The red heart emoji on Sofia's phone screen was not a small, pixelated symbol.
It was a giant, blinking, neon sign of pure, unadulterated panic in the middle of Leon's otherwise perfect universe.
His brain, a supercomputer of tactical analysis and footballing genius, had just short-circuited.
Marcus Rashford. The superstar. The face of Manchester United. The enemy. And now, the man sending heart emojis to his girlfriend.
He just stared at the screen, a thousand disastrous scenarios playing out in his mind. He imagined Sofia being whisked away on a private jet to a fancy Manchester restaurant. He imagined having to play against Rashford, his new romantic rival, and being so consumed with jealousy that he'd forget how to kick a ball. He imagined his next conversation with Julián Álvarez: "Okay, new question. If your girlfriend leaves you for a rival player, do you lose 'emotional bonus points' in the league table?"
