After receiving the Ballon d'Or, Ricardo took a leave of absence to return to Brazil and stayed at home for a few days.

Li Mei's attitude towards him has not changed, he won the Golden Globe Award and can't fly, is he not her son? What could change?

It's just that she whispered a little verbally: "Golden Ball, you play football, this is the highest prize." Winning this award is considered a career, right? So when will you start a family? ”

Get married...... This question is too tricky. Ricardo had no choice but to run back to Spain in embarrassment.

He didn't stay too long in Spain, he was injured during this time and couldn't participate in training with the ball, but a groin injury is not a big deal, commercials can always be shot, photos can also be taken, right? TV shows are always available, right?

So he wandered around the continent, busier than when he wasn't hurt.

Without Ricardo, Real Madrid's performance has also been up and down during this period.

In the league, they drew 1:1 at home to Athletic Bilbao and lost 1:2 away to Sevilla, with 11 wins, 1 draw and 2 losses accumulating 34 points. Their rivals, Barcelona, have 10 wins, 3 draws and 1 loss, and the points gap is still 2 points.

In the final round of the Champions League group stage, Real Madrid drew 2-2 away at Dynamo Kyiv to finish second in the group and face the top team in the group in the round of 16, which cast a shadow over their road to defending their title. Who are the top teams in the group other than Group E?

Chelsea, Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Valencia, Manchester United, Porto, AC Milan. It's all hard stubble.

It is worth mentioning that Real Madrid scored the most goals in the group stage and conceded the most goals out of the 16 teams that qualified.

They play counter-attacking but always score a lot of goals, and the defence is not solid, which is a contradiction.

Cannavaro has been sleepwalking since joining this season, and he has not had the demeanor of the World Cup Silver Ball at all.

His partners changed Pavon, Ramos, and Elgra, but none of them were satisfactory.

Fortunately, Ricardo finally made a comeback.

In the 15th round of the league on the evening of December 17, Ricardo came on as a substitute in the 71st minute, and shortly after coming on, he received a return pass from Ruud van Nistelrooy in the penalty area, pulled the ball and turned and shot in one go, scoring the only goal of the game to help Real Madrid beat the tenacious Espanyol 1-0 away.

Immediately after the match, he flew to FIFA headquarters in Switzerland for the 2006 World Footballer of the Year ceremony.

"Ricardo, do you think you can win World Footballer of the Year this year?"

"What do you think of the other two competitors?"

"This is the second time you've been in the top three of the World Footballer of the Year, do you want to win it?"

"If you win, you'll be the youngest player to win the award, and the youngest player to win the award before was your brother, Ronaldo in 1996, who was three months older than you when he won the award. How do you feel about breaking the record? ”

Outside the Zurich Opera House, the venue for the awards, as soon as Ricardo appeared, he was surrounded by reporters.

Ricardo was still a little dazed.

This is certainly not the first time he has been in the top three of the World Footballer of the Year Award, but it is the one with the best chance of winning the award. Although he finished in the top three last year, it was clear that he was only running for Ronaldo and Ronaldinho. This year, he is a strong contender.

Although the judges' voting has ended at this time, in fact, the World Footballer of the Year winner has been determined, and it will only be announced when the award is presented, but he still can't help but feel apprehensive.

Can I really win the award?

In his previous life, as an ordinary player, there was a huge gulf of light years between him and this award.

And now, the award seems to be within reach. It's like being in a dream.

Moreover, he has already won the Ballon d'Or, and if he wins the World Footballer of the Year, he will be the eighth player to win both awards.

'I don't know if I'm going to win the award, Cannavaro and Zinedine Zidane are very good players and have a good performance at the World Cup and I think they have a good chance of winning it. I wouldn't be surprised if any of them won. ”

Unlike the Ballon d'Or, the current top three candidates for the World Footballer of the Year are Ricardo, Cannavaro and Zinedine Zidane.

"In the last two seasons, I've played against Cannavaro and Zinedine Zidane a lot. They are the top players in their respective positions. I regret Zinedine Zidane's retirement, he started playing like a lad and I think he has another 10 years to play. ”

"No, no, no, I don't think I'm going to win the award, I'm still very young and I have a lot to lose."

"I'm not going to think about the record right now. Such a record is meaningless. Everybody knows that Ronny is the best player in the world and even if I break one or two of his records, it doesn't mean I can stand with him. He's the best, there's no doubt about it. ”

After barely concentrating on answering all kinds of bizarre questions from reporters, Ricardo finally walked into the venue of the awards ceremony. Under the guidance of the staff, he sat in his place.

To his left is Cannavaro and his wife, and to his right is the Zidane family. Both players greeted him kindly.

Although they are old rivals, they have a lot of respect for each other, and Zidane and Cannavaro did not despise Ricardo because of his youth.

From time to time, people came to greet Ricardo, reporters, other club management, head coaches, etc., and even the old man Ferguson came to greet Licardo, and Licardo responded politely one by one.

He had just sat down again when a bald head on crutches appeared in front of him, smiling and revealing a pair of rabbit teeth.

"Dude! You're really in good spirits today. ”

Ricardo jumped up in surprise and hugged him: "Dadado, why are you here?" ”

Ronaldo smiled: "I'm the guest of honor today, don't you know? Congratulations. ”

Licardor understands in seconds. Since Ronaldo must have been deliberately creating a gimmick to present the award, it means that he should be the one who won the award tonight. Otherwise, why did the organizing committee call the injured Ronaldo to present the award?

A great sense of happiness hit him, and Ricardo felt dizzy.

And Cannavaro and Zidane obviously understood this, and their faces immediately darkened, but they still congratulated Ricardo decently. Zidane seems more free-spirited, he has won this award, and he has also retired, and he has an attitude of indifference to this honor.

'Not necessarily, both of you have a chance, because you did well in the past season and in the World Cup. Ricardo said modestly.

Ronaldo returned backstage after saying hello, and Ricardo sat down in a daze, momentarily distracted.