The field buzzed with energy even after the final whistle.
Reporters and photographers flooded the sidelines.
Fans still sang and chanted from the stands.
Mateo, still catching his breath, spotted Lamine Yamal approaching him.
The young Barcelona star was smiling, tired but proud.
Without hesitation, Lamine extended his hand.
Mateo clasped it firmly.
The two prodigies,rivals tonight,future legends in the making,stood face to face, grinning like old friends.
"That was a hell of a match," Lamine said, in smooth Spanish.
"You too," Mateo replied, laughing.
"One day, we'll do this on an even bigger stage."
Lamine smirked."I'll be waiting."
They both chuckled.
And then —as if it were the most natural thing in the world —they exchanged jerseys.
Mateo held the iconic Barcelona jersey with Yamal's name on it.
Lamine folded the Bayern jersey with "González Schwarz" across the back carefully in his arms.
Photographers' flashes popped around them.
Click.Click.Click.
The world captured the moment —a moment of pure respect between two rising stars.
A few minutes later,Mateo made his way toward the tunnel,the adrenaline finally starting to ebb away.
Inside the Bayern locker room, it was chaos —the best kind of chaos.
Music blasted from a speaker.Players laughed, shouted, threw towels at each other.
The coaching staff clapped everyone on the back.
Harry Kane raised a bottle of water and sprayed it over everyone like champagne.
And then Kompany walked in.
Instant silence.
The players stood up, forming a loose circle.
Kompany smiled — a rare, genuine smile.
"You boys made me proud tonight," he said, voice rich with emotion.
"You fought.You adapted.You played for each other."
He turned toward Mateo.
"And you—"he pointed,"—you proved tonight that you're not the future anymore."
"You're the present."
The locker room erupted into cheers, players ruffling Mateo's hair and shouting his name.
"Mateo! Mateo! Mateo!"
Mateo laughed, half-embarrassed, half-overwhelmed.
It didn't feel real.
But it was.
Later, after the celebrations,Mateo walked out to the players' entrance, where family and friends could wait.
And there she was.
Klara.
She ran up to him, throwing her arms around his neck.
He caught her, lifting her slightly off the ground as they hugged tightly.
"You were amazing," she whispered, voice trembling with pride.
"You made history."
Mateo pulled back slightly, grinning wide.
"You saw it all?"
"Every second," Klara said, her blue eyes sparkling.
She touched the side of his face softly.
"I always believed in you."
For a moment,the noise of the world faded away.
It was just Mateo and Klara,two hearts beating wildly in the aftermath of a dream come true.
Mateo leaned his forehead against hers.
"I'm just getting started," he whispered.
Klara smiled.
"I know."
In the distance, cameras flashed again,reporters shouted questions,fans chanted his name.
But for Mateo González Schwarz,all he cared about in that momentwas the feeling of Klara's hand in his,and the limitless future stretching out before him.