NOVEL NEXT chapter 138
138 – The Main Character of the Ballon d’Or Awards Ceremony
138
Ballon d’Or
This trophy, shaped like a golden ball, was first introduced in 1956 by the French football magazine France Football. Despite numerous controversies, it has become the most prestigious and esteemed award that a football player can receive.
At one time, it was combined with the FIFA Player of the Year award, but since 2016, it has been awarded separately. Even FIFA cannot surpass the authority of the Ballon d’Or, which is considered the highest honor for football players.
Therefore, this year’s Ballon d’Or awards ceremony has garnered attention from football fans around the world.
The question “Who is the best?” is a topic that sparks interest among people of all ages. In that sense, the award for the best player of the season, dubbed the “Football Emperor,” is bound to attract the attention of football fans.
This year’s Ballon d’Or awards ceremony is being held at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris.
Since it was still early in the season in October, Joo Ji-tae rushed to France after finishing his match and met up with Jo Yeo-sin, with whom he had a brief date. To be precise, they just confirmed their outfits and had dinner together.
No family members were invited.
Joo Ji-tae wasn’t being a filial son who prioritized his girlfriend over his family. He simply knew that he wasn’t the main character of this Ballon d’Or awards ceremony.
“Hey, who’s that? Isn’t that Arsenal’s main striker Jo Jae-sin? He’s already scored seven goals. Congratulations.”
Jo Jae-sin, whom he hadn’t seen in a while, was dressed up for the ceremony.
Joo Ji-tae, aware of the surrounding reporters, pretended to be delighted and tightly hugged Jo Jae-sin. The latter, seemingly aware of the situation, whispered to Joo Ji-tae,
“Don’t you dare touch her. You know I’ve told you before, she’s still underage. You’ll ruin your football career.”
Joo Ji-tae responded calmly.
“What are you talking about? We slept in separate rooms, and what’s with the nonsense?”
“Does it have to happen at night? That’s something you do secretly. Are you doing it behind my back?”
“This is ridiculous. We just met, and you’re acting even crazier. Has your libido exploded?”
“…Shut up, you b*stard. You’re not my type.”
“…….”
Joo Ji-tae quietly shut his mouth.
He couldn’t reveal to his girlfriend’s older brother and childhood friend that he had given up on his “inner cultivation” long ago. That was something even the shameless Joo Ji-tae couldn’t do.
Anyway, it seemed that Joo Ji-tae, who had given up on his “inner cultivation,” was lacking in internal strength compared to others. But the trend was still about “color cultivation” rather than “inner cultivation.”
“By the way, are you really not going to invite your parents?”
As they entered the theater, surrounded by the clicking of cameras, Jo Jae-sin asked Joo Ji-tae in a quiet tone.
“What’s the point when they wouldn’t receive it anyway?”
“…But it’s not like it’s impossible.”
“Fernando Alvarez is there, but would they give it to me?”
“Maybe so. You performed incredibly well last season, especially in the World Cup.”
“If we’re going to compare, he did even better. Plus, Real Madrid won the double, didn’t they?”
In 2022, the Ballon d’Or evaluation period was changed from ‘annual’ to ‘season’, and the evaluation criteria prioritized individual performance over team achievements. However, this doesn’t mean team achievements are unimportant. It’s just that individual performance is given more weight.
In that sense, individual performance is… well, it’s hard to evaluate with just this.
Fernando Alvarez also had an incredible performance, but that’s not something Joo Ji-tae couldn’t do.
However, when considering team achievements, Joo Ji-tae falls short.
If individual performances are similar, the next evaluation criterion is team achievements. In this case, compared to Real Madrid’s brilliant performance, winning the league and Champions League double, 1860 Munich’s performance is lacking.
“Still, I’m the one getting more spotlight.”
“……?”
“I completely dominated El Clásico recently. I completely crushed him, but he still won the Ballon d’Or. Plus, Fernando Alvarez has a lot of pride. You can tell just by looking at him. He must be really upset. I’ll just pretend to acknowledge him and slowly provoke him, and he’ll love it.”
“…This evil kid.”
“Thanks for the compliment.”
“He even publicly revealed his cute girlfriend to get more attention, but the spotlight is on the other side.”
