Match preview: In the early hours of October 29, Borussia Dortmund would host Juventus in the second round of Champions League Group D. Tang Ye and Cristiano Ronaldo would face each other once again.
Whenever Tang Ye played against either Messi or Ronaldo, the match preview would shoot to the top of Baidu and Weibo's trending lists. This time was no exception.
Both had come from Manchester United, but both had since left Manchester United and would now meet at Westfalenstadion in Germany.
On the bus ride to the stadium, Tang Ye stared out the window alone. Haaland looked at him curiously. "Um... Tom, I feel like you're avoiding this match a little?"
"Not really. I can't explain it. Maybe Juventus is just putting too much pressure on me."
Tang Ye shook his head lightly.
Haaland said nothing.
Tang Ye's silence was obviously not because Juventus was too strong. Borussia Dortmund's number 10 was someone who could tear apart last season's peak Bayern Munich.
So why was Tang Ye silent?
It could only be because of Cristiano Ronaldo.
But Haaland did not know the story between Tang Ye and the Portuguese star.
At first, Tang Ye and Cristiano Ronaldo had gotten along quite well. They could even have been called good friends. But that relationship had gradually grown stiff, to the point that Tang Ye now felt as if he had broken off contact with a close friend.
What Tang Ye was avoiding was not the match, but the friend who seemed to have cut ties with him.
"You and Cristiano don't seem to talk much?"
Tang Ye shrugged, chewing gum. "I guess so. Anyway, we're here to play. Whether we talk or not doesn't matter. We just have to win."
Once friends who had nearly cut ties wanted to