Michael Sterling sat at a table by the window. He was drinking black coffee.

Opposite him Arthur Milton was fighting a battle with a pair of chopsticks. He was trying to pick up a piece of Kimchi.

"It is slippery Boss," Arthur complained. "The cabbage does not want to be eaten. It is resisting arrest."

"Use a fork Arthur," Michael said without looking up from his tablet.

"No," Arthur insisted. "I am in Korea. I must respect the culture. Even if I starve."

Arthur finally managed to grab the spicy cabbage and shoved it into his mouth. He chewed happily.

"Delicious," Arthur said. "Spicy. It wakes up the soul."

Michael smiled. But his mind was not on breakfast. It was on the transfer market.

The window was still open. They had signed Enzo Silva the Pitbull. They had signed Jamie Vardy the Rat. They had signed Jan Visser the Giant.

But Michael wanted one more piece. A diamond.

He swiped the screen of his tablet.

"Arthur," Michael said. "Look at this."

He turned the screen around.

It showed a video of a sixteen year old boy playing in Brazil. He was wearing the white kit of Santos. He was skinny. He had braces on his teeth.

But when he touched the ball magic happened.

In the video the boy flipped the ball over a defender head caught it on his chest and volleyed it into the top corner.

"Gabriel Santos," Michael said. "They call him The Samba Prince."

Arthur stopped eating. He put down his chopsticks.

"He looks like Neymar," Arthur whispered. "But faster."

"He is special Arthur," Michael said. "I have been tracking him for two weeks. My System says his potential is ninety nine. That is Messi level."

Michael felt the vibration in his pocket.

[SCOUTING REPORT: GABRIEL SANTOS]

[AGE: 16]

[CLUB: SANTOS]

[POTENTIAL: GENERATIONAL TALENT]

[CHANCE OF SIGNING: MODERATE]

"We have the money," Michael said. "We have the Conference League. We have the project. I spoke to his agent yesterday. He seemed interested."

"Imagine him next to Isaiah King," Arthur dreamed. "The skill. The tricks. The defenders would need therapy."

"Call the agent Arthur," Michael said. "Tell him we are ready to pay the release clause. Twenty million pounds."

Arthur nodded. He wiped his mouth with a napkin. He picked up his phone.

"I will call him now Boss. We will bring the Samba to Barnsley."

An hour later Michael was in the team lounge.

The players were relaxing before training.

Kai Sora was asleep on a beanbag chair wearing his sunglasses.

Diego Nunez was playing table tennis against Enzo Silva. It was a violent game. Every time Diego hit the ball he grunted like he was chopping wood.

"HAAAA!" Diego smashed the ball.

"You missed the table Diego!" Enzo shouted. "That is not a point!"

"I hit the wall!" Diego argued. "The wall is part of the game!"

Michael watched them amused. But he was checking his watch.

Arthur should have returned by now.

The door opened.

Arthur walked in.

He was not smiling. He looked like someone had stolen his last pastry.

He walked over to Michael and sat down heavily.

"Bad news?" Michael asked feeling a cold stone in his stomach.

"The worst," Arthur said. "I called the agent. He was very polite. He said he likes Barnsley. He likes the project."

"But?"

"But he was at the airport," Arthur sighed. "He was boarding a flight to Spain."

Michael closed his eyes. He knew what was coming.

"Real Madrid?" Michael asked.

"Barcelona," Arthur said. "Joan Laporta called him this morning. They offered the boy the number ten shirt. They showed him videos of Ronaldinho."

"We cannot compete with Ronaldinho," Michael whispered.

Arthur pulled out his phone. He showed Michael a news alert.

BREAKING NEWS: BARCELONA AGREE DEAL FOR WONDERKID GABRIEL SANTOS. THE 'NEW NEYMAR' CHOOSES CAMP NOU.

The photo showed the skinny boy holding a Barcelona shirt. He looked happy.

"We lost him Boss," Arthur said sadly. "He was the one that got away."

Michael looked at the screen. For a moment he felt a pang of jealousy. Barnsley were rich. They were successful. But they were not Barcelona. They did not have the history. They did not have the sun.

"It happens Arthur," Michael said trying to sound strong. "We are big. But there are still sharks bigger than us."

"He would have looked good in purple," Arthur sniffed.

"He chose the easy path," Michael said standing up. "We choose the hard path. We make our own stars. We do not need to buy Gabriel Santos. We have Leo Stone in the academy. We will make him better."

Arthur nodded slowly. "You are right Boss. But it still stings."

Just then a commotion broke out near the large TV screen on the wall.

Isaiah King was standing there. He had dropped his phone. His hands were on his head.

"No way," Isaiah whispered. "No way."

"What is it?" Jamie Vardy asked looking up from his energy drink.