Of course, this is an unspeakable reason.
Anyway, this is the first time Joo Ji-tae has been in a situation like this—she’s definitely wearing a fancy dress for the first time—and she’s sitting quietly next to him, clapping enthusiastically… She seems to be really enjoying herself.
Yeah. She has a bit of a show-off personality, so she likes being in the spotlight like this.
After rationalizing away the last bit of guilt, Joo Ji-tae comfortably watched the awards ceremony, and Senegal’s football hero, Sadio Mané, announced the Ballon d’Or winner.
There was no surprise.
The winner of the Ballon d’Or was Fernando Alvarez. Joo Ji-tae came in third.
Joo Ji-tae skillfully hid his disappointment and smiled faintly, clapping.
“Hello, I’m Fernando Alvarez. I finally achieved my dream after missing it last year. I’m happy that my childhood dream has come true. There were many difficulties getting to this point, but—”
The winner of the Ballon d’Or, Fernando Alvarez, was initially smiling as he gave his acceptance speech, but suddenly, his eyes met Joo Ji-tae’s.
It wasn’t a coincidence.
As the most attention-grabbing newcomer in the football world and a Ballon d’Or finalist, he was sitting in the front row.
For a moment, the acceptance speech stopped, and Joo Ji-tae, who was sitting next to his young girlfriend, also seemed to feel something and turned his head.
The moment they locked eyes, the camera captured it perfectly.
On the right was Joo Ji-tae, smiling faintly and looking up at Fernando Alvarez.
On the left was Fernando Alvarez, holding the Ballon d’Or trophy and looking down at Joo Ji-tae with a stern expression.
Even if you set aside the fact that Joo Ji-tae came in third and Fernando Alvarez won, the atmosphere was strangely reversed. It felt like Fernando Alvarez, the champion, was challenging Joo Ji-tae, the challenger.
“…I think I was able to win this award because of the love and support of my family, Real Madrid teammates, coaching staff, and fans. The Ballon d’Or is a personal trophy, but it’s also a team award that belongs to everyone who helped me.”
The applause stopped, and Fernando Alvarez’s acceptance speech continued.
However, the short moment when the two men locked eyes left a huge impact.
Perhaps even more so than Fernando Alvarez’s statement at the end of his speech, “I still have something to prove. I will prove that I am the true Ballon d’Or winner.”
That short moment’s capture became the headline of global sports newspapers the next day and became a historic scene symbolizing the two players as the greatest rivals in the football world.
The awards ceremony ended, leaving many things behind.
* * *
『Joo Ji-tae (20, Barcelona) Wins 3rd Place in the Ballon d’Or!!』
『Joo Ji-tae Surpasses Son Heung-min and Lee Kang-in to Become Asia’s Best!』
『The 20-Year-Old Youth Becomes Asia’s Star』
『Arsenal’s Cho Jae-sin, selected as one of the 23 players for the Ballon d’Or! The mighty Munich duo of the same age!』
『The woman who appeared at the Ballon d’Or awards ceremony is Joo Ji-tae’s girlfriend!』
—Joomo!! Take a shot!!
—Joomo, you’re going to die, Joomo, you’re going to die, Joomo, you’re going to die…
—20 years old and ranked 3rd in the Ballon d’Or? 20 years old and ranked 3rd in the Ballon d’Or? 20 years old and ranked 3rd in the Ballon d’Or?
—This is really weird, our country is full of geniuses, what’s going on?
—The goddess is so beautiful…
—We need to protect the goddess.
—Her body is not childish at all;
—But what’s with the two of them, are they a demon king and a hero or something?
The awards ceremony gave birth to numerous articles.
At just 20 years old, Joo Ji-tae achieved the highest ranking in Asia, earning praise, while Cho Jae-sin, who was 20 years old, recorded a ranking comparable to Son Heung-min’s, and the two made their first public appearance together.
However, what drew people’s attention the most was the rivalry between Joo Ji-tae and Fernando Alvarez.
The two, who were of similar age and had similar evaluations as future world-class players, formed a rivalry, and their teams, Barcelona and Real Madrid, were also rivals, making them the next “Messi-Honaldu” rivalry.