"If I had joined during the summer window, I could've had that honor too!"
Ronaldo stood in the stands.
Since he wasn't eligible to play in the Champions League, even though he was an AC Milan player, he could only watch from the stands as his teammates lifted the trophy.
And he himself missed out on that glory.
Looking back over his storied career, despite numerous honors, the Champions League trophy remained missing—a lifelong regret and obsession.
A major reason he joined Milan was to chase that Champions League dream, and now, Milan had won it back-to-back—but without him.
Still, Ronaldo didn't lose heart.
There's always next season.
Clap clap clap!
Ronaldo joined the crowd in applauding.
"Let's congratulate AC Milan—and Suker."
In Croatia, at a villa...
Modrić sat silently in front of the TV, watching as the camera zoomed in on Suker, giving him the spotlight.
Without a doubt—this night belonged to Suker.
This was the Champions League title.
The trophy that every player dreams of.
Modrić also wanted it.
This season, they had given it everything they had, but still fell to Milan and missed the final.
Watching his close friend lift the trophy for the second time, surrounded by glory and adoration, Modrić felt a mix of emotions.
He was happy for Suker.
He knew how hard his friend had worked during his early career—he deserved every bit of this success.
But at the same time, a sense of urgency crept in.
Suker now had two Champions League trophies.
Yet Modrić—who had always been spoken of as Croatia's twin star alongside Suker—only had a Premier League title and the Croatian Footballer of the Year to his name.
Suker was already pushing toward the Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year.
And he himself was still chasing a Champions League trophy.
He felt like he'd fallen too far behind.
"I can't keep going like this," he thought."I need more honors—more glory."
With clenched fists turning white, Modrić silently vowed:"Next season—we must win the Champions League!"
At Dinamo Zagreb's training base...
Ateljenić watched the confident Suker on screen and couldn't help but sigh:
"Two years, two Champions League titles—what kind of monster is this guy?"
Bilić added:
"The first year was Milan's overall strength, but the second..."
Ateljenić:
"He practically carried the team alone."
And Bilić didn't argue.
Suker scored 16 goals in this season's Champions League, shattering his own previous record of 12 (set in 2004/2005), with a 4-goal gap.
In the league, he netted 35 goals, breaking Shevchenko's record of 33.
One season—breaking records in both Serie A and the Champions League.
There was no doubt—Suker had been terrifying this season.
Elsewhere in Zagreb, in a private club—
Davor Šuker and Zvonimir Boban sat staring blankly at the TV.
Even the women next to them were ignored.
They had both had glorious careers—but neither had reached the level that this young Suker had achieved.
"If we had this version of Suker back in our World Cup days..."Boban muttered.
Davor waved a hand:
"Don't think about that. The national team's doing fine now."
"You think, with this season, Suker could win the Ballon d'Or?"
Davor:
"Back-to-back Champions League wins, Final MOTM, Champion League Player of the Season , Team of the Tournament, Golden Boot... who's gonna take it from him?"
Hearing that long list of honors, even Boban had a headache.
And that was just from the Champions League—his league accolades weren't even counted yet.
As Davor said:
"Who dares to compete with him now?"
With that dazzling array of achievements, even the biggest stars would have to step aside.
Back at the Olympic Stadium in Athens, Suker was holding the Champions League trophy during an interview.
"You can put the trophy down," the Italian reporter said.
"Nope!" Suker insisted, still carrying it proudly.
The reporter gave a helpless smile.
"Tell us how you feel about this match."
"It felt amazing!" Suker grinned."Winning the title felt even better. We played a flawless match—no mistakes, no problems. We capitalized on every chance, and that's how we won this honor and beat Liverpool."
"What does it feel like to get revenge on Liverpool?"
"What can I say?" Suker shrugged."I just helped the veterans fulfill their wish. I wasn't at Milan back then. But I'm definitely happy we won."
The reporter could sense Suker was impatient.
Though he wanted to ask more questions, Suker left quickly with the trophy after answering a few.
"Champions! Champions! Champions!"
Suker burst into the dressing room, waving the trophy.
"Pour the drinks! Pop the champagne!"
"Pop what champagne?!"
Maldini scolded:
"You're forgetting we still have to play the final league match?"
Suker froze. In his excitement, he had forgotten—in three days, they still had to play Inter in the 38th round of the league.
No celebration yet.
That was frustrating—but there was no choice.
He'd have to wait until after they beat Inter to celebrate.
Because the league wasn't over—and the final match still mattered in the title race—Milan didn't linger in Athens.
They returned to Milan that night to prepare.
The Champions League final had ended, but the media exploded with the headline:
"The Athens Massacre Night"
The story went viral overnight.
Two years ago: "The Night in Istanbul"
Two years later: "The Night of the Athens Massacre"
Milan couldn't erase the Istanbul shame, but they made Liverpool suffer the same fate.
And now, Liverpool was in serious trouble.
Player morale was shattered.
The team's stability was questionable.
Every defeat brings media pressure and fan backlash.
Back then, Milan endured it through sheer resilience.
But can Liverpool survive this storm? That's unclear.
This season, Liverpool ended with nothing:
Lost the league
Eliminated from the FA Cup
Knocked out of the EFL Cup
And now lost the Champions League final—badly.
Their last hope had ended in a humiliating loss.
Now, the aftermath was going to be brutal.
Not only manager Benítez, but the players too were under immense pressure.
To cope, they tried to copy Milan's response from two years ago:
The players vanished from public view.
The club launched emergency PR.
But they underestimated the power of British media and fans.
In terms of causing chaos, England's press and supporters are unmatched.
One final—and Liverpool was in complete disarray.
As the saying goes:
"The wheel of fortune turns—this year, it's your turn."
Liverpool now faced immense public scrutiny.
And the greater the insults and mockery of Liverpool, the louder the praise and admiration for Milan.
This season, AC Milan had gone through a lot:
Calciopoli scandal
Departures of Shevchenko, Rui Costa, Stam
Most people predicted a disaster
Even when they made the knockout stages of the Champions League, the media still doubted them.
But Milan fought their way through.
From the Round of 16, they smashed through giants all the way to the top of Europe:
Round of 16: Real Madrid
Quarterfinals: Bayern Munich
Semifinals: Manchester United
Final: Liverpool
Every single opponent was a world-class club.
But one by one, Milan took them down.
Compared to last season—this year's title had even more weight.
Thanks to this victory, AC Milan climbed to #1 in UEFA's club rankings.
And Suker? He had become the most talked-about footballer in Europe—and even the world.