Messi's salary remained at one million euros.
That tackle from behind came at a heavy price.
Inter Milan, who had previously shown strong interest in Messi, also put their plans to sign him on hold after the incident. They had originally hoped to bring Messi in and form the core of Inter's future lineup alongside players like Ibrahimović.
This was the most serious incident Messi had faced since turning professional, and it had a profound impact on his personality. From then on, he gradually developed the habit of keeping his head down on the pitch and staying out of trouble.
As he focused more intensely on football itself, he also consciously gave up many traditional leadership traits, transforming into a pure cutting-edge attacker.
...
"Ding! Multiple Barcelona players have been shocked by your net-ripping super shot. Ronaldinho is forced to admit deep down that over the past year, you were the best player in the football world. You have obtained the Ronaldinho Moment Card (2004)."
"Andrés Iniesta has been conquered by your overall performance, especially when you dispossessed Messi. If it were him, he would have used La Croqueta to evade. You have obtained 'Iniesta's La Croqueta.'"
"Iniesta's La Croqueta: Superstar-tier skill. Egg-fried rice—the simplest dish, yet the hardest to master. La Croqueta is the same kind of technique. For any dribbling master, La Croqueta is both the starting point and the ultimate destination."
"Your ball control, dribbling, and agility have increased."
"After successfully beating an opponent using La Croqueta, your burst, speed, passing, and shooting are enhanced."
"You have a small chance to perform Consecutive La Croquetas."
"You have a small chance to perform a One-Footed La Croqueta."
Ball Control 83 +1
Dribbling 83 +1
Agility 80 +1
Not bad. Not bad at all.
Iniesta really knows how to conduct himself.
Su Hang hadn't taken him to a World Cup title for nothing.
La Croqueta was undeniably a premium skill. Su Hang had already used this move in matches before, but a La Croqueta enhanced by Iniesta was on a completely different level.
And with chances to trigger "Consecutive La Croquetas" and "One-Footed La Croqueta," these were outright high-end techniques.
Of course, Ronaldinho's Moment Card wasn't losing out either.
This El Clásico had been more than worth it for Su Hang.
October 25th—a perfectly ordinary day.
The fourth round of the Copa del Rey kicked off.
Real Madrid traveled away to face Copete.
But for Modrić, this was an extraordinarily important day.
It marked his first-ever start for Real Madrid.
After all, for a match like this, Real Madrid wouldn't field their main squad, so a fully rotated lineup was deployed:
Cassano, Negredo, Reyes
Modrić, Valero, Juan Mata
Bravo, Helguera, Kompany, Salgado
López
=
Among them, only Cassano, Kompany, and Bravo could be considered key rotation players.
Helguera, Salgado, and Reyes were fringe rotation options.
The rest of the squad barely even made the matchday list under normal circumstances.
From kickoff, Real Madrid seized the initiative.
Reyes flew down the wing and delivered a cross that Cassano converted into a goal.
Soon after, Kompany headed in from a corner. Playing regular starters really did make a difference.
However, in the second half, Modrić lost possession in the defensive half, leading directly to a counterattack goal.
Then López committed a howler, spilling the ball and gifting the opponents another chance, resulting in a second goal.
Real Madrid were pegged back to 2–2 by Copete.
The reserve squad showed just how amateur they could look.
After the match, Copete's fans chanted "Venus" at Modrić.
He was utterly mortified.
He swore to himself that his true level was far beyond what everyone had seen. At just eighteen years old, he had already been named the best player in the Bosnian league. There was no way he was actually this bad.
But there was nothing he could do about it. That damn Su Hang had insisted he gain weight and pushed him hard in strength training.
Now, he had completely lost control over his own body.
Forget playing football—if you told him to wrestle right now, he'd probably trip himself up.
You know those inexplicable flat-ground falls?
Su Hang's team had been tracking similar issues. Through neural-unit testing, they confirmed that Modrić's neural responses were improving rapidly—especially his micro-movement reactions, which had already reached a subconscious, high-speed level.
Zidane's almost clairvoyant passing on the pitch wasn't just about vision. Superhuman neural response and muscle coordination were equally crucial.
You have to see the play, process it instantly, and then have your body keep up.
Modrić's vision was already excellent—nearing the top tier.
His reaction speed was also improving, which was especially remarkable. In theory, this was the hardest attribute to enhance. But in Modrić's case, his earlier malnutrition had prevented his neural potential from fully developing.
Now, with his physical strength and muscle mass improved, his neural units finally had the conditions they needed to mature.
As a result, he had to adapt simultaneously to increases in both reaction speed and physical capability.
This was the core reason why he had struggled ever since joining Real Madrid.
If either his neural responses or his physical condition had been normal on their own, he would have adapted quickly.
It was like setting two clocks—if one is correct, adjusting the other is easy. But if both are wrong, fixing them becomes extremely difficult.
So despite how poor Modrić looked right now, his already elite potential was actually growing even further, slowly approaching the level of historical midfielders like Zidane and Ronaldinho.
Of course, this was only potential.
Potential and actual ability were not the same thing.
Having top-tier potential didn't guarantee top-tier ability.
But having top-tier ability always meant that top-tier potential had once existed.
...
October 28th, Real Madrid traveled to Tarragona and won comfortably.
Their league position climbed from fourth to third, edging ever closer to Barcelona.
November 1st, Champions League Group Stage Round Four.
Real Madrid won 2–0 at home against Steaua Bucharest.
Su Hang scored in both matches.
November 5th, Real Madrid hosted Celta Vigo.
The entire squad underperformed, suffering a home defeat and slipping back down the league table.
November 9th, second leg of the Copa del Rey fourth round.
Real Madrid hosted Copete at home.
Capello knew that his tactical philosophy at Real Madrid was relatively conservative and not particularly popular with the fans. Winning more matches was the only way to offset that dissatisfaction.
As a result, the Copa del Rey was a trophy he genuinely valued.
Somewhat shamelessly, he replaced striker Negredo and midfielder Juan Mata from the previous all-reserve lineup with Su Hang and Emerson.
The result was immediate.
Su Hang completed a hat trick in seventy minutes, leading Real Madrid to a dominant 4–0 victory over Copete and securing qualification for the next round.
Publicly, Capello stated:
"I don't care about the Copa del Rey results. Even if we used the same all-reserve lineup as last time, we'd still have confidence in winning."