Joining Manchester United from the Start, Partnering with a Young Ronaldo

In 2003, Ye Feng awakens the Soccer God of War System and arrives at Manchester United. That afternoon, he sees a curly-haired boy practicing free kicks in the rain. His name is Cristiano Ronaldo. “Ye, want to see who can score a hundred first?” “What’s the wager? The loser buys dinner for the whole team?” “No. The loser... has to admit the other one is better!” And so, a legendary journey begins at the Carrington training ground: He is Ronaldo’s fiercest rival. They push themselves until they both cramp, just to score one more bicycle kick than the other. He is Ronaldo’s most dependable teammate. In the Champions League final, he recreates the “Solskjaer miracle” with a stoppage-time winner, bringing the trophy to the Red Devils. The media says, “Ye Feng’s arrival helped Ronaldo become a complete player three years early.” Ferguson says, “My greatest pride in life wasn’t discovering Cristiano. It was witnessing firsthand how the twin stars ‘Ye Feng and Ronaldo’ set an era ablaze.” As Messi rises to prominence at Barcelona, the long-awaited “Ronaldo-Messi showdown” becomes a three-way battle for supremacy. At the Ballon d’Or ceremony, Ye Feng stands between Ronaldo and Messi and raises the trophy: “Some people say the three of us dominated football for a decade.” “They’re wrong. Together, we built football a new pantheon.” (A special note for Ronaldo fans: Ronaldo shines throughout this book. Ye Feng is his “best rival” and “closest brother,” the one who makes him stronger. There’s no putting one down to praise another.) (Dedicated to all Ronaldo fans, and to all of us who lived through this era.) (This story is a tribute to CR7, and to the youth that will never end.)