"Sporting Lisbon official website banner: Congratulations to the club's academy player Cristiano Ronaldo for winning Best Forward, Team of the Tournament, Assist King, and many other honors in the Portuguese Cup!"
"Sporting Lisbon official website post: Congratulations to the club's youth player Kai for winning Best Player, Best Midfielder, Team of the Tournament, Top Scorer, and many other honors in the Portuguese Cup! He is our pride!"
"Marco Materazzi: Kai and Cristiano Ronaldo are in my plans for next season. They will break records and enter the Sporting Lisbon first team as the youngest players ever!"
"President of Moreirense: We are doing our best to keep them, but Kai and Cristiano Ronaldo belong to Sporting Lisbon. They deserve a bigger stage!"
"Kai bids farewell to Moreirense: 'I haven't slept well in the past six months. I came here and got my chance to play—but what did I leave behind? Now, I can finally breathe easy. I can proudly tell everyone that I left two championship trophies for Moreirense! Thank you for your support—Moreirense will always be my second home!'"
"More than 80% of Moreirense residents bid farewell to Kai! They said they will always support him!"
Cristiano Ronaldo: "Damn! Why do you get a whole feature, and I'm just a banner?"
Kai: "Don't say that—I even added a line: 'I am the pride of the club!'"
Cristiano Ronaldo: "…"
Cristiano Ronaldo: "Don't you feel sick hearing yourself say that to Moreirense fans? Count how many 'second homes' you've got now."
Kai: "I said it once when I visited your house. Once at the Oscars with Hathaway. Once to my neighbors in the Chinese community. Once during a CCTV interview. Once to Manchester United fans… It's normal. Even scumbags fall in love seriously, you know."
Fonte: "Is nobody going to talk about how my loan is ending and I'm going back to Sporting Lisbon?"
Perhaps because this year's Portuguese Cup ended relatively late, the competition—which normally didn't get much attention across Europe—suddenly became headline news.
Not just in Portugal, but across the entire continent.
The reason was simple… after major events end, there's always a gap in reporting.
Before the European Championship dominates the headlines, winning the Portuguese Cup is still legitimate news.
After all, major media outlets can't keep publishing things like "Player X has reported to national team training," "Player X has not reported," or "Player X is preparing to report" every single day.
News has levels.
You need breaking updates—but also deep features.
You need to chase hot topics—but also analyze and expand on key stories.
"Record" gained massive credibility across European football media thanks to a series of articles by special correspondent Jiang Yunzhu.
With these reports, it successfully entered the top tier of European football journalism!
Jiang Yunzhu's coverage of Kai and Cristiano Ronaldo has even become a classic case study in football media operations, now included in marketing textbooks at major European universities!
The story began with the Portuguese Cup victory.
Academy players leading a second-division team to defeat all three giants of the Portuguese top flight and win the title… that alone was explosive.
Then came the deeper narrative.
A team rising from last place to champions in half a season!
A club with no prior trophies suddenly winning two in one go!
And the player stories?
Kai and Cristiano Ronaldo, both winter signings, ended up winning the league's assist king and top scorer respectively—while also sweeping Best Player, Best Midfielder, and Best Forward.
Did they leave anything for others?
And the digging didn't stop there.
Kai had played in the Portuguese U17 Youth League in the first half of the season—and in just half a season, he won both the Golden Boot and Assist King!
At first, some parents questioned how he could win Best Player after only half a season.
Now?
Who the hell could still argue?
If anything, winning U17 Player of the Year in half a season now feels like a downgrade for him!
Because in the second half of the season, he won Best Player in both the Portuguese League and the Portuguese Cup!
Who else can do that?
Then there's Cristiano Ronaldo.
At the start of the season, he collapsed on the pitch, underwent surgery for a "serious" heart condition, and everyone thought his career was over before it even began.
And then?
He rose from the ashes in the Portuguese Liga—like a king returning!
Half-season Golden Boot.
Portuguese Cup Assist King.
Other than Kai, who even comes close?
These stories dominated headlines daily, leaving European fans dizzy.
But it still wasn't over.
A year ago, at just 13 years old, Kai and Cristiano Ronaldo were already playing U15 matches, dominating the Portuguese Youth League.
Top scorer.
Top assists.
Multiple awards.
They even won the Youth Champions League—and swept every individual honor there too!
Too much?
Too exaggerated?
Wait—there's more!
Last summer, at the European Junior Cup in the Czech Republic, both were called up exceptionally early.
With the main squad plagued by injuries, they stepped up, carried the team, and led Portugal to victory—continuing the legacy of the Golden Generation.
Now people are calling them the Portuguese Diamond Generation!
So is the story done?
Not even close.
A true master of journalism knows how to tell a story.
And Jiang Yunzhu clearly understands narrative structure—probably reads a lot of romance novels too.
With one dramatic twist:
"You only saw them fighting side by side—but didn't know they once led rival teams and clashed as enemies!"
Fans were stunned.
Wait… weren't Kai and Ronaldo childhood friends?
"Two years ago, Kai won the Portuguese Diamond Generation Invitational Tournament—defeating Cristiano Ronaldo in the final!"
"Five years ago, Kai won the Portuguese FA Golden Boy Cup—beating a team led by Cristiano Ronaldo!"
"From lifelong rivals to trusted teammates! From fierce opponents to housemates! Kai and Ronaldo are Portugal's Superman and Batman—Sun Wukong and Nezha of the West!"
The hype exploded.
Other European media were left speechless.
Honestly, it would be criminal not to give both of them the Ballon d'Or at this rate.
This reporter was insane.
Check the byline.
Jiang Yunzhu—Deputy Editor-in-Chief of China's Sports Weekly, enjoying equivalent status at Portugal's authoritative outlet Record.
No wonder.
A big name casts a long shadow.
Anyone who rises to the top like that is the real deal.
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