The buzz from his debut hadn't faded
His name was in every paper
Every show
Every whisper
But Cristiano didn't hear any of it
He was already back on the pitch
Alone
After dark
Again
The stadium was empty
Just lights
Cold wind
And the sound of boots cutting grass
He set up cones
Practiced turns
Dribbles
Left foot
Right foot
Over and over
One hour passed
Then two
No cameras
No coach
Just him and the silence
The next morning the senior squad arrived
Cristiano was already there
Sweating
Stretched
Focused
Some laughed
Others stared
One of the older players said
You keep training like that and you'll break
Cristiano looked up
Then smiled
Good
Then I'll rebuild stronger
Sir Alex noticed
He didn't praise
Didn't stop him either
He just started pushing harder
Tougher drills
More minutes
Less breaks
Cristiano didn't complain
Didn't blink
Pain became normal
Sleep became a luxury
But the body has limits
And one day
Cristiano collapsed during sprints
Coach ran over
Trainers rushed in
He waved them all off
Refused to stay down
He stood back up
Wobbled
Then finished the last sprint alone
Sir Alex watched from a distance
Expression unreadable
Later he called him in
You'll burn out
Slow down
Cristiano shook his head
I'd rather burn than rust
That night
Cristiano iced his knees
Wrapped his ankles
Wrote in his notebook
He didn't write goals
He wrote promises
To himself
To his family
To the boy from the island