Cristiano Ronaldo's Unwillingness: Facing Tang Long's Divine Skill, He Must Defend the Reputation of the King of the Champions League!

After listening to Raymond's brief explanation, Guardiola asked him to show the videos of the group.

Raymond was prepared and even made several highlight reels.

There's a lot to learn about goalkeeper highlights; if you focus specifically on saves, you'll find that every goalkeeper is a goalkeeper god.

If you only make highlights of the goals conceded, you'll find that every goalkeeper is practically useless.

The key lies in the supporting data.

After reviewing the data, Guardiola found that the three were evenly matched, which of course also depends on the level of the leagues they played in.

"Raymond, tell me, who do you think is the best?"

Watching goalkeepers isn't Guardiola's forte; he focuses more on their footwork, and he's not an expert on goal-line skills.

"Let's talk about feasibility first. Alisson was just bought by Roma from Internacional, and he's only played for a few months. It's unlikely that Roma will release him in the winter unless we offer an exorbitant price," Raymond said.

Guardiola shook his head. "What exorbitant price? Our budget is only Pound Sterling 70 million. Are we going to use it all to buy one goalkeeper? Roma won't let him go. They're currently third in Serie A and are aiming for the UEFA Champions League. How could they possibly let go of their starting goalkeeper halfway through? No way."

Raymond smiled, seemingly expecting Guardiola to say that, and then mentioned Ederson and Onana's names.

"Ederson is at Benfica, Onana is at Ajax, these two are much easier. It just depends on which one you prefer. I believe that neither Benfica nor Ajax will refuse to negotiate, after all, these two teams started out by developing their youth academies."

"And Pep," Raymond frowned, "You really dislike Bravo that much? He hasn't conceded that many goals."

Bravo hasn't conceded many goals.

Manchester City went unbeaten in the first four rounds of the Premier League until their fifth-round match against Arsenal, when their unbeaten run in the Top Five Leagues was broken.

Although they conceded a goal after that, Manchester City's total number of goals conceded is still the best in the entire Premier League.

Many media figures also believe that Manchester City truly has the best defense in the entire Premier League.

However, Guardiola has a different perspective.

"The team's defense is indeed good, which can be seen from the number of goals conceded. However, this is largely due to Chivu's arrival and the team's improvement. But we can't forget that Bravo's save percentage is only 14th in the entire Premier League. This is very inconsistent with our number of goals conceded. What does this mean? It means that while the defense is good, his own contribution is not significant!"

Bravo did show some technical skill at Manchester City, but his saves were simply terrible.

Perhaps it's because of age and declining physical function;

Or perhaps it's because his height of 184cm is simply too short in the Premier League;

Therefore, his save rate was very low, and some people even gave him the title of "Regent".

Guardiola was well aware of this.

Given Manchester City's current squad, Bravo is ultimately just a transitional option.

Actually, he originally wanted to bring either Bayern's Neuer or Barca's Ter Stegen to Manchester City this summer, but both were too difficult to acquire, and neither Bayern nor Barca would let them go. Helpless, he could only choose Bravo.

Guardiola has bigger ambitions. He feels that Bravo might be able to lead Manchester City to the Premier League title, but he's really not qualified for the UEFA Champions League.

Moreover, Bravo is simply too old; at this stage of his career, it's impossible for him to improve any further. It would be fortunate if he could just maintain his current level and not decline.

From any perspective, Guardiola urgently needs to bring in a capable goalkeeper during this year's winter transfer window.

While not necessarily replacing Bravo immediately, they should at least pose some competition to him.

At Cristiano Ronaldo's home in Madrid.

After a day of training.

Cristiano Ronaldo is still training extra in his home gym.

"Heave-ho!"

"Heave-ho!"

After completing five sets of bench presses, Cristiano Ronaldo picked up a towel from the rack to wipe his sweat.

I picked up the water bottle to take a sip, only to find it was empty.

"Irina, could you get me some water?"