"Look," Isaiah pointed at the screen.

Michael and Arthur walked over. The whole squad gathered around.

The news ticker was flashing red.

BREAKING NEWS: THE END OF AN ERA.

A picture of Cristiano Ronaldo appeared on the screen. He was wearing the Al Nassr kit but the montage showed him in United red Real Madrid white and Juventus stripes.

The headline was simple and final.

CRISTIANO RONALDO ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT FROM PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL.

The room went silent.

Even Diego Nunez stopped playing table tennis.

The reporter on the screen was speaking solemnly.

"After twenty four years at the top level the Portuguese legend has decided to hang up his boots. Ronaldo cites his desire to spend time with his family as the main reason. He leaves the game as the top scorer in history."

Isaiah King sank into a chair. He looked devastated.

"He is gone," Isaiah said. "The GOAT is gone. I grew up watching him. I learned the step over from him. I learned the celebration from him."

Isaiah stood up. He did the famous jump and spin.

"SIUUUU," Isaiah whispered weakly. It was a sad Siu.

"He was a machine," Kenji Sato said bowing respectfully at the screen. "His work ethic was honorable. He ran until he was forty one."

"He was older than me," Jamie Vardy noted taking a sip of his drink. "And he had better abs. Fair play to him. He had a good run."

"A good run?" Enzo Silva asked. "He conquered the world! He is a god!"

"Gods get old too," Jamie said wisely. "Even machines rust."

Michael looked at his players.

They were all affected. For this generation Ronaldo was not just a player. He was a constant. He was always there scoring goals looking perfect being the villain or the hero.

And now he was history.

Diego Nunez walked to the screen. He touched the image of Ronaldo.

"He was strong," Diego said. "I wanted to tackle him. Just once. I wanted to feel his power."

"You would have broken him Diego," Arthur said.

"No," Diego shook his head. "He is made of steel. Like me. We would have collided and made sparks."

Michael stepped forward.

"This is a sad day for football," Michael said addressing the room. "A legend has left the stage."

He looked at Isaiah who was wiping a tear from his eye.

"But do you know what this means?" Michael asked.

The players looked at him.

"It means there is a vacancy," Michael said. "The throne is empty. Messi is retired. Now Ronaldo is retired. The old gods are gone."

Michael walked to the window looking out at the Seoul skyline.

"The world is looking for new heroes. They are looking for the next generation. They are looking for the new icons."

He turned back to them.

"Barcelona thinks they bought the new icon with Gabriel Santos. Maybe they did."

He pointed at Isaiah King.

"But I think the new icon is in this room. I think he wears pink boots."

Isaiah looked up. His eyes widened.

He pointed at Kai Sora who was awake now and listening.

"I think the new genius wears sunglasses inside."

He pointed at Diego.

"I think the new monster is bald and loves steak."

The mood in the room shifted. The sadness was replaced by something else. Ambition.

"Ronaldo is the past," Michael said his voice rising. "You are the future. The Dynasty is not about remembering the old days. It is about creating new days."

Isaiah King stood up. He adjusted his collar.

"You are right Boss," Isaiah said. "CR7 rested so I could run. I will carry the torch."

"Heavy torch," Diego warned.

"I have been working out," Isaiah grinned. "I can carry it."

Arthur Milton clapped his hands.

"Okay! Enough sadness! Ronaldo has retired but Barnsley has not! We have a game tomorrow!"

"Who do we play?" Enzo Silva asked. "I want to tackle someone to feel better."

"We play PSG," Michael said. "Paris Saint Germain."

"Do they have Mbappe?" Diego asked.

"No," Michael said. "He went to Madrid years ago. But they have Dembele. They have Ramos. They are fast."

"I will catch them," Enzo promised. "For Ronaldo."

Later that evening Michael sat on the hotel balcony.

The city lights were dazzling.

Arthur came out with two cups of tea.

"You handled that well Boss," Arthur said. "The team was sad. You made them hungry."

"It is the cycle Arthur," Michael said taking the tea. "One star burns out another one is born. We missed out on Gabriel Santos today. That hurts."

"It does," Arthur admitted. "I really wanted to see him do the samba."

"But we kept our core," Michael said. "We have a team that fights. Barcelona buys stars. We build them."

He looked at the news on his phone one last time.

RONALDO: "THANK YOU FOOTBALL."

Michael swiped it away.

He opened the tactical app for the PSG game.

OBJECTIVE: WIN.

STRATEGY: THE MISFITS WAY.

"Tomorrow Arthur," Michael said. "Tomorrow we show the world that the future is purple."

"And gold," Arthur added pointing to the logo. "Purple and gold."

"Purple and gold," Michael agreed.

The transfer window had dealt them a blow. The football world had lost a legend.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.