Unlimited Potential System-Chapter 78: Aftermath

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Tyler fell on his knees as soon as he heard the referee blow his whistle. Each subsequent sound felt like a hammer being smashed upon his chest.

"Fuck," he muttered under his breath as he fully let himself go and collapsed onto the pitch.

["And that is the end, ladies and gentlemen, of a fine spectacle that we have been treated to tonight. Two of the best teams in the division have gone at it tonight. Two giants fought, and although both teams can make a claim for this match, one team has come out on top"]

["Really beautiful match that we’ve been treated to. Even though Paris Saint Germain had periods of domination in the match, AS Monaco did not go down without a fight. They got the better of Paris Saint Germain in the second half, but the damage had already been done as soon as they were allowed a two-goal advantage in the first half. A pity indeed"]

["I think that one positive that maybe the Monaco fans, as well as the players, would take from this game is Tyler Wilson. Seventeen years old, and he looked the best player as soon as he came on. Especially in the closing stages, where there looked to be a bit of a stalemate and he just took the game by the scruff of the neck and went and got himself a goal"]

["It seemed a bit of a mismatch between him and Nuno Mendes and, for a brief period in the middle of the second half, him and Achraf Hakimi, but he’s done well for himself. A goal and an assist away against the league leaders is not bad at all"]

Tyler shook his head again, then sat up, watching the Paris Saint Germain players shake the hands of the defeated Monaco players. His hands unconsciously clenched, packing a fistful of dirt and grass inside them.

"Hey man, good game."

Tyler looked up and saw a hand stretched towards him. The hand belonged to Nuno Mendes, who was currently offering him help getting up from the ground.

Naturally, Tyler took Nuno’s hand and allowed the left back to pull him up. It was one thing to lose, and it was another thing to be portrayed as a sore loser to the press and anyone else watching.

"You did well, man," Nuno Mendes said, patting Tyler’s back as soon as he was fully standing. "I couldn’t keep you under control at all."

As soon as Tyler heard Nuno Mendes’ words, he felt like punching the PSG defender. As far as he was concerned, he didn’t have a good game. The goal and assist might tell a different story, but those were the only two times that he could get past the Portuguese defender despite his many attempts throughout the duration of the match.

Still, Tyler kept his feelings and thoughts to himself. He could only smile and nod as Nuno Mendes kept speaking.

After a bit of small talk between them, they shook hands again, and Nuno Mendes walked past him and went to meet another Monaco player. Tyler shook hands with some of the other PSG players before walking towards the tunnel, looking to escape to the locker room and rest. He might have played only forty-five minutes, but the match was an intense one.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t make his escape at all. Right as he was about to enter the tunnel, he felt someone grip his arm. When he turned around, he saw a woman who looked to be in her late twenties staring back at him. She was wearing a white shirt under a black blazer and a black lycra skirt. She was holding a clipboard in her hands.

"Tyler?" the woman said. "My name is Juliette. I’m Monaco’s press officer. Right now, your name is on the lips of many news outlets, and after your performance in this match, they want to get an interview with you, so we have to be on our way now."

"Shit!"

Tyler groaned internally when he heard what Juliette said. If it was a few weeks ago, then he would have been happy to go along with her and get the interview done, but when he saw how the press twisted a few harmless words of his and basically started a nationwide hate campaign against him, he realized he had to be extra careful about what he said.

Interviews were like a game of chess, and at the moment, he was just too damn tired to play. Still, he followed Juliette and allowed her to lead him towards the section of the pitch that was being used for the interview. The fact that she came to get him personally made him realize that he didn’t have much of a choice in the matter.

Very soon, Tyler arrived in front of a makeshift sponsors board in the middle of the stadium.

"Now, Tyler, I understand that you may be tense because of what happened with the other interview, but I can assure you that the club is supervising this one and it’s just for our channel, so we control what footage comes out and is released to the public," Juliette tried to assure Tyler as she saw that he looked a bit nervous before the interview.

"It’s not what I say that’s the problem," Tyler muttered in response. "It’s what they say that I said."

Juliette stared at him for a couple of seconds before eventually shrugging. "Think really hard before you speak then."

Tyler stared blankly as he was caught off guard by Juliette’s response. In the end, he chuckled and followed Juliette to the front of the wall of sponsors.

Juliette then gave him some actual tips to avoid what happened the last time, with his interview being blown out of proportion and making him the number one most hated person in the small country of Monaco.

"All right, that should be all," Juliette said as she finished giving him a few tips. "Now it’s all you. Good luck." She said with a thumbs up before retreating away from the camera to the background.