No one responded.

"Irina!"

After calling out a few times instinctively, Cristiano Ronaldo was startled before he realized what was happening.

The woman named Irina has left him forever.

"Ah, this is really funny, why would I call her? Hehe." Cristiano Ronaldo smiled helplessly.

He broke up with supermodel Irina at the end of last year.

Although he has a lovely son and his mother can take care of him, Cristiano Ronaldo has become accustomed to managing his life on his own.

The mother knocked on the door and came in, seeing Cristiano Ronaldo covered in sweat, wiping the sweat from his head with a towel.

"Son, you're 31 years old now, not a 20-year-old anymore. Why are you pushing yourself so hard?"

The mother poured Cristiano Ronaldo a full glass of water, then returned to the gym and saw Cristiano Ronaldo doing crunches again, which made her feel very sorry for him.

"When your father was alive, he probably couldn't have imagined in ten lifetimes that his son would one day be so capable. What I mean is, we've made enough money, and it's time to rest."

Irina had also advised Cristiano Ronaldo in the same way, and at that time, Cristiano Ronaldo would retort without hesitation.

But Cristiano Ronaldo was very patient with his mother, explaining:

"Dear Mom, you know what? At this stage of my life, I've tried everything. I don't care how much money I can make anymore."

"Then why are you here?" Mom sat down and asked, puzzled.

Cristiano Ronaldo grew up in a poor family, and his mother knew the importance of money.

"To prove that I will always be the best player in the world, especially in the UEFA Champions League, I am the undisputed king of the UEFA Champions League, I am the king!"

Cristiano Ronaldo's voice involuntarily grew louder. He intended to vent his emotions, but he startled his mother. She got up, glared at her son, and left.

"Keep going!" Cristiano Ronaldo returned to his solo training session, the air thick with the smell of his sweat.

"Tang, you've really provoked me," Cristiano Ronaldo muttered to himself. "If we meet again in the UEFA Champions League knockout stage, I swear, no matter how outstanding your performance is, I will outdo you!"

The Portuguese said these words through gritted teeth.

Tang Long's incredible ball control and subsequent powerful shot during the UEFA Champions League match against Monchengladbach truly impressed Cristiano Ronaldo!

But what shocked him wasn't Tang Long's skill—even a five-year-younger Cristiano Ronaldo could make such a move, but he's now 31 and, after recovering from a knee injury, he was forced to transition from an all-around striker to a goalkeeper.

Di Maria, Modric, Ozil, Marcelo, Benzema... countless teammates fed him countless chances, and Cristiano Ronaldo lived up to expectations, scoring countless goals.

The Golden Boot came one after another, and he became Real Madrid's all-time top scorer.

But when Ronaldo saw Tang Long's agile performance in the UEFA Champions League, a perfect combination of power and skill, Cristiano Ronaldo felt a sense of frustration.

Whether it's a pinpoint ball control or a powerful dribble through double coverage, the current Cristiano Ronaldo struggles to achieve these feats.

He even began to ask himself, "If I were Tang, would I have made the same extreme attempt in that situation?"

Even Cristiano Ronaldo himself knows the answer is no!

He wouldn't even attempt such a thing, let alone actually do it like Tang Long.

Cristiano Ronaldo's current physical condition does not allow him to do that. The Portugal boy who once darted like a tiger and darted like a snake on the wing will never return.

Therefore, Cristiano Ronaldo's frustration is not due to jealousy of Tang Long, but rather a longing for his own youthful days.

If Tang Long's god-like performance had occurred in the league, it would have been one thing, but it happened in the UEFA Champions League!

But this frustration was only temporary and quickly passed.

"I am the best player in the world, I am the king of the UEFA Champions League!"

Cristiano Ronaldo, lying on the exercise bench, steadily lifted two 30KG dumbbells, his massive pectoral muscles pulsating.

He turned to look at his sculpted physique in the mirror, a confident smile spreading across his face.