Tendou believed that his answer was flawless.
Even if the reporters took it out of context, saying things like "TJ believes CR7 is better than Messi," there would be no problem.
After all, in that year, CR7 did indeed win in the end.
But as it turned out, he still underestimated the integrity of these reporters.
"Liverpool's 18-year-old Genius TJ Believes C-Ronaldo is Stronger than Messi!"
Tendou opened the newspaper the next day and saw this explosive headline.
The article even pointed out that, "TJ believes most of Messi's goals are scored in the group stage, and he often has a goal drought in the more crucial knockout stage."
"Especially in the 16-17 season, Messi scored a crazy 10 goals in the group stage, but in the subsequent knockout stage, the Argentine star only managed to score 1 goal."
"TJ feels that, considering Messi always has a goal drought in crucial matches, he believes CR7's ability and leadership in crucial matches are superior to Messi's..."
By the time Tendou saw this report, he was completely numb.
This gutter reporter really knows how to stir things up.
You can say Barça lost, but you can't say Messi is no good. You definitely can't question his leadership.
Saying that is just asking for trouble.
He only had a little over 20 million followers on Instagram. He couldn't go up against someone with 500 million!
"When did I ever say that?"
"I think? I believe?"
"These guys all have fucking psychic powers, don't they? They know what I'm thinking?"
Tendou angrily threw the newspaper into the trash.
He didn't even need to guess. Right now, his social media was probably overrun by Messi's fans.
He had no idea how many times his ancestors had been insulted.
Seriously, it's just one quote, and the rest is all made up?
The magician, left speechless by the reporters, turned his attention to Riko.
The girl instantly felt a wave of malice coming at her.
"What are you trying to do?!"
"Nothing. I was just thinking, why don't we buy a Messi jersey? You said you liked him a lot."
"No way! I have to do my homework!"
Riko didn't even eat her breakfast. She turned and scrambled up the stairs back to her room, locking the door behind her.
She didn't even bother to call Tendou out on his bluff.
Do you really want to buy me a jersey?
Pah!
You're so shameless!
"Is a Barça jersey that scary? You're hiding so hard?"
Tendou shook his head and opened another newspaper that was hyping him up.
His mood instantly improved.
"The Youngest Champions League Hat-Trick!"
"Just last night in the match between Liverpool and Porto, the super rookie TJ scored his first Champions League hat-trick."
"He completed this achievement at the age of only 18 years and 64 days, surpassing the previous record of 18 years and 340 days set by the English star, Wayne Rooney."
"TJ achieved this a full 276 days earlier than Rooney. I have every reason to believe that this record will not be broken for fifty years, as long as the rules of football do not undergo a major change..."
"The Most Elegant Celebration, Liverpool's Magician!"
"A front flip, a perfect landing, a bow of thanks!"
"This is the celebration that TJ used in last night's match against Porto."
"After a magnificent performance, TJ thanked the fans with the most elegant of gestures!"
"After our interviews and a vote, a total of 98% of Liverpool fans believe that TJ's celebration is very cool."
"And in an online vote by fans all over the world, over 90% of the fans also believe that TJ's celebration is very creative and perfectly matches his style."
"A Liverpool fan said, 'The thing that gets me most excited now is to see TJ score a magic-like goal and then give me a bow of thanks. This is a football match, but it's also a magic show that makes my blood boil!'"
Tendou smiled so hard his face looked like a chrysanthemum. "Who's this guy with such good taste? I'll definitely give him an autograph and a photo op at the open training session."
"The English Red Devils lose to Barcelona at home. Barça wins 1:0 against Manchester United, leaving Old Trafford unscathed."
Huh?
Manchester United lost?
As Tendou read, he found the result of the Manchester United vs. Barcelona match.
Besides the Liverpool vs. Porto match last night, there was also the blockbuster match between Manchester United and Barcelona.
Both teams were traditional giants, with countless loyal fans.
This match had also been the focus of this knockout round.
But after the match last night, Tendou had invited the whole team to go out, so he hadn't paid any attention to the results.
Tendou opened the newspaper.
And when he found that the person who had scored the only goal of the match was Luke Shaw, he didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
Manchester United had actually scored an own goal, handing the victory to the opponent.
"In the second leg at the Camp Nou..."
Manchester United is in for a tough time.
Tendou shook his head.
The fans all over the world know that the Camp Nou is one of the most difficult stadiums in Europe to conquer.
It doesn't matter how Barça plays away from home.
Once they return to the Camp Nou, they can always win.
In the previous round against Lyon, they also drew 0:0 away, only to go back to the Camp Nou and thrash them 5:1.
...
And this was after Platini had stepped down. If Platini were still in power, the Camp Nou would be an impregnable fortress. Not even aliens could break through.
"If that's the case, then our semi-final opponent will most likely be Barça."
Tendou finished his juice and was about to get up when his phone rang.
On the other side, Klopp had already been in his office watching the match between Barça and Manchester United.
He and Tendou had come to the same conclusion: the semi-final opponent had been decided, and it was Barcelona.
One must know that even during Ferguson's tenure, Manchester United had won against Barça more often than not.
The two teams had faced each other 8 times in their history, and Manchester United had only won once.
The last two times they met were in the 2009 and 2011 Champions League finals, where Barça had won comfortably with scores of 2:0 and 3:1.
...
Of course, you could say that was the "Dream Team Three" Barça, and it was not surprising to lose to a "Cosmic Team."
But the problem was, this Manchester United was no longer the Manchester United coached by Ferguson.
In the second leg, at the Camp Nou, Manchester United would have a tough time.
Before that, Liverpool still had a very important league match to play.
In four days, they would be hosting the third-placed Chelsea at home.
This opponent had defeated Manchester City before, so both Klopp and Liverpool had to take it seriously.
The league had now reached the 34th round. Whether Liverpool could win the Premier League title would depend on these last few matches.
In the match against Chelsea, Liverpool had two major advantages.
On April 12th, Chelsea had to travel away to play a Europa League semi-final against Slavia Prague.
Just two days after that match, the Blues would have to travel to Anfield to play Liverpool.
In terms of stamina, Liverpool, with four days of rest, obviously had a great advantage.
The second point was that Chelsea's current ranking in the Premier League was relatively stable. They were a full 5 points ahead of the fifth-placed Arsenal.
Tottenham, in fourth place, would have to compete with Manchester City for a Champions League semi-final spot.
Considering factors like stamina, Chelsea might not choose to fight Liverpool to the death.
...
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