats.

But the center can only have one person, how can it accommodate both?

※※※

A day later, São Paulo FC held a press conference where Kaka announced that he would not leave São Paulo for any European team.

"... When I was still naive and ignorant, I was already a proud member of São Paulo FC. I entered São Paulo for training from a young age and have always been a leader of São Paulo. I've heard many rumors about me leaving São Paulo, but I want to say that at least this summer, I will not leave São Paulo."

The next day, all São Paulo media reported that Kaka would not leave.

Kaka's supporters breathed a sigh of relief.

"Great, Correia! Kaka isn't leaving! We can go to Praia Grande to watch his training again! And continue to watch his matches at the Morumbi!"

"I told you, it's just a rumor, just a rumor!"

"It must be our love that moved Kaka! It must be!"

Correia's friends were overjoyed.

But Correia noticed Kaka's original words.

"At least this summer, I won't leave São Paulo..."

Not this summer, but what about next summer?

This suggests that the European clubs' interest in him is real.

Although Correia is a loyal fan of Kaka, she is also very clear that European football is more attractive than Brazilian football. With the increasing number of European football broadcasts in Brazil, it's easier to watch European matches. So Correia is fully aware of the level of European football and its appeal to Brazilian players.

So many Brazilian players have rushed to Europe, why would Kaka refuse?

Could it really be because of our calls?

Correia doesn't believe it.

There must be some reason why Kaka didn't go to Europe.

She stared at the photo in the newspaper.

The L'Équipe didn't use a photo of Kaka at the press conference but a photo from a match.

Kaka raised his hands high, pointing to the sky, celebrating a goal.

Behind Kaka, on the left edge of the photo, there was a blurry figure due to the focus.

Although the face was blurry, the number was clear—33.

It was Rong Guang's number in the Rio-São Paulo Championship.

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