Become A Football Legend

Chapter 347: Introduction (2)

That got a few laughs around the room.

Then Marmoush simply hooked an arm around Lukas’ shoulder naturally and started guiding him around the group.

"Come," he said. "I’ll introduce you properly."

The next several minutes became a blur of handshakes and greetings.

Rayan Cherki greeted him first among the newer arrivals.

"Crazy transfer," Cherki said while shaking his hand. "You ready for all this?"

"We’ll see."

Then Tijjani Reijnders.

Then Savinho.

Then Doku.

Then Rico Lewis and Nico O’Reilly.

Everywhere Lukas turned, another world-class footballer stood there casually welcoming him like he belonged.

Eventually they reached Erling Haaland.

The striker stood up from his chair slowly before stepping forward and patting Lukas heavily on the back.

"I hope you’re ready," Haaland said with a grin. "This won’t be easy."

Lukas smiled right back.

"I never expected it to be."

Haaland nodded once approvingly.

"Good answer."

Then he pointed briefly toward Marmoush.

"Omar’s been hyping you up nonstop by the way."

Marmoush immediately defended himself.

"Because he’s good."

"You’d think he was your little brother the way you talk about him," Bernardo Silva joked from nearby.

That got another round of laughter around the room.

Lukas found himself relaxing more and more with every passing minute.

The tension faded.

The surrealness slowly became excitement instead.

And standing there surrounded by some of the best footballers in the world while Omar Marmoush casually dragged him from group to group introducing him to everyone—

Lukas finally started feeling like he actually belonged there.

Eventually, after greeting what felt like half the squad, Marmoush finally stopped beside another player standing near the back of the room.

Dark hair. Calm expression. Familiar face.

İlkay Gündoğan.

For a second, Lukas almost felt strange looking at him wearing a Manchester City training kit up close instead of seeing him on television.

An iconic figure in Manchester City history and the most successful German in English football.

Marmoush grinned immediately.

"There," he said dramatically while pointing between both of them. "Germany finally reunited."

That got a laugh from a few nearby players.

Haaland immediately joined in.

"Finally," he said. "Ilkay finally has another German here. He’s been lonely."

Gündoğan rolled his eyes lightly. "I was surviving just fine."

"No," Bernardo Silva replied instantly from behind them. "You kept trying to force us to listen to German music in the gym."

"That happened one time."

"Three times," Doku corrected.

The room laughed again.

Then Gündoğan stepped forward and extended his hand toward Lukas.

"Good to finally meet you properly."

Lukas shook it immediately.

"You too."

This was technically their first actual conversation despite both being German internationals now. Gündoğan hadn’t been part of the recent national team camp, so they had never crossed paths before outside of brief introductions through media and football circles.

Up close, Gündoğan carried himself exactly the way Lukas imagined.

Calm. Intelligent. Measured.

The kind of presence that immediately settled a room without trying to dominate it.

"You caused a lot of problems for Portugal," Gündoğan said with a faint smile.

Lukas laughed lightly. "That game got a little crazy."

"A little?"

Even Gündoğan smiled more properly at that.

Marmoush eventually got called away by one of the staff members and patted Lukas once on the shoulder before leaving.

"I’ll see you later," he said. "Try not to get bullied too much on your first day."

"No promises," Savinho called out immediately.

As the room gradually started emptying, Gündoğan motioned toward the hallway.

"Come," he said. "I’ll walk you to your room."

Lukas followed beside him while João, Joanna, Aaron, and Javi stayed behind briefly talking with some of the staff members.

The hotel hallway was quieter now compared to the noisy conference room.

For a few moments they simply walked side by side.

Then Gündoğan spoke again.

"You made the right choice coming here."

Lukas glanced toward him.

"You think so?"

"I know so."

There wasn’t even hesitation in his voice.

Gündoğan kept his hands in his pockets as they walked. freeωebnovēl.c૦m

"This club..." he said slowly, searching for the right wording, "it changes players if they allow themselves to be changed."

Lukas listened quietly.

"You already have the talent," Gündoğan continued. "Everybody can see that. But here, especially under Pep, you learn details you didn’t even realize existed before."

He looked toward Lukas briefly.

"Positioning. Tempo. Body orientation. Decision timing. When to speed up. When to slow the game down. You’ll notice it after a few weeks."

Lukas nodded slowly.

Honestly—

that was exactly why he came.

Gündoğan noticed the look on his face and smiled faintly.

"You’re excited."

Lukas laughed softly. "A little."

"A little?" Gündoğan repeated knowingly.

That got another laugh out of Lukas.

Then Gündoğan’s expression became more relaxed. freēwēbηovel.c૦m

"You know," he said, "the pressure here is heavy. People outside the club think it’s easy because City win a lot. But that’s exactly why it’s difficult. Every single game matters. Every bad touch becomes discussion online. Every draw becomes a crisis."

Lukas nodded.

Marco had already warned him about that.

"But if you survive it," Gündoğan added, "you come out better than before."

They turned another corner in the hallway.

"And honestly," Gündoğan said, "Pep really likes you. You can tell."

Lukas scratched the back of his neck slightly at that.

"I noticed."

Gündoğan laughed quietly.

"I haven’t seen him talk about a young player like this in a long time."

That sentence lingered in Lukas’ mind a little longer than the others.

Eventually they reached the floor where Lukas’ room was located.

Before leaving, Gündoğan stopped beside the door.

"We train tomorrow morning," he said. "You should come watch even if you can’t play yet."

Lukas nodded immediately.

"Of course."

Gündoğan gave him one final pat on the shoulder.

"Good," he said. "Get some rest then. Welcome to Manchester City."

* * *

The next morning, June 17th, the Manchester City squad arrived at Lincoln Financial Field for their final light training session before the opening Club World Cup match.

Even in the morning, the Philadelphia heat was heavy.

The sun sat high above the stadium already, pouring down onto the freshly installed FIFA grass surface that had replaced the usual NFL turf for the tournament. Grounds staff still moved around the edges of the pitch making last-minute adjustments while sprinklers sprayed parts of the field in thin arcs of water.

Lukas stepped out of the tunnel alongside the rest of the squad after changing into the club’s training gear.

The sleeveless sky-blue Puma training top clung lightly against the heat, paired with dark shorts and white socks pulled just below the knee. He bent briefly to tighten the laces on his boots before straightening again and looking around the stadium properly.

Empty seats stretched upward around them.

But even mostly empty, the stadium still felt massive.

A few journalists and club media staff lingered near the sidelines while cameras rolled quietly from a distance.

This was his first training session with Manchester City.