"Romeo Teixeira?"
Messi furrowed his brow, puzzled.
The name meant nothing to him.
"Yes," little Iniesta nodded. "One of the La Masia graduates just promoted from the academy. Plays in midfield."
Messi's expression shifted slightly. Now it made sense.
Since Xavi's departure, Messi had been quietly searching for a worthy heir—someone to carry the torch. He knew he couldn't play forever, and his love for the club compelled him to scout out its future.
That's why he was here in the first place—to observe.
Elsewhere in the stands, a rotund man in a tailored designer suit dabbed sweat from his forehead.
If you looked closely, you'd recognize him: Mino Raiola, the super-agent known across Europe as a "vampire of the rich"—loathed by clubs but beloved by players.
Beside him sat his assistant, the striking Daisy, who looked both confused and skeptical.
"Mr. Raiola," she asked, "why are we even here? To scout some no-name kid?"
Raiola shot her a sharp look. "No-name? You really think players who survive every level of La Masia are just average?"
Daisy flinched, biting her lip.
"Remember this," he said sternly, "you can disrespect me, but never disrespect Master Romeo."
"Master… Romeo?" she echoed, even more confused.
"His family… let's just say they're not people we can afford to cross."
Now Daisy's curiosity turned into awe. Who was this Romeo Teixeira?
---
On the pitch, Romeo had already begun his warm-up.
He jogged up and down the touchline before heading toward a ball on the turf.
Pujic motioned for a passing session, but Romeo declined politely. He had something else in mind.
He crouched to untie his shoelaces—a trick to maximize foot circulation and feel the turf better while juggling.
Then, he gave the ball a gentle lift with his right foot.
The left foot followed, seamlessly popping it into the air with a burst tap. The ball rose high before dipping.
Romeo met it perfectly, cushioning it with his left foot, followed by a quick flick of his toes.
Then—boom—a powerful shot with the right sent the ball rocketing up again.
"Whoa… he's leveled up again!"
Coach Herald froze mid-sentence, then grabbed assistant coach Pimienta by the arm.
"I knew it! I wasn't imagining things—Romeo's gotten stronger!"
Pimienta could only stare, slack-jawed.
In the stands, Iniesta blinked in disbelief, nudging Messi beside him.
"Leo... his touch on the ball—it's not worse than yours."
"Leo?"
He repeated it, but Messi didn't respond.
He was locked in, eyes wide and mouth slightly open, completely mesmerized by Romeo.
Messi's silence nearly made Iniesta laugh.
It was rare—almost unheard of—to see Messi stunned like this.
But Romeo's juggling wasn't ordinary.
It was super juggling, Maradona-style.
That distinctive warm-up—the balance, the precision, the elegance—Messi knew it well.
This kind of touch hadn't been seen since the days of El Pibe de Oro himself.
"Leo!" Iniesta waved a hand in front of Messi's face.
Finally, Messi snapped out of it, blinking at Iniesta with a stunned look.
Iniesta burst into laughter. "You looked like a frozen selfie with a fan. Man, I should've recorded that!"
But Messi wasn't paying attention to jokes.
He pointed at Romeo, excited.
"He's a genius. His ball control... I don't even think I could do that."
"Yeah," Iniesta agreed, locking eyes on the young player below. "His feel for the ball is out of this world…"
---
Romeo kept juggling without moving more than three steps. It was pure elegance.
Pure Maradona.
Soon, applause erupted from the stands.
Romeo flinched slightly, realizing everyone was staring.
He rubbed the back of his head shyly.
"Just warming up… what's the big deal?" he muttered.
From the stands, Iniesta cackled. "Your boy's just as bashful as you! Look at that face—reminds me of you when girls ask for selfies!"
Messi gave a sheepish smirk, but his eyes remained fixed on Romeo.
"Little Maradona!"
"Little Maradona!"
The fans started chanting wildly.
Even Raiola was on his feet, his round belly shaking as he clapped furiously.
His assistant Daisy looked floored.
"When did Barcelona have a kid like this?" she whispered.
---
On the Castilla bench, coach Santiago Solari turned grim.
"Why wasn't this kid in the scouting report?" he growled at his assistant.
"I... I don't know! He wasn't listed!"
Solari narrowed his eyes.
He had a very, very bad feeling about this game.
---
With no press conference before the match, the locker room became the war room.
Coach Herald's tone was sharp.
"Tactics are done. I'm not wasting breath on diagrams."
"This match is our lifeline. If we lose—we're getting relegated."
"We are not walking away from this league with the shame of losing to Castilla."
He paused, then thundered: "So pass the damn ball to Romeo!"
Everyone in training had seen Romeo's genius firsthand.
Herald had even scrapped all previous tactics and rebuilt the game plan around him.
"Step on Castilla's neck! Victory is ours!"
"Victory is ours!" the players echoed.
"To hell with Castilla!"
---
DING!
> [You've triggered the Novice Mission: A Dazzling Debut!]
Mission Objective: Win your debut and complete three assists
Reward: Novice Treasure Chest + 1 Free Attribute Point per Assist
(Note: Attribute Points can be used to upgrade any skill of your choice!)
Romeo took a deep breath as he tightened his laces.
Game time.
---