Inside a bar in Switzerland.
Suker, Modrić, Bosnić, and Ronaldo sat together.
"You're really tight-lipped, not saying a word!" Suker complained, watching Modrić holding Bosnić's hand tightly, their fingers interlocked.
Bosnić shyly leaned on Modrić's shoulder.
Suker looked bored: "Hey, hey! This is a public place, watch your behavior. Why don't you just kiss?"
Right after he said that, the two actually kissed.
"Not hiding it anymore, huh?" Suker shook his head and pointed at his vibrating phone. "My phone's about to explode with calls. You propose marriage and these guys keep calling me—what's that about?"
Suker picked up his phone and put it on speaker.
On the other end was Dujmovic's voice.
"Обоже! (Oh my God!) #￥￥%@##!"
Suker grumbled, "Your language's scrambled!"
There was a pause.
"Oh my God!! Luka, you really proposed! God! Congratulations! Haha~~ You didn't tell anyone anything."
Modrić smiled: "Suker already teased us up."
"Is that so? Whatever, congrats again! Congrats to you, Luka, and Bosnić!"
Suker: "Alright, enough chatter, more calls coming in."
"Let me say one more thing!"
Suker hung up immediately.
Soon, calls from Srna, Mandžukić, Vukojević, and others came nonstop.
They all saw Modrić's proposal live and were extremely excited.
Modrić and Bosnić looked blissful.
After the calls ended, Suker looked at the couple and said, "What are your plans?"
"I plan to hold the wedding after the season!" Modrić smiled.
Suker glanced at Bosnić.
She shyly said, "I'll follow his lead!"
Ronaldo smiled, "Congratulations, Luka."
Modrić happily nodded.
Suker checked the time, "I should go now, I have a flight to catch."
"Travel safely!"
Suker nodded, briefly greeted Ronaldo, and left.
Watching Suker's retreating figure, Ronaldo said, "You two really have a good relationship."
Modrić nodded, "We've been teammates since the Bosnia days, and even on the national team, we're close."
Ronaldo pursed his lips and after a moment of silence asked, "Luka, will you transfer to Milan?"
Modrić was a bit surprised.
"Why do you ask?"
Ronaldo shrugged, "Don't you want to play with Suker?"
Modrić laughed, "We're already national teammates. Besides, we each have our own career plans. We don't have to be club teammates."
Ronaldo visibly brightened at that.
"Besides, he's about to join Real Madrid soon. Madrid will be our biggest competitor in the coming years!"
Upon hearing that, Ronaldo's expression grew serious.
Madrid was in a period of turmoil, but with Florentino's appointment, a cleanup would start immediately, launching the 'Galácticos' second phase.
Their strength would improve, and despite some adjustment time, they would definitely be a tough rival.
Facing Real Madrid, they had to be cautious.
"I believe we can beat them," Ronaldo said confidently.
Modrić smiled, "I think so too!"
Suker took a flight back to Milan that night.
He arrived at the villa at 1 a.m.
Late at night, Suker simply washed up and went to bed.
There was still half a season left, with the Europa League, Serie A, and Italian Cup to handle.
The Europa League, formerly one of Europe's three major competitions, had become secondary to the Champions League, with much lower prestige and competitiveness.
It had become the main battlefield for the second-tier teams from the top five leagues.
In this competition, you could see many strong second-tier teams, i.e., those not winning their domestic leagues.
For example: Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City from the Premier League.
Valencia and Deportivo La Coruña from La Liga.
Stuttgart from the Bundesliga.
Paris Saint-Germain from Ligue 1.
Of course, also Fiorentina and AC Milan from Serie A, who had been eliminated from the Champions League.
Milan was out of the Champions League but was a powerhouse in the Europa League.
Especially with Suker back, their overall strength had greatly improved.
February 21, 2009 — Round 25 of the Italian League.
AC Milan hosted Cagliari at San Siro.
The entire stadium was like a boiling volcano.
Cheers!!!!!!!
The roaring cheers flooded the stadium, tens of thousands of Milan fans shouting the name of their hero.
Suker!!!!!!Suker!!!!!!Suker!!!!!!
The deafening cheers came from all directions, as if about to shatter eardrums.
"Suker! Hat-trick! At the 67th minute, Suker scored his third goal!"
"Oh my God! He's clearly not affected by his injury. His form remains so fiery!"
"Seven rounds of league matches, 11 goals for Suker! With this crazy form, Milan's attack has a huge impact!"
"Cagliari has been desperately trying to stop Suker, but they just can't hold him back. Suker is hungry for goals!"
Boom! Boom! Boom! The Milan fans were stomping, overwhelmed with excitement.
Since Suker's return, Milan's form visibly improved.
They wished he had come back earlier so they wouldn't have been eliminated from the Champions League.
Inside the Milan VIP box.
Florentino and Berlusconi sat together.
Florentino greedily watched the active superstar striker on the pitch.
Even Florentino's experience couldn't help but stir his excitement.
Seven matches, 11 goals.
What a crazy performance!
And this was just after recovering from injury. If Suker continued to improve, how terrifying would he be?
Though only a few months remained, Florentino already longed to put the white jersey of Real Madrid on Suker and bring him to the Bernabéu to enjoy the world's admiration.
At that moment, the whole world would praise his vision.
Look! This is Florentino's first project after taking office.
A crazy striker!
A leader who would start a new era for Real Madrid.
Phew~~~
Florentino slowly exhaled, calming his excited heart.
Berlusconi smiled at the side.
The better Suker performed, the higher price they could sell him for.
"Recently, Chelsea and Bayern Munich made offers for Suker. But we honor contracts, and Suker leans toward Real Madrid, so we haven't responded yet," Berlusconi said.
The meaning was clear.
Suker was highly sought after, so if you want him, your offer better be sincere.
Florentino smiled, "Don't worry, Real Madrid will give a transfer fee matching Suker's value."
He didn't mention a specific number, which made Berlusconi frown slightly.
But this was a psychological game—whoever showed urgency lost.
Both turned their eyes back to the match.
Unfortunately, after completing the hat-trick, Suker was substituted off.
At 71 minutes, Suker and Kaká left the field.
Ronaldinho and Simic came on.
Suker sat on the bench, satisfied with his performance. This match was just comfortable for him.
Cagliari couldn't put much pressure on Suker.
"The next match is the Europa League. You two get some rest," said Milan coach Tassotti, patting Suker and Kaká on the shoulder.
They were Milan's two key players!
The league was nearly done, and it was time to focus on the Europa League.
Coming up was the Europa League round of 32.
Milan's opponent was Ajax, one of the three big Dutch clubs.
They didn't expect to meet Ajax in the Europa League.
Ajax was no longer as fierce as in the past but still not an easy opponent.
So Tassotti needed Suker and Kaká to stay in good form to prepare for the away match.